Waliking in the Way

St. Matthew 5:33-41 (6/20) The Gospel for Friday of the Week of the Holy Spirit The Sermon on the Mount IV ~ The Living Way: St. Matthew 5:33-41, especially vs. 39: "...whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." In this portion of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus first addresses truth-telling (vss. 33-37), and then teaches how to respond to the demands of others (vss. 38-41). He begins each topic with the familiar formula, "You have heard...but I tell you...." What He discloses is a new way to exist, a blessed life marked by relationships that are "...not of this world" (Jn. 8:23). He seeks by His words to open the "eyes of our hearts," in the same manner as the Prophet Elisha once prayed: "...Open, I pray thee, O Lord, their eyes, and let them see" (4 Kdms. 6:20). First, the Lord's teaching concerning the swearing of oaths: He does not deny that oaths have a legitimate place. Hence, in legal disputes and with governments, men may not always desire to tell the truth, therefore, the power of the state is applied to obtain trustworthy testimony. In giving the Law to Moses, God Himself commands this type of coercive pressure: "...ye shall not lie, neither shall one bear false witness as an informer against his neighbor"(Lev. 19:11). "And if thou wilt vow a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it..." (Deut. 23:21). These are the commands of God to which the Lord refers when He says, "...You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord" (Mt. 5:33). What the Lord rejects is a scheming legalistic devising. The scribes and Pharisees of the first century deemed that as long as one swore by something other than God, he was not bound absolutely by his oath. Commonly, they swore "fidelity" by other things, assuming they were then free from having to tell the whole truth (vss. 34-36). Think of sales talks: when a salesman says, "It's the honest-to-God truth," one often suspects his motives. Abuse of vowing misses what the Lord desires to impart: we are always to tell the truth, and were this command honored, the need for oaths would be eliminated. As Disciples, we are to speak "...the truth in love...," to "grow up in all things into Him Who is the head - Christ..." (Eph. 4:15). Next, the Lord Jesus teaches us concerning the undue demands on us by others. He refers to the law of "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" - called "retributive justice" (see Ex. 21:24). Notice that He strictly limits retaliation, making it solely a function of government and the courts. For the Faithful there are no grounds for taking the law into one's own hands. Rather, Christ our God reveals the perfect approach of the Kingdom of Heaven: non-resistance of evil, which is turning the other cheek, surrendering one's goods, going the extra mile (Mt. 5:39-41). Is such a radical approach possible? Yes! It is the Lord Jesus' intention for us, which is why the Lord Himself is the Living Way (Jn.18:22-23), calling us, by example, to follow Him (1 Pet. 2:23). Of course, His way is contrary to our hardened, coarse human nature, which He wishes to soften. As St. Nikolai of Zica says, "To men not initiated into the mystery of Christ's suffering, the connection between suffering and life, between pain and glory, is, to this day, not clear. They would always want, in some way, to separate life and glory from suffering and pain, blessing the one and making it their own, but cursing and rejecting the other." We are drawn to Christ's way, but our fallen flesh asks, "How can I walk this way?" St. Nikolai of Zica says of the Apostles: "They achieved this...when the Spirit of God descended as tongues of fire into their hearts, setting them on fire with love for Christ." We are at the starting line, for Christ has broken the power of death and given us His Spirit. Let us act from His love! O Holy and Life-giving Spirit, fill us with streams and passages of grace as Thou doth water all creation with refreshing life, that we may be purified for the Kingdom of Heaven.