Scripture Study for

Much of Leviticus focuses on God’s formative intentions for  Israel by repeating often the phrase, “Be holy, for I, the Lord, your  God, am holy.” These words punctuate a section of ethical and cultic laws scholars call the Holiness Code (chapters 17–26). The  command put forward in the reading this week is exemplary of the  ethical commands, and it highlights that these commands are meant  to form one’s “heart.” One is not to hate even secretly, or to “cherish”  a grudge. Instead, Israelites are called to love one another as much as they love themselves. Thus, they will become as holy as their God. 

Paul comes back to an earlier concern, which is the divisions  among the Corinthians (1:10–17), the fruit of “the wisdom of this  world.” Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (Peter) are not leaders of factions,  but coworkers and instruments of God’s construction of a temple,  the Corinthians as a whole (the “you” here is plural). Divisions form  when one considers oneself part of an “in-group” and derives self 

worth from that membership (“boasting about human beings”).  Paul reminds the Corinthians that their worth comes not from  “belonging” to human beings, but to Christ, who himself belongs to  God. By virtue of this fact, everything belongs to them. So they can stop trying to gain their worth through posturing and division.

Jesus has been instructing his disciples how the Law is intended to form a certain kind of person. Now he turns to the theme of retaliation. The ancient lex talionis is meant to limit vengeance  (Exodus 21:23–24; Leviticus 24:19–20). Jesus deepens this point by commanding his followers to reject vengeance altogether, and further, to respond to demands with generosity. Jesus’ command to  love enemies is founded on the observable fact that God also shows  kindness to the unjust and the bad (who might be considered God’s  “enemies”). Just as Israel was commanded to be holy as God is holy,  so Jesus’ followers are commanded to be “perfect” as God is perfect.