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 hi 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 

 

Currently we are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, found in St. Matthew's Gospel.  This week serves as preparation for Lent.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right eye 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.  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 hi 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 comments that, in contrast to the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21), warns us not to resist violence with more violence.  Evil can only be overcome by good, my study Bible notes, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  My study Bible offers a story from the Desert Monks:  A saint of the desert once found his hut was being looted of its meager possessions; he knelt in the corner praying for the bandits.  When they left, he saw that they had not taken his walking stick.  He pursued them for days until he could  give them his stick as well.  When they saw his humility, the bandits returned all to him and were converted to Christ.  

"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?"  My study Bible comments that if we should be freed from hate, sadness, and anger, then we are able to receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies isn't a mere emotion.  It includes decision and action.  It means to treat and see our enemies as the closest members of our own family (see 1 John 4:7-21).  

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study Bible calls this verse the summary statement of all that has preceded it in the Sermon on the Mount.  It says that the Christian can indeed grow in the perfection of God the Father (Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating God's love and mercy (compare to Luke 6:36).  

There are many ways in which Christ's words in this section of the Sermon on the Mount are difficult, particularly in a modern context.  If we walk through a city where homelessness and addiction are common, we're beset by the question of what our money goes to should we loan or give to all who ask (in other words, we might be funding an addiction, something that is not good for the person we're ostensibly helping).   We've all seen and heard of senselessly violent crime, or encounters on a subway, or any number of frightening things we wouldn't want to embrace with generosity.  Be all these things what they are, there is one thing that is made very clear by Christ in His teachings, and that is that we are not bound by what others do in terms of our response to the world.  We are not simply slaves to whatever trespass or bad deed another may do.  Indeed, Christ is suggesting to us that we take a proactive stand for love, that we determine our own actions and initiatives to come through imitation of God the Father, for there is no other command, worldly or otherwise, that can take precedence over such.  And this is where the love of God becomes the determiner for us of what our own perfection may look like.  It is in this kind of freedom, as my study Bible suggests, that we determine what our lives are like, what our priorities are, what we will do in life.  We should approach these teachings by first understanding that "an eye for an eye" was a concept that was meant to limit violence at the time it was given.  All we have to do is read the story of Lamech, and his vengeance of seventy-seven times to understand the picture of a world consumed with vengeance and violence for which the Law of Moses was given.  But Jesus is teaching that even this limited sense of vengeance is not really justice or righteousness.   It's not perfection.  Let us also keep in mind that Christ's teaching on being perfect is also an evolving and growing process of faith within us.  It consists of those steps in our faith practice that must consist of all the ways we shore up and build up our faith and our reliance on Christ.  We do this through prayer, through worship, through all the practices the Church offers us to help us on this way, including traditional Lenten practices such as fasting and making more time for God:  to consider our lives, increase our prayer, emphasize our almsgiving, and all the ways that we might practice such, for they are myriad.  Life is about learning to call upon God to find our way, to see our way ahead as a light in the darkness.  For this world might be very dark indeed if we are betrayed by friends or family, harmed by sickness or ill health, dismayed over cruelties or injustice.  These are the things that make it so essential to find our freedom to choose God's way for us, the time and space to pray, to accept God's version of perfection and not the world's demands we see through social media, or competing narratives of acquisition and triumph.  Let us consider the truly good, and find our way to that kind of perfection.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 5:38-48 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

 

  "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."   My study Bible says that in contrast to the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21), Jesus warns us not to resist violence with more violence.  Evil can only be overcome by good, it notes, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love. 

 

 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?"  To be freed from hate, sadness, and anger, my study Bible says, is to be able to then receive the greatest virtue:  perfect love.  The love of enemies is not a mere emotion, but includes decision and action.  See 1 John 4:7-21.

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study Bible calls this the summary statement of all that has preceded.  The Christian can indeed grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating God's love and mercy (compare Luke 6:36).  

 

What does it mean to be perfect?  Jesus gives us a model for perfection, God the Father.  It is an ultimate yardstick, something toward which to seek to grow, and to learn to grow in likeness to the things we know of God such as Jesus names.  There seems to be a complete emphasis here on an abundance of mercy; that without mercy we don't have real righteousness or justice.  It's significant to remember that when "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was first said as part of the Law, it was given as a limitation to violence.   For context, the Old Testament tells us the story of escalating violence after sin entered into the world, with perhaps a pinnacle reached in the story of Lamech, who bragged that he would take vengeance seventy-seven fold (Genesis 4:22-24).  We might even bear in mind the story of Noah and what it tells us about the sinfulness of the world.  But in the story of salvation we are given Christ, whom the Revelation teaches us is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).  Perhaps one way we are to understand Jesus' teachings here is to recall our ultimate reliance upon God for all things.  In Moses' song in Deuteronomy, an extremely ancient Scripture, we read, "Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them" (Deuteronomy 32:35, quoted by St. Paul in Romans 12:19).  Once again, we turn to Christ the Lord as the One teaching us about establishing community and right-relatedness -- but perhaps most of all we must consider how His teachings leave us room to find the way God would ask us to go in all circumstances.  To withdraw from immediate impulse is to have the capacity to check one's passions or emotions and to seek a way to cope with even difficult circumstances with God's help and guidance.  What Jesus is teaching is a way of life, a discipleship, that entails a lifetime of pursuit, in which we hopefully grow in our own capacity to become more "like Him."

 

 

You shall love your neighbor as yourself

 

 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 

 

In our current reading, Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem.  It is Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life, and Jesus has been disputing with the religious leaders.  Yesterday we read that 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 nether 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 multitudes 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 here that the Pharisees had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures.  They debated about which one was central, so they are inviting Christ to provide His answer here.  Jesus provides the first and second commandments, which constitute a grand summary of the Law.  My study Bible suggests that although the lawyer came with malice to test Him, we know from St. Mark's gospel that this man is converted by Jesus' answer (Mark 12:28-34).  Moreover, my study Bible explains also that the second commandment given here by Jesus needs to be understood as it is written:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself, or perhaps more clearly, "as being yourself."  It notes that this commandment is frequently misinterpreted to read, "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," which doesn't match the true force of the statement.  We are not called to the standard of how we love ourselves as the way we must love others.  We are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are, my study Bible teaches, as being created in God's image and likeness just as we are.  In patristic teaching, we're taught that 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.  My study Bible notes that Jesus asks this question in order to lead the Pharisees to the single logical conclusion; in effect, that He is God incarnate.  The expectation of the Pharisees is that the Messiah would be a mere human being, and so they reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  But David, as the king of Israel, could never, and would never address anyone using the title "Lord" except God.   But nonetheless, in Psalm 110:1, David addresses the Messiah as "Lord," indicating that the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion, my study Bible comments, is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, but is also truly divine -- sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Consequently the Pharisees cannot answer.  They recognize the implications and they are afraid to confess Jesus to be the Son of God. 

 

 Perhaps today is a good occasion to consider this second great commandment that Jesus gives.  It is ancillary but essential to the first.  The first, we recall, is "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  The second is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."   (These are from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.)  My study Bible goes to great pains to explain that this does not mean one must love one's neighbor as much as or in the same way one loves oneself.  (So often we are quite imperfect in the ways we love ourselves!)  But rather, my study Bible explains, we are to love our neighbor as if they are made of the same stuff that we are, of the same nature, created by God in the image and likeness of God.   So often our popular or modern notions of what constitutes "love" seem to evolve to include things that were not necessarily there in the Scripture for its intended hearers.  We have private notions of love that depend closely on what we feel belongs to us, or what we would long for in a mate or a friend or even a child.  But the kind of love that Christ always speaks about is a love that involves definite and particular actions that express compassion.  When this same passage is found in St. Luke's gospel, it is embellished and illustrated with the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  The Samaritan in the story is a model of what it means to love a neighbor "as oneself," even if he's a Samaritan and the victim of robbers whom he helps and cares for is a Jew.  To love in that case was to act as a neighbor, to be a neighbor by doing what is needful and thereby expressing compassion.  When the people who've come out to see Jesus have been with Him into evening and have nothing to eat, He commands the disciples to feed them, and completes this act of compassion (extended from His first impulse to heal and teach); see Matthew 14:13-21.  He illustrates compassion when He speaks of Judgment, in His role as the true Shepherd who separates the sheep and the goats.  He tells those on His right hand, the favored ones, "I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."  (See Matthew 25:31-46.)  These are all illustrations of acts of compassion, and let us keep in mind that it is not simply the specific action that we must fulfill by rote as if we are crossing items off a list to be within the rules of the law.  These are actions that are moved from the heart, from the inner life of a person, the soul.  They are ways in which we love others as if we recognize the same needs, the same substance as ourselves, in them.  They are not abstract, but rather couched within the substance of the first great commandment, a love of God with all one's heart, soul, and mind.   So often we find it is difficult to love people in the sense that we approve or love all the things they believe or do.  But we can nevertheless love by recognizing need and seeking to help fill that need, by having compassion and recognizing in the fulfillment of that need that they are of the same nature that we are, even when quite different in other ways.  There are all kinds of people we wouldn't necessarily want to live with or be with all the time, but we can still recognize the needs we would have in their place, and seek to help.  An act of compassion does not have to be purely material, either.  Sometimes people just need someone to smile at them, or to express a compassion through care in other ways, even simply to be acknowledged with a gaze.  There are myriad ways to express compassion.   It's not a competitive contest to see who can give the most, it's not checking off the box of counting up our good deeds, it's not about our image in the eyes of others.  None of that enters into what Jesus is telling us.  In fact, our act of compassion may quite often be something embarrassing to us, even frowned upon, such as befriending an unpopular person who's not of our nominal group.  Our Lord Himself set this example when He became sin and scandal out of love for us, put to death on the Cross.  Let us consider the meaning of Christ's love, as illustrated by His life and His work among us, and find the simple ways we can live it.

 

So that you can be sons of your Father in heaven

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 5:38–48 

 

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." 

 

  "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."  My study Bible comments that in contrast to the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21), Jesus warns us not to resist violence with more violence.  Evil can only be overcome by good, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring the enemy under the yoke of God's love, it says. 

"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?"  My study Bible comments that if we are freed from the control of hate, sadness, and anger, then we can receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies, it says, is not merely an emotion, but it includes decision and action.  (See 1 John 4:7-21.)  

 

 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study Bible says that this is the summary statement of all that has preceded (See Matthew 5:1-47).  The Christian can truly grow in the perfect of God the Father (Ephesians 4:13; 2 Peter 1), shown by imitating God's love and mercy (compare Luke 6:36).

 

 In the world today we see atrocities on many levels and in many places.  Wanton cruelty seems to be the norm in some corners of the world and for some peoples.  But in this context we must place our trust first where it belongs, in Jesus Christ, in the love of God.  It might be hard to understand, but for every evil thing we see in the world, we should be certain to understand a spiritual warfare that also accompanies that evil.  Where there is participation in hardship and cruelty, in injustice and oppressive, in those who'd make slaves of others or whose abuse knows no bounds, we can be sure there is also demonic activity in tandem.  Just as, as Christians, we seek to participate in the life of Christ through the sacraments and practices of the Church, so do people participating in cruelty and evil participate in the spiritual life of evil -- whether or not they are aware of it.  So, if we take injustice in this context and with this Christian theological and historical understanding, where does that take us?  It takes us back again to St. Paul's teaching in Ephesians 6:12, which is every bit as true today as it was then:  "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."   What this means is that we must accompany our horror and terror at the things we see with a new emphasis on our own spiritual life, on prayer and on seeking God's word and wisdom for how we respond to the things we find appalling.  This does not mean turning away from truth.  It doesn't mean we turn a blind eye to evil.  There is really no time to be given over to unfruitful pursuits that take us away from our awareness of what is to be done.  Are there people we can help who are suffering?  Can we take time for prayer, and remember to take the moments we need for rest and reflection?  Are we supporting what is good for ourselves, our loved ones, our communities?  In this way, we can respond even to what is evil in the world with love, for love is of God.  This does not mean tolerance of evil, nor does it mean appeasement of evil. But it does mean that circumstances call us for active vigilance such as is described in Jesus' prophesies of the end times.  In Matthew 24, Jesus tells us that "because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold."  He ends His prophesy by asking, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods."  So we should ask ourselves what this means, when He speaks of a faithful and wise servant, who rules his household well, and nurtures and cares for the rest of the household properly.  What does it mean today to nurture and care for our household?  Who is our household and what is our household?  Can we nurture our fellow faithful?  Can we give time to show our love and care?  With what do we feed others?  Do we help to give them courage, or do we fall into a sinful despair that also harms others?  Do we find ways to help others to take heart, and take time to do the same ourselves?  Let us persist in our faith, and endure to the end, as Jesus has admonished, for this is what it means to return good for evil, to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect.  Let us remember that each circumstance offers a chance to find His way, and to do as He did.  This is how an instrument of death became the sign of victory and life, the Cross that saves and means Resurrection.  This is how even martyrs give life to community, for they are spiritual heroes, understood in the Church from the beginning.  Let us consider what we can do even in times of evil, for there is more than meets the eye of the world to understand about life and the love of God.  Let us find strength and guidance in the righteousness of faith.

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 to 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 

 

At present we are reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's thrown; 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 comments that in contrast to the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21), Jesus warns us not to resist violence with more violence.  It notes that evil can only be overcome by good, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  

 

 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun to 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?"  My study Bible says that if we are freed from hate, sadness, and anger, then we are able to receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies is not simply an emotion, but rather includes decision and action.  

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study Bible calls this verse the summary statement of all that has preceded.  The Christian can grow in the perfection of the Father (see Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitation of God's love and mercy (compare Luke 6:36). 

What does it mean to be perfect?  And what is perfect love?  Clearly my study Bible states that we can learn to grow in the perfection of God; for Orthodox Christians, the mystical nature of the Church and the sacraments, the effects of prayer, and a life lived in faith reflect participation in the life and energies of Jesus Christ, the grace of God, and the action of God through Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in us and in our lives.  This is a very mysterious process in which our faith plays a role to help us to be transformed in love, through repentance and our own "yes" to God.  So how we are made perfect in love, as the Father in heaven is perfect, to be conformed to the image and likeness of God in which we are created?   In this sense, Christ's summing up of the teachings He has given so far in the Sermon on the Mount reflects our present understanding of Christian theology and our participation in the life of His Church.  But let us ask again, what does it mean to be perfect, and what is perfect love?  There seem to be all kinds of love:  a popular notion would be that love is full indulgence of the desires of the beloved, but then there is also the notion of "tough love" -- that is, what one does out of love that may seem to be harsh or strict with the object of that love has terrible problems with their own behaviors.  I think it's relevant to understand that in the tradition of the Old Testament, God's word to Israel was meant for Israel; that is to say, the focus was on what was required to be a Jew, not on forcing all the world to follow the laws of Judaism.  Here, Christ speaks to His disciples, and He is teaching us what our responsibilities are if we are to call ourselves His followers.  Therefore, these commands are for us.  It is in that context that excommunication is understood:  that there are times when separation from the Church occurs even for the spiritual good of the person who is sinning, in the understanding that all are under God's care, and in hope that separation will help to bring the person back to the love of God (see 1 Corinthians 5:5, for example).  In our modern perspective which seems to orient itself to a kind of consumerism of all things, this may seem strange.  But on spiritual terms -- and within the context of the spiritual reality of God and this spiritual realm that permeates our world -- it is, in fact, a loving gesture if understood and properly administered.   Each of us needs to be reconciled to the love of God in whatever way we have need within ourselves; in fact, in this understanding, repentance becomes necessary to avoid more negative consequences of our own hypocritical behavior, for all is exposed to God.   So love takes on forms we might not necessarily understand are loving if we do not know the context in which love operates, and if we do not understand what is for the higher good of the person who is the beloved.  In all cases, loving action supports life and  nurturing; it does not indulge what is self-destructive and harmful, but neither must it be without mercy and what will work best in the long run.  In short, this command to be perfect is a command for lifelong learning of discernment of what constitutes love, what best serves God's purposes, and retains a focus not on what others are doing, but on our own lives and what it is that we need to do in that pursuit of perfection (see John 21:20-22).  In the modern social context of today, we see a tremendous focus on what everybody else is doing, on condemnation of another's action or choice, be that the support of a political party or some stand on a current issue.  The drive to focus attention on an enemy or a scapegoat, even if only to scare others into line (or to distract from one's own motives), is part of human history and the use of power for as long as history is recorded.    "Cancel culture" is one name given to this phenomenon in one of its forms today; this tendency is nothing new.   But this is not the focus recommended by Christ, not the focus of the Sermon on the Mount.  Let us learn discernment to follow His will and find His way, and practice what He preaches for us all, if we call ourselves His followers.  It is in this way that Christ's light will shine through us, that He asks us to be the salt of the earth, to distinguish ourselves as those who carry His name in the world.

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

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 5:38-48 

 

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which is covered in Matthew chapters 5 - 7.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.  Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." 

 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  But I tell you not to resist an evil person.  But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."   My study Bible comments that in contrast to the Old Testament (Exodus 21:244, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21), Jesus warns not to resist violence with yet more violence.  Evil can only be overcome by good, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  It then relates a story from the desert monks, in which one saint of the desert once found his hut being looted of its few possessions, and knelt in a corner praying for the thieves.  When they left, he saw that they had not taken his walking stick; he pursued them for many days until he was able to give them the stick as well.  When they saw his humility they returned everything and were converted to Christ.

"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?"  My study Bible says that if we are freed from hate, sadness, and anger, we are able to receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies, it says, is not merely an emotion, but includes decision and action.  It is to treat and to see our enemies as the closest members of our own family.  (See 1 John 4:7-21).

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study Bible calls this the summary statement of all that has preceded.  A Christian, it says, can grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating God's love and mercy (compare Luke 6:36).  

Most people don't realize that the injunction of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was actually given in order to curtail vengeance.  It established a kind of justice not simply from a sense of appropriate retribution, but was more emphatically a sense in which it sought to limit severe retribution.  If we look at the Old Testament, we're given a story in which retributive vengeance spirals out of control, to become what we might call the prime problem and eventual outcome of the first murder, when Cain killed Abel.  (See Genesis 4.)   In order to protect Cain, who became cursed as a result, the LORD said that if he were murdered, it would be avenged seven times over, and placed a mark on Cain to prevent his murder.  But by the time we get to Cain's descendant Lamech, he brags in a song to his wives:  "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;/Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!/For I have killed a man for wounding me,/Even a young man for hurting me./If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,/Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold."  Violence has begotten violence, and vengeance has become a way of life.  Genesis 4 ends with the statement:  "Then men began to call on the name of the Lord."  In a world in which violence has spiraled out of control thanks to retribution and vengeance, people begin to call upon the name of the Lord.  This is one way to read the text.   In places where we see out of control violence today, it is frequently due to the presence of gangs in which this sort of ongoing retributive "justice" continues.  Like Lamech, it becomes a type of "honor," a response to what might be seen as insult.  It is the opposite of Christ's teachings regarding our own understanding of our responses to insult and harm.  While the injunctions based on "an eye for an eye" curtailed vengeance for a sense of justice based on aims of restitution (for this is the sense of the Mosaic Law), Christ -- as He has so far throughout the Sermon on the Mount -- gets to the literal heart of the matter by focusing on the heart.   We are asked to consider our own responses to hurt and think about them.  What is the best way to respond?  Do we want to continue a cycle of retribution?  Would we rather put a stop to it with our own actions?  Do we want to try to maintain a sort of peace?  Above all, we should remember that the aim of the Law was community, and in the gospel of Christ the aim is community in which Christ is present within us and among us.  In Luke 17:21, Jesus teaches that "the kingdom of God is within you."  This phrase in the Greek, "within you," means both within and among you, indicating each of us and all of us:  in our hearts and in community.  So we should think of Jesus' teachings in today's reading:  before responding, we turn to that communion with God to find what is best for us.  I don't agree that this is a formula like a new set of rules:  it is, rather, a teaching for communion with God and relationship within community.  It is a sense in which our highest and first loyalty to God creates the community God wants for us.  This might include all kinds of responses such as discernment and discrimination (in the sense of thoughtful measuring), for He has also taught us to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  But the deeper point here is that it is our relationship to the Father that determines our relationship to others, and this must be what we seek in our hearts, the place from which we find response to the world and to the things in it which challenge and hurt us.  One may be surprised at the effects of prayer on those who are hostile to us; it might not make us best friends but it does work to help to bring peace, both within us and among us.  Jesus' teachings also ask us to understand that material things are secondary:  they can be replaced.  Our lives themselves are made of deeper substance; and in true imitation of our Creator and our likeness to Creator we are capable of creating what we need and finding our way through life regarding the material in surprising ways (Luke 12:22-34).  A sense of what we're capable of with God's help gives us a more dynamic than static picture of our material wealth, and how it is used.  We go first to the relationship with God (Matthew 6:33).  Above all, Christ's teachings elevate us beyond the level of retribution to a powerful and dynamic relationship first with God, a participation in God's love, and from there a sense of ourselves which we seek to express in our relationship to the world.  Who are we really?  What do we choose to be?  With whom are we truly in communion?  How do we see ourselves in life?  It takes us out of merely victim status, and into participation, choice, commitment, and the capacity to act in ways that we choose rather than out of mere provocation.  Let us consider the ways in which His teachings liberate us and build up our lives with substance, for He teaches that we are so much more than we think we are, and He gives us goals which are worthy of that true substance.

 

 

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust

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

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

- Matthew 5:38-48

We are currently reading through the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 5.  We began with the Beatitudes, the blessings of the Kingdom.  Then Jesus taught about true righteousness for His disciples, the fulfillment of the Law.  He then spoke of the statute against murder, and the righteousness of His fulfillment.   "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."  As we continue the discussion of the fulfillment of the Law, Christ's righteousness for His disciples, we turn to concepts of justice.   He contrasts the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21), Jesus warns not to resist violence simply with reciprocal violence.  Evil, says my study bible, can only be overcome by good, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  What this requires is discernment, a detachment from the merely "worldly" and a depth of bond to God's love.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?"  My study bible tells us about detachment and self-mastery.  If we're freed from hate, sadness, and anger, we are able to receive the greatest virtue:  perfect love, it tell us.  The love of enemies isn't merely emotion; it includes decision and action.  (See 1 John 4:7-21.)

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  My study bible says this is the summary statement of all that has preceded it.  We grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating his love and mercy (compare Luke 6:36). 

Jesus' righteousness of the Kingdom doesn't merely go "beyond" the Law in a simplistic sense.  What it does is go to the depths of the Law, to the fulfillment of the Law, as He has put it.  The purpose of the Law is a good society, good communion, relationships.  It begins with the love of God, and through the love of God we learn how we are to love one another.  He more or less says this completely, when He tells us, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  We may look at the commands in today's reading and see them simplistically as a formula for being taken advantage of, or for failing to protect ourselves.  But I think that is a perspective that separates His teachings once again into "mere commands" and loses sight of what it is to be a part of a communion, to begin with the love of God the Father and to participate in that love.  Jesus is not calling for us to present ourselves for abuse.  Rather, He is teaching us that our number one priority is focus on God's love and sharing that love.  That love also includes discernment and good judgment, not foolishness.  To detach from merely reciprocal violence is perhaps the wisest thing one can know, because it allows us not only to judge and discern what might be best in all circumstances, but it also allows us time to seek God's way and not merely to react.  That focus enables us to stay within the righteousness of the Kingdom, to live out that discipleship and its priorities, not worldly priorities of vengeance.  It is a different sense of justice to seek true discernment and what is best for community -- no matter what the community.   There may be those who have harmed and hurt us, but in seeing real need even in such a person, we may discover our circumstances strangely altered -- with an opportunity for showing grace.  We hold in mind that God makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  To what purpose for us?  In multiple teachings, Jesus emphasizes that we refrain from vengeance, from reciprocal action and aggression.  This is the most basic teaching we remember, because it sets us free to find wisdom instead, a better way.  In all things, we remember that vengeance isn't ours; that, too, belongs to God (Romans 12:19).  Instead we have the God of love to follow, the One who leads us to discernment and wisdom, the better way.    None of us is born knowing perfectly how to love.  It is a long journey learning to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.  But Jesus shows us the way.

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

 "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 through the Sermon on the Mount, in chapters 5 - 7 of Matthew's Gospel.  We began with the Beatitudes, then Jesus taught, "You are the salt of the earth," "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill," and "Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment."  Yesterday, we read that He 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."   For the Old Testament Law see Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21.  This is a basic description of equal "justice," justice as a debt or trespass to be paid in kind.   And it is important that we know that this was meant to limit vengeance.  If we read the Old Testament carefully, we see that Genesis is filled with problems of human violence and especially retribution to the extreme.  Jesus' fulfillment of the Law comes with a step further, a way out of violence.  My study bible says that Jesus warns us not to resist violence with more violence, and that evil can only be overcome by good.  With such a focus, we stay free from compromise with the devil, it says, and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love. 

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so?"  Jesus emphasizes positive action that is not merely a knee-jerk response to whatever we find in our own environments.  This is transcendence and choice.  It's also a great emphasis on just who is the true Judge, on prayer.  We can pray for the worst of our enemies, even for their conversion.  And the great crux of all of Jesus' teachings really comes down to love, and just what that is.  This is once again fulfillment by going beyond response in kind, to response that goes directly to serving God and our place as those who would please God.

 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."   My study bible calls this a summary of all that has preceded in Jesus' Sermon.  A Christian can grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating God's love and mercy.  (See Luke 6:36.)

Jesus writes here of a basic choice and disposition for how we are to please God.  It's a kind of perspective that elevates us beyond our environment.  If we understand Mosaic Law as a justice that was designed to limit retribution, then we can see Jesus' emphasis on love as taking us into the fulfillment of that Law.  What does it mean to love?  Does love mean that we condone unjust action, violence, exploitation, or bad behavior of any kind?  No, it doesn't.  In "loving our enemies" we don't say that all things and behaviors are good or desirable or appropriate or acceptable.  What this is about is a positive emphasis on knowing who we are and what we serve, and that we are not limited to our circumstances.  Are we the victims of violence, or injustice?  Our response is not limited to the like, "in kind!"  When we pray for our enemies, what we're doing is bringing God into the picture.  We are asking God for direction and guidance, we're asking God for God's peace and justice.  And we seek the response God would have us make.  Jesus' love, throughout the Gospels, isn't just a warm and fuzzy acceptance of all things.  Love is an active kind of God-likeness, and it includes justice and peace.  But it does call us outside of our own limited environments and understanding.  It calls us beyond the strength we thought we had into a greater transcendence.  And it does ask us to see a bigger picture, to be better than the "tax collectors" of His time.  That is the place where we are called in discipleship, we are called to a freedom beyond what the world would tell us, what everybody else thinks, or what someone else has done to us.  We're called to make the best of the lives we have.  There's really only one way to get there, and that is in a bond, a relationship, to the God who's above everything, to Christ who shows us a way through an imperfect world.  Are we up for the challenge of His discipleship?  Can we find that better Way?  Think about what it really means to be children of God.