Law and Order -- 3rd Sermon on the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:21-37

As we continue our journey through the Sermon on the Mount, having heard the call to be salt and light, and having been told that our righteousness should exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, we’re now confronted with the details. And, as they say, the “devil is in the details.”

I chose the title “law and order,” because we often link the two terms together. These are words that everyone seems to understand. In fact, these words are so prominent in our society that they have inspired a series of very popular cop and lawyer TV shows. For most of us law and order means keeping criminals off the street so we can live safe and secure lives. We understand the meaning of these words, but rarely do we apply them to our own lives.

As we consider this set of verses from Matthew’s Gospel, the idea of “law and order” seems to move beyond the concerns of the criminal justice system, and begin to speak to our own daily lives. The words we hear in this passage seem harsh and foreboding. They speak to issues that we face every day – anger, lust, keeping our word, and maybe even divorce – and they suggest that if we don’t get our act together we could be in for big trouble. After reading this passage we might begin to wonder if we shouldn’t just skip the sermon and move to a prayer of confession and word of absolution and forgiveness – sort of like what we do on Ash Wednesday. But, Jesus’ point is about more than making us feel guilty so we will say we’re sorry and promise not to do bad things again.

Jesus speaks to the way in which we behave, because he wants us to understand what it means to live fully under the reign of God, even if the realm of God isn’t fully revealed in our midst.

As we listen to these words, and the verses that follow dealing with retaliation and love of our enemies, we’re reminded that we live in a broken and fragmented world. This brokenness affects every one of us, probably on a daily basis, in our church, in our families, and every other aspect of our lives. This is the way things are, but Jesus offers us a better way to live our lives.

If we’re to experience this better way, then we must first understand what needs to be changed. The way in which Jesus expands the commandments, also suggests that he wants to free us from our tendency toward self-righteousness. Not only that, but he also reminds us that there are consequences of giving reign over lives to a broken world. We may not believe in a literal fiery hell, but as they say, sometimes there is hell on earth.

1. Signs of Brokenness

In the course of 27 verses, 17 of which we read this morning, Jesus speaks to the brokenness that mark our lives and our communities. He speaks of anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and then he calls on us to not just to love our friends, but love our enemies. Jesus says – “you’ve heard it said, . . . but I say . . .” He starts with the Law as it’s written, and then pushes deeper, helping us understand that the brokenness that afflicts our world starts inside us. In his critique of the Pharisees, Jesus warned against merely focusing on the tangible expressions of the sins that corrupt our hearts and minds. Even if we’ve not killed anybody or committed adultery or perjured ourselves, the thoughts and feelings that lead to such acts could be brewing within.

As one commentator put it, the very fact that we take oaths, “means that we live in a world of lies.” [Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew: Brazos Theological Commentary, (Brazos, 2006), p. 70]. And people kill people because they get angry, while adultery occurs because we covet something that we shouldn’t. As the saying goes, “something must be in the water.”

Laws by themselves can’t change hearts, but they can set boundaries and remind us as to what is permissible and what isn’t. As Paul tells the Christians in Rome, without the Law we wouldn’t ever have known about sin (Rom. 7:7ff), but even though the Law is holy, it doesn’t have the ability to keep us from sinning. Jesus hasn’t come to abolish the Law, but he does come to offer us the kingdom of God, where we can find the means of transformation. Our brokenness can give way to wholeness, if we’re willing to be reconciled with God and neighbor – even the neighbor who is our enemy.

2. Anger and Murder

Each of the four signs of brokenness that appear in today’s text deserves a closer look, but for the purposes of this sermon, I’d like to focus on Jesus’ statements about anger. I think I can safely say, that everyone in the room wrestles with anger. And even if you haven’t murdered someone, you probably have called someone a fool or an idiot. And Jesus says: that’s enough to get you in trouble. Calling someone a fool is the equivalent of putting a knife in someone’s heart, and as Jesus says – both get you the same punishment. That may not seem fair or just, but to Jesus the intent is as evil as the act.

I know that I get angry on occasion. I can even let it fester. In fact, at times I may take joy in feeding my anger, because it gives me power over someone else or it may feed my self-righteousness. Does that describe anyone else in the room?

But it’s not just anger that is an equivalent of murder. It’s also demeaning words and names that we say to others that get God’s attention and might we say, God’s righteous anger. As I hear Jesus say to us – if you call someone a fool you’re in danger of experiencing hell – I’m reminded that one of the biggest problems we face in our society is that of bullying. Bullying isn’t new. I know, because I experienced it growing up, and I recognize it when I see it. Unfortunately I’ve seen it pop up all too often in the church. And it’s not just children who are bullies. You can find bullies in every age group.

Bullying and anger, like murder, adultery, and lying are signs of the brokenness that afflicts the community. They are not signs of God’s reign, and therefore we must deal with them or we’ll suffer the consequences. Jesus says to us, before you come to the Table, let go of your anger and resentments, and be reconciled with God and with your neighbor, so that you might come to the table with a clean heart. But before we get to reconciliation, we need to deal with the matter of consequences.

3. Consequences

The stated consequences of sin that are found in this passage are rather harsh. Some of the suggested solutions to our problems even sound rather barbaric. They don’t sound like anything that we would expect Jesus to say, either. But, here he is telling people that if they don’t change their ways, they will experience eternal punishment. He even tells people that if you have a problem with lust, then maybe they should pluck out an eye and cut off one of their hands. After all, it’s better to enter the kingdom minus a few body parts than end up in hell with your body intact. I must say here that theologically I can’t reconcile a loving God with the doctrine of eternal punishment. It simply doesn’t make sense to me theologically. I also wouldn’t recommend that people maim themselves to keep from sinning. But, that doesn’t mean that our thoughts and our actions don’t have consequences.

Since this is Evolution Weekend, I thought it a good idea, to get something scientific into the service. While we’re not dealing with biology, there is a law of physics that applies to our situation – Newton’s Third Law of Motion:

To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.

Now this law of physics may seem rather obvious, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded of this fact – actions do have consequences.

This idea is stated rather clearly in the Book of Deuteronomy, which says: “If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, . . . then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.” (Deut. 30:16). Obedience leads to blessing. But, if you don’t do what the Lord commands, then you won’t live very long in the land of promise. The choice is yours.

Although the Sermon on the Mount starts with words of blessing, through which God extends God’s favor to the poor and the meek, the one who grieves and the one who is merciful, this sermon takes a rather realistic view of human behavior, and Jesus suggests that our behavior has consequences for our own lives and the lives of those with whom we share our lives. Jesus seems to be saying to us – when we fail to walk in the ways that God has set before us, then brokenness and destruction will increase.

4. Living in the Realm of God

So, why does Jesus address these issues? I believe that he raises issues like these, which form a representative and not an exhaustive list, because they are the kinds of behaviors that undermine the realm of God. These kinds of behaviors don’t represent the ways of God. If we speak harshly or act hatefully toward another person; if we objectify or exploit others; if we abandon those who are close to us or fail to speak honestly, then we are not walking in the ways of God. We may struggle with our ability to live fully into the realm of God, but Jesus reminds us to look closely at what the realm of God looks like, so that we can move toward that fullness.

It is a difficult path, and it requires much from us. It means changing the way we think and talk and act. Indeed, it means living in a way that moves from brokenness to wholeness. The good news is that we don’t have to take the journey alone. We go in the Spirit of God, who reconciles to one another, so that we might live in the company of the faithful.

Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Troy, Michigan
February 13, 2011
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

A Light Bearing Faith -- 2nd Sermon on the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:13-20

Last Sunday we began a journey through the Sermon on the Mount by looking at Jesus’ words of blessing on the kinds of people whose lives define God’s realm. Blessed are the poor, the grieving, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who experience persecution. To them belongs God’s realm both in heaven and on earth. Now, as we continue this journey, we hear Jesus say to us: “You are the salt of the earth” and “you are the light of the world.” That is, you are signs of God’s reign in this world, which God loves deeply.

In these two phrases, Jesus answers two of the most important questions that we can ask of ourselves: Who am I? And what am I to do? Because Jesus addresses these words to the community and not just to individuals, the questions become – Who are we? And What are we to do?

These questions have emerged with even more urgency since this congregation made the commitment to become a missional church. And I need to add that you made this commitment even before I was interviewed for this position three years ago this month. In making this commitment the congregation decided to uncover the light of God’s Spirit that is present in this congregation so that it might shine forth into the world. This is what it means to be salt and light, and to experience the unconventional righteousness of God’s realm.

1. Our Reality

Jesus calls us to be salt and light, but this calling doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As I thought about what it means to be salt and light my thoughts went to a conversation that recently took place in our library. A young community organizer with whom I’ve been having conversations gathered together a group of mostly suburban pastors to discuss the needs and the difficulties that are facing the suburbs, and to see if we can work together to address some of these needs, even as we seek to partner with urban churches to resolve issues that affect the entire region. In other words, even though our organizer didn’t use Jesus’ words, he was asking us to consider how our faith communities could become salt and light in communities that are struggling with unemployment, foreclosures, declining population, and diminished hopes and dreams.

These issues hit home even here in Troy, which as I was told three years ago, is an affluent, diverse, and forward-looking community. The information that was shared with me noted that Troy has been ranked among the nation’s safest and most livable cities, but since our arrival here, I’ve discovered that things have changed considerably in a rather short period of time. Home values have gone down, office space lies vacant, and the city is planning to close the library and it may even sell the city hall. Now, some of these problems are self-inflicted by voter decisions, but I sense that what is true of Troy is probably also true elsewhere in Metro-Detroit. So, how can we be salt and light to communities that are struggling to sustain themselves for the future? In trying to answer this question, we need to understand something about salt and about light, and then we can start thinking about Jesus’ call to experience an unconventional righteousness.

2. The Salt

Salt has many uses. Not only does it enhance the flavor of my food, but it’s also useful for melting ice and snow! When Jesus calls us to be the “salt of the earth,” I think he had the former in mind, not the latter. When Jesus calls on us to be salt, what he means is that just as salt enhances the flavor of our food, we are called by God to enhance or add value to God’s creation. But, remember, if salt loses its flavor it’s rather useless, and so you might as well throw it on the ground and trample under your feet. (Of course if there’s ice on the ground you might find a secondary use for the flavorless salt, but again, I don’t think Jesus had this use in mind!)

When Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, he was probably thinking in terms of the way salt acts as a conserving agent. Ron Allen and Clark Williamson write that this means that we’re to “act in the world in ways that will keep it wholesome, that will prevent it from going to rack and ruin.” Therefore, we are being called by God to help preserve the well-being or common good of our communities (Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews, WJK, 2004, p. 18). This is a task that fits quite well with our Disciple mission statement, which calls on us to be a “movement of wholeness in a fragmented world.” To say that we’re a movement of wholeness doesn’t mean that we should expect everyone to experience complete wholeness in body and spirit, but it does mean that we can participate with God in creating an environment where our neighbors can experience compassion, healing, peace, mercy, and hope. Therefore, how we live together as God’s people is a sign of our saltiness.

3. The Light

Not only are you “salt of the earth,” you are “the light of the world.” You are, Jesus says, like a city that is set on a hill and can’t be hidden. To get a sense of what it means to be such a city of light that can’t be hidden, think about Las Vegas. If you’ve ever been to Vegas you know that unless the electricity goes out you simply can’t hide the city. Vegas shines forth with such intensity that you can even see it clearly from space. So, if you’re the light of the world don’t hide your light under a bushel basket, but instead, let it be seen so that the world can give glory to God.

Now, it’s important that we understand that the light that shines into the world doesn’t come directly from us. Instead, like a mirror, we reflect God’s light out into the world. Or, like the moon reflects the light of the sun back into the darkness of night, our lives, what we do and how we act, shows forth God’s presence in the world, bringing glory and honor to God.

And we do this in so many different ways. For instance, we’re light in the world when we advocate for the rights of others and stand up with those who are voiceless. To give you an example, let me point to an Iraqi Christian named Moses. You may have seen him, because he comes by quite regularly to speak to me about the needs of the Iraqi Christians who are suffering tremendous persecution. He is being light by letting us know that his people are hurting and that they need our help.

We are called to be lights, but this light is most effective when it is joined together. If Jesus were speaking to us today, in our context, he might use an LED flashlight as an example. Now a flashlight with one LED bulb doesn’t do a lot of good, but if you put a bunch of LED bulb’s together the aggregate creates a lot of light. The church is like a LED flashlight, and the more bulbs you have, the better the light! So, let us pull the cover off our lamps and place them on their proper stand so that the world might see this light through the good works of the community, so that God might receive glory.

4. Experiencing Unconventional Righteousness

We are salt and light, and we have been called to experience an “unconventional righteousness.” In the closing verses of this morning’s text Jesus builds a bridge between this call to be salt and light and the call to live out the Law of God, with a focus on murder, adultery, divorce, and the taking oaths. I bet you can’t wait for that discussion!

Jesus says to us – I’ve not come to do away with the Law. Instead, I’ve come to fulfill it and not one jot or tittle will pass away from God’s law. Now, you may have heard that Paul said that we are free from the Law. So, how do we build a bridge between Jesus and Paul? Although theologians have often tried to reconcile Jesus and Paul by distinguishing between moral and ceremonial Law, Jesus doesn’t make the distinction. In fact, as we move forward through Jesus’ sermon, we discover that he expands its meaning.

And if you think that Jesus gives us a get out of jail free card because he died on a cross, according to Matthew, Jesus says that our righteousness should exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. As we hear this word, we should probably remember, as Ron Allen reminds us, Matthew offers us a caricature of the Pharisees. The real Pharisees, like the real Puritans, were a lot more complex than the stereotypes would suggest, but, if we can leave aside our stereotypes for a moment, perhaps we can hear in this word a call to move beyond traditionalism so we can understand what it means to be a child of God. As Walter Brueggemann points out in a reflection on Isaiah 58, too often worship becomes self-indulgent, which he says “is a violation of neighborliness.” The worship, which God desires from us, lifts up and constructs the common good. It looks “advantage and disadvantage square in the face, and urges gestures that bind haves and have-nots together.” He goes on to say that “knowledge of God is acknowledgment of neighbor.” (Brueggemann, Journey to the Common Good, WJK, 2010, pp. 110-111).

Jesus, like the prophets before him, reminds us that we can’t separate out love of God from love of neighbor. As the prophet points out, our fasting does us no good, if we oppress our workers or quarrel with each other. I realize that this is a difficult word to live out, but this is the pathway that Jesus has set before us, so that we might be salt and light in the world. Therefore, when we share bread with the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked, the “light shall break forth like the dawn and . . . healing shall spring up quickly”; so that even as our vindicator goes before you the “glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.” Yes, when you cry out to God, God answers “here I am.” (Is. 58:8-9a). In this is the power to be salt and light, so that we might experience an unconventional righteousness.

 

 

Preached by:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Troy, Michigan

5th Sunday after Pentecost

February 6, 2011

The Coming of the Lord

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4



2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12


Luke 19:1-10

The Coming of the Lord

Whenever preachers look at the week’s lectionary texts they tend to look for any common threads. Sometimes, in our eagerness to find the threads, we push the envelope, and I suppose that I could be accused of that in titling today’s meditation. Except that each of the texts, even the Gospel text, speaks of the coming of the Lord. It is true that in Luke’s gospel, the Lord is simply inviting himself over for dinner at Zacchaeus’s house, but it still has that “eschatological flavor” that is present in the other two texts. In the Lord’s coming, there is salvation. And salvation involves or leads to righteousness – a word that needs defining.

The Habakkuk text closes with the phrase “The righteous shall live by faith,” a phrase that is repeated in Romans 1:17 (not the lectionary reading for the week). This phrase proved troubling to Martin Luther, who saw in it the possibility of “work’s righteousness,” and so he wanted to emphasize the faith part of it, and insist that whatever righteousness is involved, that righteousness comes from Christ and not our own works. But that doesn’t seem to be the concern of Habakkuk. In these two brief selections from this so-called Minor Prophet, we hear the cry of a suffering people, who were witnessing in their midst violence, wrong-doing, and trouble-making. Indeed, considering the political bickering of the moment, these words stand out: “strife and contention arise.” The prophet is wondering when God will respond, going as far as declaring that he would stand at his watch post and keep watch until God answers his complaint. It is then that the Lord responds, telling him to write down a vision on a tablet that the runner can take around to the people. And the word that came to the people was this: “If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come. It will not delay.” And then comes the kicker – be sure to look at the proud, for their spirit isn’t right – but “the righteous will live by faith.” And what is faith? It is living by trusting God? What is righteousness? It is God’s justice – God’s commitment to the poor and the marginalized of society. It may not have been what Luther had in mind at the time, but that seems to be what was on Habakkuk’s mind.

The second text, the one that comes from 2 Thessalonians serves as a response to concerns that the “parousia” or the return of Christ had already come. To use the title of a recent series of “apocalyptic themed books” they were afraid they had been “Left Behind,” and so the author (presumably Paul, but there are questions about authorship) offers a word of assurance. Don’t worry, because before anything like that happens you’ll start seeing the signs of rebellion and the rise of the lawless one, who will seat himself on God’s throne in the Temple, declaring himself to be God. But, don’t get too concerned, and don’t be alarmed by any “spirit, word, or letter” claiming to be from us declaring that the “day of the Lord” is already here. The Lord is coming, but don’t believe everything you hear. But the word that we need to hear comes at the end, in verses 11-12, which offers a word a judgment against those who take “pleasure in unrighteousness.” That is, those who fail to believe the truth and follow the Lawless One by living lives of unrighteousness. And what is meant by unrighteousness? Surely the definition is rooted in the message of the prophets, who call on the people of God to act justly toward those who are poor, to the widow, and the orphan.

Finally, we come to the story of Zacchaeus, one of the best known stories in the New Testament. We know this story because Zacchaeus seems to always be the butt of “short-people” jokes. He’s so short, he has to climb a tree to see Jesus. But it should be noted that this story falls on the heels of the previous week’s lectionary text where the attitudes of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector are compared. The Pharisee is sure of his own righteousness and needs no help from God; while the tax collector humbly asks that God take mercy on him, for he is a miserable sinner. Now, in this text, which follows on that parable, we meet up with a real tax collector who is keen on seeing Jesus. And, as a result the Lord decides to come to his house. Although the “righteous” folks in town are scandalized that Jesus would hang out with a sinner, Zacchaeus, the chief tax agent in Jericho, is so pleased by Jesus’ willingness to come to his house that he vows to change his life. And how might he do this? He commits himself to giving half of his possessions to the poor (an act of righteousness) and will repay those he has defrauded four times the amount that he had taken from them (considering that this is how he made his money – the profit that lies beyond what he had to give to Rome, he was essentially doing what Jesus asked of the rich young man (Luke 17:18ff) – he committed himself to giving everything he had and in return Jesus says that salvation had come to this house. He had committed himself to live by faith and doing so had become righteous.

The two messages that are embedded in these texts are these: First, the day of the Lord is coming, so keep watch, because God is faithful and will come at the appropriate time. And second the “righteous shall live by faith,” which means that if we’re trusting our lives into the care of God, we should live in the interim period in such a way that the righteousness of God will be on display – a righteousness that is illustrated by the decisions made by Zacchaeus.

 

Reposted from [D]mergent