I spent quite a while on this. it's long and it's messy, but I will keep it here for reference. It sounds sort of right at the moment anyway . . .
I am not in the least suggesting that the early church got the area of sexual morality wrong. As I've tried to explain before I am not a liberal in that sense. In following Jesus who says that 'not one jot of the law will be taken away' we are certainly called to a life of complete purity and complete love. But I don't think that the passage in Matthew 19 is about morality at all. It's what the lawyers want it to be about: they are the ones who are squeezing him into making legal statements and he simply doesn't: he will not be drawn into clauses and exceptions . . . he states the law of God and there's an end to it. Having said that, I think that the reason for this is that human law is all about justification. 'If the law says its alright, then it must be alright and it stops being an occasion for sin' is the way that the lawyers think, and the legalism of the old Judaism (and much old Catholicism too for that matter) is redolent with examples of self-justification. In believing that they have kept within the law all their lives (and many of them probably had), the lawyers had no understanding about why they might need to repent. Despite spending their lives keeping within the law the kingdom of heaven is closed to them. The call of the gospel reaches far beyond what man can actually accomplish: the wall between God and man is pulled away which is why the gospel is such desperately uncomfortable reading. Constantly, Jesus pulls the rug from under our feet, leaving us no place we can call safe . . . . in the eyes of God we are all doomed to fail. All the safe places that Moses and the lawyers had been creating for themselves for centuries are wiped away. And yet above all Jesus proclaims the good news. We are doomed to fail in the eyes of God and yet this is supposed to be good news?? . . . . the moment that we think to ourselves (I am thinking here of the parable of the lawyer and the publican) that we have 'done alright today and kept within the law' then we are separating ourselves from God. There can be no justification in the eyes of God. When we try to justify ourselves we are telling God that we don't need him anymore. The Jews sought justification and could never find it and the psalms are full of references to this and our own journey to God will be no different . . .Sorry to go on about this, but I do hope I am making my position a little clearer.From the Christian's point of view, the problem with 'the law' (morality) is exactly the same as for the Jews: we are so easily drawn into thinking that, provided we are obedient enough and keep to the rules, that somehow this will please God and we will move a few steps closer to Him. (I always think the fight that the disciples have about who will get the nicest seat in the kingdom of heaven is about this. When we read the gospel and we chuckle to ourselves thinking 'how silly these disciples are!' we have already fallen into the very trap of believing ourselves one step ahead of them!!).What I believe Jesus is calling us to do is to fix our sights, not on the law and the rules, but upon the only 'reason' (the Purposeless Purpose??) for our lives which is Relationship. Relationship with God (whoever he actually is) and relationship with the family of God.(whatever that actually is) . . . We are not called to be "moral beings", we are called into relationship with God and when we fix our eyes upon Him we become moral beings despite ourselves. If we focus upon anything less than God himself, (morality, the law,philosophy, theology, canon law, blah-de blah) we are immediately in danger of losing our way and, if we find ourselves judging others because of their shortcomings we have already lost our way . . . .(do not judge that ye be not judged)and yet of course we are constantly asking ourselves, 'Am I doing alright? Am I doing alright?' The answer will be no, but God says yes, if we repent: that's the good news. . . . but the repentance never stops and this is what makes living the Christian life so difficult at times, but only when we fall back into the 'justification' trap . . . . sorry this is so long . . .
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