Readings for the 7th Sunday of Epiphany, February 23rd, 2014

First Reading: Leviticus 19:1–2, 9–18

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

²Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.  ⁹When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  ¹⁰You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

¹¹You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another.  ¹²And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.

¹³You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning.  ¹⁴You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

¹⁵You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor.  ¹⁶You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD. 

¹⁷You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself.  ¹⁸You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:10–11, 16–23

¹⁰According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.  ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.  ¹⁶Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?  ¹⁷If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

¹⁸Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise.  ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

"He catches the wise in their craftiness,"

  ²⁰and again,

"The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,

that they are futile."

  ²¹So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours,  ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all belong to you,  ²³and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Gospel: Matthew 5:38–48

³⁸"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;  ⁴⁰and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;  ⁴¹and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.  ⁴²Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

What the texts says - Pr. Fourman

Matthew 5:38–48

³⁸"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'  ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;  ⁴⁰and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;  ⁴¹and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.  ⁴²Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

v38 ηκουσατε (ακουω) aor. "you have head" - 

v39 δε "but" - υμιν dat. pro. "[I tell] you" emphasizing the statement to follow; "but I say unto you", AV.

μη αντιστηναι (ανιστημι) aor. inf. + dat. "do not resist" 

τω πονηρω dat. adj. "an evil person" 

οστις pro. "if someone" ραπιζει (ραπιζω) pres. "strikes [you]" - strikes. 

  
v40 τω θελοντι (θελω) dat. pres. part "someone/anyone wants" 

κριθηναι (κρινω) aor. pas. inf. "to sue/ judge/take to court.”  The infinitive, as with λαβειν, "to take", is complementary completing the verbal sense of the participle "willing".

τον χιτωνα (ων ωνος) "tunic" - the basic garment worn by everyone. ; to be sued for this garment indicates that its owner is poor.

αφες (αφιημι) aor. imp. allow, permit.

το ιματιον (ον) "cloak" - the outer garment, all-purpose coat to use as a blanket, suitcase; sleeping bag or tent. Exodus 22:25-27 requires that this garment must not be taken away from a poor person permanently.

v41 αγγαρευσει (αγγαρευω) fut. "forces/compels” in the sense of "impress into service", following the military practice of a soldier's right to press a person into his service to carry his kit for one mile.

v42 δος (διδωμι) aor. imp. "give" τω/ αιτουντι (αιτεω) dat. pres. part. "to the one who asks [you]" μη αποστραφη/ς (αποστρεφω) aor. pas. subj. "do not turn away" τον θελοντα (θελω) pres. part. "the one who wants" δανισασθαι (δανειζω) aor. inf. "to borrow" - to borrow, lend. Tis turns the legal and ethical 1^st century world upside down.

v43 αγαπησεις (αγαπαω) fut. "love" in the sense of "compassion", Lev.19:18. The law, summed up in love, is simpler, and yet more demanding.

μισησεις (μισεω) fut. "hate" - in the sense of "hostile toward.". The Law certainly encourages love toward a fellow Jew, but doesn't encourage hatred toward an enemy. Nonetheless, such an inference can be drawn from Deuteronomy 7:2, 30:7. Psalm 139:21-22, 26:5. τον εχθρον (ος) "enemy" - the enemy. 

  
v44 αγαπατε (αγαπαω) pres. imp. "love" του εχθρου, "enemies (plural) as opposed to " enemy", v43, so widening the application and raising the bar.

των διωκοντων (διωκω) pres. part. "those who persecute [you]" because they are the most difficult enemies to love.

v45 γενησθε (γινομαι) aor. subj. "you may become or show yourselves to be", υιοι (ος) "sons [legal heirs] του πατρος of your Father  ουρανοις, "in heaven".

  
v46 The loving righteousness required of a son of God is not reciprocal, i.e. it does not look for love in return. Love deserves no reward, it is endemic.

τους αγαπωντας (αγαπαω) pres. part. "those who love [you]" 

εχετε (εχω) pres. "will you get" – “what reward can you expect". A rhetorical question, answer: "none". When it comes to receiving the promised blessings of the covenant there is no reward for doing what is commonplace and expected.  The reward comes first!

  
v47 τους αδελφους (ος) "brothers" here in the sense of fellow Jews or fellow believers, so "greet warmly and with respect".

περισσον adj. "[what are you doing] more than others?" as above, rhetorical, answer same and for the same reason. Covenant people are held to a different standard from the world.  In the world it might be considered unique or noteworthy to do such things, standards to which people of good character can aspire, but never realistically achieve as norms. But in the covenant community this is not the ceiling, it is the FLOOR.

v48 υμεις pro. "you” emphatic, εσεσθε (ειμι) fut. "be" used here as an imperative, τελειοι "perfect/complete" – literally, finished. 

Where does it end? - Pr. Kruse

What happens to the sons after they return to the Father? They become men and fathers themselves and become like the Father. - Nouwen (paraphrased)

The pain of a slap in the face is really minor if you think of it. The point of a slap in the face is really not to hurt the other person but to humiliate them, maybe to get their attention in a way that says: “Pay attention to me! I set the agenda here!” Someone who does so is not necessarily an enemy, he is merely someone who claims priority or authority over you. If he is an enemy, then his slap is a way of goading you into a fight or a way of saying.

In Jesus’ time and place, a slap was an insult and required retaliation if administered by someone of equal or inferior standing and especially if it was administered by someone of a different faction or family. It was best if one was surrounded by friends and was prevented from launching a counter attack. It was also good if one was surrounded by ones family if one had launched the originating slap and could be pulled out of the arena quickly. It was best for all involved, including the intervening families, because it prevented bloodshed that had to be avenged and offered the possibility of letting tempers cool down and having the elders of each side settle the matter calmly. 

St. Nicolas or Myra holds the title of “Patron Saint of Secret Givers.” He gained it by saving a father and his daughters from the humiliation of being found out as too poor to afford the daughters to marry. He gave quietly so the father and the house would not be obligated by customs or found out as needy.

Giving in Jesus’ time, and Nicolas’ time as he only live 300 years later, came with strings attached. One became obligated by receiving or being lent to and one expected allegiance of those to whom one had given or lent. To lend to anyone without strings was strange behavior. It was better to give and lend strategically to increase ones status and honor and it was good to have it made very clear that and to whom one had given. (Matt 6:2)

Jesus seems to contradict some rather common societal modes of operation here along with common sense: Loosing ones coat meant to walk around indecently like a beggar. Giving him your cloak meant freezing in the night as it was used to cover oneself if caught outside on the road. 

Not only that, but: “be perfect like your Father in heaven is perfect?” That just makes no sense at all unless one believes that Jesus is setting unrealistic goals on purpose here. That he is aiming high is certainly true but I am not sure that here and in this instance, he is asking the impossible. 

Let us think for a moment about what perfect might mean here. Nouwen takes the approach to translate the word as “mature,” in other words: Finished or complete in your being, no longer a child about the world around and aware of its flawed ways and means.

For a moment, just as a thinking exercise, let us assume that a god who is an cruel, immature brat; someone to who allows every insult to stick on him, someone who keeps a long list of wrongs yet to be avenged and a long list of debts yet owed to him, someone who has no problem plotting and carrying out revenge, someone to whom all life is cheap and the care for the individual by family or community is irrelevant. I have just described the opposite of everything Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 5. 

In a certain way, the sermon on the mound is about the character of God. Beginning with the Beatitudes, a different sense of values and ways is being described. It is not too far fetched to say: Should not the children of God resemble their Father? In other words, should not the values of Jesus, the Son, be the values of the children of God who, one prays, will grow up to some level of maturity? “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” (1 Cor. 13:11) I note that 1 Cor. 10 notes that this will be when “completeness, Maturity,” comes these things will take place and the same greek term is used there as in Matt 5:48. 

As the Sermon on the Mount proceeds, it becomes clear that those who would be disciples are indeed to act as if they had been raised by heaven itself and act as now mature offspring thereof. Their treasure is in heaven. (6:20) The fruits of their labor and existence are clearly the same as the fruits of heaven. (Matt 7:20) They address Jesus as “Lord” not as a matter of courtesy but because they truly know him as their superior and master of the house in which they live. (7:21)

It is not far fetched here on earth to say: “I see so much of your father in you.“ It is meant as a compliment or encouragement, usually. Is it far fetched then that one might say to a Christian who lives the life set before him by Jesus: “I caught a glimpse of heaven in you?” 

We remember saints because at their time and in their lives, this is exactly what happened. Someone saw them and praised God for having sent them in His stead. They became the well of an icon on which the face of the Beloved Son was painted and allowed to spill over the well and into life because the icon does not contain the face but gives it to the world. 

And you, church, would you ask this question:

he Readings for Sunday, February 16th, 2014

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15–20

¹⁵See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.  ¹⁶If 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.  ¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,  ¹⁸I 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.  ¹⁹I 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,  ²⁰loving 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.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1–9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  ²I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready,  ³for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?  ⁴For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.  ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  ⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each.  ⁹For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.

Gospel: Matthew 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.'  ²²But 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.  ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.  ²⁵Come 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.  ²⁶Truly 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.'  ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  ²⁹If 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.  ³⁰And 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.'  ³²But 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.'  ³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,  ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.  ³⁷Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one. 

What the Text says: Matthew 5:23-36 - Pr. Fourman

Matthew 5:21-37

5:21 Exceeding righteousness, v21-48: i] Murder stems from malevolence and both lead us to 

hell's fire, v21-22.

ακουσατε (ακουω) aor. "you have head" - in the sense of understand.l

τοις αρχαιος dat. adj. "to the people long ago" - the ancients. 

ου φονευσεις (φονευω) fut. "do not murder" - you shall not murder the future tense functions as an imperative; the sense is "murder/assassination" not "kill".

τη/ κρισει (ις) dat. "[will be subject] to a moment of decision" probably the judgment of the local court, possibly divine judgment.

  
v22 υμιν dat. "[I tell] you". The Old Testament prophets would say "thus says the Lord", Jesus says "I say unto you", serving as a declaration of God’s will.

ο οριζομενος (οριζω) pres. pas. part. "the one being angry”- attributive, limiting everyone/anyone who gives vent to anger.

τη/ κρισει (ις εως) dat. "[will be subject to] a moment of decision".

ρακα "Raca" – I love this, the closest English equivalent to ‘shithead”.

μωρε adj. "fool" – literally, “moron”.

του πυρος "the hell-fire".

v23 Two parables; the first seems to encourage a disciple to deal with an offence caused to a brother before approaching God in prayer, ie. the parable has ethical intent, establishing reconciliation as a precondition for acceptable worship. Yet, if the purpose of Jesus' exposition of exceeding righteousness serves to expose sin and its inevitable consequence (a moment of divine decision) then it is likely the primary focus is theological rather than ethical. 

προσφερη/ς (προσφερω) aor. subj. "you are offering [your gift]" - you is now singular indicating that personal application is in mind.

kata + gen. "against [you]" - expressing opposition. Similarities between this and Mark 11:25, have been noted, although in Matthew a brother has something against the worshipper, whereas in Mark the worshipper has something against the brother. Mark’s context is the cleansing of the temple and symbolic cursing of the fig tree. To this Mark attaches three independent parabolic sayings which serve to reinforce a right approach to God in the face of eschatological judgment. The links between Matt.5 and Mk.11 interesting; the context is eschatological judgment and its avoidance, and this with Matthew's removal of reciprocal mercy, indicates Matthew may well be using the parable with a similar intent.

  
v24 ελθων (ερχομαι) aor. part. "come" past action with future consequences.  

v25 The second parable, teaches the importance of being always ready and anxious to take the first step towards the healing of a quarrel between neighbors. If the purpose of Jesus' exposition of exceeding righteousness serves to expose sin and its consequence. 

ισθι ευνοων (ευνοεω) pres. part. "settle matters" the present imperative of the verb to-be with the present participle forms a periphrastic present construction; "settle the dispute" ταχυ adv. "quickly" literally “while there is time".

το αντιδικω/ (ος) dat. "with [your] opponent” a Dative of indirect object.

εως οτου "who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him".

μηποτε + subj. "or [he may hand you over]" τω κριτη (ης ου) dat. "to your judge".

v26 αμην λεγω σοι "I tell you the truth" – an idiom; take my word for it…. indicating the parable is anything but a moral tale. 

  
v27 ηκουσατε (ακουω) aor. "you have heard/you are aware".

ου μοιχευσεις (μοιχευω) "do not commit adultery" - under Mosaic law, consensual sex between two unmarried person's was settled in marriage and so is not technically adultery. Sexual union, of itself, establishes marriage, whether it is formalized or not, and so a sexual union that follows on from a former union that was not formalized in marriage is adulterous because it intrudes on the previous one-flesh union. Of course, all this is academic since when it comes to God's law lust is as good as the deed- i.e. we are all 0 for 10 where the commandments are concerned.  

  
v28 εγω δε λεγω υμιν "but I tell you" - antithesis

ο βλεπων (βλεπω) pres. part. "[anyone] who looks at" - the one looking at. 

γυναικα (η αικος) "a woman" - As above, "a married woman."

προς το επιθυμησαι (επιθυμεω) aor. inf. "lustfully" - to desire [her]. To looks at her with intent of having have intercourse, and in so doing he pulls a Jimmy Carter (adultery in his heart). 

v29 In two parabolic sayings 

ο δεξιος (ος) "right" - most are right-handed and for them the right eye is the more important.

ο οφθαλμος (ος) "eye"  σκανδαλιζει (σκανδαλιζω) pres. "causes [you] to sin" 

εξελε (εξαιρεω) aor. imp. "gouge" – remove it. 

  
v30 χειρ "hand" 

  
v31 Divorce is against the will of God, v31-32- even the disciples get the point, exclaiming "if such is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.".

απολυση/ (απολυω) aor. subj. "divorces" - release, send away. 

αποστασιον (ον) "certificate of divorce" - a paraphrase of Deuteronomy 24:1 where the Mosaic law, recognizing the human condition, regularizes marital separation by the requirement of a "document of dismissal", a process which had become in Jesus' day little more than "publicly sanctioned adultery." 

v32 ο απολυων (απολυω) pres. part. "who divorces"  παρεκτος + gen. "except" - apart from. Only Matthew records this exceptive clause, Mark and Luke's accounts of Jesus teaching on divorce provide no grounds whatsoever for a breaking of a marriage. It is out of character for Jesus, particularly to compromise God's law. Even conservative commentators view the exception as Matthew's own rather than a word from Jesus. Matthew is spelling out to Jewish believers what was implicit in the first century; namely that a person was required to divorce an adulterous wife. Other commentators see evidence of early church tradition, of the authority of the church to bind and loose, to make laws and make exceptions to laws. The exception may simply be a recognition that where the one-flesh union has been destroyed by πορνεια, "sexual unfaithfulness", then the marriage, by this act, is no longer a divinely sanctioned union and thus legally void,. 

μοιχευθηναι (μοιχευω) aor. pas. inf. "to become an adulteress" - to commit adultery. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb ποιεω, "makes". A divorced woman forced to take another husband is forced into an adulterous union. The responsibility for this situation properly rests on the one who divorced her.

v33 ουκ επιορκησεις (επιορκεω) fut. "do not break your oath (swear falsely)” τω/ κυριω/ (ος) dat. "[fulfill] to the Lord" - " perform what you have sworn to the Lord." τους ορκους (ος) "the oaths".

v34 μη ομοσαι (ομνυω) aor. inf. "do not swear" - sometimes taken literally as a command to not take an oath, it is usually accepted that Jesus is denouncing the use of formula oaths for the purpose of deception.

v35 εις "by, to, toward [Jerusalem]. 

v36 τη/ κεφαλη/ (η) "head" is that the person would "give his head if he were not speaking the truth",  ie. he would take his life.

ποιησαι (ποιεω) aor. inf. "[you cannot] make" - person cannot change the natural color of their hair, only God can do that, apparently an observation that did not see the advent of Grecian Formula.

v37 εστω (ειμι) pres. imp. "[it is what it is”" ναι ναι "yes  yes" - the doubling is for emphasis

το ... περισσον adj. "anything beyond" τουτων gen. pro. "this" is from του πονηρου (ος) gen. "the evil one" – i.e. intended for deception. “Methink thou speakest too much!”

Sanctuary, Matthew 5:23-36 - Pr. Kruse

“To live the gospel is the most effective way most effective in the beginning, in the middle and in the end. …Not just preach but live the life according to the light.... If, therefore, you go on serving people and ask them also to serve, they would understand. But you quote instead John 3:16 and ask them to believe it and that has no appeal to me, and I am sure people will not understand it...the Gospel will be more powerful when practiced and preached.” - Gandhi

John Pilch divides the sermon on the Mount into three parts: 5:21-48 a warning against the faulty righteousness of the Scribes, 6:1-18 against the faulty righteousness of the Pharisees, and 6:19- 7:27 an exhortation to a new righteousness for his disciples. That might be excessively neat but it is instructive.
Let’s start with this observation: Last weeks pericope was about the disciples being “different” and by their difference their lives were to influence the world around. Therefore they had to beware of the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees and live a different righteousness. This pericope might benefit from remembering 5:21 and even reading it at time of Gospel reading. 
This week’s pericope is about a series of “slippery slopes.” We might need to remember that honor was a highly valued commodity in Jesus time and place. Honor was in many ways more important than riches since honor could aways reap more riches, kind of like celebrity today where being famous for being famous reaps endorsement contracts and wealth. If you then call me a fool I have no choice but to repair a dent in my honor. The way I do that is to escalate the argument we are having right then in hope of denting your honor even more. These escalations do not lead anywhere good even today. They sap life, they destroy community, and they lead to generations of feud. The antidote is to live at peace with everyone as a top priority. So high a priority that even making ones sin or thank offering must wait to tend to personal peace. 
A similar dynamic is at play in the sayings about adultery. In Jesus’ society the sexes had limited access to one another and if they were afforded access, it was not secret but someone else always knew about it. Honor and shame again play a role. The man, husband or father, who had his house and honor intruded upon by the man in the adulterous relationship had to take action and that action was violent. (Dt 22:22-24) Even with the Law on the husband or father’s side, a blood feud had just been set loose. 
In the case of divorcing a lesser but nonetheless serious problem arose. Wives and husbands lived in arranged marriages. As these marriages were arranged their basis were economics not passion, compatibility or love. Since land was an important asset, if not the most important, it was advantageous to marry relatives and cement the ownership of the land of ones ancestors. In the absence of land family closeness was an economic and security asset all by itself. If one then divorced ones wife, one made a fissure in a community and a family that had lasting repercussions. 
So how do you know that the things you bargain for when a sale is negotiated are what they are advertised to be? In Jesus time the only guarantee was the word of the seller and any oaths he might make toward the truth of his words. Swearing by “heaven, or earth, or ones own head” was popular since Jesus quotes the habit of doing so. But these were really substitutes. What was being avoided was to swear before God that what was being said was true. Let us leave aside the matter that both lying and swearing falsely by God’s name are prohibited. (Dt 19:11-12) The fact that guaranties are being demanded are a sign that distrust permeates the relationship between buyer and seller. 

He had not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. The Law of God, the Law of Moses and Israel had had a reason to exist. It was given to shape and fashion a people. As with all law, it was open to “interpretation.” That “interpretation” becomes necessary when one wants to be outside it for a moment but not accountable to its repercussions. As Jesus reviews some laws for us here in Matt 5, it becomes obvious that more is behind the letter of the law. 
The company of disciples ought to be the safest place on earth. Here one ought to know that one is not in need to defending ones honor because it is not being challenged - it actually does not exist: No one is good except God alone. (Matt 19:17) You cannot injure what is not there. As part of the community, your honor cannot be challenged because only God has honor and you live by God’s honor. (Matt 6:19ff) You therefore can withhold judgement on others because it is not important to you personally. (Matt 7:1ff) Your lack of standing is of not import since God supplies. (Matt 6:25ff)
If you really cannot offend me, why would I be angry? Peace, at least within the community, suddenly becomes a possibility. That peace must be tended. (Matt 18:15ff) It is under assault when questions of rank enter since honor creeps back into the picture. (Matt 18:1ff) 
If Jesus’ brothers and sisters are those who do the will of God, then familial relations are a matter of faith and not marriage. It is therefore not wonder that Jesus restates a different case for marriage (Matt 19:3-9) For the disciples, the marriage relationship is to be of the character of Adam and Eve - made for each other not for the husband’s family. In that place, chastity is observed as a matter of habit. How can the church worship as one if it was otherwise? She would have to stand in two different houses - men and women - if she lived in the segregation that mid eastern society demanded. 
Finally, the community of Jesus is a place of radical honesty and trust. Here, no one swears by anything. It is assumed that God is listening and hears and sees what is done in secret, even in the dark places of the heart. Here they speak to the other and treat the other as if that on was Jesus himself. (Matt 25) How does one lie to the one who knows exactly what one thinks? 

Are we that place? 

Texts for Sunday, February 2nd, 2014; the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany

First Reading: Micah 6:1–8

Hear what the LORD says:

Rise, plead your case before the mountains,

and let the hills hear your voice.

  ²Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD,

and you enduring foundations of the earth;

for the LORD has a controversy with his people,

and he will contend with Israel.

  ³"O my people, what have I done to you?

In what have I wearied you? Answer me!

  ⁴For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

and redeemed you from the house of slavery;

and I sent before you Moses,

Aaron, and Miriam.

  ⁵O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,

what Balaam son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,

that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."

  ⁶"With what shall I come before the LORD,

and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

  ⁷Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

  ⁸He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?\

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18–31

¹⁸For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  ¹⁹For it is written,

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

  ²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.  ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,  ²³but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  ²⁴but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  ²⁵For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

²⁶Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  ²⁷But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are,  ²⁹so that no one might boast in the presence of God.  ³⁰He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,  ³¹in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Gospel: Matthew 5:1–12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.  ²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account  ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.