Our Gospel lesson is from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and begins with an arduous requirement:
“For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:20)
If obedience to God’s commands is the standard of righteousness, the bar the Pharisees set was extremely high, as they were very strict and scrupulous in their keeping of the Law.
Jesus tells us we must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees if we hope to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Saint Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, who had great reason to boast. His qualifications and zeal were without equal, he wrote to the Philippians that as far as his righteous obedience to God’s law he was blameless.
The Pharisee Saul of Tarsus was blameless in righteousness as far as touching the law, and yet Jesus says that if our righteousness does not surpass that of the Pharisee we shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Some believe the Scriptures teach we are no longer under the Law. And yet our Lord comes right out and says in his sermon that we are still obliged to keep up the requirements of the Law. It is still not okay to murder, steal, or lie, any more than it was when Moses told us not to do it. You still have to keep the fast and tithe just like when you were told to do it in the Old Law, only now you are expected to be happy about it.
As for the new law being less demanding, we see the entire sermon is about the fact that the new law is exponentially more demanding. Because you have received a new nature, the law is not just on stone but written by the Spirit on your heart, and you are expected to keep it internally as well as externally. It’s still unacceptable to murder but now even anger in your heart towards your brother is considered murder.
As Orthodox Christians I hope by now we know these elemental teachings of the Faith, that Christ did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it, that there is a New Law of the Kingdom and that we are obliged to keep the law in order to fulfill righteousness. I don’t think we still go around twisting St. Paul’s words that we are under grace and not under law to mean that we are no longer obliged to keep God’s law, or that there is no law in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus saying that “to enter the kingdom our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees” is not an issue of obedience vs. non-obedience. The distinction that Jesus makes is between external and internal righteousness. The Old Law was righteous but it was written on stone and so could not make the person a new creature. The New arrangement is not new in that it is not law, or in that it does not require obedience or in that there are no rules. It is new because it is the new law which is written on the heart. It is new in that it results in a total transformation of the whole person, not simply an external compliance.
In this new arrangement called the Kingdom and Church of God we have things that we do, a rule of faith, a rule of life, a new law of love which dictates how we express our love and trust in God. The same God who was apparently very concerned about how man worshiped him in the old arrangement is no less concerned about how man worships him in the new arrangement. The New is not New because anything goes or because it’s all a matter of personal taste and preference, but because the shadow has given way to the reality; things are not less serious but more serious. The form of godliness is not less but more solidified since the Incarnation.
You must say your prayers. If you do not you are disobedient and this is not pleasing to God. It is a very serious thing to neglect your prayers. But it is not enough to mouth the words in order to be compliant with an obligation; you must be attentive from your heart in your prayers or else they do you no good. Not only must you say them you must truly pray from the heart.
You must fast. But not just fast; you must fast and pray.
You must give tithes and offerings. But it is not enough just to give; you must give cheerfully and with a grateful heart that you have the opportunity to do something for someone else, not begrudgingly.
You must worship and receive Christ in the Holy Sacrament of the altar. But it is not enough just to show up and daydream about what you are going to do this afternoon; you should prepare beforehand with confession and prayer and thoughtfulness and then you must listen to the word of God and let it penetrate your heart. You must present yourself before God as a sacrifice and cry to Him for Mercy and Grace in this time of need.
Take stock of your heart and your faith in God, your love for the brethren. Do you pray with words or from the heart? Do you give out of obligation or cheerfully? Do you prepare your heart with humble repentance and desire, to receive the body and blood of Christ, or do you just go through the motions?
You must do these things and more, or else your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the Pharisee.