Carson ( The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5–7) says: We hope to make a difference in this world, but we also hope to gain recognition for it. Our motives must be correct before we begin the practice of discipleship. Gilbert continues: "As for the second sense of purity, Jesus blesses the eye that is set on one thing, the will that determines to serve one master ( Matthew 6:22–24)." They look righteous on the outside but are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness ( Matthew 6:1–18). ![]() ![]() We should pray in public but should be more intent on praying in private ( Matthew 6:5–6)." Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees for their merely external religion: “You tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” ( Matthew 23:23). For example, we must shun adultery in thoughts and deeds ( Matthew 5:27–30). As for the first, Jesus expects our internal purity to match our external purity. Joel Gilbert writes that: "In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus promotes purity in both senses. The pure show kindness to children who cannot thank us, to strangers whom we will never see again. The pure, on this view, are those who show mercy because they love mercy, not to gain a reward. Second, purity can mean simplicity and freedom from double-mindedness. … He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation” ( Ps. ![]() “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? … He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Samuel said, “To obey is better than sacrifice” ( 1 Sam. Moses called on Israel to circumcise their hearts, not simply their flesh ( Deut. Old Testament prophets contrasted ritual observance of the law (especially laws of sacrifice and circumcision) with covenant obedience that flowed from love and sincerity of heart. First, it is that inner moral holiness that is the opposite of external piety. This one sees Stefano finally abandoning bigotry and the two lovers locked in each other’s arms, declaring their relationship to both their worlds in a climax that’s both unexpected and intuitively satisfying.Purity of heart has two distinct but related senses in Scripture. The camera is as loose-limbed as the titular leads of Pure Hearts, which ends as it began - with a foot chase. ![]() Nicely nuanced, too, is the portrait of Agnese’s religious instructor, Don Luca (an avuncular Stefano Fresi), who quotes the Sermon on the Mount: “Happy are those who have a pure heart, for they will see God.” The film’s sympathies - that, of course, somebody sexually active before marriage can also be ‘pure’ - are clear, but its thesis is only strengthened by its refusal to paint the religious who think otherwise with broad brushstrokes.ĭe Paolis and cinematographer Claudio Cofrancesco (a camera operator on 2015’s Mia Madre, now lensing features) favor a series of handheld mid-shots, contrasting the comfortable pastel world of Agnese’s church group with the more derelict byways of Rome occupied by Stefano and his friends, including drug dealer Lele ( Edoardo Pesce). Marta apologizes to Agnese after asking a doctor to check that her chastity is intact, and she is clearly burdened by her past, which is never laid out but feeds her paranoia. Characters who have been caricatures elsewhere, like the pious, repressive mother, are never thrown under the bus here. The director and co-writers Luca Infascelli, Carlo Salsa and Greta Scicchitano, critique assumptions about class - the cosseted Agnese isn’t above shoplifting, while Stefano’s parents are forced to move into a trailer identical to those inhabited by the Roma he so despises - as well as religion. Stefano is trying to leave a life of petty crime behind, but he’s harassed at work by his “ gippo” neighbors, who endanger his continued employment by tearing down the parking lot’s fence and caving in windshields. The burgeoning romance is deftly handled by De Paolis, and in Liberati he’s found a charismatic anchor, one able to thread a convincing tenderness into a portrait of a kind man with ironclad prejudices.
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