Today’s long pericope introduces us to the famous six antitheses between the Torah of Moses and the proposals of Jesus. However, the antithetical formulation must not mislead us. Jesus does not eliminate the Old Testament but he wants to reveal its deep soul, suffocated, unfortunately, by absurd casuistry and stiffened by a maddening legalism.
These six antitheses are predicated on a precise question: precise: who is my neighbor? Last Sunday the invitation was to meditate on one’s identity (salt and light), today instead we are called to question ourselves about who the other is. The word of Jesus teaches superior justice, that is, as a solid basis for all our relationships with our brothers and with God in love.

Let us draw our attention to the fourth antithesis, relating to the power of the word (cf. Mt 5:33-37). One degeneration of the word is falsehood. The false word not only causes harm but is purely unfair. For the Talmud there are three causes that lead to the corruption of the word: the one who pronounces it, the one who listens to it, and the one who causes it. Instead, Jesus affirms that our speaking must be, yes yes, no no, because any more is the work of the evil one (cf. Mt 5:37). “The most false discourse”, explained the French exegete Beauchamp, “is not so much the one who says yes instead of no—or the opposite—but the one who settles on neither yes nor no, or rather, on the neutral (from ne-utrum, neither one nor the other). In short, Jesus’ proposal appeals to our responsibility, we are asked to make use of a responsible word. Let us not forget: each of us is called to choose which path to travel (Sir 15,16-21, first reading), the path that wisdom inspires (1Cor 2,6-10, second reading), thus rediscovering every man as a brother and to see, in the brother’s face, the features of the Heavenly Father.

A note, which we think is important. We are now inside, as it were, the great Sermon on the Mount, which, as we know, is preceded by the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are not only an ideal to be lived but the announcement that the Kingdom of God is among us. Therefore: first the good news (the announcement of the Kingdom) then the law; first the gift of God, then man’s answer. We need to keep this aspect in mind so as not to reduce Christ’s words to a new casuistry, a new list of moral norms to consider oneself righteous in the presence of God.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Santa Maria – Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey