Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?

 

 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. 

 

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"   So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

- Matthew 19:13-22 

 

Yesterday we read that after Jesus taught the disciples about the essential importance of humility, mutual correction in the Church, and forgiveness, He left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

 

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.   My study Bible reports that, according to Theophylact, the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and because they thought children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."   But Jesus rejects this thinking, setting little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, in the Orthodox Church, children are invited -- even as an example to adults -- to participate in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion.  In another commentary (on Luke 18:15-17) Theophylact describes little children as the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God.  He writes, "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."

 

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"   So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."   My study Bible comments that this man does not come to test Jesus (unlike the Pharisees in yesterday's reading -- see above -- who came to test Him with a question on divorce).  This man, on the other hand, has come to seek advice from one he considers to be no more than a good Teacher.  Jesus' response here doesn't deny that He is God, but rather is designed in order to lead the man to this knowledge.  

 

He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"  My study Bible comments here that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  Here, this man had an earnest desire for eternal life, but he sensed that he still lacked something.  So he continues to press Christ for an answer. 

 

  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  To be perfect, according to my study Bible, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  There is nothing gained except that this sacrifice is made freely.  The specifics of how one will do this will be different for every person in following Christ.  In this man's case, wealth had a great grip on his life.  Therefore Jesus teaches him that his hope is to sell and give away all his possessions.  St. John Chrysostom says that giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.

 

 Earlier in St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has made several references to amputation, or self-mutilation.  These are analogous to the concept of separating from ourselves habits, proclivities, personal choices, forms of passion that get in the way of our salvation, of our union with Christ.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of the statute against adultery, but took it further in His teachings to speak about the lust that leads to adultery.  In this vein, He taught, "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart," indicating to us that there is a chain of events in terms of the breaking of a statute or law.  Then He told the crowd of His disciples, "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" (Matthew 5:27-30).  As we commented on that, and subsequent passages in which Jesus used the same analogy for decisive personal action to prevent sin, Jesus speaks of an eye that looks with lust or covetousness, or a hand that reaches where it shouldn't go. He used the same type of illustration to speak warnings against abuses of "little ones" in the Church as He taught the disciples about leadership and greatness in chapter 18.  He warned, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."  And again, to illustrate the serious point about cutting off personal impulses that lead to violations or offenses, He said, "If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire" (Matthew 18:6; 8-9).  His focus is on our internal state as prevention of sin, so that we deal with our passions which lead to sin before the violation of a commandment of religious law.  In this light, we must examine His teaching for this rich young man who comes to Him in earnest, whom St. Mark tells us Jesus loved in giving him the advice we read today to give up his wealth (see Mark 10:21).  To emphasize the point regarding the internal life in the previous passages we've cited, we note that this rich young ruler has followed the commandments of the Law all of his life.  But Jesus finds something hindering his entrance into the kingdom of heaven, an attachment to his wealth that will prove a stumbling block to following Christ in all things.  We don't know why this wealth is a problem; this is not a moral lesson.  This man is doing nothing immoral with his wealth, and Jesus does not condemn owning wealth as sin.  But his attachment, his passion for what he owns, is a stumbling block to eternal life.  Perhaps, as he's called a ruler, he's one of the powerful families in Jerusalem, and his wealth is connected to family and social status and personal identity so that it's like removing an eye or hand or foot to part with his wealth.  But nonetheless, this is what Jesus calls on him to do.  Regardless of how little or how many possessions we have, we can understand the difficulty in being told to give away all that we have.  However, as St. John Chrysostom says, that is the easier part; the harder part is afterward following Christ in all things, as many monastics have sought to do.  The real aim here is the kingdom of God, and the eternal life Christ preaches, His gospel, and how we find it.  Out of love for him Jesus has taught this young man to give away his wealth to the poor, and follow Him.  It is another kind of illustration of the decisive and difficult action we may be called upon to take to follow Christ's path for us, to separate from ourselves the things we might even cherish but which nonetheless hold us back, keep us from the life He offers to us.  Let us take this sobering example to heart, for the Cross is for all of us; it just comes in different forms for each.  But it is the way of Christ, the way we need out of this worldly life to the one He offers us, the treasure in heaven He promises.

 

 

 

 

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 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 our 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.'  Bu 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 contrasts this passage with passages from the Old Testament which Jesus quotes here regarding justice:  Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21.   In Christ's New Covenant, He warns us not to resist violence with more violence.  Evil can only be overcome by good, my study Bible comments, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  My study Bible tells a story of one of the desert saints:  He once found his hut being looted of its few possessions. His response was to kneel in a corner praying for the bandits.  When they left, he saw that they had not taken his walking stick.  The monk pursued them for days until he could give them his walking stick also.  Seeing his humility, they gave everything back to him, and were converted to Jesus 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 writes that this passage teaches us to be freed from hate, sadness, and anger, for then we are capable of receiving the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies isn't just an emotion; it includes decision and action.  It is to treat and see our enemies as the closest members of our own family, my study Bible says (see 1 John 4:7-21).

 

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."  According to my study Bible, this is the summary statement of all that has preceded.  The Christian can indeed grow in the perfect of the Father, it says (see Ephesians 4:13), which is shown by imitating God's love and mercy (compare Luke 6:26).

 

Jesus' sermon (or rather, this particular passage from the Sermon on the Mount) today really encapsulates a sense in which that love is the Law of God, the law of the Kingdom that He seeks to bring into the world.  Clearly we are not meant simply to accept that this is His way, we are meant to live His way.  We are meant to fully participate in this law of His Kingdom  in our practices, lives, and daily behaviors.  On the other hand, in this same sermon Jesus will preach to His disciples, "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" (Matthew 7:6).  How do we reconcile these two seemingly very different teachings?  The answer is found in love, in our understanding of what love is, what it teaches us, and how Christ as the example of love, leads us in that understanding.  Love is the act of caring for others, of wanting good for them, having compassion.  But we so often confuse love with indulgence, even with admiring flaws in ourselves or others, condoning everything.  But this is not Christ's love.  The man who would teach us to cleanse our hearts of lust and anger, who would teach us that our notions of blessedness are not simply about getting whatever we want in life, is certainly not practicing the kind of love that accepts all behavior as "good" or indulges every whim or emotion.  This is an entirely different notion of good, because it is a love that wants us to be close to Him, a part of His kingdom, and perfect on the terms of that Kingdom as the best we can be -- our highest good.  This is what Christ's love does and teaches.  If a parent has a child with a healthcare problem, staying home from an uncomfortable visit to the doctor would not really be the loving thing to do.  In the long run, wishing the good for a child would be to find ways to heal.  Showing a child love is teaching them to care properly for themselves, including self-discipline, not leaving them as immature or infantile.  So Christ also prepares us for our future, for participation in His kingdom, and our growth therein.  Today's passage stands notions of justice on their heads, in some sense, because Christ is emphasizing the need to practice love at all times, to be "like God."  Compassion is always called for, and it's important to remember that all that He teaches us comes out of a sense of love.  So, therefore, here He is teaching His disciples to be and do the same, and this must be particularly true of their behavior among one another, in His Church.  Perhaps the surest way to turn a vulnerable person away from the Church is to fail to heed Christ's teachings about the necessary practice of love.  In this Christ is consistent when He warns of woes to come to those who cause offense to the little ones in His Church (Matthew 18:7).  Once again, today's passage emphasizes that we are brought into communion with Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, so that we might become more like Him. We're taught first to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and this leads us to love of neighbor "as ourselves."  Presumably if we are truly disciples of Christ, we don't simply want to drown in our own errors and shortcomings, but love teaches us how to go forward, how to become better, and more like Him as we can.  So to love one's enemy is not simply to praise all that they do, or to approve or embrace it.  It is to practice the love of God as best we can discern by loving God -- Christ -- first and seeking to live the life He asks us to in all circumstances.  Christ says, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." We are to seek to know God's love by returning it and growing in it; from there we learn what it is to love neighbor.  Let us learn to be that kind of perfect.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me

 

 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on the and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on the and departed from there.  

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

- Matthew 19:13-22 

 

On Saturday we read that it came to pass, when Jesus had finished His sayings on mutual correction and forgiveness in the Church, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

 

  Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on the and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on the and departed from there.  My study Bible comments that the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and also because they thought that, according to Theophylact, children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  Jesus rejects such thinking, and sets little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.  (See also the readings from Wednesday and Thursday of last week regarding "little ones.")  Therefore, my study Bible notes, children are invited -- even as an example to adults -- to participation in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion.  

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."   My study Bible comments that this man does not come to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from one whom he considers to be no more than a good Teacher.  Christ's response is not to deny that He is God, but designed to lead this rich man to this knowledge.  

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  My study Bible notes here that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  This man had an earnest desire for eternal life, but sensed that he still lacked something.  So, therefore, he continues to press Jesus for the answer.

 

 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  In order to be perfect, my study Bible notes, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  There is nothing gained except this sacrifice is freely given.  The specifics of how one will follow Christ, however, will be different for every person.  In this case, wealth had such a grip on this rich young man that his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  According to St. John Chrysostom, giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.  

In tomorrow's reading, we will receive Christ's response and teaching to the disciples regarding this episode of the rich young ruler who seeks eternal life.  In it we will read Jesus' rather astonishing response regarding the pull of wealth, which will astound the disciples.  But for now, let us focus on this young man who comes to Christ with what seems a very earnest seeking for eternal life.  Although the young man does not understand that Christ is divine, he calls Him a good Teacher, which expresses sincerity.  But the great stumbling block here is his possessions, which are great in the description of the Gospel.  Although it is possible to read this passage as if Jesus' pronouncement that the young man must sell all his possessions and give to the poor is something standard and almost flippant, it is really nothing of the kind, as my study Bible and patristic commentary notes.  In Mark's Gospel, we're told that Jesus, "looking at him, loved him," before giving this teaching (see Mark 10:21).  Therefore this teaching to the young man is given by Jesus with love, and what we can understand as the deepest insight for him.  So the emphasis falls here on the type of hold that wealth can have on us, and also that in this case it forms a stumbling block to the young man's salvation, his hope of eternal life for which he asks.  Let us begin by noting that once again Jesus speaks of an exchange here.  He counsels this young man to sell what he has and give to the poor so that he will, instead, have treasure in heaven.  This is an important sense of exchange for each of us in our lives, for it is what taking up our own crosses means.  We make a sacrifice of the things that stand in the way of our own salvation, and in so doing receive the things of the Kingdom, treasure in heaven.  In this case, as my study Bible explains, wealth has such a grip on this person that it will form a stumbling block, and indeed it does, as this young man goes away sorrowful at Christ's teaching, unable to accept it.  We can surmise perhaps that, as we know he is young, his possessions are a hint that he comes from one of the wealthier landowning families, and therefore is connected through family position within the temple and the society.  Therefore his identity is at any rate -- as we can see from his response -- bound up with his wealth.  He considers it too far of a sacrifice for him, even for eternal life.  Possibly Jesus gives him this counsel because in the Church, there will eventually come a time when all of Christ's followers will be persecuted by the religious leadership, and they will necessarily need to make this kind of hard choice to remain in the faith, and part from what they know.  For even the nation, in this sense, will reject Christ at His trial before Pilate.  These are -- or rather they may be for each of us -- the kinds of hard choices that appear for us in following our faith, and therefore taking up our own crosses in order to follow Christ.  These are the sacrifices that come up in a life of faith, where whatever we are asked to sacrifice acts as an attachment and stumbling block to following in faith.  As my study Bible indicates, these things will be different for every person, and can involve just about anything.  But the key, as with this rich young man, is our attachment to them in opposition to the way Christ would ask us to go forward in life toward a deeper communion with Him and the life He offers and asks of us.  In the Bible, we can read of the sacrifices the disciples will undergo themselves as they become apostles and pillars of the Church, having to choose between the deepest ties of earthly life and where they will go as Christ's servants.  Jesus asks of us personal sacrifices in terms of our own habits and proclivities to selfishness as well (see this reading, in which Christ uses the example of amputation necessary to save the whole body).  For these are the ways in which we are transfigured in the image He offers us, to the person He calls us to become more truly as our Lord.  Let us consider how the sacrifices we might be called upon to make draw us more closely to Him and to the life He offers, to treasure in heaven, to more closely following Him.   Note that the young man has already made a great discipline in his life of following the commandments, and this one given by Christ is that which is given if he desires to be perfect.  Perhaps it is an example to us of Christ's teaching, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:48).  But then again, Christ has asked the disciples, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"    Today's reading suggests that we must each ask ourselves this same question.

 

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."

 

 

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.

 

 

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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught (as we read through the Sermon on the Mount):  "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, which keeps us free from compromise with the devil and can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  There is a story from the desert fathers it reports in which bandits were robbing a monastic hermit of his few possessions.  He knelt in the corner of his hut praying for the bandits.  When they left, the monk realized they had not taken his walking stick, and he pursued them for many days -- until he was able to give them his stick as well.  Seeing his humility, they returned everything to him and were converted to Jesus 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?"  If we are freed from hate, sadness, and anger, my study bible tells us, then we are able to receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.  The love of enemies isn't simply an emotion.  It also includes decision and action.  It is to treat and see our enemies even 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.  The Christian can grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13), just as we are called to grow in virtue through discipleship and with the help of the Holy Spirit and all the rest of divine help available to us, especially through prayer (see 19:26, in which Jesus says that "with God all things are possible").

While we all may not be able to assume the type of humility that a monk of the desert once did (and quite frankly that may not be advisable with more hardened cases of criminal environments), we can pray for our enemies.  And I must say that, given my own particular experiences, it is surprising what prayer can do.  We should all remember that regardless of what types of interactions we have physically with other people, we are to understand that there is a communion of saints that teaches us about a reality beyond the merely physical.  We are human beings composed not simply of material bodies but also souls and spirits -- and prayer reaches most deeply into each of us.  It's like a connection that exists at our depths, because prayer reaches through a spiritual world to each.  St. Paul teaches, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27).  What this means is that even in our prayer, everything is not simply up to us, and we have spiritual help even to pray when we don't know how to.   At the depth of the heart, and with "He who searches the hearts," we have a kind of communication that surpasses everything else, and touches into the depths of each.  The outcome we desire in others may not necessarily be their changed behavior, but we will know the difference in our own capacity for forgiveness and the freedom that results, even if we must remain separated in circumstances that would otherwise simply cause further harm or more damage to relationships.  What is important, it seems to me, in Jesus' teachings in today's reading, is the standard of love.  We might think that love can be narrowed down to some simple rules, but in my opinion and experience, love in its expression can be as varied as there are human beings.  Love isn't just an emotion, as my study bible says, but it is any number of actions, including prayer and forgiveness.  It might be an attitude of nurturing, or perhaps of guiding and even correcting.  We all have heard of tough love, in which a particular problem is addressed even by enforcing distance and withholding the means, for example, of feeding a destructive addiction.  Therefore we ought first pray to understand and know and to grow in love in God's sight, and the kind of wisdom in knowing how to love that only God can teach us.  None is born perfect in knowing love, but this is precisely why Christ is Incarnate in the world.  His mission is to teach us love and to expand our understanding of what that means.  The Holy Spirit and all the divine ministering help available to us, including in the Church, is meant to be with us to help us grow in the wisdom of love.  This is not a simplistic formula Jesus is giving us.  Rather it is a teaching that love is really the answer to all of our problems, if we but escape from popular ideas of what that means, and delve deeply into the heart where we must realize that above all love wants the good -- even if that means teaching someone what is right when they don't necessarily want to hear it or know it.  Indeed, we might truly see God correctly when we come to understand that the entire message of the kingdom of heaven which Jesus delivers in the Sermon on the Mount is, in fact, a teaching about love and what it is and does, and what it really looks like in us.  That is indeed a lot to ponder, and takes a lifetime of constant learning and discipleship.  Most of all the teaching regarding our enemies is a key not only to resolving problems but also to understanding Christ's life and especially His sacrifice for all of us.   We think we can resolve problems by an equal fight, "an eye for an eye."  But so often we will find that, especially through prayer and with God's help, there are more creative and insightful solutions, which sometimes demand sacrifices from us in God's mysterious way.  We might find things take longer to resolve than we thought -- and apparent simple "justice" is not the way.  But there is one way we seek:  God's way, if we but have the patience, the creativity to think outside the box and be led by our faith, and the internal resources and trust to find a way forward out of something which we did not expect.  God's love is such, I have found, that God teaches us God's idea of good, expanding our capabilities for understanding -- and that can be far different from what we though was good or what we originally wanted.  I once went through severe and disappointing harassment on a job.  Rather than being able to correct the wrongs being done, in the end I left a job I loved.  But that set me out on a long journey of learning new skills and developing talents and opportunities I never would have pursued or assumed possible otherwise, with God's help and encouragement through prayer.  It also set me out on the road of faith.  We are on a long learning curve of love; let us be patient with Christ's ways through all things. 

Love your enemies

Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 6th century

 "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 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 chapters 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 says that Christ's preaching here contrasts with certain sayings in the Old Testament; namely Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21).   These statements in the Old Testament prescribed an equal response to violence; but Jesus warns not to resist violence with more violence.  It's important to remember that these statements in the Old Testament were actually seeking to limit levels of reciprocal violence (see Genesis 4:23-24).  An ancient anonymous patristic comment on this passage cites that the fear of losing an eye or limb was meant to deter such violence altogether.  So Christ's earlier statements about righteousness and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets are effectively continuing through this teaching.  Christ teaches, in the words of my study bible, that evil can only be overcome by good.  This keeps us free from compromise with the devil, and it also can bring our enemy under the yoke of God's love.  It cites a story of the desert monks, in which a monk found his hut being looted of its few possessions.  He knelt in a corner praying for the bandits.  When they left, he saw they had not taken his walking stick.  He pursued them for many days until he could give them his walking stick also.  Viewing his humility, they returned everything to him and were converted to Christ.   While we may not all be in a position to emulate the monk, to immediately turn to God in inward prayer when we are confronted with any form of violence or harm to ourselves or others is something we can always choose to do -- and to seek first God's wisdom, guidance, and protection for our conduct in response and continually afterward.  Let us note that this teaching is not simply about violence but also about other forms of trespass or unjust demands.  All are met within the same framework.

"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 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 hate, sadness, and anger, then we are able to receive the greatest virtue, which is perfect love.    Love of enemies is not simply an emotion.  It denotes decision and action.  Christ's words encourage us once again to a prayerful attitude to all that comes our way.  Seeking to forgive ("let go") may be understood as giving all things up to God, and seeking God's will for ourselves in and through all things.  With such an attitude, we may find a kind of peace in remembering where it is we truly stand, and placing all things under that God's umbrella --- a fitting metaphor for sun and rain.

"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  We may grow in the perfection of the Father (Ephesians 4:13), shown by imitation of God's love and mercy.  In Luke 6:36, Jesus teaches, "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."  Whatever the true meaning of this statement, it calls us to act in accordance with God's will to the best of our capacities; we seek that will always through prayer and through the "giving up" of all circumstances to God for guidance, wisdom, reconciliation, and peace within ourselves if at all possible.   Let it be understood, as well, that this command easily denotes an ongoing process, even of change and personal transformation, and without time limit.

So how can we be perfect like God is perfect?  The early patristic writers were greatly concerned, in their comments on these passages, with how to limit evil.  That is, how do we promote the good?   For the most part, there is a great deal of commentary on saving the good.  By participating in revenge and retribution, even the good may find itself becoming a part of what is evil, perpetuating and participating the things that bring pain and destruction to community, to relationships.  An unjust suit, a slander, claiming things that belong to others for oneself, and varied forms of violence against another are all evil.  But our response has to have a higher consideration than simply retribution, which may resolve nothing, and simply make the problem grow.  To give things up to God -- that is, to put all things under the yoke of God -- is to give consideration to the understanding that we live in response first to our relationship with God, and seek to put all of our lives under that perspective.  In the next chapter of Matthew, Jesus will give us the "Our Father," known as the Lord's Prayer.  In it, He will teach us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  This word for forgive is to let go, exactly the same language one would employ in letting go of a financial or material debt.  We are given a formula for releasing to God the injustices that evil imposes in life, and then seeking God's way for us as response.  This does not teach us that we are simply subject to any abuse, or that any and all suffering is simply acceptable.  Neither has it been understood from the early Church that any demand made upon us was acceptable.  Theodore of Heraclea comments that Christ did not command us to give to everyone who asks without exception, for that is impossible.  Neither are we told to give to those with a bad motive -- for that donation will go to evil things.  Nor are we simply to accept any burden imposed upon us.   In chapter 1 of the Didache we read, "Let your alms sweat in your hands, until you know to whom you should give."   It indicates moreover that there is a chance that to give to some may actually harm them in the long run.  These teachings are meant, quite simply, to give us a sense of the pursuit of God's justice and not earthly justice.  That is, we respond to a higher and greater calling, one that is beyond our own capacity to fully grasp or to understand.  We are to "let go" of all things to God, and to rely on God's justice -- even if that means a justice deferred to the greater reconciliation of the fullness of time -- as we seek to participate in something for the greater good, for the ultimate good, which concerns far more than merely ourselves and our immediate circumstances.  It, in all ways, takes us away from selfishness as sole consideration for our lives. We will all have forms of injustice in our lives.  What Christ asks us for is not perfection in the sense of perfect justice, but perfection in the sense of imitation of God our Father.  Through His Passion, suffering and death, and Resurrection, Christ gives us a sense in which we, also, may participate -- through our own injustices in life -- in His life.  We do as He did, we give all the elements of our lives up to God, and seek God's will and God's justice, even when that may be hard to understand or explain.  Christ gives meaning to suffering through His life, death, and Resurrection -- and so we are to follow and do the same.  In effect, He transfigures suffering.  When we bear a cross in life, as did He, we might find life doesn't return to the same, but we look toward Resurrection nevertheless.  In the long run, what may seem like injustice is, after all, the mercy of God giving to us quite generously, a part of the treasure we may come to count as our own, more precious than gold and worldly things.  Jesus teaches us that we are not simply slaves to the world, locked in endless retribution of evil for evil.  We have a capacity for something better, with a far greater horizon.  Let us find what He offers to us, a better justice, a deeper richness and peace.   We remember that love is an action, a choice -- a way of living in imitation of God.  Love is not merely indulgence; it upholds something, it teaches something, it gives something greater than our own perspective.  Ultimately, to love our enemies is also to pray for their salvation in His light, that they may find what is best for their lives as well.