A Sermon preached on February 8, 2023 at St. Christoph, Mainz
Sirach 15:15-20, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Matthew 5:21-37
As I mentioned in my weekly email, at a recent Wednesday Bible Study, one of our number commented that the current readings seemed to have little to do with the “happy” theme of Epiphany, the manifestation of God in Christ, the light of the world! At least more recently, they already seemed to be pointing more towards Lent with its themes of repentance, reconciliation, and renewal. And it is certainly the case, that after looking at this week's readings, especially the Gospel, we could easily feel that we have or will have cause to repent because we are being confronted with “impossible demands”!
In Matthew's Gospel we continue to work through the Sermon on the Mount. Today, Jesus takes three of the 10 Commandments: You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery and - in a paraphrase of the commandment to not take the name of the Lord your God in vain - You shall not swear falsely and intensifies them. If you want to prevent murder do not be angry, do not even insult another person. If you want to prevent adultery do not even look at another person with any desire, and to avoid swearing falsely do not swear at all. The consequences are not so good either: court, prison, hell, mutilation …. There are times when it is difficult to talk of “Good News” – which is what the word Gospel literally means.
So, what is Jesus up to? Well, we know that he was influenced by the teaching of the Pharisees (who were not all bad!). And there is a Pharisaic practice called building a fence around the Torah: By observing a law well beyond its minimum requirements we ensure that the law itself is observed. The rationale comes from Deuteronomy 22:8, which states that when someone builds a house, he must build a fence around the roof to avoid guilt should someone fall off the roof! And so they "build a fence around the Torah" in order to protect the commandment.
So, in today’s Gospel, we get nowhere near wanting to kill someone, or tempting them to kill us, if we do not get angry or insult them and if we immediately seek forgiveness and reconciliation when we recall that a brother or sister has something against us. This is another good, solid Jewish practice by the way, that only reconciliation with God is only possible once we have sought and made peace with our neighbour.
Jesus uses lots of different teaching methods. We have the parables, 55 of them in total, stories that “invite us into a different world: one that asks questions, explores possibility but that rarely ends in a clear, single answer.”[1] But we also have very clear commandments: Love God, love your neighbour, love your enemies! This is also not the only time that Jesus will speak about bad attitudes that can lead to destructive behaviour. Later in Matthew’s Gospel, after an argument with some pharisees, Jesus says: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (Matthew 15:19.20)
We do not have to take every word literally, much of it is deliberate exaggeration for effect, especially the warnings about hell (not the medieval Christian concept, but a reference to Gehenna a valley south of Jerusalem associated with child sacrifice and by Jesus’ time a huge rubbish/trash dump that was constantly smouldering – still not a place you want to spend a lot of time!) and the instructions about tearing out eyes and cutting off limbs. Sadly these have been taken literally and led to self-harm. And while I respect the Quakers for their refusal to swear oaths before court based on this passage, often a very costly refusal, I don’t think that is a necessary interpretation.[And in case you are worried, in 1695 an Act was passed allowing Quakers to just affirm that they were telling the truth with the words: “I do declare in the Presence of Almighty God the Witnesse of the Truth of what I say.”]
All of our readings in this season between the Epiphany and Lent are about the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. This year, they seem to have a lot to with the impact and effect of that manifestation. We heard how people, the first disciples, were so convinced by what they saw and heard that they immediately followed him, leaving home and job behind. Last week we heard Jesus tell those disciples that they have to share in his mission and revelation. That they – and not just he “are the light of the world.” And that their purpose, as was his, is to point to God: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5:14)
Jesus was sent into the world not just to reveal himself, and through him God's true nature, but also to invite us all into a new, renewed and active relationship with God and our neighbour! Jesus inaugurated God's kingdom, and revealed the values of that kingdom that are the only way for us to truly experience an abundant life. Yes, we have a promise of salvation and we have the proof of God's victory over sin and death in the Cross and Resurrection. They are unearned and God’s gift. At the same time Jesus called and calls us to work to overcome sin in the here and now – our own sin and the systemic We are to begin the work of transforming self and society now as a way of already living into God's kingdom, even if that will not be fully realized until Jesus’ return in glory. As Paul tells the Corinthians, we plant and water, but only God give the growth. Jesus' radical intensification of the commandments is part of our transformation. These commandments are all about our relationship with one another, how we treat one another. If I were to summarise them more positively, and without any of the threats, our relationships are to be without anger, governed by respect and tolerance, imbued with a deep desire for reconciliation, and characterised by complete honesty and commitment! That’s still not easy, but something I think we can sign up to. And, as our Collect for today makes clear, we do this only and always with God's help: “because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed.” Amen.
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