In the section
of the Sermon on the Mount for next Sunday’s lectionary reading (February 23,
2020), Matthew 5:38-48, Jesus made two specific allusions to Leviticus 19:1-18 (which
is logically the lectionary reading from the Hebrew Scriptures).
This section of
Leviticus opens with “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” (v.
2) Jesus concluded this section of the Sermon on the Mount with “Be perfect,
therefore, as you heavenly Father is perfect.” (v. 48) Jesus’ example of this
perfection is that the heavenly Father “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” Linking the Levitical
source with Jesus’ allusion suggests that God’s perfect holiness is expressed
through love (steadfast love – hesed repeatedly
in the Hebrew Scriptures, especially the Psalms) extended without regard to
presumed worthiness.
Jesus sets this
as the foundation for his instruction to “Love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you.” (v. 44) Interestingly, Jesus set this against what must
have been a common distortion of Leviticus 19:18 when he said, “You have heard that
it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” for Leviticus
says nothing about hating enemies. Jesus went on to acknowledge our natural
tendency to love those who are close to us and like us, that is what anyone
would do. His call to love enemies lifts his expectations above ordinary human
compassion to aspire and even participate in God’s perfect holiness by loving
those who are not like us, even those who do not deserve to be loved, even our
enemies. In case you are prone to protest that you have no enemies, consider
who might think of you as their enemy.
Jesus’
allusions to Leviticus are simple extensions of God’s consistent love for all
people in all times and all places. He made no effort to delve into the complexities
of understanding, interpreting, and applying the Levitical Holiness Code for
his time or ours. Plenty of things there were so specific to the ancient Hebrews
that we easily recognize they are not relevant to us, and may not have
addressed things in Jesus’ time either. Some things there evoke controversial
debates as to whether and how they may or may not address concerns of our time.
Overall, the point of the Levitical Holiness Code was to distinguish the
ancient Hebrews from their pagan neighbors, to prohibit practices intrinsic to
the idolatry that was a lure to them. I only want to acknowledge that reality
and not try to sort that out. Not only is it beyond my expertise, I don’t want
to get sidetracked from the power of how Jesus drew on Leviticus in the Sermon
on the Mount.
Embedded in the
Levitical Holiness Code (and other sometimes puzzling things in the Hebrew Scriptures)
are profound affirmations that transcend times, places, and cultures. I believe
this is one of them that is incisive for contentious issues in our present time
and context. Between the two lines Jesus alluded to is this.
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to
the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You
shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your
vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your
God. (vv. 9-10)
A lot of
contentious debate currently surrounds how, if at all, to support and protect
the poorest and aliens among us. On one side are those who argue that this is a
public and even government responsibility. On the other side are those who
argue that tax supported, government programs are an unjustly imposed charity,
which should be personal and voluntary. Gleaning is not limited to ancient Hebrew
society, but it is codified here and elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. While
it was not a government program, it was an expression of both justice and
compassion. To go back through a field or vineyard or orchard so nothing would
be left for gleaners was regarded as theft from the poor, from the community,
and from God. In a non-mechanical, agrarian society abundance was for the
benefit of the whole community, and not a right to be claimed by property
holders (the idea of personal property was inconsistent with the understanding
that those who held land at the moment did so in trust for future generations
and the whole community, so as Leviticus 25:23 says, “The land must not be sold
permanently, because the land is mine (God’s) and you are but aliens and my
tenants.”) Literal gleaning is not too practical in our urban technological society.
While gleaning was enforced by social norms (see the book of Ruth) and not
government mandate, in our society we depend on government for structures that
support the common good. The government is not some alien entity imposing its
external will, but even when we don’t like it, government is us and how we live
together in a large, complex society.
I am suggesting
that in both public and private spheres, we who are people of The Book (Jews
and Christians alike) do the hard work of creative thinking and advocacy for
ways to bring the principles of gleaning into our society. Abundance is to be
shared. The poor are helped in ways that respect their dignity and contribution
to the society. Those who are least able (and maybe least deserving) are supported
with justice and compassion acknowledging our shared humanity (theologically
created in the image of God).
I am also
suggesting that pitting voluntary charity and public/government support against
each other is a false dichotomy. Deuteronomy 15 addresses a number of justice
concerns, several of which involve the poor and are implemented through the
practice of the Sabbatical Year and the urging “not to be hard-hearted or
tightfisted toward your needy neighbor.” (v. 7) It recognizes the paradoxical
realities of shared human life. “There will, however, be no one in need among
you.” (v. 4) and “There will never cease to be some in need on the earth.” (v.
11), which Jesus alluded to in Matthew 26:11, “You will always have the poor
with you.” not as an excuse for dismissing caring for them as hopeless but as a
perpetual incentive to be generous in his name. Thus, Deuteronomy endorses voluntary
generosity, not in lieu of public/government action, but as an expression of
loving your neighbor as yourself. “Provide liberally out of your flock, your
threshing floor, and your wine press, thus giving to him some of the bounty
with which the Lord your God has blessed you.” (v. 14) “Open your
hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.” (v. 11)
I have observed
many times that Psalm 72 is clear that justice and compassion for the poor, the
foreigners, the weak, etc. is the responsibility of the king, government. Yes,
that was ancient Israel, but the Psalm makes no comment on the king’s personal
faith, and I believe it is consistent with why the New Testament teaches
respect for government, even though for the first three centuries of the Church,
government largely excluded and even persecuted them. In my half century of
praying through the Psalms monthly, on the 12th of each month I come
to that Psalm and pray in that way for whoever is US President at the time and
all others in government service. So I affirm that compassion and justice,
support and provision for the poor is a concern of the whole society, both
private and government. We who claim to base our worldviews on the Bible (with
admittedly varying approaches) ought to be leading the way for working together
to these ends. http://nstolpepilgrim.blogspot.com/search?q=how+I+am+praying+for+President
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