A More Profound Righteousness

Devotional Reflection, Thursday, February 27, 2025

The week of the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s Gospel reading:

27 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.. . . . 31 ‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” 32But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.. . . . . 33 ‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.” 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all,

You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 948)

AM Psalm (120), 121, 122, 123; PM Psalm 124, 125, 126, (127)

Ruth 1:15-22; 2 Corinthians 1:12-22; Matthew. 5:13-20

Today we celebrate the Feast of George Herbert. (See below.)

David’s Reflections

In today’s Gospel we see the unique sense of authority Jesus felt. Like the prophets before him, Jesus revises and deepens the Law. Jeremiah (Jer. 31:29-30) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 18:1-4) both revised one of the Ten Commandments.  Exodus 20:5 says that the children shall suffer for the sins of the fathers. “punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me.” But the prophets of the seventh and sixth centuries moved Israel beyond the concept of corporate guilt to a theology of individual responsibility. The entire tribe or clan would no longer share the guilt of an individual.

This is Jeremiah’s teaching.

29 In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes,    and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

30 But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of the one who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.

Like those prophets, Jesus takes the earlier, partial revelation of God’s nature and deepens it, in the process invalidating portions of the Hebrew Bible. The church always has struggled with the challenge of relating the earlier, less complete revelation of God in Hebrew Scripture with the fulfilling of that revelation in Jesus.

The Presbyterian Church USA published a document to assist people in their reading of the Bible. On pages 11-12, they articulate one of the criteria, “The Centrality of Jesus Christ.” There they say,

 It is in Jesus Christ that God deals decisively with humanity and constitutes the church. This affirmation implies that all Scripture is to be interpreted in light of the centrality of Christ and in relation to the salvation provided through him. This principle requires a use of Scripture that recognizes Jesus Christ as its center, though not one that regards every text as a witness to Jesus. . . .When we encounter apparent tensions and conflicts in what Scripture teaches us to believe and do, the final appeal must be to the authority of Christ (DF VI.3). It is this insistence on the centrality of Christ that obliges us to make it one of our guidelines for the right use of Scripture in interpretation.+

Can we find a common thread in these three “but I say to you” sayings? In each case, I hear Jesus’ second commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we value another person as a human being, we will resist depersonalizing them and desiring to posses them sexually, using them to gratify our desire like we use bread to assuage hunger.

If we value our spouse and treat them as we desire that they treat us, loving them like a neighbor, we will be far less likely to violate our wedding vows and end the relationship. The church traditionally has read these passages (Matthew 5, 19; Mark 10; Luke 16) in ways that relegate divorced persons to second class citizenship. In recent years, we’ve done a better job of reading these texts against their background and bringing God’s grace and forgiveness to bear in relation to divorce.

Jesus reverts to the creation stories in Matthew 18 and Mark 10, taking his contemporaries back past the concessions Moses made in Deuteronomy and protecting women from the arbitrary treatment they suffered in a patriarchal culture, thus fulfilling the Law and invalidating an earlier, partial understanding.

If we love our neighbor as ourselves and treat them as we desire to be treated, we will not want to deceive them with doublespeak or a contractural agreement that puts them at a disadvantage and extorts from them. We will speak the truth in love and make our promises with integrity.

These texts unwrap Jesus’ statement that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20). His teaching fulfills the Law, deepening and expanding its demands. Following him and embodying his teaching takes us to a more profoundly obedient and loving life than will a dogmatic proof texting of Hebrew Scripture apart from God’s revelation in Christ.

+”Presbyterian Use and  Understanding of Holy Scripture.” https://pcusa.org/sites/default/files/scripture-use.pdf

Collect of the Day, Epiphany 7

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ , who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 236)

Today we celebrate the Feast of George Herbert, priest and poet (died 27 Feb 1633 CE). http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/George_Herbert.htm

Collect of the Feast of George Herbert

Almighty God, who called your servant George Herbert from the pursuit of worldly honors to be a poet and a pastor of souls: Give us grace, we pray, joyfully to dedicate all our powers to your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Guidance

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people;  Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (BCP 100)

Of the Holy Eucharist  (Especially suitable for Thursdays)

God our Father, whose Son our Lord Jesus Christ in a wonderful Sacrament has left us a memorial of his passion:  Grant us so to venerate the sacred mysteries of his Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruit

of his redemption; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (BCP, 252)

In the Evening

O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.   (BCP, 833)

A Collect for Mission

O God of all the nations of the earth: Remember the multitudes who have been created in your image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that, by the prayers and labors of your holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship you as you have been revealed in your Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 257)

Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 5:27-37 27 

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If 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 for your whole body to be thrown into hell.* 30And 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 for your whole body to go into hell.*

31 ‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” 32But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33 ‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.” 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one

Daily Offices in The Book of Common Prayer

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer

Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer

Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer