Epiphany 6A
February 16, 2020
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 5.21-37; Deuteronomy 30.15-20
Shortly after our marriage and because of a promotion I received, Cindy and I moved from suburban Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky. We moved into one of those apartment buildings that had a breezeway with an open stairway and landings. One day, a neighbor girl, Morgan, was pushing little figures off the landings and watching them fall to the ground below. Her mother saw her doing this and chastised her for it. “Morgan, how many times have I told you not to throw things off the landing!” With a straight face, Morgan responded, “I’m not throwing them, I’m pushing them.” It was our first glimpse into what life with children as little lawyers would be like.
It’s this legalistic parsing of the law that is Jesus’ mind. Today our Gospel reading is the third in a series from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount is the largest of five blocks of teaching from Jesus in Matthew, covering chapters 5-7. This and the other four discourses establish Jesus as one who teaches with authority, who rightly interprets God’s law. Two weeks ago, we heard in the Beatitudes that there are unlikely people who are blessed or favored. Last week, we heard how we are salt of the earth and light of the world. In Pr. Paige’s most excellent sermon, she reminded us that we are enough, we have enough, and that, like a parent, God loves to watch us “play” as we live life.
Anticipating what would become the great Lutheran question, “So what does this mean?” Jesus launches into several “for instances” to help his followers understand how this might work in their lives. But, before we continue, there are a few cautions. First, in saying, “You have heard it said … but I say to you” we may get the impression that Jesus is replacing Mosaic law with his own law. He is not. Rather, Jesus is intensifying the law. I’ll say more about that. Second, given Jesus’ extreme speech, we are tempted to err in two extremes. We are tempted to double down on his assertions by taking them literally, which would leave us blind and limbless. At the other extreme, we are tempted to dismiss his command to pluck and cut off as “mere” hyperbole, not to be taken seriously. We must take Jesus seriously while not literally.
Jesus’ teachings in Matthew show us that we are not meant to live as the Morgans of this world, parsing God’s commands for our own benefit or for the condemnation of others. The companion reading from Deuteronomy reminds us that God’s law is a gift. The law came to Israel after God made them God’s people. God’s commands were never intended as a burden but a blessing to help the people live well.
Several years ago, some well-meaning people thought that a fence around a playground stifled children’s play. They believed that the fence was making the children fearful, so they removed it, thinking the children would enjoy playing more without its presence. However, they found just the opposite effect. Without the safety of the fence, the children huddled closer to the center. With the fence, the children used the whole playground.
When the writer of Deuteronomy invites us to choose life, and when Jesus intensifies God’s commands, they are reminding us that the heart of God’s law is relationships, both with God and with others. Susan Pitchford, a sociologist and Franciscan nun says that
“… the point of religious rules is that we are in a love relationship with God. Anyone who thinks relationships are better without rules has never been cheated on, been left to do all the housework, or been deserted by their partner at a dinner party where they didn’t know anyone. … Jesus … defined the essence of the law as wholehearted love of God and neighbor.”
By inviting us to choose life, Jesus is reminding us that when our relationships with each other are strained or broken this presents an obstacle in our relationship with God as well. In the command about lust and adultery, Jesus is warning us that objectifying other persons, regardless of gender, treats people as objects rather than children of God made in the divine image. When Jesus encourages us to make our yes, yes and our no, no, he reminds us that community depends upon trusting one another to keep the commitments we’ve made to each other.
In preaching this, I’m not pretending that this is easy. In fact, it can be quite difficult at times. The reality is that on a regular basis we choose “death” instead of life, or perhaps, death chooses us. Hardly a day goes by when were not reminded of broken relationships, unhealthy thoughts, and mistrust. We are not alone in this situation. Even the Apostle Paul had trouble, “I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate.” Then he asks, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Paul’s answer to this anguished question is the same as ours: “Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord!
So, you see, it all begins and ends with God, who loves us enough to make us his beloved children. Because we are beloved and God wants us to live, God gives us guidelines for living together. Then through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cross, we see that love poured out for us. We are reminded God will do whatever it takes to show us how much God loves us so we are freed up to love each other.
We were only in Louisville for one year, so I don’t know if Morgan ever grew out of her legalistic thinking and grasped the love God wished for her and her mom, love in their relationship. I hope so. For it’s a matter of life and death: a life lived in response to God’s love and the death of those things that stand in the way of life. So, my brothers and sisters, I invite you to look to the cross and join the living, loving God. Amen.
For an audio version of this sermon click here.
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