THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
JGreater Righteous: Mt 5,33-48
Oaths: Mt 5,33-37
Exodus 20,16 and Dt 5,20 are both from the 10 commandments banning false witness against neighbour. Lev 19,12 adds false swearing whilst Psalm 50,14 takes a more positive view of fulfilling vows (as do a number of Psalms).
Jesus' absolute ban is echoed in James 5,12. Yet there has always been a need for some guarentee of human honesty. This is commonly done by calling upon God as witness, the point of Jesus' comment about heaven and earth. Yet humans are not in a position to call upon God, binding God to the oath is an attempt to control him.
Two examples in Matthew's Gospel show how easy it is to be trapped by an oath - Herod (14,1-12) and Peter (26,69-75).
Thus the greater righteous demanded by Jesus (5,20) can truly be fulfilled only when a disicple's Yes means Yes and his No means No.
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No resistance: Mt 5,38-42
The purpose behind eye for eye and tooth for tooth in the Torah was the protection of the tribe, of prime importance both externally and internally. The need was "to purge the evil from your midst" (Dt 19,19)
Jesus seeks to go beyond this, in St Paul's word, to conquer evil with good.
Four examples (verses 39-42) are then given:
The reference to Isaiah (50,9) comes from one of the servant songs. For Christians these are regarded as applying pre-eminently to Jesus himself, who "turned the other cheek" during his own suffering.
The cloak was required to keep the poor man warm at night. It was often his only possession. Thus we have the detail in the Bartimaeus story (Mk 10,50) which is omitted by Matthew. Bartimaeus throwing aside his cloak is giving up everything to follow Jesus.
Simon of Cyrene (27,32) is an example of how Roman soldiers could impress people into service.
Finally, the generosity to the released slave (Dt 15,7-11) is an indication of what Jesus means in this teaching (verse 42).
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Love: Mt 5,43-48
Leviticus 19 is almost the only part of this book which is regularily used by Christians. It is also the background to Jesus' teaching about love that we are considering.
Much of the chapter echoes the ten commandments with the command "love your neighbour as yourself" coming in verse 18. It begins though with command to be holy (Lev 19,1) which reflects the command to be perfect in 5,48.
Hating enemies is not stated explicitly but there is some strong language in the psalms such as ps 109. Ps 139,a favourite of many, causes some anguish when it suddenly says "do I not hate O Lord those who hate you". At that level, strong feelings need their outlet.
The concept of holy war makes an important point because "neighbour" in Lev 19,18 is restricted to one's fellow Israelite. Those outside the tribe were enemies who could be exterminated. Here are the boundaries which Jesus is breaking down by his command to love. It is an unconditional command, not even Gentiles (verse 47) or tax collectors (verse 46) are excluded. When Jesus makes his call to Matthew (9,9-13), he makes the point he came not to call the righteous (self-righteous being implied) but sinners (9,13).
Thus the command to be perfect points two ways. It points towards the holiness of God (see below under the Sunday reading). It also points to our neighbour, as Luke's alternative makes clear: "be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate" (Lk 6,36)
Love or compassion is therefore the way to holiness, perfection. It is love which breaks the cycle of violence which are part of all the contrasts: anger, adultery and divorce, oaths, non-resistance can all be overcome by love
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Sunday Gospel: 7th Sunday
Readings from Leviticus in the Lectionary are rare, which is not surprising when so much of the book is concerned with Jewish cultic practice. Chapter 19 from which our reading is taken is the main exception.
The two extracts highlight the holiness of God and his people (Lev 19,1) and the command to love the neighbour.
However, for the Old Testament, the holy community is one separated and distinct from the nations around them. Thus the neighbour for Leviticus is one's fellow Israelite, as we have seen above.
We need therefore to hear this passage in a Christian way given that Jesus came to break down barriers and boundaries. Here we can quote the 2nd Vatican Council which links Lev 19,1 with Mt 5,48: "all the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his own way, to that perfect holiness whereby the Father himself is perfect." (Constitution on Church, para 11)
Finally, that the all holy God is also the all compassionate God is well brought out in Psalm 103.
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