Wow. Is this Jesus advocating self-mutilation for purity's sake? Does this sound like the voice of Jesus? Is he perhaps merely using hyperbole, as some suggest, to emphasize that we should recognize the value of eternal things; and not to be derailed by temporal and physical distractions?Treating these words as hyperbole (as if your mother said, for example, "Do that again and I will skin you alive.") does not seem to be an appropriate response to these words. Something important is happening in this statement that should not be downplayed or ignored.
Understanding this as literal action with regards to our physical eye doesn't work either. Besides the fact that we have two eyes which see the same things (so why would one eye cause you to sin over the other), Matthew 15:11 reads "A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it." What we physically look at doesn't cause us to sin. There may be some external temptation introduced by what we see, but that is not the eye causing sin. Jesus is clearly addressing something spiritual offense within us.
The larger context of today's gospel is a breadcrumb to follow to look for possible meanings. Jesus is setting impossibly high standards to adhere to the law. If anyone claimed they had a clean slate in following any law at this point I have no doubt Jesus would simply have set another, higher standard to meet. It does not feel like Jesus is aiming only to perfect the law or have us follow his more "perfect" law, but is rather teaching us that this whole endeavor does not promote the kingdom of heaven or loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Pastor Michelle in her sermon observed that Jesus is using the plural you in this passage, like the American slang usage of "you all". Another breadcrumb. He is preparing all his listener's hearts to feel the guilt and shame of being lawbreakers by nature. Can we break through our normal self-justifications in how we view ourselves in the world? Can we overcome our natural internal justifications that cause us to think "I'm not perfect but at least I'm better than..."?
So today I am reading the right eye as a metaphor for seeing ourselves on the right side of the law, others on the wrong side, and thinking God holds us superior to them as a result. By "tearing out and throwing away" this view we could, instead, see ourselves as law breakers who are in desperate need of God's grace and recognize that grace is our only hope, not in what we do or others do. This gives us context for the stories of hope and healing we want the church to embody.
Losing our "right" eye would promote our compassion towards others. We would no longer reduce the other to a problem we must solve. It would turn our response to the other to attentive listening, conversation, inquisitive minds, and healthy skepticism rather than simply responding from our gut fear. It would connect us to others and allows us to address Martin Buber's warning in his book I and Thou that “Egos appear by setting themselves apart from other egos.”
Finally losing our "right" eye would be an invitation to give our gratitude to, and invest our trust in, God. As grateful people, we can become content and can break from the anxiety of controlling the world. We become free to slow down and be attentive, generous, and compassionate to those with whom God loves.
So why invoke the violence of tearing out one's own eye rather than the metanoia Jesus often uses to invite others to do engage in this way of understanding of how God's will can be done? To me Jesus comes from a place of compassion when he says this, as he always does. His words express a keen understanding of human nature by pointing out we can no more "tear out and throw away" how humanity views the world than we can tear out our own physical eye.
This is not a command he expects us to follow. Jesus, instead, supremely demonstrates in these words that, in the end, man's nature stops us from following God's law completely. God created us, became human like us, understands us, and loves us. God does not depend on us to change our nature, tear out our eye, carry the weight of the world, or bring about the kingdom of heaven through our love in action.
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