If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

- Matthew 5:27-37

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which begins with Matthew chapter 5.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught:  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leaven your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus quoted and then elaborated on the statute against murder.  In today's He quotes the statute against adultery (Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18).  My study bible says that the issue here is not the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but rather a selfish prompting of lust.  It says that sin doesn't come out of nature, but rather out of the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.  When we have thoughts that enter our mind involuntarily, that is a temptation, not a sin.  But something becomes a sin only when such thoughts are held and entertained.  The key idea here is selfishness.  To lust after something or someone is to desire possession.

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  My study bible says that the imagery here isn't to be taken literally, but rather refers to decisive action to avoid sin and to continue in purity.  Jesus will use similar imagery in 18:8.  If we think about the eye in the context of what Jesus is saying, this is about how we look at things.  Do we desire selfish possession?  To get something (or someone) in order to use it in some way?  The hand reaches out to grasp and grab; again Jesus' reference is to a form of theft, prompted by an indulgence in desire.  We begin within ourselves, not with the simple letter of the Law, in order to prevent loss of the soul, and life in Christ.  Jesus suggests a voluntary sacrifice of what can feel like a true part of ourselves, in order to truly save ourselves.  My study bible calls it "decisive action to avoid sin."

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."   Jesus' words are in contrast to the easy access to divorce under Mosaic Law, and He also references the misuse of divorce in His time.  He repeatedly condemns divorce (see also 19:8-9, in which Jesus speaks of the "hardness of your hearts"), emphasizing the eternal and holy nature of marriage.  Here the possibility of divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality tells us that, like other things, marriage can be destroyed by sin.  The early Church would extend some grounds for divorce.  Jesus' emphasis is on relationship and relatedness; not on possession.

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  My study bible says that trust cannot be secured by swearing and oath by this that are not in a person's possession anyway.  Only simple integrity creates trust.  Once again, there is an emphasis here on the internal, not the external.  A type of purity of heart is referenced here, in which our external actions reflect an internal condition.

What is personal integrity?  What does it mean to each person?  In Christianity, we follow the teaching of the Old Testament, that we are each created in God's image.  What does that mean exactly?  Jesus as eternally-begotten Son of God, Incarnate as human being, gives us an image of God via His human life.  (See John 14:8-9, in which Jesus says, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father").  As such, we who are created in the image of God have an integrity to cultivate that reflects our capabilities to become more "like God," with qualities we learn from Christ.  Jesus speaks against pure selfishness as motivation in life, and so the cultivation of who we truly are is not about a selfish demand for acquisition and possession.  To feel an attraction for someone is "natural" in the sense of what is given by God.  To take this into a form of desire for possession or use, and to cultivate that within ourselves, is not.  Jesus speaks against divorce in terms of the "hardness of hearts" He mentions in 19:8, not as a consequence of abuse in a marriage, but rather as a consequence of simple displeasure with one treated as a sort of property.  (We should remember that only men could initiate divorce.)  Jesus emphasizes the process of the internal shaping the external, and the need to understand ourselves and change what needs changing to more truly reflect this image in which we were created.  "Hardness of heart" surely indicates a failure of growth, of wisdom, of righteousness.  The powerful injunction to swear no oaths reflects this emphasis on real integrity and what that means.  It isn't a question of simply reflecting one's desires, but rather a question of fidelity to the image in which we're created.  If our "yes" means "yes," and "no" means "no," then we are not false to others.  We reflect a type of fidelity to our own meanings and values; we testify truly to ourselves and our character.  Jesus' emphasis is on the cultivation of such character.  The drastic images of self-mutilation teach us that we must cut off self-centered impulses that lead us away from the true image of the self as creation of God.  We're headed in the wrong direction with a kind of selfish goal or drive.  Rather than living a righteous or right-related life, this will lead us to abuse, to the breaking of relationship.  Being true to a bond of relationship also falls into the category of speaking truly without need of swearing by an external.  The emphasis here is on the heart, the center of the self -- and the clear teaching is the malleability of that heart, our capacity for growth and change and repentance, to more truly reflect the image in which we're created.  How do you turn to Christ for help with that?  Does integrity of this sort count in your life?  Does it make a difference in your world and community?