Deuteronomy 30:15-20
15] See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16] If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17] But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18] I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19] I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20] loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Matt 5:21-37
21] “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22] But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. 23] So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24] leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25] Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26] Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28] But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29] If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30] And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. 31] “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32] But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33] “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34] But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35] or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36] And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37] Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Spoken words for “Show us the way”
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our strength and our redeemer. It is the words of God, spoken by Moses, that we heard in our first reading from Deuteronomy. Moses was speaking to the crowd of Hebrew people just before they crossed the Jordan River, into the land God had promised them when they left Egypt. His speech summarized all that God had been telling Moses, who had been listening to God for more than forty days. Moses said the people were to follow the ways of God. They could choose life and prosperity. Things will be good for them, their children will survive; God will bless them. Jesus then comments on some of the commandments, decrees and ordinances that God gave to Moses. In our reading from Matthew, Jesus said that we can stop sin in little ways so that they will not become bigger things.
The Deuteronomy is a text of choices. Our choices have different outcomes. It is not a choice between vanilla and chocolate ice cream. A choice for each individual to follow the God of Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or to follow the gods of the region and perish. Some of these other gods were the Canaanite gods Elyon, Ba’al, and Asherah, the Babylonian gods Ishtar and Marduk as well as the sun, moon and stars. OK we say, that part seems easy. What about the commandments, decrees and ordinances? We know the commandments as in the ten commandments. What are the other rules to follow? Show us the way, the people said to Moses.
Here are some rules from previous verses of Deuteronomy. Destroy pagan shrines. Do not eat camels, hare (large rabbits) rock badger (or rock hyrax like a large guinea pig) or pigs. It was ok to eat fish, something with fins and scales, but not any other river or sea creatures. Birds of prey were forbidden, too. Do not sacrifice children. Do not move the boundary markers of your neighbors. There were also detailed rules for war and for the taking of property and slaves from war. Divorce was permitted, initiated by the husband.
Jesus refines or adds to some of these rules in our reading from the Gospel of Matthew. He clarifies them and gets people thinking of intent or motive, and of how they use the laws to judge others harshly, thinking that they would never do XYZ, those “thou shalt nots”.
The “but I say to you” statements of Jesus go deeper into the real events that happen in a community, they go deeper into our feelings before the bigger sin happens. Commentator Bernard M. Levinson said that the Deuteronomy passage is about the choice of each individual Israelite to obey the commandments of the covenant God is offering. We are free to choose between the good of following the commandments, the good of following God, or to choose the evil of following other gods, the evil of not obeying the commandments. Brian Maas said that Jesus is expanding the meaning of the commandments, moving from individual choices to how those choice affect others in community, in the community Jesus is calling us to become.
Here is how I summarized what Jesus said. To stop anger then stops murder. To stop your law suit then stops prison time. To stop desire for another partner when you have one then stops adultery. Stop divorce. Stop promises of conduct that are bound by or guaranteed by God or by earth. Stop the “so help me God” swears, the other ones like on “my mother’s grave”, and keep the promises that you make. Make ones you can keep. The “swear by” is to convince others that you will keep your word. Jesus said you don’t need this swearing if you keep your word.
We ask the same question of Jesus that his disciples asked, “Show us the way, clarify those ancient teachings and your teachings; what do you want us to do? I think Jesus wants to help us see more deeply into our motives. We are aware of quarrels or fights or grudges we have. Jesus said to work these out before leaving a gift at the altar. We could say to work these issues out before we come to church. Or use the time of silent confession to let my anger or grudge go, and try to mean it, so that I am here in a spirit of forgiveness for them and for myself. The disciples asked, and we ask, Jesus to show us the way. Once the way is known, it is up to us to follow it. We start the process of repairing relationships.
It is hard for us to admit that we look at other people instead of our partner, that we get angry and stay angry, that we divorce out of something other than un-chastity. Jesus’ words shocked his audience and still shock us today. It is tough to preach or to speak about in public. That is the point, I think, for us to sometimes face tough subjects. Jesus wants us to look at ourselves and be tough, be honest, in order for us to stop the small sin before it gets bigger and hurts us as well as the person who is the target of the anger, desire or adultery. I think this Matthew text is a focus on how our poor behavior, if we were to do some, affects others and not only you. I think we are being told to be reconciled with brother or sister, do not look with lust on another, and to avoid divorce whenever possible. In the time of Moses and when Deuteronomy was written, divorce was permitted, initiated by the husband. By mentioning divorce and lust in the same section as adultery, I think Jesus was linking thought, desire and actions about those who are not our partners. I think the emphasis is on the oath, the promise made to another person, and on conduct that weakens or breaks our promises. And broken promises hurt relationships, not only romantic ones.
You may not have to say, hey person X, I forgive you for your action Y. You can say it to God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit and mean it. And then treat person X better in the future. The reconciliation can be in your heart as well as in your manner and speech. After sitting with your reconciliation feelings for a time, you may then be able to apologize in person. Maybe apologies in small things will prevent them from being things we can’t apologize for. It is not only to avoid the “hell of fire” in Matthew verse 22, but to avoid the discord that simmers and then boils over to prevent the joys of community. May we recognize in ourselves the small angers and potential for broken promises that might lead to bigger sins. May we ask God for forgiveness and strength, to treat others with the care and respect we want for ourselves.
© 2017 Reverend Kelly Ann Donahue. All rights reserved.