Deuteronomy 30.15-20, 1 Corinthians 3.1-9, Matthew 5.21-37
This is my tenth month serving as your Rector here at St. Patrick’s. I am fed everyday by learning new things. This week was no exception. One of my responsibilities is to plan the Sunday worship and to schedule participants and leaders. Included in that task is assigning the weekly preacher. This week, I learned an important lesson about that responsibility. See, I thought the scheduling of preachers was about making the calendar work and respecting the time and effort of my colleagues. I thought those were the only factors until I began reflecting on the scriptures assigned for this Sunday.
You just heard:
· “But if your heart turns away and you do not hear…I declare to you today that you shall perish.” (Deuteronomy 30.17)
· “Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?” (1 Corinthians 3.2-3)
· “Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5.33)
· “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.” (Matthew 5.30)
The lessons for every Sunday are set by a lectionary approved by the Episcopal Church and used across the country. This is a great system because it calls us to tackle difficult issues found in scripture and pushes us to grow in our faith. It is certainly one of the strengths of our Church. But the lesson that I learned this week is that, as I plan the preaching schedule, I should also be reading ahead on the lectionary. It would be much easier, for me, to pass lessons on adultery to Andrea, Henry, or Marjorie. Then I could preach on joyful passages about love, forgiveness, grace, and peace. Of course, I’m kidding, somewhat. It would be easier, but the easier way doesn’t lead to change and growth in our spiritual lives. But what’s so important about challenging ourselves to grow in our relationship with God? Can’t we just be forgiven and loved and be done with it?
Last Sunday, our Journey 2 Adulthood (J2A) group, our Christian education program for youth in grades 7-9, concluded a unit on rules. In that final session, we read from the 10 Commandments (found in the book of Exodus and again in Deuteronomy). At the same time, we read the interpretations of the Commandments from the Episcopal Church Catechism, found in the Book of Common Prayer (page 847 to be exact). As we compared the Commandments (the ones God delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai) and the interpretations for modern living in the Book of Common Prayer, we discovered how difficult it is to live into God’s expectations. “Do Not Murder,” for most people, seems pretty easy on the surface. I assume that most of us can claim to have avoided the temptation to kill another; otherwise you would be worshipping, today, in a nearby penitentiary. The Book of Common Prayer’s interpretation of that same commandment is “to show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all creatures of God.” (BCP, 848) None of us can claim to be innocent of these rules. True, we try hard to mask our malice, prejudice, and hatred, but they are still there.
We are good at self-righteousness. We have a running commentary, most of the time to ourselves but sometimes publicly, judging others for their poor decisions, innocent mistakes, and foolhardy opinions. In those observations, we assume that we are closer to perfection and that our opinions, actions, and judgments are the universal right. We falsely believe that the world in which we live is black and white, us versus them, right versus wrong. Even when we express, intellectually, that there is more than one right answer or multiple solutions to a problem, we believe that ours is, by far, the best way. We often present it that way or if we have the power, we declare it as truth. This close-mindedness toward our communal nature, according to Jesus, destroys our relationships and interferes with our spiritual growth. His instructions in the Sermon on the Mount, a portion of which we heard today, are centered on our relationships and how we must rid ourselves of our self-centeredness and seek reconciliation with others in order to deepen our relationship with God.
It is easy to question Jesus’ pronouncements about the law in today’s Gospel lesson. How can we live free of hostility without separating ourselves from everyone? How can we cool the lust naturally born in each of us? Why is divorce not an option for women? These are all cultural distractions from the heart of what Jesus is preaching. Jesus is asking us to think about how we break down in relationship with the world. Jesus was willing to engage scripture in an effort to meet the cultural demands of his time and place and he calls on his followers to do the same. The pronouncements in today’s Gospel against divorce, lust, oaths, and hostility are not attempts to deny their existence, but a call to be aware of them, to seek reconciliation in relationships, and most importantly to glimpse God’s great vision for God’s creation. By providing situational context, Jesus calls on his audience to evaluate their lives and put the Greatest Commandment, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” (Matthew 22.38) into practice, which means that people must “Love their neighbors as themselves” (Matthew 22.39).
Jesus taught that if one feels hatred or anger or if there is a conflict, that one should seek to come to terms, seek reconciliation, before coming to the altar. How many of us could be here today if our heart had to be totally clear of all the conflicts in our relationships with others? How often do we get distracted from deeper meaning when we blame others because they aren’t us? Jesus visions perfection, yet realizes that we live in an imperfect world.
We want to shush any talk about adultery, because it only applies to that other person. At J2A last week, as we discussed the commandment forbidding adultery, one young person told the group that those of Middle School age feel uncomfortable talking about their bodies. Do we feel more comfortable as we mature? Our culture teaches us to keep these things private; speaking about it is often embarrassing. Yet, Jesus talks about adultery and the inner desire of lust in his most famous sermon. Lust is a natural feeling. The scientists here could describe the chemistry of hormones that make us react in certain ways. Jesus visions God’s absolute perfection, which sees us maintaining our most important promises to one another. This reinterpretation calls us to reflect on what is truly most important: our relationship with God, our relationship with our spouse, or is it the deep innate desires. Jesus calls us to overcome the inner lusts to strengthen our relationships with others.
God didn’t make these laws to make us fail. Just before delivering to Moses what we now call the 10 Commandments, God consecrated Moses and his followers as a “priestly kingdom and holy nation.” (Exodus 19.5) What this means is that God’s followers were to be a blessed example of God’s ways. Their and our efforts should be spent seeking to live into the Commandments not as legal rules with terms of punishment but as theological and spiritual instructions that guide us in our life.
So how does this play out in a community of faith? Today’s lesson from Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians provides insight into our role as servants to our community. Many of you know that Paul was a 1st century evangelist, a scary word for Episcopalians. Paul would arrive in a town, introduce himself to strangers, and then convince them to be baptized and join the new religious movement known as Christianity. Once there was a large enough group, Paul would leave some leaders behind as he went somewhere else to do it again. Because there was not a formal set of scripture or theological instructions at that time, Paul received letters from these new communities asking him questions about their newfound faith. We don’t have the letters sent to Paul, but several of Paul’s responses are books in the Bible, including 1st Corinthians. Paul’s teaching, in today’s lesson, points to a people young in their faith and splitting into factions around individuals, in this case Paul and Apollos. Paul teaches them that their faith was planted by a servant and watered by a servant, (in Greek diakonoi or deacon), but that all growth and faith comes from God. That maturation in faith is not something gained alone. It is gained by learning from others, practicing it in the world, and helping others along the way. Spiritual growth feeds the soul, brings wholeness and life, and strengthens the relationship with God. It is a very powerful gift and one that needs the help of a community of faithful servants.
Today and over the past several decades, Americans and others around the world are ignoring faith, and organized religion. 1 in 5 Americans, according to a Gallup survey,[1] claim to be “spiritual but not religious.” If Paul were to respond to this trend, he would ask how one could mature in faith and spiritual practice without experienced servants providing the instruction. Paul knew that faith grew within community. Just like Abraham raised his family in faithful practice, and Moses inspired a nation to flee from Egypt, Isaiah and Jeremiah and the other prophets shared their message in community, Jesus was raised in a community of believers in the town of Nazareth and he was baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan, and Jesus, then, called disciples to learn from him. Each successive generation passes the practice of faith to the next. In order to mature in faith, one needs to gain experience from others. In order to grow in spiritual practice, one needs a church, not a building, but a community of fellow pilgrims.
St. Patrick’s is such a place. Our mission statement begins “We are a Eucharistic community.” That means that we are in this together. We come together to be fed by the Holy Spirit. We support each other in joys and sorrows. We reach out to each other in personal and communal prayers. We counsel each other in times of need. We come together to ask questions, learn about scripture and traditions, and expand our faith. We come together to seek God’s forgiveness when we fall short of God’s perfect vision. And through it all, we come to know that God loves each of us and knows that we are all pilgrims on the way. That is why we are a community of hope and love and great gifts. It is because God is at the center of our lives and provides the grace that sustains us throughout our everyday trials and triumphs.
Let us not get distracted by broken relationships, by hostility, oaths, and lust; instead welcome all freely, with a clear conscience, and respond to God’s call to plant and water. Be servants of God in relationship to community.
Washington, DC
Epiphany 6A
February 13, 2011
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