We
are surrounded by rules. The Ten Commandments are painted on the wall. We obey
traffic laws on the way to church. We accepted terms of service to use the apps
on our cell phones. We are guided and our lives are bounded by rules. We often
only think about them when we break them. Was I driving too fast when I passed
that police car? Should I have that second brownie? In working out our
spiritual lives, we are often worried about the rules we have broken, and
perhaps less concerned about rules we have neglected.
Jesus
teases out the meaning of the rules. He extends beyond “You have heard it
said…” He tells what seems to be an even stricter interpretation. We have to
remember what the rules are for. Moses gives the law to show the people how to
live. God’s law is not merely a set of peculiar practices – it is a way of
life. The motivation to obey is not fear (of punishment) but love. We obey
because we love God. We obey because we love our neighbor.
As
Jesus unpacks the commandments in the Sermon on the Mount, we are drawn to the
sexual sins for which we are ashamed, and somehow we neglect the other sins
that seem to be more common. People fret about divorce. Why do we not worry
over anger, or telling lies? When Jesus tells us not to look with lust, and not
to divorce for trivial matters, he is reminding us to respect each other. He is
not instituting yet another barrier to separate people with shame.
Jesus
uses many more words to talk about anger. Even an off-hand comment of
disrespect imperils our soul. It is so important to cease from anger that we
should leave everything else – including worship – to rush to seek
reconciliation with our sister or our brother. Wouldn’t things be better if we
spent more energy seeking reconciliation in our time, rather than seeking new
ways to shame each other? We are surrounded by anger and fear. Jesus would have
us work for something better. We need to be troubled about our lack of respect
for each other more than our worry about keeping the letter of the law.
All
of ways that Jesus reframes of the rules are about moving beyond the trivial to
the profound. It’s not enough to give up murder. You have to give up hate. It’s
not enough to refrain from adultery. You have to give up lust. It’s not enough
to fill out proper paperwork for divorce. You have to respect marriage. It’s
not enough to swear an oath. You have to always speak the truth. When we only
obey the law in a technical way, we miss the purpose behind it.
If
we hold onto anger, we will have broken relationships with our neighbors. We
can still hold onto our principles. We do not have to agree. We are forbidden
to hate. We are forbidden to treat another person as merely something to
gratify our desire, because people are worth infinitely more than that. Divorce
is forbidden because marriage was not the equal partnership we know. Women had
few rights. They could not obtain a divorce. If women were released from
marriage by their husbands, they had no status or income, and it was disastrous
for them. God did not give permission so that it could be abused. The rules are
given so that we treat one another with dignity and respect.
And
when we fail or fall, we are reminded that our relationship with God and with
each other is not meant to be broken forever. How odd that divorce keeps people
out of community? Why should that failure be uncorrectable? We sin and God
forgives. We begin again and God helps us live into new life. The rules are not
a barrier. They are a path towards life. The goal is to live lives of love and
integrity where our words match our actions and we rejoice in loving
relationships. Our yes is yes and our no is no because that’s how people talk
when they love and respect each other.
Jesus
doesn’t demand our obedience. He demands love. We might be fooled into thinking
that God’s love is contingent on our obedience. We have it in the wrong order.
The grace of God is never contingent. It is always true. It is where we always
begin. Moses doesn’t say that God will love them only when they obey the
commandments. The offer is a way of life or a way of death. God always offers
love and life. We only die when we refuse to accept it.
As
Jesus re-tells the rules of life, it can sound even more difficult. In a sense
it is. We have to seek the meaning in all that we do. We have to seek the best
way to love in every circumstance.
If we succeed or fail, God loves us anyway. Jesus is calling us to
persist in the better way. Jesus is not setting up an impossible standard so
that we can retreat into misery and dependence. Jesus is offering a path where
we have to keep seeking the best outcome. We have to seek the way that
recognizes the dignity of every person we encounter. We are given eyes to see
as God sees, and hearts to love as God loves. As we come to every inevitable
impasse, it is not enough to judge who is right or wrong. Jesus calls us to
seek the way of life. That is what saves us.