Year A 16, February 2020
As we come to our time of reflection today I feel a little like the attendant at the rollercoaster who advises you to strap yourself in for what could be a very bumpy ride. The passage from Matthew that we are looking at today isn’t an easy one to hear, or quite frankly, preach on. It talks about things like anger, adultery and divorce, and seems to be sprinkled liberally with words of judgement. I’m not one to shy away from a challenge, so, if you are brave enough, I invite you climb on board with me to see what we might be able to discover in this passage.
What house doesn’t have rules in it? When you have children in the house there are always rules in place, rules that help protect them and that ensure the tasks they are required to do get done. One rule that I particularly remember in our house when I was growing up was that if you committed to something you went every week. This meant that I had to go to Girls’ Brigade even on the Wednesday night that Molly died on A Country Practice. That rule just didn’t seem fair!
As most of us have grown up with rules, we have come to realise that rules can restrict and prohibit. Rules can refuse us, hold us back or trip us up. Rules can be used against us. On the other hand rules can also help set boundaries and protect us. Rules can help give us structure, both individually and as a society.
On the face of it that is what we have got here in this passage from Matthew 5:21-37. It is a list of simple rules: do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not divorce; do not break an oath … simple!
The problem is, as is often the case with what Jesus says, that there is much more to it; Jesus words are layered with much more meaning. As we unpack this passage we not only need to pay attention to the context, but also be careful that we look beyond the expressed statement of the law, to the broader character of life which should be found in God’s kingdom.
The problem with interpreting a passage like this too literally, is that it can, and has, been used to cause great harm; particularly to women, to those who have had marriage breakdowns, to all of us who get angry or might feel attracted to others. When we just focus on the rules, we miss the spirit of what lies behind the setting of those rules originally. When Jesus speaks he broadens the law and makes it about relationships.
The first scenario has to do with the command not to murder. Rather than a debate about contexts in which killing may or may not be legitimate, Jesus suggests that it is not enough to simply refrain from murdering someone. Rather, we need to go beyond that and treat people with dignity and respect, and for Jesus this includes not using words of hate or incitement.
Jesus is not saying that we cannot get angry. We all get angry and that’s okay. Jesus got angry too, and not just with the money changers in the temple. Anger is a normal, human emotion and it’s dangerous to always keep it hidden. Anger usually comes when we are hurt, is often spontaneous, and is ethically neutral – it is a feeling. The problem comes when our anger moves to a hateful attitude that is destructive and polarising.
Jesus warns of unresolved anger between family members and calls for a concrete act of reconciliation. He paints a wonderful picture of people in the middle of a worship service being reconciled before they bring their offerings. Interestingly Jesus doesn’t say whether the brother or sister “who has something against you” (5:23) is justified in being angry or not. None of that seems to matter. What is important is the disrupted relationship and the concrete move towards healing and reconciliation.
Next we hear Jesus comments on adultery (5:27-30) and divorce (5:31-32). This is where it is especially important to think a little about context. Jesus would have been addressing a crowd made up mostly of men and he talks about adultery and divorce because they are real issues for men in that climate. Greek influence and Roman law meant that the practice of polygamy was no longer acceptable, which was a change. Previously having more than one wife was not a problem – if a man wasn’t particularly happy with the wife he had, he could just take another wife, but the only way to do this under the new law was by divorce. Divorce did, and still can, make women particularly vulnerable.
Adultery in the biblical world is defined as “extramarital sexual intercourse between a man and another man’s wife”. The prohibition against adultery grew out of property laws which stated that a wife was her husband’s property. Under the law a man could have a relationship with an unmarried woman and not be guilty of adultery, but if the woman were married his act would make them both guilty.
Jesus is not saying that it is wrong if we see someone and find them attractive. Again this is a normal human response, and I’m sure it’s a response that most of us have had. The problem is when we treat others as objects, seeing them purely as a means to gratify our own desires. The point is that all people are to be treated with dignity and not exploited for something that we want. It is the same when Jesus talks about divorce. Rather than being legalistic, he is making the point that we should not treat people as disposable objects, things that can be thrown away when we are done. We need to treat all people with respect and particularly ensure that we care for those who are most vulnerable.
Finally Jesus talks about oaths (5:33-37) and says that, to put it simply, we are to be honest. When we constantly make promises, it is almost as though we cannot be trusted, especially when our word aren’t prefaced by a promise. Jesus says that if we speak and act truthfully in all of our transactions we should, in theory, not need to promise anything, for we will be known as someone who acts with integrity.
So … how did we go? I hope the ride wasn’t too bumpy.
Yes this passage has some hard stuff in it, and it gives us a lot to think about, but if we expand our understanding we can see that it is about so much more than legalistic rules. The passage is about the quality of personal relationships and community behaviour.
- We are called to be reconciled and make friends.
- We are called to stop seeing people as disposable objects.
- We are called to treat everyone with respect and particularly care for those who are most vulnerable.
- We are called to be honest and act with integrity.
As we think on what this calling might mean for each one of us, I’d like to finish by sharing a poem with you …
They are strong words, Jesus,
on how we live with and among each other.
Hard words, because you know too well the damage we can do.
Urgent words,
so that we all pull away from darkness and destruction
and move towards light and restoration.
Words of love,
calling us to be reconcilers, peace-bringers, love-givers.
Help us to help make whole that which is broken:
lives, friendships, relationships, trust, reputations …
‘Broken’ …
reduced or ruptured, out of order, torn and fractured – incomplete.
Broken, busted, bits and pieces; hurt and damaged – or made weak.
‘Restored’ …
raised, recovered, put to rights, fixed and strengthened – in one piece.
Remade, reformed, brought together; cured and mended
– all, redeemed.
Amen.
Rev Heather Hon – February 2020