Tradition

Today’s Gospel Text: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; 26 truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33 "Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40 and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; 41 and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you. 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' Matt 5:21-43

Reflection:  All the sayings of Jesus has one thing in common; "You have heard that it was said” and somewhere else Jesus adds; “to the men of old”.  

All these while I thought Jesus was referring to the Law or the commandments, instead he was pointing out to the extended interpretation of the law.

This extended interpretation is what we also call, the tradition.

If you thought that all that talk about tradition and following it was a Catholic invention then here it is; Jesus is not only referring to tradition but further, either correcting or adding to the tradition.

If it was not Jesus, then some would have even condemned him for adding to the Law and changing the meaning of the law. They would have said; look, he is behaving like a Catholic.

In the light of this, I want to throw a challenge:  Get me any protestant who denies the value and importance of tradition and I will prove to them that they too have a tradition.  Though they may deny or even renounce tradition and may strictly claim that they go only by scripture, yet their tradition is as old as their founder who first interpreted the word to them and taught them to protest.  

Here in Jesus’ case, it was not the law that Jesus was referring to but the interpretation of the law which in many instances were not written in the Old Testament. It was an oral tradition carried for generations; from men of old to the men now.  (Which latter, in written form, was referred to as the Talmud)

Prayer:  "With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open.”  Job 12:13-14

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