Sixth Sunday of Epiphany (Year A)
Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017
Theme: A Higher Standard
(Today’s
Gospel reading continues a series from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in four or
six parts, through the Seventh Sunday of Epiphany or Ash Wednesday. A six-part
series requires going off lectionary for Transfiguration Sunday, Feb. 26. Both
options will be posted that week.)
Intro:
Imagine
yourself in the tightly knit group of Jesus’ disciples, in a growing crowd,
hungry to hear the teacher’s new insights into scripture and how to live. Jesus
had taken his disciples away, up a hillside, to teach them how they should
live, but the talk has drawn a large group from around the area.
It doesn’t
change how Jesus cuts right to the law, and how it should be lived out. It’s
not about obeying words – it is about being love in action in this world, Jesus
is telling them.
The point is not to get rid of the
law, nor is it to glibly obey the law. The purpose of the law is to make us
struggle with it long enough so that we can find its real purpose. It's in the
struggle that we learn. Ask yourself, "What is the message in this for me?
Why do I continually have difficulty following this law? Where is this desire
or addiction coming from? What is it telling me about the nature of my
soul?" The point is to bring awareness to the struggle, to let it teach
you, and to let it lead you to a new place.
– Richard Rohr
Reflection: I’ve
become my parents.
That’s what I
thought the moment the words came out of my mouth. My son was a pre-teen and
had asked for some privilege that his dad and I didn’t think he was ready for,
and he wanted to push the subject one more time.
“Aww, Mom.
Everybody’s doing it.”
“But you’re
not everybody.”
How many
times had I heard my mom or dad say some variation of that response to me or
one of my siblings? Probably stopped counting after the first 500 – there were
seven kids!
Today’s
readings brought me back to that moment. The lessons provide a glimpse of the law
– divine guidance or instruction to the Israelites. In short, the Torah. When
we hear “Torah,” we think of the first five books of the Bible, loaded with
do’s and don'ts, shoulds and musts, and sanctions for violating any of the
rules. About as life-giving as reading the driver’s manual or your state
statutes.
We know we’re
incapable of meeting the standard, so we praise and thank the Lord for setting us
free from the burden of the law.
So wrong…
First, that
“burden of the law” part. Being outside the Jewish faith makes texts like
today’s Old Testament and Psalm perplexing. Both Deuteronomy (or the Sirach
alternate text) and the Psalmist sing the praises of the law and following it
to the letter. Blessings come to those who obey every rule. The Psalmist is
downright giddy over learning and keeping the commandments.
To this day,
the Torah is celebrated by Jewish people. Each year, at the end of the Torah
reading cycle, the holiday of Simchat Torah (“Rejoicing in the Law”) is a
festive occasion, with singing and dancing and blessing the scrolls.
The “choose
life” text from Deuteronomy always has stirred me. Carolyn J. Sharp explains
this different take on the law:
“This deeply
moving text may serve as an antidote to a narrow-minded view all too common in
Christian circles even today: that the Law is a legalistic trap that keeps
believers ensnared in calcified ritualistic minutiae. Far from it! Moses is
urging his people to commit, heart and soul and body, to a vibrant relationship
with the God in whom they live and move and have their being.”
The Psalmist
isn’t referring to the body of the Law, the Ten Commandments or the five books
themselves, explains Nancy deClaissé-Walford. “Rather, torah is presented as a
way of life or approach to being that brings one closer to God. The psalmist
repeatedly implores God to “cause me to live (give me life, NRSV)” because of
the torah.”
Thus, our
confusion. She adds: “Our God is not a God of arbitrary rules and regulations,
although that is what Christianity often feels like in our day and time. God
graciously gave the Israelites a means for living as God’s people, not to
restrict them, but to free them to truly be the people of God.”
So the
Israelites didn’t see Law as a burden, but a set of healthy boundaries in which
they could live to the fullest. Guides to help them live together harmoniously,
in tune with God, each other and the land. No wonder why choosing to live
within the law in Deuteronomy was a choice between life and death, impacting
their lives and their descendants.
All well and
good for the Jewish people – it’s nice they celebrate the law. But Jesus set us
free from all that.
Not so fast.
Just before today’s Gospel, right after those “salt of the earth, light of the
world” encouragements from last week, Jesus didn’t say “Throw out the law –
that all went away when I arrived.”
Not even
close.
“Do not think
that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish
but to fulfill,” Jesus says. “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass
away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until
all is accomplished.”
That starts
this week’s handful of “You have heard it said … But I say to you…” statements
about anger, adultery and divorce, keeping your word, and next week, how to
treat all people. If anything, Jesus strengthens the law with new layers of
expectations. He holds his followers to a higher standard:
•
“I
didn’t kill anyone” becomes “Resolve your anger and keep your tongue in check.”
•
“I
wasn’t unfaithful to my spouse” becomes “Control your wandering eyes and
lustful thoughts.”
•
“I
didn’t lie” becomes “Keep your word – no vows, no swearing – just do what you
promise.”
Exactly what
my parents had in mind, and what I found myself saying to our son: “You aren’t
everybody. You are our child, and what you’re asking to do doesn’t fit with our
expectations of you.”
Paul tells
the Corinthians they need to gain spiritual maturity and stop their pettiness.
There’s work to be done. They’ve had many teachers, himself among them. But now
they report to God – every one of them.
Like my
parents with my siblings, Jesus presented those first century disciples with a
higher standard: “You are mine, and I expect more of you. Don’t look for
loopholes or split hairs – you know what I’m saying: treat everyone with
compassion, justice, grace and respect. Do what’s right. Live the Law through
the lens of Love.”
Faith App: “Remember who you are and whose you
are.” Many parents told their teenagers this as they left with their friends or
dates. A reminder is in order – You are God’s beloved child. Practice that
every time you walk out the door this week.
HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS
Oh, That the Lord Would Guide
My Ways, ELW 772
O God, My Faithful God, ELW 806
God, When Human Bonds Are Broken, ELW
603
Jesus Calls Us; o’er the Tumult, ELW
696
Day by Day, ELW 790
O Jesus, I Have Promised, ELW 810
Help Me Find It, Sidewalk
Prophets
Words, Hawk Nelson
Live Like That, Sidewalk Prophets
Build Your Kingdom Here, Rend
Collective Experiment
Reign in Us, Starfield
LESSONS
Deuteronomy
30:15-20 Choice time:
obedience to God or to other gods. A life or death decision.
Psalm
119:1-8 O that my
ways may be steadfast in keeping God’s statutes.
1
Corinthians 3:1-9:
With your jealousy and quarreling, you are still spiritually immature.
Matthew
5:21-37: Obedience to
the law goes beyond murder, adultery, divorce and lies.
Summary of
the Lessons: Jesus’
beginner’s instructions, lesson 2 – A Higher Standard. Living by the Torah, or living out the law, is a much
bigger deal than not breaking the rules. There’s the law, and then there’s the
law through the eyes of love.
OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 119:1-8
L: Do you know how to
live a happy life?
C: Keep walking the way
the law prescribes,
L: Paying attention to
God’s reasonable rules,
C: Training your heart to
follow as best you can.
L: God placed the way of
life before us,
C: Healthy boundaries for
our lives together,
L: In respect to my Lord,
I’m obeying to the letter,
C: Keeping my eyes fixed
on these wise limits.
L: Then, God, my heart
will be set right and pure,
C: So grateful that I’ve
learned your teachings,
L: Mastered the loving
guidance you’ve offered,
C: Willing to keep my
mind open to your direction.
CONFESSION
L: Today’s lessons
celebrate the life-giving law,
C: But to us, law feels
like chains and shackles,
L: Binding us with
don’ts, shouldn’ts and can’ts,
C: Separating us from the
independence we cherish.
L: God knows our freedom
can cause us trouble,
C: When we reject God’s
wisdom and forgiveness,
L: When our choices hurt
ourselves and others,
C: And we refuse the
abundant life God offers us.
L: God expects us to grow
into our discipleship,
C: Not living as willful
toddler Christians forever,
L: Thinking the world
revolves around our needs,
C: Failing to mature to
love and serve the world
(Silent
reflection)
L: In our confession, we
pray together,
C: Most Merciful God … sometimes
what we think we want isn’t what’s best for us. We need boundaries to grow into
the people you want us to be. But we resist your loving guidance, determined to
stay divided from one another and jealous of the gifts others have. We ask your
forgiveness from our stubborn, impulsive ways, as we learn how to be your
servants, working together to build your kingdom here.
Here is Good
News: God loves us unconditionally and
is faithful with every promise. Like a loving parent, God is patient, guiding
and encouraging us to become a community of faith with a common purpose, using
our gifts in this world God loves so much. You are forgiven and set free from
your sin. Love the Lord your God and hold fast to the life God gives you.
In the name
of…
Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
L: We pray together,
C: Ever Guiding God … Write the law on our
hearts, and set it deeply in our minds. Help us understand that you gifted us
with your commandments so we could abide together peacefully. Teach us how to
live the way of the law, rather than finding ways around it, so that all that
we say and do demonstrates your great love.
Amen.
COMMUNION BLESSING
L: We pray together,
C: We give thanks, most gracious God, for the
faithful promises in this bread, the joyous reconciliation in this cup. Send us as students of your servant ways: grateful
for your teachings, willing to be corrected, blessed by the common purpose we
have in Christ Amen.
SENDING
L: Choose life, so that you may live,
C: Choose peace, so all will live as one,
L: Choose love, so the world will learn –
C: And grow into the kingdom of God.
L: Go now, disciples-in-training, to love and to
serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God!
First Reading Deuteronomy
30:15-20 (NRSV)
Setting
the Scene: Moses
puts a big finale on his third speech to the people – it’s time to decide. God
has been faithful to the covenant – will the people respond in kind before
entering the Promised Land?
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and
adversity. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am
commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and
observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and
become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are
entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are
led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today
that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are
crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness
against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and
curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD
your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and
length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to
your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (NRSV)
Setting
the Scene: Paul
is the frustrated parent of the church at Corinth, and he isn’t taking the news
well that he’s heard from some Corinthian travelers. Listen up, Paul says –
it’s time to outgrow this.
And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as
spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I
fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. 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? For when one says, “I belong to
Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you
came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but
God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is
anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who
waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the
labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s
field, God’s building.
Gospel Matthew 5:21-37 (NRSV)
Setting
the Scene: Jesus
and his disciples, sitting on the hillside, are surrounded by more and more
curious onlookers, hungry for his insightful interpretations of the law. As he
will continue to do throughout his ministry, Jesus hacks into the legal
loopholes.
“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’;
anything more than this comes from the evil one.
No comments:
Post a Comment