It’s all about “the More”

Today’s gospel passage is drawn from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount.  Six times in this Sermon Jesus begins with the phrase, “You have heard it said. . .”  And then he adds, “But I say to you. . .”  In each case Jesus places before his hearers the scope of a greater righteousness, a way of living in which something more is required.  “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

We can easily feel the burden of the “something more.”  No longer can the followers of Jesus be content to obey the commandment, “You shall not kill.”  Now anger, and what follows on that—insults, broken relationships, retaliation—are seen to violate the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.

Is that all we’re left with?  More burden, a heavier load than that carried by the scribes and Pharisees?  But wait . . .there’s more to the more!

The more asked is in service of the more to be received.  To enter the kingdom of heaven, that is, the kingdom of God, is to be drawn into the greater life that Jesus promises.  “I came that they might have life and have it to the full.” It is a life in union with Jesus himself.  The greater righteousness leads to a greater life, here and hereafter.

And so, our Lenten journey is about “the more.”  Where is the Lord inviting me to more?  To take a closer look at attitudes and behaviors that, as I ignore them, keep me further from the joy and fullness of the kingdom, from deeper life with Jesus.  The call from Jesus in these 40 days is a call to receive again, to receive in a new and deeper way, more of the life that he promises, “life and life to the full.”