Holy Temples, Epiphany 7, Feb. 19, 2017

Seventh Sunday of Epiphany (Year A)

Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017

What would it mean for your church if you measured holiness not by attendance at church or small groups, and not by what your people avoid doing, but rather by the extent to which compassion and justice were extended to others?

 – John van de Laar

Theme: Holy Temples

(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 next week.)

Intro:  Imagine yourself in the tightly knit group of Jesus’ disciples, hungry to hear your new teacher’s understandings of the way people should live. Jesus had taken his disciples away, up a hillside, to share some core beliefs, but the talk has drawn a large group from around the area.

The law had been interpreted through the ages, with lots of loopholes. Jesus reinterprets the commandments for his disciples, through the lens of what is the most loving thing to do, and what will create better relationships and a more just and merciful society. No doubt, some jaws must have dropped. It marks a divergence from the commonly held Jewish law interpretations.

Reflection:  Parents, teachers, even social service professionals like myself have heard the advice again and again. Don’t respond to negative behaviors – instead, make a big deal about the positive ones.

I wish I had been more consistent at this when my son was growing up. I have several clients who need this behavior modification. I keep myself on track by picturing the amazing human being who will emerge when those negative behaviors end.

Enter God, our heavenly parent. Based on today’s lessons, this was God’s parenting skill far before I arrived.

Listen in on God’s conversation with Moses. He set high expectations for the Israelites. I almost can hear Moses’ pushback, even though Leviticus didn’t include it.

God: Speak to all of them. Tell them “You shall be holy, because I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”

(Moses: Are you talking about this bunch of troubled kids? You’ve been putting up with them for years, God. Most of them don’t even understand what holy is. You can start with me – whatever you saw in me, I don’t know.)

God: “When you reap the harvest of your land…”

God saw the brilliance of what the people could be and wasn’t going to accept anything less. You will be holy, the Almighty told Moses to tell the people, because I know you have it in you. And I am the Lord.

And God’s mind hasn’t changed … as many times as people returned to idolatry, broke every commandment, ignored the prophets. Even when they nailed the Son of God to a cross. Face it, the holiness that God sees in humanity, people drag through the mud, again and again. And we’re no exception.

Jesus has been the only human to ever get it right – to live his humanity to perfection. Jesus didn’t just follow the rules – Jesus loved people first as he followed the commandments. Just like God speaking to Moses about the people’s holiness, Jesus raised the ante. Of course you shouldn’t murder, commit adultery or lie, Jesus said, and then he added nuances to each commandment. These aren’t just words, Jesus was saying, these are rules so that you may live together in harmony and respect for one another.

And in an echo of “You shall be holy, because I, the Lord, your God, am holy,” Jesus ended Matthew 5 with “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Every time I’ve ever read this verse, I’ve written off the phrase with the thought, “Right, Jesus. That’s not happening. Do you know me?”

While I am not a language scholar, I read commentaries from people who are. “Perfect” comes from the Greek “teleos,” meaning finished or completed, but in the sense of growing or maturing toward that pinnacle.

The same Greek verb root comes through in Paul’s oft-quoted words to the Philippians: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6 NRSV). Therefore, Jesus was encouraging his disciples to perfect themselves – to grow into the best possible versions of themselves they could become: loving, compassionate, and justice-seeking.

Paul repeats this pattern in his letter to the Philippians. After telling them they are God’s Spirit-filled temples, he adds this: “For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” See a pattern here?

·         As God is holy, you are holy.

·         As God is perfect, be perfect.

·         As God’s temple is holy, you are the temple.

Not someday. Not if you pass some test. Not if you learn the right words. There are no “if-then” statements in these declarations. You are holy. You are en route to perfection. You are God’s holy temple. Not by anything you do, but by Christ working through you.

Faith App: Practice seeing the signs of holiness in others as you go through the week. When someone’s attitude challenges your kindness and generosity, imagine them as a holy temple “under construction,” since we’re all God’s works in progress.

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

You are Holy, ELW 525

Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace, ELW 716

Where Charity and Love Prevail, ELW 359

To Be Your Presence, ELW 546

Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways, ELW 772

Built on a Rock, ELW 652

Will You Let Me Be Your Servant, ELW 659

For the Bread Which You Have Broken, ELW 494

Here Is Bread, ELW 483

Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, Susan Boyle or

Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace, Marty Haugen

Keep Making Me, Sidewalk Prophets

I Am New, Jason Gray

Word of God Speak, Mercy Me

Breathe, Michael W. Smith

Made New, Lincoln Brewster

Love Come to Life, Big Daddy Weave

LESSONS

Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

Psalm 119:33-40 Give me understanding, that I might observe the law with my whole heart.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 Do you not know that you are God’s temple?

Matthew 5:38-48 But I say, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” 

Summary of the Lessons: Lesson 4 – Holy Temples: Holiness isn’t just found among the persons of the Trinity. It is found in God’s people discovering how to become the people God intended them to be: compassionate, humble, just, generous and non-violent. As we grow into our wholeness in Christ, it becomes more often our first and best response.

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 119:33-40

L:  Speak wisdom to me, O Lord, as I learn to follow;

C:  Teach me love beyond the words – love, always love.

L:  Instead of knowing your law, I will learn to live it –

C:  Letting mercy flow through my heart and my hands.

L:  Let me walk with you, O Lord, so I can learn your way;

C:  Not just obeying your statutes, but for the simple joy of it.

L:  Show me the world’s pain, and I’ll forget my troubles –

C:  Stirred to share what I have with those in need.

L:  Assure me of your promises, O Lord, for I adore you;

C:  Take away my shame and help me trust in you.

L:  Now I know how much I long for your guidance –

C:  Restore me to holiness, Lord; show me how to live.

CONFESSION

L:  Lord, today’s lessons are hard for us to hear,

C:  But putting them into action seems impossible.

L:  Loving those who hurt us and wanting the best for them –

C:  Makes us want to throw in the towel – we’re only human!

L:  Lord, we hear “Be holy like God is holy,” and shake our heads;

C: We act “holier than thou” sometimes, but surely not holy.

L:  We’re filled with anger and stubbornness, power and greed –

C:  We have no room for your holiness – we’re only human!

L:  Lord, we can’t imagine being as perfect as God is perfect,

C:  When we ignore the lonely, the poor, and the stranger.

L:  We scarcely have time for our closest friends and family –

C:  Seriously, God, we’re only human … oh, yeah, you were, too.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … we admit we are far from your ideal of love personified – our human brother, Jesus the Christ. We fall short of this mark every day in our responses to our families, our friends and all your beloved people. We want to hurt those who hurt us. We want to respond with evil words to anyone who speaks ill of us. And we want to hold onto the anger, jealousy and pain that keeps us stuck. Keep lifting us out of the muck, into the best parts of our humanity, into the life abundant that you promise.

Here is Good News:  God is building on the foundation that is within you, completing the masterwork that is God’s holy temple. God’s Spirit dwells within you, shaping you one day at a time. Believe it, that God who has started a good work in you is bringing it to completion – to perfection! You are forgiven and set free from everything that keeps that work from moving forward.

In the name of…

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  Almighty God … we pray that you would work in and through these holy temples who are your people. Open us, for we prevent love from flowing through us when we obey the law’s words but fail to follow its deeper intentions. Help us to grow into our wholeness in Christ, until grace becomes our first and best response, every time.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the traces of holiness in this bread, the transforming grace in this cup.  Send us out, works in progress that we are, to obey your commandments to love, forgive, care for and reconcile with all people as best we can. God, keep shaping us into the holy temples that you envision each one of us to be. Amen. 

SENDING

L:  We are God’s holy temples,

C:  The Spirit of God dwelling in us.

L:  We are God’s living temples,

C:  Bearing love wherever we are.

L:  Go now, made whole and holy, to love and to serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God!

First Reading Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The book of Leviticus continues the story of Moses and the people, but it was written far later. It is rarely read in the lessons, since it is full of ritual instructions to the priests of the tribe of Levi, thus Levi-ticus. It also concerns the relationship of the Israelites to their God.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.

You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The readings continue from the first letter to the Corinthian Christian community. Paul has a vision of what this church could be, and he is trying to inspire them to change their ways.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

“He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

and again,

“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,

    that they are futile.”

So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Gospel Matthew 5:38-48 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: The disciples are settling in for some more instruction on a hill outside of Galilee, and the crowd around them continues to grow. Jesus continues to turn relationships, law and the status quo upside down.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”