In the passage we hear from Matthew’s Gospel this weekend, we hear Jesus say, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Mt 5:17, NAB)
Jesus gives examples of this.
He cites the 5th commandment, “You shall not kill,” then adds that anyone who is angry at another person is liable to the same judgment as a murderer. Jesus then preaches that those coming to bring gifts to the altar must first reconcile with those with whom they bear grudges.
Then Jesus brings up the 6th commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” He adds that anyone who looks lusts after someone other than their spouse, commits adultery in their hearts. (Mt 5:27-28)
Jesus then confronts the evil of divorce as practiced at the time, when a man could easily obtain a divorce by merely presenting his wife with a script citing he was divorcing her. ”Whoever divorces his wife – unless the marriage is unlawful -causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” In the patriarchal society of Jesus, women had no rights, and were totally reliant on their husbands for survival. Receiving a script of divorce was literally a death sentence for the divorced woman. Women were forbidden to engage in business and commerce, so the divorced woman’s only means of support was begging or prostitution. Citing the justice of God, Jesus condemns the divorce of his time in history and places the onus on the man divorcing his wife.
The Gospel concludes with Jesus prohibiting sacred oaths. “Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne.” (Mt 5:33-34) Jesus tells his disciples to leave God out of it when they take oaths. “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No. Anything more is from the evil one.” (Mt 5:37) The impeachment trial of Donald Trump is a good example of the evil of cavalierly swearing to God and subsequently dismissing that sacred oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
In each of these examples, Jesus illustrates that it is not enough to simply live the letter of the law. In the words of Father Richard Rohr, to only live the letter of the law produces an ugly morality devoid of love and compassion. Jesus tells us that as disciples of Jesus we are compelled to live beyond the letter of the law, that there is a greater commandment that supersedes the ten commandments we know so well. We hear Jesus teach this commandment in the Last Supper discourse of John’s Gospel.
“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” (Jn 15:10-12)
We have a saying, “Put your money where your mouth is.” After Jesus completed his last instruction to the disciples, he put into action what it means to “love one another as I love you.”
He got up, went to the Garden to pray, was arrested, interrogated, tortured and then was executed. His love for all humanity was so great that in his greatest agony, he calls on God to forgive those who betrayed him, who beat and tortured him, and who executed him. Jesus illustrates for all his disciples what it means to fulfill the Divine law of love, by dying out of love for us and forgiving those who brought about his death.
We cannot just quote little Biblical periscopes spouting pious platitudes. If we are to be authentic disciples of Jesus, we must put Jesus’ great commandment into action in our lives. The famous ten commandments are merely stepping stones to the great commandment of Divine love. If we truly live the commandment that supersedes all other commandments, then there will be no need for commandments condemning murder, adultery, divorce, or swearing false oaths. God’s divine law of love will be the only law we need follow.
