For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven

 

 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

 

- Matthew 5:17-20 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5 - 7.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."  My study Bible comments that Jesus fulfills the Law in Himself, in His words, and in His actions by, first of all, performing God's will in all its fullness (Matthew 3:15).  Moreover, He transgresses none of the precepts of the Law (John 8:46; 14:30).  He also declares the perfect fulfillment of the Law, which He is about to deliver to the disciples in this sermon.  Finally, Jesus grants righteousness -- which is the goal of the Law -- to us (Romans 3:31, 8:3-4, 10:4).  He fulfills the Prophets by both being and carrying out what they have foretold.  

 

"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."  Assuredly is a translation for the word "amen."  Coming from Hebrew, rendered in the Greek αμην/amin.  My study Bible says that this word means "truly," or "confirmed," or "so be it."  Here it's used by Jesus as a solemn affirmation, which is a form of an oath.  Jesus' use of this word at the beginning of certain proclamations (rather than at the end, as in our prayers) is unique and authoritative:  He is declaring His words affirmed before they are even spoken.  A jot (ιοτα/iota in Greek) is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet (it corresponds to the English "i"); a tittle is the smallest stroke in certain Hebrew letters.  So therefore, the whole of the Law is affirmed as the foundation of Christ's new teaching.  All is fulfilled is a reference to Christ's Passion and Resurrection.  

 

"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."  My study Bible comments that righteousness according to the Law is a unified whole.  So, therefore, the observance of all the least commandments is to observe the whole Law, while the violation of the least commandment is considered a violation of the whole Law.  

 

In today's reading, Jesus declares that His disciples will not be able to enter heaven unless their righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees.  According to St. Hilary of Poitiers,  Jesus therefore "bypasses what is laid down in the law, not for the sake of abolishing it, but for the sake of fulfilling it."   Jesus emphasizes here that He comes into the world within a fairly strict tradition, within the lineage of the inheritance of the Hebrew Scriptures and Mosaic Law, and in fulfillment of all that is predicted in the prophets.  According to my study Bible, He is alluding to the fulfillment that will only be completed through His Passion and Resurrection.  There are many places in the New Testament where we read of Christ's fulfillment of prophesy, such as when He cleansed the temple.  In St. John's Gospel, we're told that the disciples came to understand this as fulfillment of the psalmist's words, "Zeal for your house has eaten me up" (see John 2:13-17; Psalm 69:9).  He fulfills the Law through His righteousness, as when He was baptized by John the Baptist, and John wanted to refuse Him, because clearly He needed no baptism of repentance.  But Jesus told the Baptist, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."   Whereupon completion of His baptism, the revelation and manifestation of the Holy Trinity occurred (see Matthew 3:14-16).   It's important for us to remember that in the completion of Christ's mission of the Incarnation, His Passion, death, and Resurrection, this sacrifice is what makes possible the setting right of all things in this world.  Through the Incarnation, Christ defeated death for all of us, and enables us to emerge from the effects of a sinful world into a life of hope, of reconciliation with the Lord, and to enter and participate in His life that He offers to us.  It is in all of this that we understand Christ as the fulfillment of all the aims of the Law, and all the foresight of the Prophets who awaited such a One as Christ.  He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).  He became the suffering Servant and Man of sorrows, humiliated and abused for love of us, even becoming the lamb led to the slaughter (Isaiah 53).  In these and so many ways, He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  But there is more to the story here, as we are asked, as His disciples, to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.  He calls upon us to be like Him, to fulfill the commands that He gives us, and to find His way for us.  For He has gone before to show us the way, and invite us to participate in His life and mission as we can, and enter into the labors of those who came before, and who will come after (John 4:38).

 

 

 

 

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven

 

 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

 

- Matthew 5:17–20 

 

In yesterday's reading from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that believers are like Salt and Light.  He said,  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall  it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men,  that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."  My study Bible tells us that Christ fulfills the Law in Himself, in His words, and in His actions in the following ways:  He performs God's will in all its fullness (Matthew 3:15).  He transgresses none of the precepts of the Law (John 8:46; 14:30).  He declares the perfect fulfillment of the Law, which He is about to deliver to those who listen.  He grants righteousness, which is the goal of the Law, to us (Romans 3:31; 8:3-4; 10:4).  He fulfills the Prophets by both being and carrying out what they foretold.  

 

"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."   Assuredly is a translation of Αμὴν/Amen from the Greek.  It means "truly," or "confirmed," or "so be it," according to my study Bible.  Here, Christ uses it as a solemn affirmation, which is a form of oath.  His use of this word at the beginning of certain proclamations -- as opposed to at the end -- is unique and authoritative, my study Bible says.  Jesus declares His words affirmed before they are even spoken.  A jot (ἰῶτα/iota in the Greek) is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet, while a tittle is the smallest stroke in certain Hebrew letters.  So, therefore, the whole of the Law is affirmed as the foundation of Christ's new teaching.  My study Bible says that all is fulfilled refers to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

 

 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."  My study Bible explains that righteousness according to the Law is a unified whole.  It says that the observance of all the least commandments is to observe the whole Law, while the violation of the least commandment is considered to be a violation of the whole Law.

 

"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."  Righteousness that leads to salvation must exceed that of the Pharisees, my study Bible explains, because their righteousness was outward and works-based.  The righteousness of salvation is the communion of the heart, soul, mind, and body in Jesus Christ.  This righteousness starts with God, but is accepted by human beings in faith.  We live that faith as Christ lives in us and we in Him (Galatians 2:20).  This is an ongoing communion, my study Bible says, in an ongoing, dynamic, and growing life with Christ.

 

 What is this communion with God that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees?  According to my study Bible, Christ is asking here for something more; He's saying that He is the true fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and He repeatedly reiterates the power and authority of the Law, that all of it will be fulfilled.  But in this understanding of who He is, we find Him inviting us into communion with Him, so that we also may fulfill this understanding of righteousness.  Once again, we must revisit the notion of repentance in the Christian sense.  The Greek word for repentance means change of mind.  In common parlance to repent means to address a particular sin, to turn away from it.  But in the true sense of this word in the Gospels and in the tradition of the Church, there is a sense in which repentance is a consistent ongoing process, and it means that we change in relation to our turning to God, to Christ.  In communion then, the objective in this understanding of righteousness is not necessarily that we are looking back on a particular sin and rejecting it, but rather that we seek the kind of fulfillment Christ speaks about here.  We are growing toward something, and this is the ongoing "repentance" process of communion with Christ.  We grow to be more like Him, the One of true righteousness, through a depth of relationship with Him, the proper communion we seek.  This is the key to entering the kingdom of heaven, and its real root is love.  Jesus will teach that the two greatest commandments, summing up all the Law and the Prophets, are as follows:  He said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).  In the tradition of orthodox theology, the word that describes our love for God might sound strange to us, who live in a secular culture in which words have changed meaning over time.  But this Greek word ερως/eros is also used to define a deep love and desire for God, and in this sense of loving God "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind," describes a devotion and passion for God that the commandment indicates.  In this sense, we desire a union with God in the totality of who we are.  When Christ speaks, therefore, of fulfilling the Law and Prophets, we should consider what it means to seek a life pursuing this kind of union with Christ, and the αγαπη/agape (often translated as "charity") love of neighbor that this will lead us toward.  When Jesus speaks of righteousness, it is with a sense of teaching to us this deep-rooted start in love, for God is love -- and from God's seeking us in love, and our responding with love to God, we find the righteousness about which Christ teaches here, that which exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. 

 

 

 

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven

 
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

 

- Matthew 5:13–20 

 

This week, we read through the Sermon on the Mount, in preparation for Lent.  Yesterday we read that,  seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

 

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  My study Bible comments here that salt and light illustrate the role of disciples in society.  Due to its preservative powers, its necessity for life, and its capacity for giving flavor, salt had both religious and sacrificial significance (Leviticus 2:13; see also Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5).  To eat salt with someone meant that people were bound together in loyalty.  To this day salt remains used in chemical processes for its fixative properties.  As the salt of the earth, my study Bible explains, Christians are preserver's of God's covenant and give true flavor to the world.  In terms of light, we know first of all that God is the true and uncreated Light.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible comments, light is symbolic of God (Isaiah 60:1-3), the divine Law (Psalm 119:105), and Israel in contrast to all other nations.  In the New Testament, the Son of God is called "light" (John 1:4-9; 8:12; 1 John 1:5).  Light is needed for clear vision, and even for life itself in this world.  Faith relies on the divine light, and believers become "sons of light" (John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5) shining in a perverse world (Philippians 2:15).  In many Eastern Orthodox parishes, the Pascha (or Easter) Liturgy starts with a candle being presented as the invitation to "come receive the Light which is never overtaken by night."  My study Bible adds of this last verse here that Christian virtues have both a personal and a public function, for our virtue can bring others to glorify the Father.  

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."  My study Bible explains that Jesus fulfills the Law in Himself, in His words, and in His actions.  He does so in the following ways:  He performs God's will in all its fullness (Matthew 3:15); He transgresses no precepts of the Law (John 8:46; 14:30); He declares the perfect fulfillment of the Law, which in this Sermon He is about to deliver to the people; and He grants righteousness -- the goal of the Law -- to us (Romans 3:31; 8:3-4; 10:4).  He fulfills the Prophets both by being and by carrying out what they foretold.

"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."  The word translated as assuredly is literally "Amen."  It means "truly," or "confirmed," or "so be it," my study Bible explains.  Here Jesus is using it as a solemn affirmation, which is a form of oath.  His use of this word at the beginning of certain proclamations -- as opposed to the end -- is unique and authoritative, my study Bible tells us.  He declares His words affirmed even before they are spoken.  A jot (Greek ιωτα/iota) is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet.  A tittle is the smallest stroke in certain Hebrew letters.  So, therefore, the whole of the Law is here affirmed as the foundation of Christ's new teaching.  All is fulfilled refers to Christ's Passion and Resurrection.

 

"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."  My study Bible comments that righteousness according to the Law is a unified whole.  It says that the observance of all the least commandments is to observe the whole Law, while the violation of the least commandment is considered a violation of the whole Law.  

"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."  Righteousness that leads to salvation must exceed that of the Pharisees, my study Bible explains, because theirs was an outward, works-based righteousness.  The righteousness of salvation is the communion of the heart, soul, mind, and body in Jesus Christ.  True righteousness is to live in a state of continual communion with God.  By faith in Christ, we receive God's righteousness.  

If true righteousness is an ongoing communion with God, how do we achieve that?  We first need to understand that Christ came into the world as a human being in order to achieve this level of communion, this righteousness, so that we may be justified by faith.  That is, we live, and may receive an eternal life, a more abundant life, through this communion made possible through the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We partake of His life through the Eucharist, seeking to live our faith and to grow in that faith, deepening a communion that extends through all things, as my study Bible indicates when it speaks of the communion of heart, soul, mind, and body in Jesus Christ.  Jesus' teachings in today's reading give us clues about how this works through our lives in the comments that we believers are both salt and light.  As salt, we bear His covenant into the world, giving the real "flavor" of this righteousness, holding firm in faith to His teachings and living them as fully as we can, in all these ways named.  As light, we seek to reflect His light back into the world, to carry it within ourselves and share it with others, to add such "illumination" to all the things in which we might participate as part of our life's experience and the living of our faith.  In this way, Jesus says, we glorify our Father in heaven -- and so, in that sense also, we become "like Him," we imitate Christ in the living of our faith.  But Christ's righteousness also includes the fulfillment of both the Law and the Prophets; there is nothing left out.  My study Bible calls the Law a cohesive whole; it says that to violate the least Law is to violate the whole of it, and to uphold one Law is to uphold the whole.  In other words, the Law itself can be thought of as something representing communion in its wholeness.  If we recall that Christ's gospel is the gospel of the Kingdom, then we must consider what it means to be a part of a communion -- this communion of the Kingdom -- to step into it through faith, and for it to grow within us (like the parable of the leaven).   So we consider Christ's teachings and begin to understand that there is a depth of communion we're invited into, and the life's journey that our faith is meant to be for us is one of deepening communion.  In a comment on Romans 3:26, my study Bible notes that righteousness by faith is not a one-time declaration or "not guilty" verdict.  We are to understand it as Christ living in us, and we in Him (Galatians 2:20).  So, to be justified by righteousness is to be in communion with Christ in an ongoing, dynamic, and growing life with Him -- developing a deeper reliance upon Christ through our own struggles with faith, insights, a prayerful life, and the practices of our faith.  This is a dynamic that reaches down into the heart and soul and should be lived (as a goal) with every breath.  Let us simply begin with His images here of salt and light, and imagine what it means to live as both, in such a way as to glorify our Father in heaven, becoming a "child of light" through our Shepherd, Christ. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven

 

 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

 

- Matthew 5:17-20 

 

In our present readings, we are going through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

 

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."  My study Bible comments that Jesus fulfills the Law in Himself, in His words, and in His actions by doing several things.  First, He performs God's will in all its fullness (Matthew 3:15).  Second, He transgresses none of the precepts of the Law (John 8:46, 14:30).  Moreover, He declares the perfect fulfillment of the Law, which He is about to deliver to the people as He preaches this Sermon on the Mount.  And finally, He grants righteousness, which is the goal the Law -- to us (Romans 3:31, 8:3-4, 10:4).  Jesus fulfills the Prophets by both being and carrying out what they foretold; a living fulfillment of faithfulness and righteousness.

 

"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."  In the Greek text, Christ's word translated here as assuredly is "amen."  It means "truly," or "confirmed," or "so be it," in the definition of my study Bible.  Here (and elsewhere) Christ uses it as a solemn affirmation; it's a form of oath.  My study Bible describes Christ's use of this word at the beginning of certain proclamations (rather than at the end) is unique and authoritative.  He declares His words affirmed before they are even spoken.  A jot (in Greek, iota, what we might read as the equivalent of the letter "i") is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet.  A tittle is the smallest stroke in some Hebrew letters.  So, therefore, the whole of the Law is affirmed here as the foundation of Christ's new teaching, out of which will be a renewed, new covenant.  All is fulfilled, my study Bible tells us, refers to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.

 

"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."   My study Bible comments here that righteousness according to the Law is a unified whole.  It is not meant to be taken piecemeal.  It explains that the observance of all the least commandments is to observe the whole Law, while the violation of the least commandment is considered a violation of the whole Law.  

"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."   My study Bible explains that righteousness which leads to salvation must exceed that of the Pharisees because theirs was  an outward, works-based righteousness.  But the righteousness of salvation is the communion of heart, soul, mind and body in Jesus Christ. 

As a Jew, Jesus is a faithful Jew.  He has not come to dismantle or to destroy, but rather to fulfill the aims of the whole Law.  The Law (Torah or Pentateuch, meaning the first five books of the Old Testament) is given as a way to gather community, to create and sustain the community of the people of God.  It is meant to give a code of righteousness, a way to build and create right-relatedness with God as the center of the community.  This is why we must have a sense of what the is as a whole concept.  Like other ancient civilizations, this sense of law or code gave definition to a people, and conferred identity and belonging.  This is why it is taken as a whole; where the observance of the least remains an observance of the Law as a whole concept; and a violation remains a violation of a whole in this sense of what is necessary for community.  The system of sacrifices (meaning communal meals) and offerings and the various teachings in the Law are meant for reconciliation and righteousness within the community, and the sustaining of that identity of a people.  For the ancient Athenians, for example, the word that may translated into "law" in this sense is "nomos" in Greek, and it functioned as well to define people as Athenians.  For this reason, at the time of Christ, there were Jews who became Hellenes (as Athenians) and Greeks who became Jews (John 12:20).  So the sense of being one people was much more a focus on this type of code or set of laws that defined the people, rather than the concepts of race we're familiar with.  This is why, in the early Church, this would become an important issue when Gentiles began becoming Christians.  There were those who believed they should first become Jews, whereas St. Paul advocated that this full observance of the Law should not be necessary for those who were not Jews to begin with.  Eventually the very first Council of the Church decided these new Gentile members of the Church should observe these important mainstays of Torah: "they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality" (Acts 21:25).  As for the identity of those who came from pagan societies such as Athens and Rome, this would have to be forged in the light of Christ.  In other words, they retained their identity, but transfigured in the teachings of Christ and through the work of the Holy Spirit.  This is how, for example, we have theology:  those whom we call Church Fathers were fully educated in the classical culture of their time, which included encyclopedic knowledge of science and philosophy.  The applications of Greek philosophy but which served instead Christ the Lord is how we have theology.  In this sense, whatever was good and true and beautiful could serve the Person who was Truth.  In this way, we have a "renewed" covenant, not disparaging or doing away with the old (and our Bibles retain the Hebrew Scriptures), but rather teaching us righteousness and giving us identity as those who also may become "sons [and therefore heirs] of God."  In this understanding, Jesus teaches a righteousness which exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.   As He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, leaving nothing out, so He may become our means of salvation, our center around which we build right worship and right community, leaving nothing out of the salvation plan of God for the world.  In this context it is most important that we see the Eucharist as essential to worship, for through it we participate in His cup and His sacrifice for all of us and for all time.  St. Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).  We are properly to understand it as communion, and communion with God in faith is the foundation of all righteousness.  This is what Jesus will proceed to teach us as He preaches the Sermon on the Mount.

 

 

 

 

You cannot serve God and mammon

 

 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?  No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money also heard all these things, and they derided Him.  And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.  For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.  The law and the prophets were until John.  Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.  Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery."

 

- Luke 16:10-18 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave a fourth parable, which followed that of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin, and also of the Lost Son or Prodigal Son.  Those parables were directed to the scribes and Pharisees who criticized that Christ received and ate with tax collectors and sinners.  But yesterday's paralbe was directed to His disciples.  He said:  "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.  So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you?  Given an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'  Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do?  For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.  I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg.  I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'   So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'  And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.'  So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'  Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?'  So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.'  And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'  So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home."

 

 "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?  And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?  No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon."  My study Bible comments that the test as to whether God will bestow heavenly blessings (true riches) on a person is directly related to how that person spends money.  The money which we consider our own is actually another man's -- that is, it belongs to God, or at least to the poor.  My study Bible adds that in patristic teaching, a person's failure to give money to God's work is universally seen as stealing.  Theophylact calls it "nothing less than embezzlement of money belonging to someone else."

 

 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money also heard all these things, and they derided Him.  And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.  For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."  My study Bible says that the things which are highly esteemed among men include money, power, position, and praise.

"The law and the prophets were until John.  Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail."  We recall that Christ has also said that He Himself did not come to destroy but to fulfill the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17).  He Himself is the fulfillment of both in His being, words, and actions, and it is He who preaches the kingdom of God.  A tittle is the smallest stroke in certain Hebrew letters.  Therefore, my study Bible says, the whole of the Law is affirmed as the foundation of Christ's new teaching. 

"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery."  Jesus cites an example which was actually hotly contested in His time, a source of disputes among the Pharisees themselves.  So in this context, it is an example that is meaningful to them.  Divorce and remarriage at that time also could involve abuse of financial practices concerning a wife's dowry.  My study Bible comments that in contrast to the easy access to divorce under the Mosaic Law, and because of the misuse of divorce in that day, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorce (see also Matthew 5:31-32, 19:8-9) and emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage.  Like all sin, there are forms of abuse that destroy community and relationship, including marriage, but this does not take away from Christ's emphasis and teaching.

We might wonder what Jesus' statement about divorce is doing in the middle of this discussion about money and our use of money ("unrighteous mammon").   As mentioned above, we should note that one issue of divorce involved tricky financial aspects such as a woman's dowry, especially if she divorced and remarried and later return to her first husband.  As the Gospel text notes, money was an important issue for the Pharisees.  But in the context of the Law, it's unquestionable for them that adultery is a violation.  Dispute may center around divorce, and the recognized financial concerns that went with it in the context of that period of time, but about adultery there was no question.  Hence, Jesus makes a clear point here.  One can quibble about the meaning of one thing or another, but in the wider framework He notes the man's responsibility in the marriage and in the context of divorce, and thus adds a deeply serious note regarding the nature of marriage itself.  Looking at today's reading from a modern perspective, we might easily see that just as Jesus calls upon us for a charitable use of our financial resources -- especially within the context of community and fellowship -- so He is also calling upon us to take the context of all of our relationships deeply seriously and within the spirit of charity.  As we give to community, so we also understand marriage to be something worth giving for, and involving sacrifice on the part of both parties.  In this sense, the convenience of money and our use of it does not override deeper considerations of God's understanding of the importance of community and relationships, and the extent to which we make sacrifices in order to ensure a righteousness of right-relatedness, to support community and love.  Taking His words on divorce in context, we may understand from His teachings that there is no greater consideration in making our choices in life than community and right-relatedness.  God's kingdom of love and the drive to salvation becomes an overriding goal that hovers over all of our choices in life, including what we do with our resources and even how we treat our spouses.  We nurture in life the things we put our resources toward.  In terms of the care of the poor, we might consider something as simple as the beautification or building of a Church.  Who benefits?  In a secular world, a public good such as a museum or a place to take children and family might have a costly admission that is impossible for many people.  But in a church, there is no admission, and the poor belong and share in the beauty and blessedness of the Kingdom as well as any wealthy patron.  This is Christ's ideal, and He emphasizes over and over again the need for His good stewards to care for the "least" among them, that this is the job the disciples must learn, for they will be the stewards in His Church, the leaders of His flock.  In an ideal sense, this is the way we may see ourselves as believers and servants who follow.  As He has said elsewhere, Christ's emphasis is on seeking the kingdom of God first, and that all things follow that (Matthew 6:33, Luke 12:31).  This would include our resources of wealth, including our time and attention, and the nurturing of community and relationships, even the close relationship of a spouse.  For the kingdom of God is a blessed way of life, embracing all who truly desire it, and Christ asks us to build our communities and lives upon it.

 

 

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

 

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?

"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore. 

 

- Matthew 22:34-46 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus has been disputing in the Temple in Jerusalem with the religious leaders, the same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

 

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  My study Bible comments by explaining that the Pharisees had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures and debated about which one was central.  So this question is not unusual, and is in keeping with the kinds of debate which were the constant practice among the religious parties of Judaism.  Jesus answers the question by setting forth the first commandment and the second, in terms of rank, which together constitute the grand summary of the Law.  Although the lawyer came with malice to test Christ, St. Mark's account shows us that this man is converted by His answer (Mark 12:28-34).    My study Bible also comments that the second commandment must be understood as written:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself, or more clearly, "as being yourself."  It's a misinterpretation to understand it as "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," which destroys the force of the statement.  It says that how much we love ourselves is not the standard by which Christ is calling us to love others.  Instead, we are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are, as being created in God's image and likeness just as we are.  As the Fathers teach, we find our true self in loving our neighbor.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.  Jesus asks this question to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  The notion that the Messiah may be divine was not one that was entirely alien to Judaism at this time, but my study Bible explains that these men suppose the Messiah to be a mere man, and therefore they reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  It notes that David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "Lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110:1, from which Jesus quotes, David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  Therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The one possible conclusion from this dialogue is that the Messiah is a descendant of David according to the flesh, but is also truly divine -- sharing His Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The Pharisees do not answer because they realize the implications, and they are afraid to confess that Jesus is the Son of God.  

Sometimes it's really hard to face the truth, although it might be staring you in the face.  There may be people within a nominal group who know and understand that the pervasive opinion of the group is wrong, and yet will be afraid to say so, simply because of the public pressure upon them not to rock the boat.  John's Gospel teaches us that "even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43).  I take the Gospel at its word, and I don't find this hard to believe at all.  These are learned men who spend all their time debating the Scriptures; it's the thing to which their lives are dedicated.  There is no doubt that the conclusions one would draw about Christ are all there in His ministry, His acts, His word, His teachings, and commandments.  But here, He debates them on their own terms, and again, there's no doubt who won this round.  It will have to turn to mischief, deceit, false witness, and a fake trial to sentence Christ to something worthy of death (blasphemy), and manipulation of the Roman governor to do so.  Here in open debate, among colleagues for whom debate is everything and where the whole history of Sanhedrin is one of a place to debate the Scriptures and the laws of Moses, there is no more decisive speaker than Jesus.  He's among the lawyers and the experts, the scribes and the Pharisees and Sadducees, all those who belong to the highest places for whom tradition dictates just this kind of debate, and this Man Jesus who's spent His time and ministry among the crowds and the poor and mostly far away from Jerusalem is the One who can out-debate all of them.  He's the One with the wisdom and the insight and the arguments they cannot successfully trounce except through force and manipulation.  But openly among the people they can't do that, so silence becomes their response.  It's clear from the Gospels that there were followers of Christ among the leadership, for we have two great examples in Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea of at least two men who showed incredible courage in doing so openly.  There's no doubt that many would have been convinced that Christ's death was unjust, and certainly the Gospels testify to the people's popular belief that Jesus was a prophet.  But when we read today's passages, we really need to ask ourselves how often we might find ourselves in similar circumstances.  The Gospels don't just give us a sense of something that happened 2,000 years ago, and they don't only testify to Christ.  They also open up for us the story of Christ in our midst, the story of human nature, a revelation of how we respond to truth and how we run away from it.  It teaches us about our capacity for blindness and denial, our need to go along with the crowd, our preference for the "praise of men" over the "praise of God."  Jesus' crucifixion is a lesson to us all not simply about Christ, but about all of us and for all the time.  That's because there may be truth we know, or hate to acknowledge, or are called upon in our own hearts to face -- even and most deeply as part of our faith in Christ -- and we will find ourselves in the same place as the men in the temple who hear Christ's word, who know it is true, and who stand in silence, faced with a decision they will be forced to either go along with or eventually choose differently and disrupt their lives.  This is the world that we live in, and it has not failed to continue to evince all the signs that it's the same world Christ was born into and died in.  We are faced with the same questions of the heart, of the truth, even of God's love pulling us in one direction or another, where the crowds will ask us to go along with things we need to take a closer look at and pray about.  We should not dismay when we find ourselves in this position, for here is the place Christ has opened up to show us, and the Gospels will always pose such questions of loyalty to us.  Where does truth come from?  Where does authority come from?  In whom do we trust and place our faith?  Whose commandments are essentially good, guideposts for how we live our lives?  Do we need the whole crowd to applaud and approve of who we are?  Social media platforms absolutely depend upon our need for crowd approval to keep coming back, attracted to clicks and likes.  There are those who simply like to stir up controversy, or possibly they are doing so for motives that are not open and obvious, even for a special interest -- or, as in the case of these rulers of the people, for political reasons of power.  Whatever it is, we still live in this world into which Christ came as one of us, so that He opened up life for us, showed us His way to live, gave us of His all and even His life out of love.  If we take this gift of Himself that He's given, let us look at our world and understand that He calls us now to the same place His own faithful were called.  We're the ones who decide our loyalty, where He is leading us, what His love teaches us.  What does it mean to love neighbor as oneself?  How does that stem first from the love of God?  And if we love Christ and love the truth, where does that take us in our lives?  These are the questions, and they remain for us all.

 

 

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
 
"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do for you, do also for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:   "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which if you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  My study bible remarks that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are guilty of the same things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  We ourselves have failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  It says that to pass judgment is to assume God's authority.  The second part of this verse -- with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you -- is found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38.  Each is in a different context, as Jesus no doubt repeated this particular message many times. 

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."   Later on in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus will offer a system of mutual correction in the Church as one that is good for the community (see 18:15-20).  So helpful corrective criticism is seen as a good, functional part of discipleship.  But Jesus here qualifies precisely how that works in discipleship.  We are not in a position to help others with correction if we ourselves have not been through the experience of correcting our own mistakes!  A hypocrite is the last thing Jesus wants and the first thing He repeatedly condemns.  It is only spiritual experience which has leavened and taught us that can help us to be wise enough (and humble enough) to help others in an appropriate way.  This requires the fullness of self-knowledge, and a constant seeking to be aware of and mindful of our own flaws.  Otherwise we really do not clearly "see" spiritually.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study bible says that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15).  However, this also includes Jews who do not practice virtue (keep in mind that Jesus is a Jew speaking to fellow Jews in preaching the Sermon on the Mount).  According to patristic opinion, dogs are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while swine are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  Let us keep in mind that in the context of offering helpful correction in discipleship, this most definitely applies to the error of teaching to those who do not desire nor value such spiritual wisdom.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."  My study bible points out that the verbs ask, seek, and knock are present progressives.  This means that they more literally would be translated as "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."    It remarks on the synergy contained in this teaching:  our effort is commanded, but never apart from the immediate help of God.  We ask in prayer; we seek by learning God's truth; we knock by doing God's will. 

"Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study bible comments that human beings are called evil not to condemn the whole of our species, but to contrast the imperfect goodness that is in people (that is, our goodness is mingled with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  It notes that if imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, so all the more will God work perfect good. 

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do for you, do also for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."   This is called the "Golden Rule."  It fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  My study bible calls it a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40).   It's a first step in spiritual growth.  It also reports that the negative form of the Golden Rule ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you") was already well known in Judaism.  But Jesus' form is positive:  this is the action that begins to draw us toward God.

The note at the end of the reading for today tells us that the negative form of the Golden Rule was already known in Judaism.  But Jesus changes it to positive action.  And we can read with consistency this emphasis by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan, found only at Luke 10:25-37.  In that parable, a man -- who is a stranger and foreigner -- takes his own initiative to help someone who is hurt, incorporating the concept of "neighbor" to someone outside of his own community and in effect creates a "neighbor" relationship where there was none.  Sometimes there are times where we can't apply the Golden Rule literally, and Jesus also addresses that above.  If we would invite real spiritual correction (constructive and helpful), that may not be the case with everybody!  Hence, Jesus' warning about giving what is holy to dogs, or casting our pearls before swine.  Not everybody wants what is holy nor the wisdom of spiritual growth and understanding, and it is these of whom Jesus warns to maintain a distance in the context of the teaching.  So at all times what we have with Jesus is neither absolute "rules" to follow to the letter nor do we have esoteric and fuzzy idealistic philosophies or abstract concepts.  Instead, Jesus gives us pragmatic, simple, and wise down-to-earth advice that always bears a hallmark of experience.  And I think this is most important.  Jesus invites us also to discernment with His teachings -- He wants us to truly see and to learn how to perceive correctly.  Moreover, discipleship is a process of growing.  As is often said, our faith is a journey.  Throughout the Gospels, we are given a picture of the journey of the disciples as they become apostles and grow into their roles -- even through painful lessons --  as the pillars of the Church.   We are not simply offered abstract ideals and philosophies, nor are we given legalistic rules.  Our faith is a pragmatic one, which invites us to grow through spiritual experience and work at life in this blessed place of the Kingdom Christ opens to us.  Neither does it have impossible expectations, but rather offers us glimpses of the reality of the human condition:  both what we are and what we can be.  It doesn't flinch from the evil in the world.  It asks us to live and endure and to know for ourselves the Kingdom's blessedness, and to participate in Christ's life and sacrifice and resurrection.  Let us pay careful attention, step by step, and learn in God's love, where God's help is always at hand through it all.  So we ask, and seek, and knock, as He says.  Christ did not come into the world to fix it and be done.  Rather, He invites us into His life and the struggle for faith, with Him.  Above all, these teachings have stood the test of time and have not failed us in their truth.  Let us continue to learn and grow.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

Eucharistic Vine and Doves, 6th century, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  My study bible says that we will be judged with our own level of judgment because we are often guilty of the same things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  It says that to pass judgment is to assume God's authority.  The second part of this verse is found elsewhere as well, in Mark 4:24, and in Luke 6:38 -- but each is in a different context.  The idea of reciprocal expectation is repeated in different contexts, indicating its centrality to Jesus' preaching.  In this case, it's about judgment and criticism.  Jesus' example of the speck and the plank asks us to focus on our own need for repentance and change, before we consider even helping others.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  My study bible tells us that dogs and swine refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2, Revelation 22:15), but also that this would include Jews who fail to practice virtue.  According to commentary from the Church Fathers, "dogs" are those who are so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, and "swine" and those who habitually engage in immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, my study bible says, which include Christ's teachings (13:46) as well as the great sacraments.  It adds that these holy things are restricted from those who are immoral and unrepentant, not in order to protect the holy things, as Christ needs no protection.  Instead, faithless people are protected from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  My study bible points out that the verbs for ask, seek, and knock are given as present progressives, with the meaning, "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."    It notes the synergy involved:  Christ commands our efforts, but never separately from the immediate help of God.  We ask in prayer.  We seek by learning God's truth.  We knock by pursuing God's will.  Jesus says, "If you then, being evil . . .."   In this context, it's not a condemnation of humankind, but rather contrasts the imperfect goodness of human beings (meaning that our goodness is also mixed with imperfection, with sin) to the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  If imperfect or even wicked people can do some good, it says, all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  Again, Jesus gives us a type of reciprocal prescription for behavior; this verse is known as the Golden Rule.  It fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  My study bible calls it a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40).  It adds that this is a first step in spiritual growth.  The negative form of this Golden Rule ("Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you") was already well known in Judaism, but Jesus gives us a positive, pro active form of the rule.  This is the action that draws us toward God.  This Golden Rule is also the principle at work in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

There is an interesting balance in today's reading:  Jesus gives us things we're told not to do, and then positive prescriptions for things we are actively to do.  First, we're warned about judgment.  As is usual for Jesus, there's a message behind this teaching, that's not quite obvious.  We use judgment all the time to assess a situation, or to make a plan.  But Jesus' emphasis here is on self-knowledge -- about the importance of our own awareness of personal flaws.  In other words, the more we focus on others, the less likely we are to understand that we might share the same flaws.  This is a deep psychological insight on the common problem called "projection."  We tend to project our own flaws onto others.  Jesus calls us to a deep awareness of our own need for change, for repentance, and awareness of our own imperfections as focus.  For, after all, even if one is to have a positive effect on others through a constructive kind of criticism, the only really effective way to do that is through a prepared experience of dealing with our own flaws first.  This gives us maturity.  In the context of faith, it gives us spiritual maturity.  The only truly good spiritual director is going to be one with loads of experience regarding their own imperfections and fallibility.  Only then, with such awareness, do we have the real and necessary insight to help others positively to deal with their problems.  Needless to say, the bedrock of Christ's persona, teachings, and gift to us is compassion.  Without this experience, we will lack the appropriate compassion it takes to be really helpful, even if our criticism is constructive and true.  By speaking of the plank in our own eye, Christ cautions that our own flaws  may be many times greater than the ones we see in others.  Then we are given another negative teaching:  do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not cast your pearls before swine.  This is important to be taken in the context of giving advice or being helpful to others.  There is meant to be a great caution against investment in those who are not ready to hear what we are offering.  This follows in the subject of "constructive criticism" or spiritual direction, and how we approach others with our faith.  Jesus tells us there are those who are simply not ready to hear it, those who cannot hear it, and those who will respond with rage and abuse to what is truly beautiful -- the spiritual teachings He offers.  He is warning us about the realities of the spiritual life:  that it is not up to us to "save" everybody.  In fact, we cannot do so.  He couples the sobering, reality-based understanding that we may have hidden flaws which are not only greater than the problems we see in others, but also that we must look carefully before we offer the beauties of spiritual life, insight, and faith to those who will not responsibly accept what is offered, and who might be incapable of doing so.  In the context of discipleship, we must keep in mind that Jesus speaks to those who would follow Him, and for whom evangelism will be an important piece of their own lives on some level.   Then the positive commandments come.  In the context of what He has already taught, we are all told that we must keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking.  Our spiritual life is meant to continually grow.  In this way, we will come to know ourselves better and our own flaws, so that we can practice repentance on deepening levels.  We will come to know the pearls found in our own faith more truly and deeply, and be able to live them and put them to work in our own lives.  We are continually to seek expansion within our faith and spiritual life.  So important is this teaching, that He includes a depth of promise in emphatic ways:  our Father in heaven loves us so that if we cannot imagine a good worldly father refusing such effort, we know our heavenly Father will surely respond in turn with positive reward, and opening to greater, deeper personal growth in faith.  Jesus ends with the positive and proactive teaching known as the Golden Rule.  What we would like in our lives for others to do for us, so we are to do for others.  It is a reminder that the righteous life is a choice, one in which we choose to engage and actively participate.  Let us remember both His warnings and also the things Christ exhorts us to do!  When there is seemingly nothing before us, we are always to keep asking, seeking, and knocking -- and to practice proactively His Golden Rule.  This is the way of life He teaches to us to do.

Go and do likewise

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

- Luke 10:25-37

Yesterday' we read that the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  Importantly, these are the two commandments named as the "greatest commandments" by Christ when asked (Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-34).

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  My study bible says that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  On the other hand, it notes, Jericho was renowned as a place of sin (see 19:1).  To fall among thieves, it adds, speaks to the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).  So often our indulgence in what we know to be wrong leads us to cheat ourselves.

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  Some have commented that these prominent religious figures in the story are following prohibitions on the touching of bodies or blood.  My study bible comments that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds do not accompany them.  It quotes Cyril of Alexandria:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That the priest and the Levite do not help the man also indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."   The Samaritan is a despised foreigner, an outsider, a stranger.  As one with compassion, he is also an image of Christ.  My study bible cites John 8:48, commenting that this figure is like Christ who "came down from heaven" (Creed) to save even those in rebellion against Him. 

"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'"  There are sacramental images contained here, which my study bible gives in the following explanations.  In the bandages, there is an image of the baptism garment, which gives us remission from the wounds of sin.  The oil of chrismation gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  Wine symbolizes Christ's divine Blood which leads to eternal life.  That the Samaritan put the wounded man on his own animal suggests Christ bearing our sins in His own body.  The inn is like the Church, often likened to a hospital, in which Christ's care is received.  Christ pays the price of that care (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). 

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Here is an absolute crux of Christ's teachings to us:  that it is we who must take the initiative to follow His commands, to go and do likewise. 

The parable of the Good Samaritan appears only in Luke's Gospel.  It is the beautiful illustration of the commandments cited here by the lawyer, upon which Christ has said "hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:40).  But here in the illustration of the parable, Jesus takes the Law and the Prophets further, to mercy.  In the ancient world, the base of all healing balms (and the costly perfumes we read about in the Gospels) was olive oil.  This is no doubt the base for the oil used as healing unguent by the Samaritan in the story.  In Greek, this word is ἔλαιον/elaion.  The word for mercy is ἔλεος/eleos.  In Greek, with the exception of the final letter (which indicates gender or neutral object), these words for "olive oil" and "mercy" sound exactly alike.  In the oil of chrismation, symbolizing the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, we have the perfect symbol for mercy or grace -- and so we have the unmistakable parallel given to us in this parable in Luke.  So what does it mean that Christ calls us to "go and do likewise"?  He is teaching us to take the initiative to follow His commands, to be a neighbor.  It's quite similar to His instructions in the Sermon on the Mount (and in Luke, in the Sermon on the Plain; see this reading).  When Jesus preaches that we should "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you," what is this but a call to initiative?  He gives us dramatic statements to indicate that we must not simply follow the crowd, but rather follow the commandment for loyalty to God first, and the expression of that love extended to others.  In the story of the Good Samaritan, the very notion of "neighbor" becomes something Jesus says is something we are capable of initiating ourselves through our loyalty and love of God.  Like so many of His complaints against the religious leadership, the story also speaks against religious prohibitions that exclude the practice of mercy, such as when He asked certain scribes and Pharisees, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"   Let us note here that, similarly to that incident, Jesus speaks to a lawyer who knows full well the Law, and obviously takes its practice seriously.  If we are going to follow Christ regarding His urging us to the practice of mercy, how will we take an initiative where circumstances or surroundings do not lend themselves to such practice as common?  Where do we begin, and how do we begin?  What is grace, but an extension of a kind of hospitality?  Let us note more meanings hidden in the text here, as even our English word "hospital" is evolved from the Latin word for inn -- hospitale.   Christ seems to be asking us to allow our love for God to draw us out of the crowds, from being mere followers, and to create a kind of leadership among His followers which is based on the initiative of the practice of mercy.  He asks us to allow our love of God to take us beyond what we already know.  How can you extend this in your life?  To what conclusions does it lead you today?  In a world which seems only to ratchet up its desire for hostility, how does an act of mercy stand out among the others?