For a third Sunday we continue to witness Jesus as the New Moses in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt. 5:38-48) as he speaks from his Sermon on the Mount. Thus far, it is one of the closest parallels to the laws found in the Book of Leviticus which Jesus brings to fulfillment.
In the First Reading (Lev. 19:1-2, 17-18) we hear the LORD saying to Moses: “Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Lev. 19:2). The reading then skips down to verse seventeen from the passage, but there is a lot in between.
This material consists of teachings from the Ten Commandments which are designed to make Israel into a holy nation: the importance of revering parents, desisting from the worship of idols, and keeping the Sabbath (Lev. 19:3-10). Also included are the necessity to provide for the poor at harvest time, and to keep the commandments which forbid lying, stealing, false oaths, deceit, corruption, slander, hatred, and revenge (Lev. 19:11-16).
Finally, we hear the verses: “You shall not hate any of your kindred in your heart. Reprove your neighbor openly so that you do not incur sin because of that person. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Lev. 19:17-18).
The LORD instructs Moses to take no revenge and to love your neighbor as yourself. It is these final commandments that Jesus brings to perfection, takes to the extreme.
Jesus quotes the Old Testament adage, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” (Exod. 21:24; Lev. 24:19–20). This quote is sometimes misconstrued as being an encouragement for brutal retribution, but the meaning was different for the ancient Israelites. It was intended to establish a fairness in punishment – the penalty for a crime should not exceed the damage done.
In his first antithesis, “You have heard that it was said, but I say to you…” Jesus takes this commandment to a new level – instead of vengeance, turn the other cheek to evil persons, give twice as much as is demanded in a lawsuit, walk an extra mile in service to others, and give to all who ask without expecting repayment.
Next Jesus quotes the verse, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” from the First Reading, but he takes its inherent meaning that it is acceptable to hate those who are not your friends or kin and changes it to read, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”
His antithesis then becomes, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that?” Jesus explains that loving those who love you in return and greeting those who are friendly to you are not that difficult; they are easily done by those who are sinners and not friends of God.
For the Jewish disciples of the first century these words of Jesus must have been hard to accept; despising the Roman enemies who were dominating them was the natural thing to do. Today the words are still difficult to accept – turning the other cheek to those who criticize or denigrate us, being friendly to those who ostracize or insult us, and giving away money when it is hard earned. Most challenging of all is loving those who are antagonist or discriminatory.
But try we must. The laws given by Moses were designed to make us holy as God is holy. The fulfillment of these laws, the stipulations given by Jesus not only makes us holy as God, when followed to the letter they make us perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect.
