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6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

甲年，常年期第六主日

Gospel: Mt 5:17-37 (玛5：17-37)

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If 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 to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And 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 to have your whole body go into Gehenna. "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.' But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. "Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, '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; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.”

Homily: Keeping the Commandments and Unable to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven

In today’s Gospel, Jesus clarifies: “Do not think that I have come to annul the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to annul them but to fulfil them.” If he feels the need to clarify his position, it means that someone has had the impression that his behavior and words are demolishing the beliefs, expectations, and hopes of Israel based on sacred texts. Jesus was respectful of the laws and institutions of his people. However, he interpreted it in an original way. His point of reference was not the letter of the precept but the good of the person. For the love of persons, he did not hesitate to break even the Sabbath. The sayings of Jesus must be understood in this light. The Gospel puts forward four examples today. They are all introduced with the same stereotyped formula: “You have heard that God has said to the ancestors … now I tell you …”

Do not kill! (vv. 21-26)

Jesus teaches that the commandment that orders not to kill has so many implications that go well beyond the physical assault. One who uses offensive words, gets angry, harbors sentiments of hatred has already killed one’s brother/sister (v. 22). If there were X-rays capable of detecting the cemetery hidden in our hearts, we would be startled. Among the dead, we would find those whom we have sworn not to speak to, those to whom we have denied forgiveness, those we have continued to accuse of mistakes done, those whose good name we have destroyed by gossips or slanders, those whom we have deprived of love and the joy of living. 

Murder always starts from the heart. It must be disarmed, or else it demonizes a human being. Before entering the temple, it was necessary for Jews to undergo painstaking purifications. Jesus declares that it is not the body that needs to be pure but the heart. Reconciliation with the brother/sister replaces all rites of purification.

After speaking of the commandment not to kill, Jesus goes to the issue of adultery. The letter of the Torah seemed to prohibit only adulterous actions. Jesus instead goes to the heart and captures the deepest requirements of this commandment. There are friendships, feelings, relationships that are already adulterous. There are two members of the body that need to be amputated: the right eye and the right hand. In this context, they are the symbols of that which awakens lust (eyes) and dangerous contacts (hand). This is not an instruction for bodily mutilation but gruelling self-control which Paul speaks about: “I punish my body and control it, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected” (1 Cor 9:27). 

The third case concerns divorce (vv. 31-32)

God wanted monogamous and indissoluble marriage. The Bible clearly states from the first pages: “The two form one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Because of the hardness of the human heart, divorce is introduced also in Israel. Going against the custom, traditions, and interpretations of the rabbis, Jesus brings marriage to its original purity and excludes the possibility of separating what God has determined to remain united. The clause “except for marital unfaithfulness,” which seems to leave open a possibility of divorce, actually concerns the illegitimate and irregular unions. 

We do not remain faithful to the Lord when we conceal the demands of Christian morality in order to help someone in trouble. One should always remember that renunciation, sacrifice, and the heroism of virginity are doors to the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:12). The clear words of Jesus, however, did not give any disciple license to judge, to condemn, to humiliate, to marginalize those who have failed in their married life.

The fourth case is that of the oath (vv. 33-37)

During the exile in Babylon, the Israelites had assimilated among other bad habits that of swearing inappropriately. To avoid pronouncing the name of God they resorted to the less demanding formula: they swore by heaven, by the temple, by the earth, by their parents, by their heads. A sage of the second century B.C. recommended: “Do not get used to swearing, taking the name of the Holy One” (Sir 23:9). 

Jesus takes a stand against this reckless habit and he does it with his usual radicalism. “Do not swear at all … But let your speech be ‘Yes’ when it is ‘yes,’ ‘No’ when it is ‘no,’ the rest comes from the evil one” (vv. 33-37). It was not so much the desecration of the name of the Lord that worried him. There are other elements that make an oath unacceptable. First of all, it assumes a pagan concept of God who is imagined as an avenger, ready to hurl his thunderbolts against liars and perjurers. Then, it is a symptom of a society that is dominated by mistrust, disloyalty, and mutual suspicion. In the community of the disciples of Jesus, the oath is inconceivable.

证道：基督徒要听古人说，还是要听耶稣说？

在今日的福音中，耶稣阐明说：“你们不要以为我来是为废除法律或先知；我来不是为废除，而是为成全。”如果耶稣觉得有必要阐明其立场，就意味着有人印象中，耶稣的行为和话语正在摧毁以色列人基于神圣经典的信仰、期许和希望。虽然耶稣对梅瑟法律和遵守的人极其尊重，但他是用最原始的方式来解读法律。耶稣的立场提及的不是诫命的文字，而是人的益处（good）。为爱人，耶稣甚至不惜违反安息日。耶稣的教导必须在这光照下来理解，才能明了。今日福音提出了四个例子，都用相同的语言格式来表达：“你们一向听过给古人说，我却对你们说。”

一、不要杀人！(玛5： 21-26)

耶稣教导说，不许杀人的诫命有很多含义，远远超过对身体的攻击：使用攻击性语言、发怒和怀有仇恨情绪都已经杀害了自己的兄弟姐妹。如果有X光线能探测隐藏在我们内心中的墓地，我们会被惊吓到。在死亡中，我们能找到那些自己宣誓不说，那些拒绝宽恕，那些继续指责所犯的错误，那些闲聊和诽谤的好名声，那些生命中丧失的爱和喜乐。

谋杀总是源自内心。这必须要消除，不然就会把人妖魔化。在进入圣殿之前，犹太人必需经过用心的净化。耶稣宣告说，不是身体需要洁净，而是内心。与兄弟姐妹修和，胜过所有取洁的仪式。

二、通奸的问题

托拉（梅瑟法律）似乎仅仅禁止通奸的行为。耶稣反而进入内心，抓住了这诫命最深的要求。通奸早就存在于友谊、情感和关系之中了。身体上有两个部分需要切断：右眼和右手。在这个经文中，它们象征着软弱的感官欲望（眼睛），以及危险的联系（手）。这绝对不是肢解身体的指示，而是正如圣保禄所说的自我痛击的约束：“我痛击我身，使它为奴，免得我给别人报捷，自己反而落选”（格前9：27）。

三、离婚的问题（玛5：31-32）

天主想要的是一夫一妻和永久牢固的婚姻。圣经从一开始就清楚声名：“二人成为一体”（创2：24）。然而，由于人的心硬，离婚也被以色列民引进了。为反对拉比的风俗、传统和解释，耶稣给予婚姻最初的纯洁，并排除了天主永久结合被分离的可能性。其中的一个条款“除了姘居（marital unfaithfulness），看似给离婚留下一种可能性，实际上涉及到的是不合法和不正规的结合。

当我们为了帮助困境中的人，而隐瞒基督徒伦理的要求时，我们没有保持对上主的忠信。人们要一直牢记放弃、牺牲和童贞的英雄行为是进入天国的大门（玛19：12）。然而，耶稣的清晰话语中，并没有给予任何门徒特许来审判、谴责、羞辱、排斥和忽视那些婚姻生活失败的人。

四、誓愿的问题（玛5：33-37）

在充军巴比伦期间，以色列人除了染上其它坏习惯之外，还有不适当的发誓和咒骂。为避免呼号天主的圣名，他们求助于较低需要的形式：他们向天发誓、向圣殿发誓、向大地发誓、向他们的父母发誓、指着自己的头发誓。在主前第二世纪时推荐的做法是：“不要习惯称呼圣者的名字起誓”（德23：9）。

耶稣的立场反对这些不计后果的习惯，并以自己一贯的激进性来行事。“总不可发誓，你们的话该当是：是就说是，非就说非；其他多余的，便是出于邪恶”（玛5：33-37）。耶稣对因发誓而亵渎上主的圣名并不是太担忧，因为还有其它因素让发誓令人无法接受。首要的是这些发誓假设了一个异教的天主观念，把天主描绘成一个复仇者，时刻准备着向撒谎者和作伪证者大发雷霆。不过，这是一个社会的征兆，已经被不信任、不忠信和互相猜疑所支配的社会。在耶稣门徒的团体中，此种发誓是难以置信的。