“But I Say to You” – sermon on February 16, 2014
February 16, 2014
Scripture: Matthew 5: 21-35
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’.
Sermon: “But I Say to You”
Rev. Doreen C. Oughton
How’s that for a scripture passage! In it, Jesus covers murder, anger, name-calling, resentments that interfere with worship, hellfire, reconciliation, settling out of court, imprisonment, marital relationships and cheating, dismembering of self, divorce and remarriage, swearing oaths, truth-telling and integrity. So everyone knows what they are supposed to do now, right? Okay, let’s start by backing up a little bit. This is a continuation of the sermon on the mount that we have been hearing for the past few weeks. Just before today’s passage, Jesus said that he came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law. He said that not one stroke of one letter will pass from the law until all is accomplished. He tells his listeners that whoever follows the law will be called great in the kingdom of God, and that to enter the kingdom, their righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees.
So here he tells us what it means to surpass their righteousness. They say, don’t murder, well I say don’t get angry, don’t call names. They say don’t commit adultery, well I say don’t even fantasize about it. They say don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep, but I say don’t make promises at all, just do or don’t do – be known by your integrity.
It’s interesting, what Jesus does with the law here. Have you seen the bumper stickers that say “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it?” That is NOT the attitude that Jesus has. A fundamentalist he was not. He did not take the words of scripture at face value. Instead he dug into them, offering his interpretations and insights. Does anyone know what midrash is? It is the way Jewish scholars through the ages have done such digging and interpretation. In a Hebrew bible, there is midrash all around the texts, different understandings by revered rabbis. And these varied interpretations become part of holy book. Jesus practices midrash. The understanding of scripture, to Jesus and other great lovers and interpreters of the bible, is that it reveals the ongoing presence of God. The books of the bible are a way to give witness to how God has been experienced by a people. The goal for them is not to be faithful to the scripture, but to be faithful to the God revealed in scripture. So digging into the text, considering new ways to understand it, does not show any disrespect of scripture, no minimization of its importance. On the contrary, it keeps it alive and meaningful to a broad scope of time, place and circumstance.
So it seems to me that Jesus is preaching about his experience of God revealed, both in the holy texts, and in how those interplay with his deeply personal relationship with God. And he, I believe, through that relationship, has the greatest insight into what it means to live in the kingdom of God. He is excited to share it. He has been trying to share it. This is his mission, his passion. And people are not getting it. There are such barriers to their understanding. They think they already know what is good, but they don’t.
I lived in NYC for several years. I was in my 20’s, had a pretty good job, made good money, had an active social life. I was, I thought, on top of the world, had a life to be envied for a young woman. Sure living in the city was intense in some ways, but that just made me feel even more special. Not everyone could do what I was doing – making it in the big city. But something inside kept at me. It wasn’t right. I wasn’t doing work that I wanted to do. I didn’t have any friends that really knew me, I missed my family. Finally I left. Moved back closer to home, went to grad school, connected with people who knew me and loved me. I couldn’t believe how right it felt, how much better life was. I had been in denial.
I think Jesus is trying to tell us that we are all living in denial. What we think is a good life is actually a type of hell. And unless we snap out of it, see what is really going on and change, then we will keep living in that hell. I believe that when he says we will have to be accountable, have to face the fires of Gehenna if we get angry and call people idiots, I don’t think he was saying we will be punished in the future for that behavior. Gehenna is a place outside the city that is like the dump. It is filled with decaying waste that is subject to combustion. The foul odor is detected long before you get there. It is a place of destruction and decay. I think he is saying if you live a life where you are insulting and denigrating the people around you, you are living in a dump. Your life is one of destruction and decay. And yet you think you are living on a lovely estate.
Jesus says as you head off to worship, so proud of the offering you bring, without even thinking about the relationships full of bitterness and strife that mark your life, well you are wasting your time. You feel holy, but you are condemning yourself by bringing the stink of Gehenna with you. I think a lot of this passage is meant to shock those who think they are on the right path into realizing that they are not. Because in all they are doing they are not acting out of love for others. They might be concerned about obligations and fairness and doing the accepted and acceptable thing, but they are not living in the ways of the kingdom.
I have a wonderful friend, and I so admire the way she raised her two daughters. She told me how her daughter Kelly had a friend Brianna who was a bit pushy. Whenever Brianna came to play at their house, my friend told her daughter that she was to let Brianna choose what they played because Brianna was her guest. And she also told Kelly that when she went to play at Brianna’s, she ought to go along with what Brianna wanted because Brianna was the host and Kelly should be a good guest. One day Kelly challenged her on the fairness of that. What do you think?…
My friend was taken aback and wondered if she should suggest taking turns or doing something to make it more fair for her daughter, but she didn’t. But she struggled with it. I think this is the kind of thing Jesus is talking about. I think my friend was helping Kelly to live in the kingdom. And still she wasn’t certain.
I believe what Jesus is saying is less about following commandments than living into God’s kingdom promises, or commitments. Commitments, not commandments. Isn’t it possible that God was not commanding us to act in certain ways under the threat of punishment, but inviting us to live in ways that the divine promise of a kingdom of love, peace, joy, harmony and justice is fulfilled. Such a kingdom exists, and is waiting for us to enter. But if we don’t know it, and we don’t know how to get there, we are just marching off to Gehenna. And Jesus doesn’t want us to do that, so he is getting all worked up and talking about plucking out our eyes and cutting off our hands, or other parts of our bodies that might lead us astray.
But what it’s really about is seeing with new eyes, understanding that Kelly is the one who has gotten the better deal, is closer to the kingdom. She’s not being taken advantage of, she’s being given the keys to the kingdom. Let your heart fill with love, be more concerned with the happiness and well-being of others than you are yourself. Settle with them even if you don’t think you are guilty. Let them feel like the winner and you will be the winner. Now mind you I am not talking about taking abuse, not verbal or physical or mental. But I am talking about being forgiving and compassionate in setting boundaries against abuse. I am talking about not losing sight of even someone who is abusive as a beloved child of God, worthy of respect. Because if you don’t, if you dis them after they’ve dissed you, if you take that eye for an eye, if you counter-sue, you are walking to Gehenna without even realizing it. Don’t do it. Turn around. Let your law be the law of love, and enter the kingdom of Heaven. May it be so.
