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GENERAL AUDIENCE OF WEDNESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER
Continuing his catechetical series devoted to the theme
of adultery, the Holy Father delivered the following address at the weekly
audience in St. Peter's Square.
1. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ limited himself to recalling the
commandment: "You shall not commit adultery," without evaluating the
relative behavior of his listeners. What we previously said concerning
this theme comes from other sources, especially from Christ's discussion
with the Pharisees, in which he hearkened back to the "beginning" (cf. Mt
19:8; Mk 10:6). In the Sermon on the Mount Christ omitted such an
evaluation, or rather, he implied it. What he will say in the second part
of the statement, which begins with the words: "But I say to you..." will
be something more than the dispute with the "doctors of the law" or with
the moralists of the Torah. It will also be something more with respect to
the evaluation of the Old Testament ethos. It will be a direct transition
to the new ethos. Christ seemed to leave aside the whole dispute about the
ethical significance of adultery on the plane of legislation and casuistry—in
which the essential interpersonal relationship between husband and
wife was considerably darkened by the objective relationship of property—
and it acquires another dimension. Christ said: "But I say to you that
everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart" (Mt 5:28: when reading this passage there always
comes to mind the ancient translation: "He has already made her an
adulteress in his heart", a version that perhaps better than the present
text, this version expresses the fact that here it deals with a purely
interior and unilateral act.) Thus, adultery committed in the heart is in
a certain sense counterposed with adultery committed in the body. We
should ask ourselves why the point of gravity of sin is shifted, and what
is the authentic significance of the analogy. If according to its
fundamental meaning, adultery can only be a sin committed in the body, in
what sense does that which man commits in his heart deserve to be called
adultery also? Christ posed the foundation of the new ethos with words
which for their part demand a thorough grounding in anthropology. Before
answering these queries, let us pause for a while on the expression that,
according to Matthew 5:27-28, in a certain way effects the transfer or
rather the shifting of the significance of adultery of the body to the
heart. These are words which concern desire.
Requires special analysis
2. Christ spoke of concupiscence: "Whoever looks lustfully." This
expression requires a special analysis in order to understand the
statement in its entirety. Here it is necessary to go back to the
preceding analysis that aims, I would say, at reconstructing the image of
the lustful man dating back to the beginning of history (cf. Gn 3). In the
Sermon on the Mount Christ spoke about the man who "looks lustfully," who
is without doubt the concupiscent man. For this reason, because it is part
of bodily concupiscence, he desires and looks lustfully. The figure of the
concupiscent man, reconstructed in the preceding aspect, will aid us now
in interpreting desire, which Christ spoke about according to Matthew
5:27-28. This concerns here not only a psychological interpretation, but
at the same time a theological interpretation. Christ spoke in the context
of human experience and simultaneously in the context of the work of
salvation. These two contexts in a certain way are superimposed upon and
pervade one another. This has an essential and elemental significance for
the entire ethos of the Gospel, and in particular for the content of the
word "lust" or "looking lustfully."
Relevant in every time and place
3. Using such expressions, the Master first referred to the experience
of his direct listeners. Then he also referred to the experience and
conscience of the man of every time and place. Evangelical language may
have a universal communicativeness. Yet for a direct listener, whose
conscience was formed on the Bible, lust must be linked with many precepts
and warnings. These are present in the first place in the Wisdom books,
which contain repeated admonitions about concupiscence of the body and
also advice on how to preserve oneself from it.
4. As we know, the Wisdom tradition had a special interest for the
ethics and morality of Israelite society. What strikes us immediately in
these admonitions and advice, appearing for example in Proverbs,(1)
Sirach(2) or even Ecclesiastes(3), is a certain one-sidedness they have in
that the admonitions are above all directed to men. This can mean that for
them they are particularly necessary. As far as woman is concerned, it is
true that in these warnings and advices she appears most often as an
occasion of sin or as a downright seducer of whom to beware. Yet one must
recognize that besides the warning to beware of woman and the seduction of
her charm which lead man to sin (cf. Prv 5:1-6; 6:24-29; Sir 26:9-12),
both Proverbs and Sirach also praise woman who is the "perfect life
companion of her own husband" (cf. Prv 31:10ff.). They likewise praise the
beauty and graciousness of a good wife who can make her husband happy.
"A modest wife adds charm to charm, / and no balance can weigh the
value of a chaste soul. / Like the sun rising in the heights of the Lord,
/ so is the beauty of a good wife in her well-ordered home. / Like the
shining lamp on the holy lampstand, / so is a beautiful face on a stately
figure. / Like pillars of gold on a base of silver, / so are beautiful
feet with a steadfast heart. / A wife's charm delights her husband, / and
her skill puts fat on his bones" (Sir 26:15-18, 13).
Warning against temptation
5. In Wisdom tradition a frequent admonition contrasts with the above
praise of the woman-wife: it is the one that refers to the beauty and
graciousness of the woman who is not one's own wife and is the cause of
temptation and an occasion for adultery: "Do not desire her beauty in your
heart..." (Prv 6:25). In Sirach the same warning is expressed in a more
peremptory manner: "Turn away your eyes from a shapely woman, / and do not
look intently at beauty belonging to another; / Many have been misled by a
woman's beauty, / and by it passion is kindled like a fire" (Sir 9:8-9).
The sense of the Wisdom texts has a prevalent pedagogical significance.
They teach virtue and seek to protect the moral order, going back to God's
law and to widely understood experience. Moreover, they are distinguished
for their special knowledge of the human heart. We can say that they
develop a specific moral psychology, yet without falling into psychologism.
In a certain sense, they are close to that call of Christ to the heart
that Matthew has handed down to us (cf. 5:27-28), even though it cannot be
affirmed that they reveal any tendency to change ethos in a fundamental
way. The authors of these books use the conscience of human inner life to
teach morals somewhat in the sphere of ethos historically in action, and
substantially confirmed by them. Sometimes one of them, such as
Ecclesiastes, synthesizes this confirmation with its own "philosophy" of
human existence. However, if it has an influence on the method with which
warnings and advices are formulated, it does not change the fundamental
structure of ethical evaluation.
"Wisdom" a tradition of preparation
6. For such transformation it is necessary to wait until the Sermon on
the Mount. Nonetheless, this very sagacious knowledge of human psychology
present in wisdom tradition was certainly not without significance for the
circle of personal and immediate hearers of this sermon. If by virtue of
the prophetic tradition these listeners were in a certain sense prepared
for adequately understanding the concept of adultery, likewise by virtue
of the wisdom tradition they were prepared to understand the words that
referred to the "lustful look" or alternatively to "adultery committed in
the heart".
It will be well for us to come back again to analyze the concept of
concupiscence in the Sermon on the Mount.
NOTES
1) Cf., e.g., Prv 5:3-6, 15-20; 6:24-7:27; 21:9, 19; 22:14; 30:20.
2) Cf., e.g., Sir 7:19, 24-26; 9:1-9; 23:22-27; 25:13-26, 18; 36:21-25;
42:6, 9-14.
3) Cf., e.g., Eccl 7:26-28; 9:9.
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