Readings Between the Lines

If you read the New American Bible (the English translation of the Bible for the Catholic Church in the United States) you will see at the beginning of chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel the title, “The Sermon on the Mount,” a title given to a lengthy speech (Matthew 5:1-7:29) Jesus is depicted as delivering to his disciples and to the crowds. The Sermon on the Mount is the first of five sizeable discourses (see also Matthew 10:1-11:1; 13:1-53; 18:1-19:1; 24:1-26:1) Jesus speaks in the course of Matthew’s story. By collecting much of Jesus’ teaching material in these speeches, Matthew presents Jesus as the great teacher of Israel, in comparison to Luke who casts him as the most significant prophet of all. Yet Matthew’s Jesus also offers instruction for the crowds and his disciples in the midst of the narrative of Matthew’s story.

I focus in this article on the Sermon on the Mount because on the first three Sundays of this month the Gospel reading will be taken from it. The first passage from the Sermon was on Sunday, Jan. 29, when we heard Matthew’s introduction to the Sermon and Jesus’ teaching the Beatitudes (Matthew 1:1-12a). What is the aim of this speech?
 
Prior to Matthew chapter 5, Jesus embarks upon a mission of preaching and healing in Galilee, a mission which wins him the acclaim of a multitude. In addition, he calls four fishermen to leave their professions behind to follow him (4:18-22). Jesus is now in a position to offer the newly-called disciples and the crowds his teaching about the kingdom.

Jesus’ ascent of a mountain to teach is not only meant to enable the crowd to hear him. His delivering this speech upon a mountain has powerful symbolism and suggests something about how we should understand the discourse. The mountain is reminiscent of the one Moses ascended to receive the Sinai Law. In the course of the Sermon, Jesus will present a deeper understanding of the Jewish Law in six “antitheses” (5:21-48), each in the following form: 1) “You have heard it was said ... ” 2) quote from the Law, 3) “But I say to you ... ” 4) Jesus’ deeper insight on the particular law. By daring to put his own insight on par with the original law, as J.P. Meier (The Vision of Matthew, p. 64) says, “Jesus stands where God stands ... a higher status could not be imagined.” Upon completion of Jesus’ speech, the crowd is astonished at the authority he assumes as he speaks (7:28-29). This suggests that when it comes to interpretation of the Law, Jesus does speak authoritatively. Nevertheless, Jesus states clearly that his intention is to fulfill rather than abolish the Law and the Prophets (5:17).

The key statement in the entire Sermon is “ ... unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (5:20). What is the nature of the scribes’ and Pharisees’ righteousness, and what more is Jesus suggesting? The scribes and Pharisees Jesus has in mind here (not all of them) are focused on literal fulfillment of the Law, which in itself is not bad. One must, however, fulfill the heart of the law, not just its specific requirements. Later examples in Matthew’s story of the limited righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees are those in which the religious leaders confront Jesus or his disciples about engaging in prohibited Sabbath activities, such as plucking heads of grain and healing (12:1-8, 9-14). Jesus asserts that the actions that either he or his disciples take are necessary goods which supersede the Sabbath work laws.

In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus demonstrates what he means by “the greater righteousness” by means of the antitheses. The Jewish Law forbids killing, but refraining from killing one with whom we are in contention is not enough. We must address the underlying attitude which causes us to hold the person in contempt and strive for reconciliation with the person (5:21-26). On Feb. 12, we will not only hear the text of the first antithesis (on anger) but also those on adultery (5:27-30), divorce (5:31-33, except in the case of unlawful marriages) and on taking oaths (5:33-37).

In the readings for Feb. 20, the greater righteousness will entail refraining from retaliation (5:38-42), and instead responding with service toward those who wrong us. In another example superior uprightness involves doing good to and praying for enemies rather than harming them (5:43-48). Why is loving one’s enemies a greater form of righteousness? The answer is that such behavior imitates God, who loves and bestows blessings upon all unconditionally (5:45). If we are to love as thoroughly as God does, our love must not be limited only to those who show love to us (5:46). When we imitate God’s love in this way, we show ourselves to be the children of our heavenly Father (5:45). In 6:9, Jesus will invite his audience to address God as “Father” when praying. When we do so we imply that we are children of the heavenly Father. In order to be properly disposed to address God in this way, we must demonstrate that we are truly children of the Father, which means that we imitate God’s goodness, for example, when we love our enemies.

In chapter 6, Jesus will expound the greater righteousness in the three pillars of Jewish piety: Almsgiving (6:1-4), prayer (6:5-15) and fasting (6:16-18). Jesus teaches his audience that sincerity should be at the heart of people’s intention when engaging in these practices. Almsgiving and fasting should be done quietly and unnoticeably. Prayer should consist of a simple and direct address of God rather than trying to win God’s favor by a multiplication of flowery words. Being people of the greater righteousness involves fixing our hearts on heavenly treasures and trusting that God will provide for our daily needs (6:19-21, 24-34).

In chapter 7 Jesus exhorts his audience to pursue the greater righteousness by seeing to their own conversion before trying to facilitate that of others (7:1-5), praying with trust in God’s desire to help us (7:7-11), and treating others as we would have them treat us (7:12). Jesus concludes the Sermon with two warnings. First, do not be deceived by those who distort the view of faith (“false prophets”) Jesus has presented to them (7:15-20). Secondly, hearing his words is not sufficient; they must be put into practice (7:21-23). The call to live Jesus’ words will be heard several more times as Matthew’s story unfolds during this liturgical year.

Reflection Questions
● What are some examples you can think of in which fulfilling the heart of a moral law requires going beyond the literal statement of it at times?

● Besides loving enemies what are other examples of situations when striving to imitate God’s thoroughgoing goodness and love is a challenge?

● What makes putting Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount into practice difficult?