But I say to you!

WORD OF FAITH: A breakdown of each week's upcoming Sunday readings to better understand the Word of God at Mass.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” — Matthew 5:17

When reflecting on the Scriptures, did you ever pause and wonder what life would be like if people actually followed God’s laws? What if we took God seriously and chose to live the commandments as suggested in the First Reading from the Book of Sirach? When I taught Scripture to high school freshmen, I asked them this question. The general answer was that things would be boring! But seeing life from God’s perspective, through the eyes of wisdom, we see things differently. Life would be peaceful, not boring! We know that if we followed the commandments, there would be no murder, lying, adultery, stealing or war. Sirach paints that serene picture — the choice between life and death, good and evil. Living in a just world would be like living in heaven! If human beings didn’t have to contend with harmful deeds, we could work together on other challenges like disease and climate change.

Was this Jesus’ dream for us when he came to preach and heal and share the life of the Kingdom of God? If we dive into the Gospel this Sunday, we would say a resounding, “Yes!” Jesus continues his foundational teaching in this chapter of Matthew. He explains the path of true wisdom — choosing the good that God desires for us. Jesus is very clear that he is building on the commandments and adapting them to the people of his day. The gravity of his teaching is evident in the phrase, “Amen, I say to you.” He stresses the truth of his words and the authority with which he speaks. The contrasts Jesus uses do not put him at odds with the law, but with the interpretation of the law that the Pharisees and Scribes were teaching. His use of “but I say to you” emphasizes that he is asking much more than an external adherence to the law.

Jesus calls us to a deeper awareness and living of God’s law. The commandment bans murder; Jesus calls us to let go of anger toward each other. This anger can lead to name-calling and violence. We see this played out in our society — heated rhetoric that ends in injury. Jesus stresses reconciliation, which is even more urgent than acts of religious devotion. Leaving your gift at the altar to go and make amends with a brother or sister must have sounded scandalous to Jesus’ disciples. Does it sound radical to us? The challenge of putting reconciliation before everything, including our ego and our opinions, should shake us. 

Jesus continues these “shake-up” demands. The law prohibits adultery; Jesus demands purity of heart. He says that we must pluck out, cut off or discard all that causes us to look at another human being with eyes of use or abuse, with eyes of lust. This is crucial as we choose types of entertainment or scroll on social media. 

Lastly, Jesus turns to truth-telling — the taking of oaths. Usually, oaths were taken when the person’s word was not reliable. Jesus says don’t mask a lie with an oath; tell the truth. This is especially important in our culture where honesty is always a casualty of convenience or duplicity. We have lost a sense of truthfulness. It is so urgent for us to “Let our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ be ‘no’!”

By reflecting on how Jesus’ teachings intersect with our lives, how they call us to wisdom, how they are often difficult, but life-giving, we can grow in our discipleship.