If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

- Matthew 5:27-37

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 5.  We began with the Beatitudes, the blessings of the Kingdom.  Jesus then taught about the righteousness of the Kingdom.  In yesterday's reading, He began to explain what this means, how it is a depth and fulfillment of the Law:  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.  And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council.  But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.  Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.  Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.  Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."

 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  My study bible says that the issue here isn't the God-given mutual attraction of men and women, but rather the selfish promptings of lust.  Sin, it tells us, doesn't come out of nature but rather out of the distortion of nature for self-indulgence.  The thoughts that enter our minds involuntarily are not sins.  Rather they are temptations.  They only become sins when they are held and entertained.

"If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  Jesus uses the analogy of an eye or hand as sin that is nurtured and indulged beyond temptation.  In a certain sense, the analogy holds even further:  when we are covetous we cast an eye upon and view things or people a certain way.  A hand may wish to reach out and take what isn't rightfully or properly truly ours.  Habitual thoughts or desires can feel so much a part of ourselves that they are like a hand or eye.  In this sense Jesus is encouraging each one of us to decisive action to avoid sin.  The analogy acknowledges the difficulty, but it also stresses the need and the cost of the failure to do so.

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."  Jesus repeatedly addresses the question of divorce in the Gospels (see this recent reading from Mark's Gospel).  Under Mosaic Law, there was very easy access to divorce for Jewish men.  But Jesus condemns divorce in light of what He sees as misuse of the Law.  Instead, He emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage and the depth of the marriage bond.  He does allow for divorce on the grounds of sexual immorality, teaching us how sin can destroy relationships.

 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.'  But I say to you, do not swear at all:  neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  My study bible says that trust cannot be secured by swearing an oath by the things that aren't truly in our possession anyway.  It's only simple integrity in which trust is based.  If we studiously pay attention to Jesus' communication, we see that He embodies this Himself.

In each of Jesus' teachings, we can see that sin is a kind of toxin.    It poisons the well of relationships, of communion.  The things Jesus addresses all seem to have to do with depth of communion and relationship.  Marriage is a bond given by God.  In some sense, all communion is a reflection of Jesus' teaching on the two great commandments (see this recent reading from Mark's Gospel).  The first is a love of God with all one's being, the second love of neighbor as oneself.  That is, our participation in the love of God via the communion of faith allows us to share in that love with others.  Marriage as sacrament given by God to create a depth of communion ("the two shall become one flesh") is one example of the two great commandments at work.  But sin can destroy any relationship; it is in itself a kind of distance and separation from God, a reflection of such.  Selfishness poisons that well of love, the ties we have with others.  Whether we speak of murder and the things that are like it (as in yesterday's reading), or a thoughtless approach to marriage that treats one partner as possession one may discard, these behaviors harm love and community.  The sort of lust Jesus speaks about is a kind of covetousness that doesn't respect the real nature of communion either, not in social terms and not in personal terms.  It treats human beings as commodities rather than persons.  In addition, Jesus speaks about swearing oaths to prove or bolster one's truthfulness.  But what it all comes down to is personal integrity.  This is the stuff of true relationship -- within oneself, with God, and with others.  If one's word is one's bond, if "yes" means "yes" and "no" means "no," then we're speaking of the possibility of trust.  And trust is everything.  It is even the real root of faith.  This sort of integrity is related to purity of heart, a lack of duplicity, where what one is on the inside is what one sees on the outside.  To be tempted to magnify anything beyond this true wealth of integrity is to endanger the bonds we have with others based in that capacity for trust rooted in such a character.  All things come back to this, where we put our trust, and how others -- even God -- may put trust in us.  It starts with the heart, the place from which we discard that which poisons the well, and the place where we align with that which develops and builds love in all its forms.  Jesus offers us a choice in His vision of righteousness.