Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A): Matthew 5:17-37
“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
Calling something – or, God forbid, someone – old is never a compliment. In our society, with constant technological improvements, we have come to assume that the new is better than the old. In our ads which glorify youth (because young people are more vulnerable to advertising as a rule), we have come to assume that being or looking young is better than being or looking old. Therefore, when we look at the Bible, we will instinctively prefer the “New” Testament over the “Old”, and view the “Old” as somehow obsolete. It’s as though, in computer lingo, the Old Testament was the beta version of the Bible, and the New Testament the official release.
What is our relationship, as Catholic Christians, with the Old Testament? This was a question that challenged the New Testament churches. How much of the Old Testament remained valid for Christians, and how much didn’t? We see Paul dealing with this issue constantly in his letters. On the one hand, he’s declaring that circumcision means nothing and that what matters is faith in Jesus. On the other hand, he reminds his communities that the moral and ethical teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures are still essential, and that “freedom in Christ” does not mean freedom from virtuous behavior.
Jesus’ words and actions during his public ministry seemed to raise a similar question for his contemporaries. On the one hand, Jesus could insist that all of the commandments of the Hebrew Scriptures be followed, and that those who did so would be called greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. On the other hand, Jesus had an interpretation of the Sabbath and purity laws that caused the Pharisees (among others) to object. So, how did Jesus view what we call the Old Testament? And how can this help us in assessing its value for us as Catholic Christians today?
Our Gospel passage begins by Jesus’ insistence that he has not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets (shorthand for the Hebrew Scriptures as a whole), but to fulfill them. Much exegetical ink has been spilled over what that sentence might mean, and there is no little disagreement among Biblical scholars on this issue. Nevertheless, I believe that we can hazard a few words on this, and offer some direction for understanding it.
Well, then, how does Jesus fulfill the Law and the Prophets?
First of all, recall the setting for the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been going about, announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand in his words and deeds. He has called certain disciples to follow him. Now, they are at a mountain. Jesus sees the crowds gathering. He climbs the mountain and his disciples follow him there. Jesus then begins to teach them.
In the Old Testament, we find many places where God promises to become the true shepherd of his people. We find promises that God would not only gather his people together again, but that all nations would come and join them. We also find passages where people implore the Lord to “lower the heavens and come down” and to once again save his people. We find Moses going up Mount Sinai to receive the commandments from God. Now, Jesus becomes a new Moses. He passes on the law of God from the mountaintop. He gathers people from all over and begins to renew the people of God as their true shepherd. Jesus’ intent here is to form a renewed People of God, who will become salt for the earth and light for the world. In Paul’s words, every promise that God has made in the Old Testament find their “yes” in Jesus.
But there is more. Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets by bringing out what God’s intent was by giving them to us. Jesus claims a unique authority to interpret the Scriptures which must have seemed astonishing to those who heard him. Jesus quotes no rabbi who came before him; he speaks on his own authority as the one who has full right to announce the true meaning of the Scriptures. Jesus comes as the Word of God, and therefore we need to pay very close attention to what he has to teach us.
How does Jesus form a renewed People of God? How does he use the Law and the Prophets to do so? Let us look briefly at the examples in our Gospel reading.
Jesus begins by quoting the commandment against murder. He then declares that anyone who is angry with his brother (or sister) has broken this commandment, and that the solution is to seek reconciliation with the estranged brother or sister. Jesus doesn’t abolish the commandment against murder. What he does is bring out the context of the commandment and its full intent. God’s intent is not merely to prohibit murder. It is God’s will that this commandment form a people who will be welcoming of one another and work to reconcile any differences. We are too often tempted to see differences among people as threats, and to see the other as an enemy we must somehow defeat, or even kill if necessary. This is not the way of Jesus. He tells us that our anger needs to be directed not at other people but at the very things that divide us in the first place. We are to use anger’s energy to reconcile with one another, to defeat all that could divide us, to undo prejudices, misunderstandings and scapegoating of all kinds so that the world might see that there is another way to live. We witness to the fact that Christ already is our peace, and therefore we live in peace with one another.
Jesus then quotes the commandment against adultery, and then declares that any man who looks at a woman with lust has already broken the commandment in his heart. Jesus doesn’t abolish the commandment against adultery. Instead, he affirms that the intent of this commandment is to form a people where marriage and family commitments are honored and respected. But there is more. By placing responsibility on the man, Jesus affirms that women are not to be seen as mere sex objects. There is more still. Although anyone can be tempted by lust, isn’t it often the case that we become more vulnerable to lust when we feel bored or adrift? Isn’t this one scenario that makes some people opt for internet pornography, among other things? People who are centered on the love of God and doing God’s will find that the energy that would have gone into lust can be redirected to genuine love of God and of others.
Jesus quotes the prohibition against taking a false oath, and then says that we shouldn’t swear oaths at all. Rather, let our “yes” mean yes, and our “no” mean no. What’s going on here? One of the reasons people take oaths – or require them – is because people are known to lie when it suits their cause. Telling them that they are about to swear to something before God should, so the theory goes, make people more apt to tell the truth. But the People of God should be marked by truth-telling at all times. After all, God isn’t a witness to our words only when we take oaths. God is always a witness to all we say or do. Everything we say is said in God’s presence. Every “yes” and every “no” is said before God. Jesus wants a people of truth to be witnesses of truth to the world.
So, then, Jesus does not abolish the Law or the Prophets. Rather, he points out what God means to accomplish through these commandments – to form a people that will be God’s own, and that will be seen as such. Moreover, we follow these commandments not as individuals, but as a people. We could never stay faithful on our own. But, joined to a community who offers us prayerful support, encouragement, challenge, and reconciliation, we can grow into these commandments and, together with everyone else who is gifted by the Holy Spirit, shine forth as a light for the world.
As we continue to explore the Sermon on the Mount in subsequent Sundays, we will see Jesus do the same thing with other commandments. We might wish that the Sermon had gone on longer, and that Jesus had offered us similar comments on every commandment in the Old Testament. But in these examples, Jesus gives us a guide for how to proceed with other commandments. He also gives us, as his Church, the Holy Spirit to direct this process. With the guidance of the Spirit in the Church, we can proceed in confidence.
PS – If any of this seems familiar to you, you have a good memory! I’ve recycled my post from three years ago for this Sunday’s readings, as that post still seems to work!