"Amen, I Say Unto You...."

NEXT SUNDAY’S GOSPEL: MATTHEW 5: 17-37
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
USCCB link to all three readings
 
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you,
whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment;
and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,'
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin;
and whoever says, 'You fool,'
will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.

"You have heard that it was said,
You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

"It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife -  unless the marriage is unlawful -
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

"Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not 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.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'
Anything more is from the evil one."
 
The Lectionary for Sunday’s Mass provides the option for a shorter version of this Gospel text to be proclaimed, so it is quite possible you will not hear all this material at your Mass. Given that next Sunday is the Catholic Charities Appeal in my own diocese, I am next to certain we will hear an abbreviated form of this text to allow time for the bishop’s video. Moreover, this text is of such length that homilists will be hard pressed to incorporate all of it into sermons, and given the inclusion of Christ’s teaching on divorce, it is a good guess that this text will draw considerable attention.
​
R.T. France refers to this text as “Fulfilling the Law.” (p. 177) As the first sentence makes clear, Jesus has not come into the world to undo the centuries of Israelite Law that he himself grew into, but to bring forth its full content and to correct d errors of interpretation on such matters as taking oaths and divorce. France points out that this text is the most exhaustive treatment of one theme in the New Testament, namely, fulfillment of the Law. It is an instruction to the disciples on how they are to teach the Law. The product of this teaching is a vision of life that goes far beyond what traditional commentators had arrived at, and in a lesson devoid of acrimony or disrespect, Jesus says in effect that the Law of Moses contained a much more enlightening portrait of the Kingdom of God that only Jesus himself has been able to elicit.
 
France looks at the history of interpreting the opening paragraph, which Christians often misinterpreted as an indication that Jesus was at his core a hardline fundamentalist, particularly considering his citing specific moral dilemmas further down the chapter. The biblical scholar observes that the Gospel speaks of the Law and the Prophets together, and not “the Law as preached by the prophets.” Law and prophets are taken together in Jesus’ thought as futuristic or apocalyptic features moving relentlessly toward fulfillment. In Matthew 11:13 Jesus says that “all the prophets and the law prophesied until John [the Baptist].” The only conclusion one can draw is that observance of the law and listening to the prophets are a process leading to new and glorious fulfillment of the Kingdom of God in Jesus.
 
The phrase “Amen, I say to you…” is found thirty-six times in Matthew, and it is used to convey power and authority in its emphasis, and in the opening text here it has the effect of saying that the Law in its integrity will last until “hell freezes over,” as France puts it. It is wise to remember, too, that Matthew’s Gospel was written around 80 A.D., when it is safe to say that a Christian law and observance was becoming established. The text can correctly be applied to the Apostolic teaching of the Church as it applied in Matthew’s time, and it is true that Christian Law could be at variance with Jewish law in matters of cleanliness, or the need for circumcision to enter the Kingdom of God. Also in this opening paragraph, it is helpful to keep in mind ​Matthew 23’s condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees in terms of how not to teach and observe the Law.
 
The next paragraph begins a series of citations or examples from the long and venerable tradition of Jewish Law. Each of these teachings—on murder, anger, adultery, divorce, oath taking, etc.—have the same structure. Jesus quotes the Law, but then introduces his commentary with “Amen, I say to you…” to expand upon or return to the purity of the Law in its full setting. Put another way, Jesus draws a powerful comparison between the Law as tolerated in his day and the way in which God intended the Law to be understood in its fullness. France describes Jesus’ commentary on the Law here as a contrast between the legal correctness of the scribes and the more demanding ethic of Jesus which was summed up in the Beatitudes a few weeks back, “be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.”
 
Time does not allow for discussion of Jesus’ teaching on divorce, although it can be said that Jesus was stricter and more absolute on the subject than religious jurisprudence of the day would have been. Later in the Church Year we will hear Matthew 19:3 where he is asked his opinion directly on the matter.