The Torah, the Israelite Law, was revealed by God through Moses in the Old Testament. In the passage for this Sunday, Jesus says about some aspects of the Law: You have heard said…, but I say to you. For a mere human, such a statement would be terrible presumption. For any one of us to speak in such a way about God's law would be nothing short of blasphemy. But Christ can speak that way because he is not a mere human. He is God Incarnate. He is the Lawgiver Himself. Since the Law comes from God, Christ, who is God Incarnate, can speak any way he wants about the Law.
We see in the passage that Jesus comes not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. He shows the fuller, deeper meaning of the Law and the relationship with God that the Law is pointing toward. In the process, he will set aside certain precepts that prepared the way for Christ but are no longer needed now that the grace of Christ has been given to us. In doing so, Jesus is not abolishing parts of the Law, but is allowing the deeper meaning of the Law to flourish. In interpreting the Mosaic Law, we can say that the Old Testament precepts are to be followed by Christians only to the extent that Christ restated or reaffirmed them.
As Christ comments on the Law in the passage for this Sunday, he addresses three issues that undermine the healthy functioning of society: out of control anger, the breakdown of marriage, and untruthfulness. The teaching about anger may be puzzling. Jesus goes beyond forbidding murder and forbids even calling another person a name, suggesting that the latter is just as bad.
For humanity to be at peace, society has to be governed by God's Divine Law, which flows out of his infinite love. Even the slightest hurt against another shatters that heavenly harmony. Negative actions, furthermore, feed into the cycle of violence that has largely characterized human history. From the earliest times we see one group doing something hurtful to another, who then respond with something even more hurtful, to which the other group reacts with more hate. And so the cycle goes on and on, to the detriment of all societies. When we refuse to act with hatred toward others, the cycle stops with us. Through Christ's love, we break the persistent horror of sinful human history.
However, the above does not exclude righteous anger. When we see injustice or experience it ourselves, we should feel angry at those situations and should seek to change them. The difference between righteous anger and sinful anger is that the latter seeks to destroy whereas the former seeks to restore God's order of divine love in humanity. Sinful anger blocks God's grace in our lives. Righteous anger is a hatred of sin, which helps us to turn away from wrongdoing and to call upon society to do so as well.
The second major problem addressed by Jesus in the Gospel passage for this Sunday is divorce. Marriage is the fundamental building block of society. To make a society strong, we need to bolster marriages and family life. A culture of divorce mentality undermines the basic functioning of society. Of course, in certain situations, separation is necessary for protection, but the casual divorce culture of contemporary society goes against God's vision for humanity.
Jesus also highlights that divorce itself is the tip of the iceberg. The dynamics that lead to divorce start much sooner. Lustful thoughts toward someone other than one's spouse already set a person on the road to adultery. Given the easy availability of graphic content on the Internet, as well as the sexualization of entertainment, of fashion, and of other aspects of society, today it is much more difficult to guard one's thoughts than at the time of Jesus. But if we are to remain faithful in marriage and faithful to Christ, and if society is to be strong and healthy again, we must do so. Of course, as in all things, we should not try to prevail through our own strength but always through the strength of Christ.
The words of Jesus regarding divorce and adultery also exposed the double standards of his culture. The Mosaic Law condemned infidelity both by wives and husbands, but in practice, usually only the women were punished. Also, women were generally fully dependent on men. They needed the protection of a male in order to navigate society. They were not able to initiate divorce and they were unable to contest the husband's decision to divorce. Thus, a woman could easily be discarded by her husband, with no support or protection. Jesus made clear that women were not to be treated in such a way.
As we reflect on the teachings of Jesus with regard to divorce, the question might arise: Does the Catholic Church not accept divorce by granting annulments? The answer is no. The Catholic Church does not accept divorce granted by secular law. However, when a divorce has taken place, one or both parties may petition the Church to examine if their union met the criteria for a valid marriage in the first place. When the Church grants an annulment, the Church does not dissolve the marriage but declares it null and void from the start. (Having said the above, I should also remark that Catholic Canon Law regarding annulments has many nuances that are beyond the scope of this reflection.)
The third social problem that Jesus deals with in the Gospel passage for this Sunday has to do with truthfulness. At the time of Jesus, the swearing of oaths was often used to bolster one's assertions. Oftentimes, oaths were taken to counter the lack of honest dealings in daily interactions. In the process, people would invoke God or holy objects to strengthen their false claim, thereby offending against God's sanctity. Jesus condemns such use of language. Instead, Jesus says that if our whole way of life is honest then we will not be doubted.
Today, the swearing of oaths to be believed is not as widespread a custom. Mostly, we find such oaths in official settings, like in a courtroom or when becoming a citizen. In such circumstances, the oaths are not meant to bolster an unreliable reputation, but to put us on record that we are committing to telling the truth. If later someone is found to have lied under oath, the circumstances can be severe. Such official oaths do not contradict the words of Jesus because of the difference in their focus.
But though our cultural customs do not generally include the swearing of oaths on a regular basis, the words of Jesus still very much apply to us. We should lead a life of integrity, so that people can believe us because we are known to be truthful. Without truthful interactions, society falls apart. What is more, in the Gospel of John, Christ refers to himself as the Truth. Thus, to be truthful is to be Christlike.
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The readings for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, are:
Sirach 15:15-20
Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Matthew 5:17-37
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: Storm by Francesco Gamba from Wikimedia Commons.
