Reading
Matthew 5:27-32
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Comment
Jesus takes the law of the Decalogue to its extreme consequences, bringing it back to his deepest spirit. The Christian is not content with fighting the external act of adultery, but also desire, which already represents an internal choice of infidelity. His radical recommendations against disordered passions (v. 29) do not constitute an invitation to self-mutilation, since lust comes from the heart, but indicate the grave consequences of sin.
Gehenna was the valley of Hinnom, located on the southern side of Mount Zion, where the pagan cult of Moloch (which also included holocausts of children) was practiced in ancient times; it later became a landfill, where waste was burned. Disorderly desire is a fire that consumes relentlessly and keeps man away from the presence of God.
The Gospel teaches that sexuality is a language of love and the signing of a covenant, therefore it must not be trivialized by transforming others into a mere objects of pleasure.
The attitude of Jesus is also radical on the question of repudiation. This is justified by the Mosaic law in case something improper has intervened (Dt 24:1), but it must take place by issuing a written certificate to safeguard the woman from the accusation of adultery. Elsewhere Jesus affirms that Moses allowed the repudiation because of the hardness of the hearts of men, but that "'in the beginning it was not so'" (Mt 19:1-9). The act of divorce must therefore be considered a condition for the protection of the wife, not as a precept, but as a concession. Jesus came to restore creation in the purity of its origins.
The Gospel asks spouses for a full reciprocal self-giving. The exception is made in the case of porneia, which can be interpreted as "concubinage" (relationships considered illegitimate, because between close relatives, (cf. Lv 18: 6-18), but also as adultery. The rigor of Jesus on the question of repudiation is also referred in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 10: 11-12) and in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 16:18). Paul reiterates the prohibition of repudiation, even if he deepens the question by indicating the possibility for the wife to separate from her husband, on the condition of remaining unmarried (1 Cor 7:10-11).
With his recommendations, Jesus invites us to take care of our thoughts and emotions, because evil works, as well as good ones, come from within. Our mind and heart shape the outer man, orient his actions and determine their consequences. Let us keep our spirits whole, in the same way we take care of our bodies. The examination of the soul, not allowing to be subjugated by passions, knowing how to make a selection of the continuous solicitations that come from the world are the virtues of a man who is wise and faithful to God.
Prayer
Guard the door of our heart, o Lord, so that we can remain faithful to you and to those you have called us to love. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
