Sermon for Epiphany VI Year A 2014 The Law is the Servant Not the Master

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Dale Edgar Wilkinson
5 years ago
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1 Sermon for Epiphany VI Year A 2014 The Law is the Servant Not the Master We are about mid-way through Jesus sermon on the mount and have come to a section that I think has been and still has the potential to be one of the most dangerous passages of scripture Why do I say this? Well, first I think of the book by Wally Lamb, This Much I Know is True The novel is about identical twin brothers, Dominick and Thomas. The book opens with the horrific scene of in which Thomas who suffers from severe mental illness cuts off his right hand in a public library while quoting If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away... Yes, this is a fictional situation and character... But what if I were to tell you that throughout the history of the church, there have been some men (priests and monks) and even some women who have disfigured themselves because of a literal interpretation of these words of Jesus. And, the interpretation and application of Jesus discussion about adultery and divorce has also been not only problematic but even dangerous since it too has been used to encourage women especially to stay in abusive marriages, relationships that do not honor God nor do such relationships reflect God s purposes in the gift of marriage. 1

2 So how should we approach these words of Jesus? Above all we need to always keep in mind that our relationships matter to God. Well, you say, of course they do. But before we all just nod our heads in agreement, there are some things we need to take into account especially with regard to these particular texts if we are to confess and begin to understand and have some wisdom about what we mean when we say our relationships matter to God. First, we need to know that God is not the unmoved Mover of the philosophers of the Enlightenment the watchmaker who wound up the clock and now just keeps time from afar. Nor is God anything like the disdainful gods of the ancient Greeks and Romans who looked upon human beings as playthings. But then, again, God is not just a great spiritual guide or director of divine karma. None of these reflects the God who cares about our relationships, cares passionately and deeply about how we treat each other because God loves each and all of us. 2

3 If our relationships matter to God because God loves each and every one of us, then that changes how we interpret the law, especially these passages, when we hold them within the context of the entire biblical witness especially the entirety of the sermon on the mount. At first this may be a bit perplexing because Jesus doesn t just heighten the force of the law the Ten Commandments he broadens them. For example, it s not enough to refrain from committing murder; we need also to treat one another with respect and that includes not using hateful, degrading words. (After all, there is more than one way to commit to murder we can kill people s spirits and emotional lives with verbal and emotional abuse that is every bit as devastating to a person s life as physical murder. Just think about the heartache wrought not only to individuals but to whole communities, even nations because of hate speech and emotional abuse.) It is not enough, Jesus goes on to say, that we refrain from physically committing adultery. We should also not objectify others male and female so that their existence is nothing more than a way to satisfy our lustful desires. This is as true of culture, in general, which uses sex to sell and images that distort healthy body images, especially for women. 3

4 It is not enough to follow the letter of the law with regard to divorce. We should not treat spouses or anyone as disposable. We need to protect the most vulnerable and in our culture as in Jesus time as well this means women and children, who need to be provided for and not viewed as possessions or lifestyle accessories. And it is not enough to keep ourselves from swearing falsely or refrain from lying. We should speak and act truthfully in all our doings so that there is no need to make oaths at all. What would life be like if everyone s yes was truly a yes, and their no was indeed a no? Now perhaps we can see why Jesus uses such exaggerated language of cutting off body parts and burning in hell to make the point of how important our relationships are to God. We have a problem, really, when it comes to the law. We generally see the law as the master when, in fact, the law is the servant. Now just stop and think about that for a moment and what a difference that makes in how we interpret the law and how we even think about God. Whenever I ask people especially young people what God is like, most answer they image an old man in the sky with either long white or grey hair and a full beard. 4

5 He s usually sitting looking down on earth with a fairly stern disapproving expression, trying to see who s being naughty and who s being nice. Certainly, the exaggerated talk of Jesus might reinforce that view the view of God who gives the law as a taskmaster over us. But what if we now discard that view of the stern old man in the sky and replace it with one of Jesus, kneeling at the feet of his friends, washing their feet; or Jesus welcoming and taking the children into his arms and blessing them; or Jesus telling the crowd that the one without sin can cast the first stone. This is the God who gives the law as a servant that is as something that serves the greater good, something that teaches us what God s dream for our lives looks like. God isn t interested in us keeping the law for the law s sake as if the law was here to play gotcha with us or create little trap doors to hell. When we realize that the Law is the servant, then it becomes a teacher or guardian in honoring and nurturing all those created in God s image. My husband and I made many rules over the years for our daughter, and while there may have been times when she thought we were being overbearing tyrants, I think she would tell you now (at least I hope she would!) that our rules about where she could play, 5

6 how to speak to us or her friends, how to treat others were all intended to care for and protect her and to help her to choose life not just for herself, but also for others. The law is, as Luther put it, a gift given by a loving parent who wants their children to treat each other well. If this is so, and I believe it is, then God cares deeply about our relationships. Law understood primarily in legal terms, ends up being a moral and all-too-often self-justifying check list: No murder today; check! No adultery; check! Jesus wants more from us. Actually, Jesus wants more for us. He wants us to regard each other as God regards us and thereby to treat each other accordingly. Actually, Jesus was even far more than that we treat each well, what Jesus wants for us is to love one another as he has loved us. For as Paul states it so well in Romans, the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments... are summed up in this word Love. Love does no wrong to a neighbor Love does no wrong to anyone. Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. 6

7 Kathleen Norris wrote a reflection on today s gospel that from the time I first read it to now has stayed with me. Here s what she wrote: Jesus provides no list of beliefs at all. People are judged not on what they believe but on how they have loved. One of Satre s best known quips is Hell is other people. But we might also find in others a glimpse of heaven... Jesus might agree with Sartre, to some degree; at least he has said that we can find hell simply by dismissing another person as stupid If you say, you fool, you will be liable to the hell of fire I shudder, she goes on to write, to think of all the times that I have dismissed other people in this way, at least in my thoughts, which count. It may be permissible to identify another s behavior as foolish, particularly if it also forces me to reflect on my own foolishness. But to say, You fool, is to negate God s presence in a creature God has made. It is to invite God s absence, she concludes, which is my definition of hell. In the coming week I invite you to think about a relationship in your life that healthy and whole and good and that sustains you regularly. Think about what makes that relationship good and why it is so important to you. Give thanks to God for that person and the relationship you share. 7

8 The second thing I invite you to think about a relationship that is important to you, but that has suffered some damage. Above all, don t try to figure out who was to blame for the hurt, just hold that person and your relationship in prayer. Offer that broken relationship to God for healing. Ask the Spirit to help you think about what action you could take to move that relationship to greater health. Ask God to help you use both the servant-hood of the law and the mercy of the gospel to heal and restore and uphold all your relationships. Of course, let s not pretend that any of this is easy. But to seek and strive to love others as we have been loved is worth the effort... after all it is the kingdom of heaven on earth. 8

Sermon for February 16 th, Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 5:21-37 BLESSINGS TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD THE FATHER, OUR

Sermon for February 16 th, Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 5:21-37 BLESSINGS TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD THE FATHER, OUR Sermon for February 16 th, 2014 Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 5:21-37 BLESSINGS TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD THE FATHER, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. Tuesday afternoon I was sitting