REFLECTIONS TODAY
The Bible uses different terms for sexual sins, the violation of the sixth commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” There is adultery (moicheia) when a man has an illicit intercourse with a married or betrothed woman. The act between a man and unmarried woman is called fornication (porneia). Prostitution (also porneia) is sex for sale, done in view of monetary gains or some favor. In Israel, worship of a foreign divinity is also considered prostitution. In the Bible, adultery is punishable by death, often by stoning (Lv 20:10).
In the Gospel, Jesus says that what causes one to sin must be avoided. As anger, the motive for murder, is prohibited, so is lust, the motive for adultery. Further still, the occasions which lead to lust are to be avoided, like looking at a woman with lust. Since sexual impulses are very strong, a drastic effort has to be made so as not to commit adultery. Lust (epithymia) involves treating the other as an object of desire, not as a person to be respected.
Lust dehumanizes, breaking persons, families, and communities. St. Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth, the city where fornication and “sacred prostitution” were rampant, “Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Cor 6:18).
Gospel • Mt 5:27-32
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. 32But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Source: “366 Days with the Lord 2024,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.