Matthew 5:27-32

2 Corinthians 4:7-15

Psalm 116:10-11. 15-16. 17-18

Matthew 5:27-32

Jesus said to his disciples:

“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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I desire each day to encounter you in prayer. I find you in your Word and in the depths and garden of my heart. I hear your gentle voice as you walk with me and fill me with your Spirit.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Moses’ Concession: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to two connected Laws of Moses. He refers to the sixth commandment that prohibited adultery and to the law in Deuteronomy that regulated the practice of divorce. The intention of Moses’ Law was not to give free rein to divorce, but to limit and regulate the practice. As Jesus would later teach, Moses, not God, gave the concession and only gave it because of the hardness of the people’s hearts. It was not God’s original intention for men and women. Moses was trying to prevent certain abusive practices that were happening, like marrying and divorcing the same woman over and over again. What is also notable is that Moses is silent on whether or not someone could remarry.

2. The Fulfillment: Jesus does two things to bring the Law of Moses to fulfillment. On the one hand, he radicalizes the law prohibiting adultery and prohibits the vice of lust. The is important because the exterior act of sin is rooted in the interior act. Adultery has its origin in the capital sin of lust. The New Law offers believers the grace and virtues to be chaste. Lust turns people into objects of pleasure to be possessed. Chastity successfully integrates our sexuality (CCC, 2337). Instead of seeing another as an object or reducing them to their body, we appreciate them as beloved and beautiful children of God redeemed by Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit. On the other hand, Jesus corrects the concession given by Moses and elevates marriage to a Sacrament that shares in the love he has for his bride, the Church.

3. Faithful Love: In the New Law, several negative prohibitions have a positive reformulation. By prohibiting divorce in the New Covenant, Jesus is commanding faithful love unto death. The New Law offers the power to overcome lust and be chaste and the power to resist the temptation to adultery and be faithful in marriage unto death. Just as God the Father is faithful in love to his children and God the Son is faithful in love to his bride, we are called to be faithful in love to one another.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, teach me how to pray as I ought. I do not want to multiply words unnecessarily. I want a true relationship with you. I will praise you and give you thanks for all you have done. I will ask you for what I need according to your Father’s will. I will beg for forgiveness and mercy when I fail and sin against you.

Living the Word of God: How is my life of prayer? When do I pray best? In the morning or the evening? On the weekend? Have I ever spent time during the work day to pause for a moment of prayer? Do I see prayer as conversing with God, having a conversation with a friend who loves me? What is God asking me to do to improve my life of prayer?