Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect

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

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

- Matthew 5:38-48

We are reading the Sermon on the Mount.  For the earlier readings, see The Beatitudes,  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,  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, and I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  Yesterday, Jesus continued:  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."  My study bible says, "Jesus warned His disciples not to resist violence with more violence (contrary to Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21).  Evil, and the evil person, can be overcome only by good.  This keeps us free from anger -- from being poisoned by the evil directed against us and its destructive forces -- and instructs others through Christian forbearance.  It brings both us and our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  This teaching does not, however, contradict a state's right to protect its citizens and to punish criminals."

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?"  Again, my study bible helps us with a note:  "Here is another radical command of Jesus:  to love our enemies as a true expression of the life of the Kingdom.  Having freed us from hate, sadness, and anger, He offers the greatest possession of all -- perfect love.  That is a gift which can only be possessed by the one who, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, manifests God's love for all.  Such love calls us to bless, do good, and pray -- even for enemies.  Love of neighbor is the sign of having become a true child of God.  Love is not merely an emotion.  It is a divine grace -- an uncreated divine energy -- which inflames the soul and unites it to God and to other people (see 1 John 4:7-21)."

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study bible tells us:  "This verse summarizes Jesus' teaching on God's standards.  The Christian should grow into the perfection of the Father (Eph. 4:13).  Christ is our guide, and He is able to bring us to participate in the very life of God, which is love."

My study bible focuses in on love as the cause and raison d'etre of all we do and all Jesus teaches us to do.  It's also important to understand and keep in mind that the Mosaic teaching of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" came in response to excessive violence and particularly retaliation.  In the Old Testament, Lamech, a descendant of Cain, sings about vengeance:  "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold” (see Genesis 4).  So, in this sense of a world growing increasingly violent, Moses' command was to limit vengeance to a sort of just understanding of debt.  In that sense, Jesus continues and fulfills the Law by teaching an even higher standard of rectitude.  Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, He taught about the statute on murder, expanding it to include our own actions and thoughts and behaviors that lead to such violence, that perpetrate a kind of violence in the heart (see I say to you that whoever is angry without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment).  Indeed, to teach that to be angry with a brother without a cause creates danger of judgment suggests to us the story of Cain and Abel, the root that leads to Lamech's song of vengeance.  So, once again, the roots of Jesus' teachings on righteousness here are a kind of pointing to the causes of violence, on lack of peace and the things that make for our peace, that are within ourselves.  It is a focus on what we can do, on the things we're capable of doing and being, and not on what others do that we can't change and can't control.  Love becomes the point because it's the essence of being "like God."  Again, as in yesterday's reading and commentary, this is something that involves a lifetime of working at it, what it means to be and to become more truly a disciple of Christ, how we fulfill our baptism.  It's important, I think, that my study bible quotes from Ephesians 4:13:  "Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."  What Jesus' teachings are aiming at, it seems to me, is that unity of the faith that is our aim and our goal as Christians.  Again, it suggests to us that salvation isn't a one-time-only sort of offer with one-time-only deal-breakers attached to it, but rather that we are each a work in progress, and we're given both means by which to measure our own standards day to day as we struggle along the path or way of discipleship, as well as an ultimate goal of perfection, so that we see what we are aiming toward.  When Jesus tells us, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" it's good for us to understand that in Greek, the word for "perfect" has at its root the word for "end" -- meaning complete, fully grown, so that it implies the "full knowledge" of Christ which St. Paul speaks of to the Ephesians.  It's also the word used for "fully grown" in the same quote from Ephesians.  What Jesus is teaching us is about a maturity of discipleship, a way to grow, so that baptism is just the beginning of this journey of faith, and the things of love, the things that make for peace, the ways to be "like Him" are the commands He teaches us.  He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, but His desire is to teach in order to raise us up with Him to be "perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

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

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

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

- Matthew 5:38-48

Over the past week, we have been reading the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 5. We began with the Beatitudes, in which Jesus set out the blessedness of the life of a disciple, then to You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Jesus then taught about the essential importance to the life of the world of this discipleship. Next, He expanded on the commandments of the Law: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." Jesus gives us examples of His fulfillment of the Law, and His commandments. He begins with "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder.'" In yesterday's reading, He taught His expansion on the statute against adultery, and His teachings on marriage: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'" Jesus reaches into the depths of the heart, where adultery begins, and teaches us about the discipline of the inner life. He taught that it was better to cut out some part of ourselves which is faulty, than that this part should demean the whole body. He taught about the union of marriage and its true character. And He taught, finally, about the need for personal integrity: "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away." Here Jesus takes the Law of justice, and expands it with the laws of the heart. It's important that we understand the intent of the law as given by Moses: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was intended originally as a mediating influence on concepts of vengeance. In the ancient world, "justice" could mean depending on private action of family, kin or tribe in response to any sort of violation. Moses gave this law in order to curb escalations of violence in revenge. (For a Scriptural understanding of the state of the world after the Fall, and its escalating violence, see Lamech's song in Genesis 4:23-24.) Now Jesus expands this law that was originally intended as a curb on vengeance. For His disciples, this formula of justice is not enough. Personal vengeance isn't to be indulged. Rather, the law of the heart takes in a deeper place within us, and is about an attitude, a perspective. I do not believe this teaching was intended to tell us that we are to be victims of abusers. Rather, it is an understanding of what it is to have God's peace, the desire to reconcile. Earlier, in Jesus' teaching on the statute against murder, He councils against the cultivation of anger. Here, in the same spirit, we are taught about a disposition of grace in which conflict is not given a chance to escalate. Note that these are at some level actions involving law: the avoidance of escalating private violence, another who claims something of ours is owed him as in a lawsuit, being compelled (as a legal term denoting being pressed into public service), and the desire to borrow or be lent money, which in Mosaic Law was also a part of covenant. In the law of the time, for example, a fine was the penalty for striking another. In effect, it is an enforcement of covenant in community and avoidance of personal vengeance and hence escalation. Taking the whole of Jesus' teachings together, what we understand here is not a recipe for injustice or victimization, but for an attitude of reliance on God, rather than our capacity to force or control.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Again, we go back to disposition or attitude. We also must remember the context of community in the Jewish understanding. In addition, we have to understand the subtlety of His teachings in context of His other teachings: this is not a recipe for masochism. When Jesus sends out His apostles on their first mission, He counsels them to "shake the dust off their feet" in rebuke and leave a town that will not welcome them -- nor hence His message. Jesus' teachings are not to be used as an abrogation of justice, but rather as an attitude of love, a disposition in the world that does not seek out conflict nor desire its escalation. Again, we rely on God and not our own means of force or manipulation for ultimate justice. Consider a prayerful disposition; it waits on God for reconciliation and peace. The attitude Jesus describes here is clearly with the image in mind of our relationship to God first, and from there comes right-relatedness to neighbor.

"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Jesus is counseling in us an attitude of learning to love by learning the love of God. We look toward the reward of God, the spiritual life, and not merely the worldly. If only our own kind is acceptable in terms of common courtesy, how do we rely on the peace of God? To be perfect here is to understand things in the fullness of God's commandments for us, God's message of discipleship and spiritual fullness. In this "fullness" is the fullness of Christ's teachings of fulfillment of all things in the Law, even the least of them. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus will tell the story of the Good Samaritan in response to a lawyer's question: Who is my neighbor?

Let us understand Jesus' teachings in the light of what He will tell us are the greatest commandments, and the summing up of the Law and the Prophets: The first is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. In these teachings, Jesus is quite consistent, and this is displayed in today's reading. All things point first to the love of God, as taught in relationship to God, and from there that love teaches us what it is to be engaged in right-relatedness to others. When Jesus says that this is so "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust," He is teaching us, in other words, the effect of these two great commandments -- and how the first leads to the second. So, in prayer, in our lives in relationship to God, do we give all things to that relationship and ask that we be taught how right-relatedness to our neighbor expresses the will of God? I don't think the potency of these teachings can be overestimated. It is in the Reconciler of all things that we find reconciliation in ourselves, for our lives. It is a recipe for community, for right-relatedness, and for discernment. It is the fulfillment of true justice.