"A text without context creates a pretext", I once heard from a priest, a Bible scholar. I fully agree with this statement, especially in reference to Scripture, both the Old and New Testament. The text of the Bible was being penned for over a millennium by a few dozen inspired authors, however, in an entirely different setting conditioned by a cultural, religious, historical, geographical or linguistic context which is different from ours. The discerning reader of the sacred text in his or her diligent analysis cannot fail to take into account the complexity of the context of each biblical pericope. Seeing this context as the background to Gospel verses helps to better understand the message conveyed.
The Gospel of the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time comes from a book marked by a very strong Jewish flavour. Both its author Matthew (Levi) and its recipients (mainly Judeo-Christians) were rooted in the religion and customs of the Chosen People. Today's pericope (Matthew 5:17-37) quoting an excerpt from a "sermon" Jesus delivered by the Sea of Galilee on a hill called the "Mount of Beatitudes" is very much saturated with terms embedded in the broader Jewish culture. Jesus makes a great many references to Jewish culture and the Jewish religion. If it were not for general historical, theological and biblical knowledge, would it be easy for us today to understand the words such as: "Law”, "Prophets", "iota”, “scribes", “Pharisees", etc? Context analysis should be the first step in a serious, scientific study of the Bible.
In the Gospel, Jesus stresses that He does not “come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” (v. 17). What will he fulfil it with? With what was missing from the man who was angry with his brother (v. 22), the one who had to leave his gift at the altar (v. 24), the one who found it hard to reconcile with his opponent (v. 25), and the one who regarded the woman with lust (v. 28), i.e. LOVE. May we too fill our lives only with love!
About the author:
Fr. Dr. Mariusz Świder, Bible scholar, Rector of the John Paul II Seminary of the Diocese of Siedlce, postulator of the beatification process of Servant of God Bishop Ignacy Świrski. He studied the Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.