Gospel text for Sunday 12 February 2017

Matthew 5:21-37        Jesus said, "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.

Reflection  

You have heard that it is said, “Be polite and do not offend others,” but I say, “It is not enough to be politically correct and say, “I pray for the poor, the disenfranchised, the elderly, the disabled, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, I pray for immigrants and refugees, the specially abled and all those experiencing violence and oppression.” We must set down all of the categories and groups that pigeonhole people in pejorative boxes and see the inherent good and godly nature of every single person. Jesus said to the religious leaders, "You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and wickedness!” (Lk 11.39) It is what is inside that matters.

You have heard that it is said,  “Be good citizens,” but I say, “Voting and paying your taxes is not enough. Look beyond your personal obligation and see your obligation to dignify and care for every human being. As members of God’s community we owe our allegiance to God and are intended to care for all of God’s people.” In Jesus’ words, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12.17) Which of course begs the question, “What exactly belongs to God?”  Only everything.

You have heard that it is said, “Take responsibility for yourself,” but I say, “ life is not about asserting your personal rights and gratifying your personal needs. Life is about fostering community in which all people have access to security, safety, esteem and empowerment.” Again, Jesus said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Lk 6.31) Take responsibility for humanity.

Yes I have taken liberties with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount,  but here is the thing. It is all too easy for us to bow to prevailing social norms; to be polite, be good citizens and assume responsibility for our personal welfare. In doing these good things it is easy for us to injure, neglect or discriminate against members of our community. By paying inordinate attention to the outside of our cups,  we fail to remember the blessing we are intended to be for others.

This section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount invites us to look beyond external appearances, to set down categories and groups that divide and denigrate people, and behold the root that lies within each of us. What is the root that lies within us? It is our God given good and godly nature. It is God with us, given that we may be a blessing for all. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 21 February 2016

Luke 13:31-35        Some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.' Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’"

Reflection         There is a lot going on in this text, in fact, the verb “to go” is what captures my imagination. The Pharisees’ warning to Jesus to “Get away…” can also be translated “Go away.” Immediately Jesus responds telling the Pharisees to go to Herod and that he must go and finish his work during the next three days on his way to Jerusalem. The irony is, Jesus tells the Pharisees that he has to go to Jerusalem to be killed in response to their warning to go away to avoid being killed.

It is also worth wondering, what turned the Pharisees around? All along the way the Pharisees have gone out of their way to challenge and entrap Jesus. Now, they are going out of their way to warn him that Herod wants to kill him? Why the sudden change of heart and tactic? Frankly, we have no idea what the Pharisees were thinking. Some commentators suggest their motives were genuine. Others suggest that even though the religiously conservative Pharisees secured their lives by working as arms of the state, interpreting Jewish law and maintaining order among the Jewish people, some of them described Herod the Great as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis, the evil genius of the Judean nation.”*  At the end of the day, Pharisees were Jews, not Romans. Their God was the God of Israel, not Herod.  

Apparently some of the Pharisees put their lives on the line when they warned Jesus to “Go away…” They chose to turn away from their comfortable alliance with the occupying Roman officials that insured their protected status in favor of turning toward the God of Israel. Turning toward God, following the way of Jesus, is costly. In fact, it costs everything. As the German Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, grace is not cheap.

Grace requires more than being a law abiding citizen. Grace requires more than being socially and politically correct. Grace requires we go, pick up our cross and follow Jesus to Jerusalem, “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” It means dying to our old way of bartering for safety, security, esteem, power and control in exchange for obedience to secular authority.  Grace means being born again as people who put flesh on the bones of our faith by standing up for the dignity of all people. Grace invites us to risk everything, to put our safety, security, esteem, power and control on the line in order to go, to follow the way of Jesus and live according to a higher standard of dignity for all people. It seems, some of the Pharisees acted on this. 

Achtemeier, Paul J., Harper’s Bible Dictionary, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.), 1985.

Spino, Ken (Rabbi) (2010). "History Crash Course #31: Herod the Great (online)". Crash Course in Jewish History. Targum Press. ISBN 978-1-5687-1532-2. Retrieved 7 May 2013.

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