I.Theme – There are no limits to your love of your neighbor or to the poor. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, they, and everything else, belong to you (the community), and you to Christ.
"Love of Neighbor " – Hermano Leon
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Leviticus and Matthew both talk of dealing with the poor and your neighbor. This is a week of "higher righteousness." We are really challenged this week.
The New Testament appropriates Leviticus 19:18 in a variety of contexts. ‘Love your neighbor’ is a central injunction for all followers of Jesus. So who is our neighbor? This may be answered best by Luke 10:29-37 the story of the Good Samaritan.
We struggle with the idea of creating just economy in dealing with the disadvantaged. One that is equitable. It is tough. Matthew raises the bar. "Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you."
We can nod our head at all of this. But do we really believe that we have a God who not only makes "the sun to rise on the evil and on the good," (Matthew 5:45) but also enables the good to love and to pray for the evil? Can we "be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect"? (Matthew 5:48)
II. Summary
Old Testament – Leviticus
This section of the ‘Holiness Code’ (chapters 17-26) contains some specific laws about personal relationships, which broadly echo parts of the Decalogue.
Israel’s holiness is derived from relationship to the holy God; it is not an intrinsic quality of their own life. Holiness here includes wholeness, perfection, and relationships between people, ethics.
The needs of the poor, of migrants, and of disabled people, are important here. The particular choice of verses includes regulations which still have an abiding quality under the new covenant, in contrast to some of the other laws in the chapter.
The LORD’s concern for the poor is important not only in the laws of gleaning (v.9, 10), but also in the condemnation of theft (v.11, 13) which may also defraud the needy. The law instructs us to leave gleanings as we harvest for the poor. Many food pantries are now doing this in the area.
While pagan peoples left the harvest on the “edges” (v. 9) of the fields to honur a god, Israelites are to leave it for the needy and for resident foreigners (“alien”, v. 10). We are not to harvest completely and leave nothing to waste; instead, we are to stop our harvesting before we reach the farthest boundaries of our fields so as to welcome the poor and stranger, who live at the margins, to take their share.
You shall not steal, testify falsely in the name of God which is irreverent. You shall not defraud your neighbor. You shall not withhold property from (“defraud”, v. 13) a fellow.
To insult a deaf person (who can’t hear it) and to cause a blind person to trip (over an object he can’t see) is forbidden (v. 14).
Poverty per se is no reason for bias in the court. Judgements in court must be equitable (v. 15). You must tell the truth, and present all evidence that may save the life of an accused (v. 16). Love members of your family and fellow Israelites, neither taking vengeance nor nursing anger (vv. 17-18). If a fellow Israelite errs, correct him – not to do so would be a sin.
The final verse of the reading has the famous injunction to love our neighbour as ourselves
Psalm
The fifth section of this acrostic Psalm is based on the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the letter ‘he’. Our reading is the fifth eight-line stanza.
The Psalm acknowledges the need to understand, and also to internalise, God’s word. Contrary to some misunderstandings, the Old Testament does not see God’s law simply as an external burden to be kept as a duty, but rather as a delight to be treasured internally, in the ‘heart’.
He asks God to orient him towards the Law, to avoid love of personal gain, and to turn him away from all that is futile (v. 37a) and to help him ignore the taunts of those who see keeping the Law as misguided (v. 39a).
Epistle
Paul has offered two metaphors for the Church: a crop in a “field” (v. 9) and a “building”. As God’s agents, he and Apollos have worked together: he has planted, i.e. founded the church at Corinth, and Apollos has watered, i.e. nurtured the community.
He now likens the growth of the church to constructing a building. Using several aspects of the metaphor, he refers to Christ as the foundation, to himself as the master builder. He founded the community properly; “that foundation is Jesus Christ” (v. 11). Others must construct the building above the foundation “with care” (v. 10).
The lectionary misses out verses 12-15 where he discusses the relative merits of the building materials used (ending with his enigmatic comment about being saved by fire). Using several aspects of the metaphor, he refers to Christ as the foundation, to himself as the master.
Sloppy or improper craftsmanship will be apparent on “the Day” (v. 13), when Christ comes again to judge people; he will evaluate it (“with fire”). Good work will be rewarded, but those whose work fails the test will be saved, but only just (v. 15). Perhaps he thinks of leaders who expected all Christians to obey Mosaic law and follow Jewish practices.
He now changes metaphor again. The building he was descrwibin is actually the temple. “You are God’s temple” (v. 16); the Holy Spirit is within you. The disputes among members of which he has heard (1:11), and attempts to divert the church from its founding principle (Christ) can destroy it (v. 17). God will condemn those who do so.
Verses 18-21 recall his previous discussion of the wisdom of the cross in relation to the factions and personalities in the Corinthian church. If you think you are wise by earthly standards, may you become foolish in earthly terms in order to become wise by God’s standards (v. 18). So end your quarrels regarding leaders (v. 20). You “belong” (1:12) to none of them; rather you belong “to Christ” (v. 23) and “to God”. They are servants of Christ and thus of the church. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, they, and everything else, belong to you (the community), and you to Christ.
Gospel
This is a continuation of last week when the text was on
1. You shall not commit murder.
2. You shall not commit adultery
3. You shall not divorce
4. You shall not bear false witness.
The last two of the six so-called ‘antitheses’ (contrasts) cover revenge and love of enemies. They end with the ultimate moral challenge from Jesus: to be perfect.
The law on revenge (v. 38) is found in several places in the Pentateuch. Originally intended for the appropriate dispensation of legal punishment, and to limit revenge and the blood-feud, it had possibly been used as an excuse for taking personal revenge after an injury of accident. In contrast, Jesus exhorts the way of non-violence. This is not simply passive resistance, however, but is also active behavior towards the poor (v. 42).
Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that is 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…”
The contrasting pair — loving neighbor and hating enemy — creates a clever statement for Jesus to explore
Who is our neighbor ? A fellow citizen or neighbor is a companion, a friend, one to share life with.
The command to love our neighbor, from the text in Leviticus 19:18 part of the lectionary this week, is expanded with the comment about hating our enemy, which was probably an addition to the love command which had grown in popular tradition. However, no command to hate your enemy exists in Leviticus. Certainly, the ancient Israelites, like we today, were not always kind and loving to enemy nations and personal enemies
Jesus not only repudiates hatred of enemies, but adds the shocking notion of actually loving them. Richard Rohr writes that until there is love for enemies, there is no real transformation, because the enemy always carries the dark side of your own soul. Normally those people who threaten us carry our own faults in a different form. The people who really turn you off are very much like you. Jesus offers not just a suggestion; you’ve got to love your enemy to grow up. Jesus rightly puts it in the imperative form: Do it!
The ultimately alienating process is that if we stay inside our religious/ethnic group, wars and racism continue. That’s just staying inside a kind of magnified self-love. The key is always to love the stranger at the gate. Love the one outside of your comfort zone, the outsider, the other. Until you can enter into the outsider and the other, Jesus says, you really have not loved at all. What’s his motivation for doing this? The all-inclusiveness of the Father.
You must therefore set no bounds to your love, just as your heavenly Father sets none to his. (Matthew 5:48;). This is most demanding commandment which asks a great deal of us — boundlessness and magnanimity.
Loving your neighbor can be transmitted.
Peace activist Hildegard Goss-Mayr tells the story of the Russian army entering her village during World War II. Because the soldiers were victorious and hungry, everyone expected them to loot and destroy. Yet, when they pounded on her unlocked door, her father opened it and welcomed them like guests. He invited his family to create an atmosphere of trust for the dreaded Russians. Accordingly, the soldiers did not plunder or rape but, seeing that the family were weak and thin, they shared their own meager supply of food.
III. Articles for this week in WorkingPreacher:
Old Testament – Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18
Psalm – Psalm 119:33-40
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23
Gospel – Matthew 5:38-48