The Weightier Things of the Law

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

St. Hubert Catholic Community, Chanhassen, MN

Sunday, February 16, 2020

After describing his disciples as salt and light of the world, Jesus continues his sermon by explaining how his teaching should be understood. He claims that he has not come to abolish the law or the prophets but to bring about its fulfillment. Although during his three years ministry, he would take some actions that seem to negate the convictions of his Jewish contemporaries like eating with sinners (Matt. 9.11), curing on the Sabbath day (Matt. 12:7-13), refusing to enforce the traditions of the elders on his disciples (Matt. 12:1-8; 15:2). However, his words and actions suggest that he is not in conflict with the law, but with how it is being interpreted. 

The purpose of the law is to enable people live uprightly. The law can guide people to live in right relationships— a virtue stressed throughout the Gospel of Matthew. Though external manifestations of righteousness are important, today’s Gospel shows Jesus going beyond external actions. He goes deeper and considers the interior dispositions of the mind and heart. Through a series of antitheses, he highlights the difference between his teaching about the law and what people have heard about the law. Without abolishing the law, Jesus goes deeper, moving from the external human behavior to the pure heart that motivates action. To the law against killing he says: “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…whoever says to his brother ‘Raqa’ ‘You fool’…” will be judged as well. As far as Jesus is concerned, the kind of anger that generates cursing and contemptible words has made the angry person guilty of breaking the commandment. Jesus wants his disciples to eschew resentment, practice self-control and also to forgive from their hearts any wrongs done against them. He wants his disciples to seek for reconciliation first before bringing their gifts to the altar of worship. 

Just as the vices of anger and contemptible speech violate the law against murder, so also lustful thoughts violate the prohibition of adultery. Jesus wants his followers to guard against lustful and immoral thoughts because not doing so can make a person stumble and sin. Whatever could potentially lead to a fall from grace should be avoided. A lustful heart is a breeding ground for all sorts of sexual immoralities. In the area of oath-taking and divorce, Jesus again raises the bar and the standards: “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…” The Torah allowed divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1) which was eventually done for trivial reasons, but Jesus’ teaching, which is more demanding than that of his contemporaries sees marriage as a very serious project. In the last teaching, he says: “Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, do not take a false oath… But I say to you, do not swear at all…” He wants his disciples to avoid not only taking false oaths, but taking oaths all together. Any sworn testimony that calls upon God to witness is unnecessary. A disciple of Christ whose words are hardly believed should evaluate himself or herself. 

But sisters and brothers, apart from issuing series of deeper teachings, there is something else that Jesus is doing here. Throughout his ministry, he speaks and acts like God. And whenever he speaks and acts, he does so with an unprecedented authority. In today’s Gospel, he boldly says when speaking about anger, adultery, divorce, oath-taking, “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors…” (Matt. 5:21-48), “but I say to you…” By those words, Jesus is referring to the Torah, the teaching of Moses, the court of final appeal to every faithful rabbi, and he was claiming for himself an authority greater than that of Moses, who was Israel’s most significant teacher and law-giver. He is making a bold claim that says, ‘even though Moses said that, now, I say this.” He is claiming that he is Lord, Yahweh who is moving among his people. That is why St. Peter, his follow apostles, St. Paul and the early Church believed and preached that Jesus Christ is Lord. When some of the early Christians entered the dreaded arena in Rome where many were torn into pieces by hungry lions, all they needed to say to save their lives were two words. “Kaiser Kyrios,” which means “Caesar is Lord.” Instead they proclaimed: “Iesous Kristos Kyrios” (Jesus Christ is Lord) and paid for it with their blood. These men and women followed Jesus, not out of mere preference, but out of conviction. They were convinced that Jesus was who he said he was— Yahweh in human flesh, the very incarnation of God. Peter was so persuaded that when he preached in Jerusalem, he affirmed that Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders which has become the cornerstone. He declared right in the city of political power and commerce that there is no salvation through anyone else. He says there is no other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved except the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean (Acts 4:10-12). Paul was also so persuaded about the identity of Jesus that he insists that the name of Jesus is the most exalted name, that his name is far above every name, that at the mention of the name of Jesus every knee should bend, and every tongue must confess that Iesous Kyrios— Jesus is Lord! 

Folks, Paul was a highly educated man. He knew the Old Testament through and through; and what is fundamental in the Old Testament is Adonai, which means Lord, a term used exclusively for God. So, when St. Paul who knew the tradition in and out said that Jesus is Lord, he knew exactly what he was saying and how strange and radical it was. He was saying that the Jesus crucified is indeed God. He is the Messiah. And if you want to be saved, then get into his boat.