Our Demanding (and Merciful) Lord

In our Gospel today Jesus says something that would have shocked his listeners. He says, "You have heard that it was said..." (indicating something that God taught in the Sacred Scriptures) and then adds to it: "But I say to you..." In taking upon himself the prerogative to add to and intensify God's word, he is claiming for himself God's own authority. He is acting as only God can act. And in doing so, he makes the Law much more demanding: Not only are his disciples to follow the law on an external level ("You shall not kill") but also on the internal level of the heart: ("You shall not be angry with your brother"). Here we see the all-encompassing demand that Jesus makes upon our moral life. He demands everything and at the same time receives us with infinite mercy as we struggle in our task of becoming "perfect as our Father is perfect".