As in Heaven, So on Earth

The Lord Jesus taught us: “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”  (Luke 6:31-36)

Let’s imagine that we are now in heaven.  We’ve made it to the kingdom of God.  I look around at the other people who are also in God’s Kingdom.  I see some people who were always kind to me back on earth, so I try to figure out how to be kind to them here in heaven.   I see someone who forgave me in my lifetime when I really hurt them, so I walk up to them and talk to them.   Over there I see some people who I never liked in life, and they turn away from me and pretend I’m not there.  That’s OK by me as I don’t really want to deal with them.  I see someone else who betrayed me one time and told all my friends and family about something bad I had done.  They were truthful about what they said, but it embarrassed me and caused other people to condemn me.  When I see that person in heaven, I’m disgusted and decide to find people I like rather than have to be around someone who told everybody about my problems.

What is wrong with this picture of heaven?

It’s just like earth.

So we have to think what did our Lord Jesus teach us about how we are to treat people who have cursed us or despised us or hated us or wronged us or offended us?  We are to treat them as we want to be treated.

Heavenly values are not: I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.  They are not about reciprocity.  There is no retaliation in heaven.  No mutual gift exchanges either.  No treating others as they deserve.   Rather, the only principle guiding how people are to treat one another in God’s Kingdom is Love.   Treat others in the same way that you hope God will treat you on Judgement day – with mercy, forgiveness, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness.  Those are heavenly values.

When Jesus says, if you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you?  He is saying, what sort of gift is that?  Is it a gift to pay people back for the good things they do for you?   That’s not a gift, that’s just pay back.  On the other hand, God gives His gifts to us whether we are good or evil.  God gives rain and sunshine to all.  God’s gifts go far beyond what is expected, deserved, earned, because they are gifts of love.  God gives us life, and we are supposed to be pro-life, which also means we should love all who are alive (which we also know is very hard!)

From the Triads of St Paul (19^th Century British Document), we do encounter a Christian thinker reflecting on what Jesus commands us to do:  “There are three ways a Christian punishes an enemy: by forgiving him, by not divulging his sin, by doing all the good in his power.”  We punish them by not behaving as they behave, and by not giving them any reason to hate us.  They’ll have that!

Jesus said: “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”

This used to be called what?     The Golden Rule

This rule says to treat people as you want to be treated.  If you want people to respect you – what do you need to do?  Respect them.  Don’t try to buy their respect by giving them gifts or praise, that is bribery.  Don’t just do them favors so that they will think well of you.  That’s manipulation.  If you want their respect, respect them, treat them with respect.  Treat everyone as you want to be treated.  Don’t command it of them or demand it from them.  Model it.  Show them how you would like to be treated by how you behave and treat them.

You want them to serve you?  Then serve them.

Do you want them to love you?  Then love them.

Constantly and at all times by your own behavior, attitude, words and deeds demonstrate to others how you want to be treated.

If you are self centered and selfish, you are telling others that is how you want them to behave as well, so don’t be angry when they reflect back to you how you are behaving.

Finally we remember the words of St Paul in today’s Epistle:  “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”   (2 Corinthians 4:6-8)

Darkness is what we already have, but the Gospel commands are the light which shines out of our darkness and gives us the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.  God’s commandments can make even this earth into heaven.

Loving One’s Enemies

“’But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful‘  (Luke 6:35-36).

These are the great heights to which Christ desires to raise men! This is teaching unheard-of before His coming! This is the glory of man’s dignity, undreamed-of by the greatest sages in history! And this is God’s love for mankind, that dissolves the whole heart of man into one great flood of tears. 

‘Love your enemies.‘  He does not say: ‘Do not render evil for evil’, for this is a small thing; it is only endurance. Neither does He say: ‘Love those who love you’, for this is passive love; but He says: ‘Love your enemies‘; do not just tolerate them, and do not be passive, but love them. Love is an active virtue.”   (St Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies, p. 194-195)

By Order of the King: Love Your Enemies

Jesus said:  “And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. “  (Luke 6:31-36)

St. John Chrysostom writes:

If the Emperor had laid down a law that all those who were enemies should be reconciled to one another, or have their heads cut off, should we not everyone make haste to a reconciliation with his neighbor? Yes! Truly, I think so! What excuse then have we, in not ascribing the same honor to the Lord that we should do to those who are our fellow-servants? For this reason we are commanded to say, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Mt. 6:12). What can be more mild, what more merciful, than this precept! He has made you a judge of the pardon of your own offences! If you forgive few things, He forgives you few! If you forgive many things, He forgives you many! If you pardon from the heart, and sincerely, God in like manner also pardons you!

(Preparation for Great Lent, p. 8)

Christ commands us to love one another and even to love our enemies.  While some Christians thunder about God’s  impending judgment of sin and sinners based on Old Testament law, rarely do they mention how those who disobey Christ’s direct commandments might be judged.  If we live godly sexual lives but refuse to love neighbors and enemies or refuse to forgive those who offend us, will we be judged by God as sinners or worse than sinners?   Do we imagine that Jesus Christ takes His own commandments less seriously than those of the Torah?  It seems rather that Christ assumes all of the 613 laws of the Torah can be summarized in a couple of teachings:

So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.   (Matthew 7:12)

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”   Matthew 22:37-40)

Christians of all sorts tend to pick and chose which of the commandments of the Torah they are required to follow or  face God’s judgment.  But Christians do not teach it is OK to disobey or ignore the commandments of Christ Himself.  So how can Christians justify focusing on Old Testamental laws about sexual morality while overlooking Christ’s direct commandments about loving others?  We don’t get to pick and choose on what basis God will judge us, we can, however, determine how God will judge us by our own treatment of others.

St John Chrysostom in the above quote sees Christ’s prayer that God forgive us in the same way we forgive others (or that God treat us as we treat others) as being pretty straightforward and merciful.  For in this, Christ says you are in charge of your own destiny on judgment day, because as you now treat others, you are telling God this is how you want to be treated by God on judgment day.  You are telling God by your own behavior (how you treat others) how you want God to judge you!  The more forgiving you are, the more God forgives you.

Something for all of us Christian to think about.

One other thought came to my mind.  I remember reading many years ago about Genghis Khan and a theological “wrestling match” that he arranged.  Though some of the details of this have been lost in history and the results of the debate are no longer  known, apparently Genghis, who loved watching wrestling matches, had representatives of the Christian, Buddhist and Islamic faiths engage in a debate to see if any could best the rest.  One rule that he laid down was that they could only speak in positive terms about their own faith.  If the debaters spoke negatively about the other faiths, the penalty would be death.

Just imagine in our times if politicians and political parties at election time were only allowed to speak positively about what they would do but could not use negative advertising against their opponents.   This would be a form of loving one’s enemies, and should be practiced by Christian politicians.  Tell  us what you are going to do and your vision, but never tell us what you fear your opponent will do.  Inspire us with your good vision, don’t play to our worst fears to get our votes.   I think this would improve every campaign and would certainly add a Christian dimension for those who claimed to be Christian.  This type of thinking might also rid the airwaves of quite a number of talk show hosts.

The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others

The Lord said:  “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”  (Luke 6:31-36)

St. Nikolai of Zhicha comments:

“Christ’s command that we do to others as we would that they do to us is so natural and so clearly good that it is a wonder and a shame that it has not long ago become a daily habit among men. No man desires that others do him evil: let him therefore do no evil to others. Every man desires that others do good to him: let him therefore do good to others.

The Lord continues: ‘For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye, for sinners also love those that love them?‘ This means: if you wait for others to do good to you, and to repay this with good, you are doing no good thing. Does God wait for men to deserve the sun’s warmth, and only then command the sun to shine? Or does He first act out of His charity and love? Charity is an active virtue, not a passive one.

God has made this clear from the foundation of the world. From day to day since the world began, the Lord has, with His gracious hand, poured out rich gifts to all His creatures. Were He to wait for His creatures first to give Him something, neither the world nor a single creature in it would exist. If we love only those who love us, we are merchants engaging in barter. If we do good only to our benefactors, we are debtors paying off our debts. Charity is not a virtue that simply pays off debts, but one that constantly lends. And love is a virtue that constantly lends without looking for repayment.

If we lend to those from whom we hope for a return, what are we doing by this? We are transferring our money from one cash-box to another, for that which we lend we consider to be our own, as much as when it was in our own hands.”  (Homilies, pp.193-194)

St. Gregory Palamas: The Gospel is Innate to Us

Though I have heard many arguments in favor of a literal interpretation of Scripture, rarely have I found biblical literalists to focus their read of Scripture on Christ’s commandments in  Luke 6:31-36 :

“Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

This teaching of Christ is very straightforward and lends itself well to a literal interpretation.  And yet it is a literal reading of the text which is so hard for us to abide by. And this is true even though the Gospel lesson starts with Christ commanding us what to do.  The teaching is not a parable, but commands us to imitate God.  St. Gregory Palamas surprisingly doesn’t think obeying this commandment of Christ should be difficult for us to accomplish since he believes God wired us humans exactly for this type of behavior!  He  comments:

“When He said, ‘As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise’ (Luke 6:31), the Lord was demonstrating through this summary of His counsel that every gospel commandment was not only innate in human nature, but also just, easy and to our advantage, readily comprehensible to all and self-evident. What do I mean? Surely you are aware that it is bad to be angry with your brother and pour abuse on him, especially without cause, and that you yourself are unwilling to be the object of his anger or rebuke? Nor is this an opinion that you reach after some thought; rather, you are immediately vexed when anger and insults are directed at you, and you try to avoid them in any way you can, refusing to accept them because they are obviously evil, wrong, and unprofitable. You feel the same when another man looks at your wife with passion and curiosity, or when someone tells you a lie, not only to harm you, but on any subject at all.

In short, we feel the same about everything the gospel commandments forbid. What needs to be said about those sinful acts which the ancient law had already prohibited: murder, adultery, breaking oaths, injustice and the like? Or about their opposite virtues and our satisfaction with people who practice them towards us? Do you see that you know for yourself each one of the commandments, and consider it just and beneficial? Not only that, but you also deem it to be easy. Otherwise you would not think that anyone who was angry with you, told lies or schemed against you in some way, deserved much blame, if you really did suppose that it was difficult or impossible for him to abstain from each of these evils.” (The Homilies, pp 354-355)

St. Gregory’s bottom line is we get angry when we see sinful or evil behavior in others because, apparently,  we assume it is easy, or rather it is natural, for us to control such behaviors.  We think the others deserve blame because they simply aren’t making the effort to do good or choose the right.  If we really assume it is easy to choose the good, if we assume others easily ought to be able to avoid offending us, then why don’t we ourselves always avoid sin?

On the other hand, if we recognize how hard it is for we ourselves to do good and avoid sin, then why aren’t we compassionate toward and empathetic with others when they offend us?

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. So then it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin which dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”  (Romans 7:14-25)

Do Unto Others: Love

John 13:34

In the Gospel lesson of  Luke 6:31-36, our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to treat others as we want others to treat us.  We are not to treat them as they treat us, but as we would want them to treat us.  Here we find Christ fleshing out a bit what it means to love others as He loved us (John 15:12), which He Himself called His new commandment.

Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

St. John Kronstadt (d. 1908) comments:

“Furthermore, love every man as yourself – that is, do not wish him anything that you would not wish for yourself; think, feel for him just as you would think and feel for your own self; do not wish to see in him anything that you that you do not wish to see in yourself; do not let your memory keep in it any evil caused to you by others, in the same way as you would wish that the evil done by yourself should be forgotten by others; do not intentionally imagine either in yourself or in another anything guilty or impure; believe others to be as well-intentioned as yourself, in general, if you do not see clearly that they are evilly disposed; do unto them as you would to yourself, or even do not do unto them as you would not do unto yourself, and then you will see what you will obtain in your heart – what peace, what blessedness! You will be in paradise before reaching it – that is, before the paradise in heaven you will be in paradise on earth. ‘The kingdom of God is within you,’ says the Lord. ‘He that dwelleth in love,’ teaches the Apostle, ‘dwelleth in God and God in him.’ ” (My Life in Christ, p 38)

Do Unto Others…

The Lord Jesus teaches us in Luke 6:31-36

Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

About the year 100AD, a Christian document, The Didache, brought forth the Gospel teaching to the next generation of Christians:

“There are two ways; the one is that of life and the other is that of death. There is a great difference between the two ways. The Way of Life is this: first, you shall love the God Who made you; second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Everything that you do not wish to be done to you, do not do to another! Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies. Fast for those who persecute you, for what grace would you receive if you love only those who love you back? Even the heathen do that. Love those who hate you, and you will have no enemies. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also, and you will be perfect.”  ( What the Church Fathers Say About….Volume 2, pp. 137-138)

The Sower and the Seed (2002)

Sermon notes from October 2002    The Sower (Luke 8:5-15).   How can we apply this Parable to our daily lives?

Today’s Epistle Lesson:     (2 Corinthians 6:1)  As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.   [Working together with him, do not let the grace of God which you have received be for nothing].  

Today’s Gospel Lesson:      (Luke 8:11-15)  “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”      

So how might we apply the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:5-15) to our lives if we accept the notion that the “seed” is the Word of God?  Let’s take the example of the Gospel Lesson we heard two weeks ago:   (Luke 6:31, 35)   Do unto others as you would have them do to you.   …..    You must love your enemies and do good (…because the most High himself is kind to the ungrateful and to the wicked)

Now let’s think through the two Gospel lessons:

{Luke 8:12} “The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.”     

Example of Luke 8:12 –      Jesus could not possibly have meant for me to love my enemies.  They’ll just take advantage of me.   I’ll get no justice if I love my enemies.  They won’t get what they deserve if I love them.  They’ll never learn if I love them.  I understand what Jesus was saying, but it doesn’t apply in this case.

{8:13} “The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away.”     

 Example of 8:13  –    I tried to love my enemies but they didn’t understand what I was doing.  Certainly, I’ve tried to live by the words of Jesus, but I’m worse off now then I was before.  I apologized but he didn’t forgive he only gloated that he was right and I was wrong.   I really do try to love my enemies, but I can’t forgive her, anybody else I can forgive.
 The convicted child rapist who has asked me to pray for him: We pray for him by name at each liturgy and we pray – for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation, visitation, and for the pardon and remission of sins for ____   But do I really mean it?   Do I really want him to be forgiven by God and by us or do I really hope he rots in prison forever?

{8:14} As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.   

 What difference does it make whether I love them or not, I really don’t have anything to do with them anymore.  My life is so much better now, I really don’t care what happens to them.   Things are going good, so I’m certainly not going to revisit old wounds.   You know I have enough concerns with the stock market the way it is, I can’t be bothered with loving an enemy.  Everything in my life was going just fine until they came along, and now everything is a mess, so don’t ask me to love them.

{8:15} But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.    

Example of 8:15 –   In as much as it is possible for me, I will live at peace with those around me.  I really can’t stand him, but I will pray for him and his family.  She got what she deserved, but I will help her anyway.  I hear you Jesus, you tell me to love as God has loved me, but I find it hard and I don’t really want to do it, but I will at least listen to you and think how to apply this teaching to my life, no matter how I feel about it.

Love vs. “Tell Me the Rules So I can Get the Prize”

Judas Greeting Christ with the Kiss of Peace

And the Lord Jesus said, “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”   

(Luke 6:31-36)

 “Are Jesus’ imperatives rules?    Jesus refused repeatedly to play the familiar game of ‘tell me the rules to get the prize.’  He rejected calculation.  Even in  commanding love of neighbor and enemy, he specified no particular behaviors:  ‘Jesus nowhere prescribes regular church attendance or the tithe.  He did not issue detailed instructions on sexual morality for his followers or whether they should wine or dance.  He does tell them that they are to love their enemies.’”  … “The Pharisees… used a strategy of exclusion with their stress upon separating the pure from the impure and thereby ‘created divisions within society.’  Jesus, on the other hand… insisted that his ‘counter-cultural politics of compassion’ required ‘internal transformation,’ a spiritual revitalization that expressed itself by including the poor, the outcasts, and women.  Rather than divide the people, Jesus called people to ‘an alternative community with an alternative consciousness’ and to peace through loving their enemies.”  (Charles Melchert, WISE TEACHING, pp 233, 236)

Scripture and Tradition: Text and Meaning

I’ve been listening to some lectures by Dr. Silviu Bunta, scripture professor at the University of Dayton, which have gotten me thinking about the relationship of Scripture to Tradition, or in other terms, the relationship of text to meaning.

 If we look at the Canon of Scripture of the Jews, we come to realize that pretty much the Jewish Scriptures have come to us not as text carved into stone (as much as some want this to be true), but really as a living and lived Tradition.  We can’t really separate the official, canonical Scriptures from the Tradition which shaped them, interpreted them, and gave them the meaning which then shaped the people of Israel.  (Even the meaning isn’t carved into stone – it was supposed to be written on the hearts of the people – Jeremiah 31:33)

 Of course there is the Hebrew text, the scriptures of the Jews.  However, inasmuch as the original text lacks vowels, punctuation, capitalization or any spaces between words, any attempt to read it is by definition an interpretation.   Additionally, the text is ancient and in a language that fell out of use in history, and so requires interpretation and explanation even if one is able to form words from the stream of consonants which make up the text.  

For example imagine trying to read and understand Genesis 2:7 if it appeared as:

thnthlrdgdfrmdmnfdstfrm

thgrndndbrthdnthsnstrlst

hbrthflfndmnbcmlvngbng

This text in the Revised Standard Version reads:  “then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

How would anyone be able to figure that out?  Because we don’t just have the text, we also have the Tradition which preserved the text and interpreted it through history giving it both context and meaning.   Thus the received text, is received within a context – both a community and a rich body of literature which endeavored to interpret the text (and even  preserved debates about the meaning of the text).

The ancients looked at the text for its meaning, which in turn determined which texts became part of the Scriptures of the Jews.    To put it another way, it is because of the meaning found in the text that the text came to be considered as Scripture.   Thus the process by which this happened – the context, community and Tradition – are as important as the text itself for interpreting, understanding and deriving meaning from the text. 

For the ancients the text cannot be separated from its meaning, and so the context, the community and the Tradition must be preserved in order to keep both the text and its meaning together.  Thus Scripture and Tradition are inseparable. 

I want to take these ideas one step further and use them to help us understand Matthew 5:43-48, where Christ says:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Some Christians might be surprised to learn that Jesus did not make up his teachings on love, but actually brings forth commandments given to Israel in the Torah, in this case Leviticus 19:18 which reads: “You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

What is more interesting is that the words of Jesus that people would have heard “to hate their enemies” occur nowhere in the Old Testament.  What Jesus appears to be quoting is a Tradition which has Scripture in it, but with additional interpretation.  Jesus does not parse the statement and say you will find in Scriptures “love your neighbor” and you will hear in Tradition “hate your enemies.”  Christ does not separate Scripture from Tradition even though He disagrees with the Tradition; He still treats Tradition and Scripture, text and meaning, as one reality.    He then rejects this stated Tradition, and offers a new understanding of the Torah, calling us to love not just neighbors and brothers, but even our enemies!   This too is not a teaching of the Old Testament, but is something new which Christ is offering.   Christ takes the teaching of Leviticus 19:18, and expands it and offers a new rational for keeping it in a new way:  we are to be children of God which means we are to be like God who gives both rain and sunshine to the evil people as well as the good ones.  God does not limit His love and goodness only to those who love and obey Him.  Christ does not in the end separate Tradition and Scripture, but He does give it a new meaning.

Christ is moving away from the meaning which some Jews had derived from Scriptures; He offers the values of God’s “upside down” Kingdom which are quite different from human ideas of justice.  The Torah teaches us to love neighbor and brother, but Jesus says even sinners do that, so that can hardly be a value of God’s kingdom for it is nothing more than a sinful human value.  We are to love as God loves, which is in a most amazing, unconstrained, unlimited, unconditional and graceful way.

Christ challenges not the divine Scriptures but the human tradition which had evolved around them and which limited their meaning and purpose so that they no longer transformed Israel, but rather kept the Jews being like any sinners.    The Scriptures which were to deify us had been reduced to preserving our fallen humanity, to a human affirmation of the values which sinful humanity endorses.

Tradition though humanly essential for preserving Scripture and its meaning is challenged by the Kingdom of God.   We need Tradition in order to preserve and understand the Scriptures (to give context to the text), but we also need the Holy Spirit to make God’s Word be that living and active sword which discerns our thoughts and intentions (Hebrews 4:12).

Though the Scriptures by themselves are not sufficient for our understanding God’s revelation (the Scriptures must be interpreted, given meaning and lived), there are limits to the Tradition which interprets them.  Not all interpretations are correct, nor is all tradition helpful for our sojourn to God’s Kingdom.

And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  (Revelation 21:5)