Readings: Ecclesiasticus 15:16-21; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 Matthew 5:17-37
Theme: Law and Virtue
By Michael McCabe, SMA
Human estimates of the value of law have varied from Aristotle’s sober statement that ‘law is order and good law is good order’ to Mr Bumble irate observation in Oliver Twist that ‘the law is an ass’. For the people of Israel, the Law (or Torah) was God’s gift to help them live as his beloved children and thus be a light to the nations. They viewed the precepts of the Law as a sure guide enabling them to live a godly life and to be happy.
Our first reading from Ecclesiastics reminds us that the purpose of God’s law is to help us to choose between life and death (cf Ecc. 15:17). The high regard of the Jews for the Law is reflected in their prayers, as we see in today’s responsorial psalm: ‘Open my eyes that I may consider the wonders of your law. Teach me the demands of your statutes and I will keep them to the end’ (Ps 118:33-34). As a Jew, Jesus respected and upheld the Law. In today’s gospel reading, he declares that his mission is not to abolish the Law but to complete it. And he adds that ‘until heaven disappear, not one dot, one little stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until its purpose is achieved’ (Mt 5:18).
However, Jesus was not impressed by the manner in which the religious leaders of his day interpreted and observed the Law. In his judgement they had lost sight of its true purpose which was help the people to live a virtuous life. At the time of Jesus, there were three ways in which the Law had become distorted and exploited. First, a whole plethora of rules and regulations (613 of them), covering every aspect of Jewish life, had been added to the basic commandments God gave to Moses. It was impossible for most Jews to remember, much less observe them.
Second, some strict Jews – the scribes and Pharisees – were more concerned with appearing virtuous than being virtuous. While carefully observing minor regulations about food and the paying of tithes, they neglected, as Jesus points out, the weightier matters of the law like justice, mercy and integrity (cf. Mt 23:23). Third, to use a popular phrase today, the Law had become weaponised as an instrument of power and control. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees for laying ‘heavy burdens on peoples’ shoulders, and not lifting a finger to move them’ (Mt 23:4). Jesus himself was a victim of this notorious misuse of the Law. The Pharisees rebuked him for ‘eating with tax collectors and sinners’ (Mt 9:10) for permitting his hungry disciples to pick and eat some heads of grain as they walked through a cornfield on a Sabbath day (cf. Mt 12:1), and for healing ‘a man with a withered hand’, also on the Sabbath (cf. Mt 12:9-13).
Not surprisingly, Jesus calls his disciples to a higher standard than that exemplified by the scribes and Pharisees. He tells them, ‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:20). He then gives us concrete examples of how we can not only keep the letter of the law but also live a life of virtue in accord with its spirit. While the law forbids murder, Jesus challenges us to refrain from anger and violent language (there’s a lot of it around these days especially in political circles) and strive to be reconciled with those who are at odds with us. While the law commands us to avoid adultery, Jesus challenges us to avoid lustful thoughts. And, in rejecting divorce (permitted by the Mosaic Law for men), Jesus is insisting that women be accorded equal status with men in the marriage contract. While the law, in Jesus’ time, allowed Jews to guarantee the truth of their statements by making a solemn oath before God. Jesus challenges us not to swear at all. Our honesty and sense of integrity should ensure the truth of what we say without external guarantees. Our ‘yes’ should mean yes, and our ‘no’, mean no. (cf. Mt 5: 36-37).
When we measure our conduct against the demands of Jesus in today’s gospel, we may feel rather deflated. Our efforts, not just to keep the Law, but to live a life of virtue in accord with its spirit, may fall short of the teaching of Jesus. However, we shouldn’t be discouraged. We are not alone. As St Paul reminds in our second reading today, we belong to a community of faith that is graced with the wisdom of God’s Spirit ‘the Spirit that reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God’ (1 Cor. 2:10). St Paul also assures us that the Spirit comes to help us when we find ourselves struggling with the demands of the gospel. And even if we fail, we shouldn’t beat up on ourselves. Jesus had a soft spot for sinners. It was the self-righteous and the hypocrites he couldn’t stomach.
So, we pray again in the words of today’s psalm:
Open my eyes that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
Teach me the demands of your statues
and I will keep them to the end (Psalm 118: 33-34).
Listen to an alternative audio Homily by Tom Casey, SMA: