You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth"

 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

- Matthew 5:38-48

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount, beginning with chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:  "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."

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."  Jesus quotes from Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21.  But in contrast to these demands for equal retribution as justice, Jesus warns not to resist violence with more violence.  My study bible says that evil can only be overcome by good, which keeps us free from compromises with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  Here Jesus calls for an assertive, proactive, and consistent turning to the good, to expressions of God's love. 

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?"   To be free from hate, sadness, and anger, my study bible says, means that we will be able to receive the greatest virtue:  perfect love.  The love of enemies, it tells us, isn't merely an emotion, but also includes decision and action.

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  This is the summary statement of all that has preceded it in the Sermon on the Mount.  We may grow in the perfection of the Father (see Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating God's love and mercy (Luke 6:36).

What does it mean to be perfect?  Or rather, what does it mean that Jesus teaches us that "you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect"?  I think it's important that we first note the future tense of "you shall."  This is a statement about growth in the likeness of the One in whose image we are created.  Jesus teaches us about love, the essence of what God is and what characterizes God.  (See 1 John 4:7-21 for an exposition on the love of God, and how that love is also to characterize our relationships among those who love God).  Our discipleship, therefore, is a kind of striving toward something, a full likeness of our Creator, one in which we grow in the kind of love that we learn from God.  St. Paul will speak of the gifts of the Spirit (Who is also God), which are manifold, in 1 Corinthians 12.  What is important to note is that each complements the others, making up community through those who are growing in God-likeness, and each is for the community.  More importantly, St. Paul speaks to us of the fruits of the Spirit, which emphasize character, the inner life of a person, which Jesus has so far emphasized in our recent readings from the Sermon on the Mount:  love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 22:23). "Against such there is no law," He adds, making a kind of connection with Jesus' themes here about the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  Each of these qualities are manifestations of the love of God, for in God, Who is love, will be those things that make for good, true, and perfect life.  True righteousness comes from participation in this love and sharing it with others.  When Jesus teaches us that we "shall be perfect," even as our heavenly Father is perfect, He teaches us what manner of children we shall be, what it is to grow in the pattern of the One whom we call Our Father.  This is the faith He offers us, the life He offers us, the discipleship He offers us.  There is a great emphasis in these recent passages on the internal fulfillment of obedience to the external rule.  It's easy to read today's passage and think that it somehow bypasses justice, or perhaps tells Jesus' listeners that they are simply to be victims of the violent.  But this doesn't coordinate well with His other teachings, nor with the depth of love.  Sending them out on their first apostolic mission, He will tell His disciples to be "as shrewd as serpents and simple as doves" (10:16).  He makes us aware that God's justice will account for every word (12:36).  He does not shrink from telling the truth to His detractors, who clearly do not seek the perfection of God the Father ("You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do" - see John 8:44).   He rebukes those whom He loves (Hebrews 12:6, Proverbs 3:11-12), in several instances to His disciples.   But Jesus is clearly giving us direction and even dimension to our lives when He teaches us to be like our Father, and to grow in that likeness, even unto perfection as the command and goal.  He clearly teaches us to rely on God's love, and to refrain from vengeance (which also belongs to God; see Romans 12:9).  In that love is to be found all that is good and just and righteous, the true and the beautiful, what human beings need for good lives filled with the abundance of life He promises.  He gives us the way, by allowing us to participate in His life and His Resurrection, and the Cross as well.  And lest we forget, this is a Sermon all about life in the kingdom of heaven, even as we live in this world, and it began with the blessings of that Kingdom.  How do you find the answers in His love -- and the goal of God's perfection -- for your life and struggles today?