Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Growing up, I was always puzzled by today’s Gospel lesson, taken from Matthew’s account of the Beatitudes — Matthew 5:17-20. Jesus told the assembled multitudes that their righteousness had to ‘surpass the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees’ if they wanted to ‘enter the kingdom of heaven’. What did he mean by this?

A traditional interpretation of this idea takes into account Christ’s clear intention to base his teaching on the foundation of the law in its wholeness (vv. 17-19). He claimed to fulfill the law fully by doing the Father’s will, by obeying all aspects of the law, and by granting righteousness to his followers.

Our righteousness, then, is not based on our outward fulfillment of certain rules. The scribes and pharisees were model citizens, in terms of compliance to the law. Rather, the righteousness that ‘surpasses’ theirs is found in communion with Christ, the One who is the fulfillment of the whole law.

Our work, as Christians, is the activity of growth in communion with Christ: communion in each aspect of our being. The traditional Christian spiritual disciplines, all of which are found in the Beatitudes, are thus fully oriented towards this goal: communion with Christ and the receipt of his wisdom, which is expressed in love of God and love of neighbor.

Yours in Christ,
Justin