When I was in High School back in the day we put on a play called Murder in the Cathedral written by T.S. Eliot. It concerns the martyrdom of the Archbishop, Thomas A Becket. The play opens with Becket being tempted – first to have more possessions, then by sexual desire, and, finally, by the desire for power. He weathers those temptations and is surprised when another tempter shows up. He expected the world, the flesh and the devil but who was the fourth? This tempter dangles before him the possibility of becoming renowned because of the coming martyrdom. Won’t it be great, says the devil, when people look up to you. Becket sees the trap. If he doesn’t keep God’s will foremost his martyrdom won’t mean much. The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason. The idea is: it’s not just what we do, but why we do it that matters. Jesus says something similar in the gospel passage for today taken from the Sermon on the Mount. It’s not enough simply to avoid killing; we must also not have anger in our hearts. It’s not enough simply to avoid adultery; we must not think about others as sexual objects. It’s what goes on in our hearts that matters.
On the other hand, there is a school of thought in psychology that suggests that our behavior can change the way we think. Behavior therapy works in patients’ lives by living out the adage: “Fake it ‘til you make it.” By imitating confidence or competence even if you don’t feel that way you can realize those qualities in real life. Practice being an optimistic person and pretty soon you become one. A therapist will do this through role playing – taking a client through various scenarios and letting him or her act as if. By acting “as if” the person gradually builds up the mental wherewithal to become the kind of person who they aspire to be. In twelve step spirituality they say you can’t think your way into a new way of living – you have to live your way into a new way of thinking.
So which is it: do our behaviors matter more or do our motivations matter more? If you shovel your neighbors walk so that people will think you’re the greatest neighbor ever your motive might be mixed but the walk would still be cleared and that would be a good thing in and of itself. So is the behavior what matters? Of course in one sense this is a false dichotomy since our behaviors and our motivations are all mixed up together. The real question, though, is what is Jesus telling us in saying don’t get angry, don’t lust, don’t swear. To answer that we have to see how Jesus introduced these commandments. “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven.” Jesus is teaching us surpassing righteousness. Let’s think about the scribes and Pharisees for a moment. They have a bad reputation but, really, they would be the people you would want for neighbors. They didn’t have wild parties, they never jay walked, they re-cycled their trash. But Jesus wants us to surpass them. How do we do that?
When you dig into these contrasts Jesus sets up in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus wants us to stop thinking about the least you can do and start doing the most you can do. Not killing someone is least you can do. Not being angry is the most you can do. Not committing adultery is the least you can do. Not lusting is the most. Not swearing is the least you can do. Speaking the simple truth not matter what is the most you can do. The Pharisees did what was expected of them. Not a bad thing but Jesus says for surpassing holiness we have to do more. Think about Valentine’s Day on Friday. When you were considering what to give to your Valentine your first thought was not “how small a gift can I get away with? Will one rose be enough or do I have to get a dozen? Will Hershey’s suffice or do I have to go Godiva?” Of course when you love someone you don’t think that way. You don’t imagine the smallest gift that would be acceptable but the largest gift you can afford. Not the least, but the most.
The image of doing the most for the one you love helps provide the background for the commandments of Jesus. He wants us to do the most out of love. There was a song in the show Chorus Line, “What I did for love.” The chorine, Diana, sings of all the sacrifices, all the work, all the effort that has gone into her desire to dance. And she did it because she loved to dance. When you do something for love even the difficult seems worthwhile. “What I did for love.” Jesus commands us to love God and neighbor. He is challenging us to do the most that we can for love. Certainly it is a good thing not to murder that person who just cut you off on the Dan Ryan and almost made you crash into that giant semi carrying hazardous material creating a giant fire ball of destruction. But since you love them as a child of God you do the better thing and don’t get angry but channel your feelings into highway safety. Certainly it is good to remain faithful to your spouse despite those fine things strutting their stuff down the street. But since you love your spouse you do the better thing and practice custody of the eyes and don’t let even your thoughts wander. Certainly it is good to avoid telling lies just so you won’t get in trouble. But since you love your neighbor and owe him honesty, you do the better thing and tell the truth even when it is going to cost you. What I did for love.
