The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III Charles Nathan Ridlehoover william c. mattison iii, The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017). Pp. xiii + 279. $100. In modern literature on the Sermon on the Mount, there is no shortage of historical-critical, literary, and, more recently, postcolonial and feminist studies. This reservoir of scholarship provides ample resources for those inquiring about the origins, structure, and background of individual passages in the Sermon. Yet, amid this body of literature, very little has been written on the convergence of virtue-centered ethics and the Sermon. William Mattison, who is associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, has written the present volume to fill this perceived void. His overarching purpose is that this text will not only further studies of the Sermon and virtue-centered ethics but will also contribute to the ongoing study of their intersection. To accomplish this task, M. begins with an explanation of the book's need, structure, and methodology. M. unabashedly admits his preference for a Thomistic ressourcement (meaning in continuity with patristics) virtue approach to morality (emphasis his). The section on the book's structure is especially helpful. The book's chapter order follows from M.'s rendering of the Sermon's structure. The book ends with the Lord's Prayer, which M. argues is the center of both the Sermon and foundational for the life of the church (with which I wholeheartedly agree). In terms of the individual chapters, M. addresses exegetical questions relevant to the biblical text but always as a segue to broader questions within a virtue-centered approach to morality. The first chapter begins with an analysis of the beatitudes (Matt 5:1-16). In many ways, this chapter sets the tone for M.'s reading of the Sermon. His initial argument is that the Sermon is primarily concerned with happiness. Happiness, of course, is the topic of numerous classical treatments of ethics and, therefore, as the Sermon's argued theme justifies the present study. M. continues with an analysis of each beatitude and its relation to qualifying conditions and subsequent rewards. The second chapter details the theme of "fulfillment" in Matt 5:17-48. Included in this chapter is an examination of the differences in Jesus's relationship to both the moral and the ceremonial laws of Judaism. M. argues that there is more continuity than is generally acknowledged between the old laws and Jesus's "new law." The highlight of this chapter is M.'s attention to the questions, (1) why are there six laws, and (2) why these six laws? In chap. 3, M. examines Matt 6:1-18, arguing that this section of the Sermon is a textbook lesson for intentionality and Thomistic action theory. Thomistic action theory explains the nature of certain acts with regard to their ends—in the case of Matthew 6, the concept of rewards. M. desires to correct the misunderstanding that [End Page 328] virtue theory is focused only on interiority. In chap. 4, he details the most structurally difficult section of the Sermon, 6:19–7:12, tracing the theme of single-mindedness throughout these verses. The first section, 6:19-34, examines one's view of temporal goods, and the second section, 7:1-11, examines one's relationships with brothers/sisters, outsiders, and God. This chapter is M.'s strongest exegetical chapter, particularly in regard to 6:25-34. The conclusion of the Sermon (7:13-29) is detailed in chap. 5. Given the eschatological (future) aspect of these verses, M. explains the Sermon conclusion in light of the virtue/vice of hope and presumption. The final chapter examines the Lord's Prayer and its relation to the theological (petitions 1–3) and cardinal virtues (petitions 1–4). In reading this volume, one will immediately be impressed with the organization and writing. Each chapter's introduction clearly states the author's thesis, and the explanations of difficult concepts are stellar. As M. states in his acknowledgments, the concerns of this book are for the ongoing work of Catholic...