GOING BEYOND “THE BOOK”
Sirach 15:15-20; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37
There were two junior executives in a company. Both were diligent workers. One always went by the book and never erred. The other went beyond the book and therefore made mistakes. When there was an opening for a senior executive position, the managing director promoted the second exec. Mr By-the-Book was enraged and questioned a director about the decision! He had a better record; he never made mistakes; he always followed the book. The director replied: “Yes! But what will you do when something comes up that isn’t in the book? You know the rules. He knows our rationale; he knows the mind of the directors.”
It’s not enough to go by the book. Often in life—and always in the Christian life—we need to go beyond the book. That’s the bottom line of today’s scripture!
The first reading from Sirach presents the people with a choice: life and death. We will have life if we keep the commandments. We have the capacity to do so; it’s a matter of choice.
In the gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples to go beyond the book, to surpass the righteousness of the scribes/Pharisees. In the Jewish perspective, one was righteous if one kept the law. For Jesus, it’s not enough to tick the commandment boxes!
Jesus identifies the causes of sin and calls his disciples to also avoid the causes of sin. He does this through six illustrations (four in today’s text) which have the form “it was said… but I say to you.” The first part of the statement recalls the Law of Moses; the second part is the challenge to “go beyond”.
Disciples must not only
a) avoid murder but also avoid attitudes/behaviour that inappropriately express anger;
b) avoid adultery but also have hearts free of lust;
c) avoid divorce but also remain faithful to the marriage covenant;
d) avoid false oaths but also avoid oaths (an oath calls on God to witness to the truth of one’s statement).
It’s not enough to know and keep the rules. We need to know the rationale for the rules and keep their spirit. We need to know why we are disciples and who we should be… by knowing Jesus, putting on his mind, and living his values.
Am I ready to go beyond “the book”? Am I ready to imitate the One who came to “fulfil the law”? It is a tough ask… and so we pray for the grace to go beyond the book.
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