Matthew 5:17-37
In
the moral life, we can think of commandments in at least a couple of ways.
One
way to think of a commandment is as a rule by which we can evaluate the
rightness or wrongness of a given action.
We
might think of a commandment like, “thou shalt not bear false witness” as a
rule against the deliberate telling of untruths.
The
moral task then will be to decide whether telling our spouses that “we love”
their new neon green and brown plaid blazer breaks the rule against lying or
not.
A
second way to think of a commandment sees it as a guide and exhortation in the
formation of our moral character.
Taken
this way, the command against bearing false witness is not just about following
the rule, but it is also about the formation of an honest character. The rule
is followed not just for the sake of following it, but because by repeated
attempts to follow the rule in our ever-changing circumstances, we become
people who are disposed to act honestly.
Jesus
thinks of commandments in the second way.
Our
gospel lesson for today comes from a section of the Sermon on that Mount that
traditionally has been called “Antitheses,” because Jesus’ teaching is
presented in the following pattern:
First,
Jesus says, “you have heard that it was said ”; then Jesus follows with his own
magisterial statement, “but I say to you”.
The
problem with calling these teachings “Antitheses” is that it suggests that
Jesus is contradicting the earlier statement.
But
this is not so.
Rather,
what Jesus is doing is intensifying the particular law’s claims and thereby
clarifying its true meaning.
In
the so-called “Antitheses,” Jesus is showing what he meant earlier in the
Sermon on the Mount when he said he came “not to abolish the law, but to
fulfill it,” and to teach a greater righteousness:
“If
your righteousness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will
never get into the kingdom of heaven.”
The
commandments are not just rules to be followed, they are given so that by
following them we might become formed in a greater righteousness.
Jesus
says:
“You
have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’;
and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’
But
I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable
to judgment.”
Jesus
isn’t contradicting the commandment against murder, he is intensifying it.
He
knows that even if we keep the commandment not to kill, we can still hate and
despise others.
We
can follow the rule and still kill relationships, still treat people as if they
were dead to us.
Jesus
shows us that the fulfillment of the commandment not to kill is the formation
of our hearts and minds so that we look at others not with anger, but rather
with love.
The
greater righteousness is to love others as we would have them love us, even
when they are our enemies.
The
commandment is given not just so that we won’t kill each other, but so that we
will be the type of people who will seek out someone who has wronged us and
work to be reconciled with them.
Jesus
says:
“You
have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you
that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery
with her in his heart.”
Again,
Jesus isn’t contradicting the commandment against committing adultery, he is
intensifying it. He knows that even if we keep the commandment not to commit
adultery, we can still demean and belittle others. The lustful glance, the
undressing with the eye, treats others as objects and takes what doesn’t belong
to us, even if it keeps its distance. Jesus shows us that the fulfillment of
the commandment not to commit adultery is a faithful heart that cherishes our
spouses and respects our neighbors.
L.
Gregory Jones, in an essay entitled “The
Grace of Daily Obligation: Shaping Christian Life,” reflects on how we become grace-filled people through the daily
and disciplined practice of Christian obligations.
He
writes:
“Isn’t
it interesting that when we are talking about a ballet dancer, or, if you
prefer, a Michael Jordan on the basketball court … we describe them as being
graceful – full of grace.
Yet
anybody who has ever undertaken the craft of ballet or piano or basketball
knows how much work day by day by day goes into the cultivation of that
gracefulness.
In
this sense, gracefulness is not simply a process of sitting back and waiting.
Rather,
through the activity of daily habits people are prepared to move gracefully, in
a way that transcends the day-to-day preparation.
It
becomes so natural that the graceful performer doesn’t have to think it
through. …
The
gracefulness develops over time so that eventually the steps come together in a
powerfully new way, a performance.
That
happens only through daily obligation.”
Jesus
came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Jesus came to call and form
disciples in a community devoted to the higher righteousness.
We
follow the commandments not simply because they are rules; we follow the
commandments so that we might become the type of people Christ wants us to be,
people formed and fashioned for life in the kingdom of God.
We
become these types of people not by forsaking the law; rather, we become these
types of people by following the law with true intention.
God
gave the commandments not so that we would become moral rule keepers;
rather,
God gave us the commandments as guides and exhortations for the formation of
our character, so that we might become people who are pure in heart,
so
that we might love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind, and
that we might love our neighbor as ourselves.
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