Let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No"

Marriage of Virgin Mary and St. Joseph

"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.  In yesterday's reading, 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, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, an 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."   Once again, we understand that Jesus is speaking about a righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20).  This involves a depth of the self and knowledge of the self.  What is at issue here, my study bible says, regarding the statute against adultery, is not the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but rather the selfish promptings of lust.   Here, lust is a kind of greed, a desire for possession.  My study bible says that sin does not come out of nature, but rather out of the distortion of nature for selfish indulgence.  It adds that thoughts that enter the mind involuntarily are not sins, but rather temptations.  They become sins when they are held, entertained, made habitual through indulgence.

"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."   Christ is advocating quick action in order to avoid sin, and to continue in purity.   These images are not meant to be taken literally, but give us an image of what it is like to try to change ourselves.  What is habitual or usual can feel like we are cutting off a needed and useful limb, even our own right eye.  The eye is an important metaphor:  how we gaze upon the world determines quite often what we will do.  Do we look with lust, envy, greed, or honor?  Is our "eye" aggressive or does it judge good judgment?  Does our right hand seek to grasp what does not belong to us?  Even to cast off the things that seem most necessary is good if there is danger of dragging the whole of who we are where we would rather not go.

"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."  Under the Mosaic Law, men had easy access to divorce.  My study bible says this led to misuse of divorce, and hence Jesus repeatedly condemns it (19:8-9).  Christ instead emphasizes marriage as a spiritual union which therefore has an eternal quality.   But Jesus leaves a possibility of divorce on ground of sexual immorality, showing that marriage, like other relationships, can be destroyed by sin, abuse.  In the Orthodox Church, divorce and second marriage are seen as concession to human weakness and corrective measure of compassion in the cases where a marriage has been broken. 

"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."   As is consistent throughout these teachings on righteousness, Jesus emphasizes a personal integrity.  My study bible says that trust cannot be secured by swearing an oath by things that are not in the possession of human beings in the first place.

Integrity seems to be the byword for Christ's teaching about a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees.   This is closely linked to purity of heart, in which one's inward state is mirrored clearly and plainly in the outer.  His prescription for faulty external behavior is to correct the inward parts, impulses and habits that lead to bad behavior, to the breaking of community in some way.  If we begin with Christ's teaching on adultery, He goes to the heart of the impulse to look outside of marriage and seek other partners.  Let us keep in mind from the language of the text that He's addressing primarily men ("whoever looks at a woman to lust for her"), and that when it comes to divorce, Jesus cites the Mosaic Law by saying "whoever divorces his wife."   But regardless of these aspects, the teaching that emphasizes integrity is for all followers of Christ.  He begins with the heart, where our focus has to be.  If lust -- or any form of selfishness, a desire to possess or take what doesn't belong to us -- begins in the heart, then there is where it must begin to be addressed, before it becomes an outward issue.  His prescription for any of our own tendencies which are undesirable for community, and lead to sin, is to directly go to the heart of the problem and "cast it off."  The metaphors to surgical removal of needed body parts teach us that He's quote aware of how difficult this can be.  Our own habits and desires seem like fully a part of us, necessary to identity and the ways in which we think of ourselves.  But what He is also telling us is that this is not so.  We do not really need that which will lead us to destructive behavior, no matter how integral to ourselves they may seem to be.  This is not an easy teaching.  But it does speak to the necessity of understanding ourselves as people with pliable, even "plastic" capacities for change.  It also speaks entirely to the concept of responsibility.  To use the metaphor of removing one's right eye or right hand is not to minimize the difficult of doing so.  And yet, His teaching is that this is the necessary thing to do, it is what is needful.  He moves from the concept of lust to divorce, and emphasizes the spiritual nature of marriage, which in its best and most perfect state is an eternal union.  In this text, Jesus recognizes the difficulties of fidelity, specifically where any kind of abuse or sinful behavior has caused destruction to the union.  But His emphasis is on rethinking the easy or facile nature of divorce.  The deeper consideration is about relationship and community, what makes for loving relation.  This is something we work at, put effort into.  It does not call us to selfishness, but to a kind of practice of consciousness of what we're supposed to be about, a shoring up of the good, and a casting away of what is harmful.  Everything in Christ's teaching is about love in action:  righteousness of this sort is what it takes to build relationships, the foundation and expression of community.  It begins with integrity, and this includes the type of integrity in which our own word might even be as powerful as His.  If our "Yes" is "Yes" and our "No" is "No," then we have achieved a level of integrity in which our very word is potent, and reflects a true personal integrity -- from the inside to the outside.  We need nothing else to swear by if our own integrity is as intact as His example.  This speaks to us clearly against hypocrisy and duplicity.  It teaches us something of an integrity that starts from the care of the heart.  Christ asks us for a careful understanding of ourselves, and a willing participation in seeking an integrity of the self that considers the heart.  He doesn't minimize the difficulties of separating ourselves from habits and proclivities that could lead us into problems, but neither does He minimize the potential for harm a careless life can bring.   Above all, He asks us for mindfulness, and awareness of what we are to be about.  Perfection seems to be contained not in having no flaws at all, but rather being aware that as human beings we're complex subjects -- there will always be a need for mindfulness, a consciousness that things to which we might normally never give a second thought (our"right eye", our "right hand") could lead where we'd be better off not going.  He asks us for a consciousness of discipleship, a commitment to integrity as model for discipline.  Let us bear in mind that as the disciples will encounter greater difficulty in their own and others' circumstances, it is God's help that we are assured is present to make all things possible, and the grace of the Helper He will provide.