This month we began
an important journey with Jesus. It is as if he knows we have fudged a bit in
our lives as Christians. It is as if he wants to make sure we understand what it
is he wants us to understand.
This journey for
understanding began back in chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel. Jesus saw the crowds
and he went up the mountain. He sat down and began to speak to them and teach
them.
From that day we understand
about the blessings for those who will be given the place of honor in the
Kingdom of Heaven. From that day we have important clues about the life we are
to lead. The life we are to lead if we are to become a follower of Jesus Christ,
that is.
We are familiar with those
blessings. They are for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, who are meek, who
hunger and thirst for the right things, those merciful, pure in heart, the
peacemakers, and even those persecuted.
Generally we can see
these teachings in one of two ways. The first is centered in Matthew 5:48 where
Jesus commands us to, “Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect.” There
seems little hope for us if we are called to perfection.
The second way sees
the hopeless nature of this perfection option and recognizes what we already know.
The truth of sin makes it impossible for
us to live fully the commands of Jesus’ Sermon that day. What we then understand,
in our Presbyterian and Reformed grounding, is our only hope lies in the
necessity of grace. It is by the grace
of God that we are saved.
But we know we cannot
just sit around and wait for God to play the “grace” card. No, God is actually holding
out for a different trump card to be played.
I was reminded of
God’s special card by one of Austin Seminary’s recent Mid-Winter speakers. It is from Sam Wells. In speaking of God’s
plan for the world and for us Sam said, “We are not a part of some grander
plan. We are the plan!” We are not pawns in the scheme of God’s game of grace.
No, “We are the plan.”
Your life, and mine, we are God’s plan for the coming of the
Kingdom of Heaven, and there are no substitutes, no reserves. We are the “A”
team. Actually, you and me, we are the only team.
What in the world was God thinking? At first we thought God
was the problem. Now we see it has been us all along. We are the problem!
This morning’s truth confirms
the depth of our need for help. So Jesus
offers it. Matthew’s gospel gives Jesus the chance to continue delivering new
interpretations of the law. Particularly, he addresses the hot button issues of
his day.
Concerning anger, his
new interpretation extends judgment in murder to judgment in anger. Being angry or insulting with a brother or
sister can lead all the way to the fire of hell. Jesus’ new way is for us to be
reconciled to and come to terms with our brother or sister.
Concerning adultery,
Jesus takes us through lust in our heart to tearing out what causes us to sin
before our whole body is thrown into hell. This is the second time Jesus
mentions hell. I wonder, should we be worried?
Concerning divorce, Jesus
says for most instances anyone who divorces wife, or to be fair, husband too,
causes them to commit adultery.
Concerning oaths, Jesus
makes it clear swearing falsely is inconsistent with vows we have made to our
Lord. We are to let our Yes be Yes, and our No be No, because anything else
comes from the evil one.
It sounds like Jesus
judges harshly what in our day seems normal. What then might we not understand?
Charles Cook, Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Theology at
Seminary of the Southwest here in Austin, offers valuable help when faced with Jesus’
interpretations of the law that in 2014 seem harsh.
He believes that in
this call from Jesus to live the right way, with blessing and more, Jesus is setting
as foundational a high standard for how we live with our brothers or sisters. Be
it from these examples of anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, or others, we are to
seek restoration or reconciliation with whomever we harm before we bring the
gift of our life to God’s table. This would say old scores need to be settled
and wounds healed before we abide with the Lord at God’s table.
But we know there are times
when reconciliation and forgiveness is not immediately possible. The way to
restoration often takes time, and not a small amount of patience on the part of
both parties. It would be an awkward situation for all concerned if folk
refused to offer their gift, the one called for in scripture, the gift of
“ourselves – our souls and bodies” because of some unresolved relationship
issue yet to be mended.
We probably approach
the Lord’s table with enough feeling of “unworthiness” to begin with. The
reality of forgiveness must, therefore, intercede. In this way, forgiveness is
the first step toward reconciliation. In the understanding that we too have been forgiven, there is hope.
It is that hope that moves us to forgive those with whom we are in conflict.
At our recent Annual Meeting we heard many
wonderful reports about our church. One of the strongest affirmations was how
important and how close to the heart of our folks is the experience of worship.
This is where we experience confession and forgiveness, reconnection with
neighbors, and the renewal of life that makes a difference in the world.
Scratch our surface and you will not find a lover of doctrine as much as a lover
of worship.
During the great
historical period in England known as the Oxford Movement there was a renewed
interest in the worship life of the church. Those in leadership positions,
especially clerics, saw in liturgical practice the catalyst for being empowered
for the mission of Christ to the world.
While these clergy certainly sought splendor in worship, most
of them also had soup kitchens, and clothing pantries for the poor. There was a
deep connection between worship and a starving world. These folk realized in
forgiven and restored relationships, with ourselves and others, and ourselves
and God, we hold possible the coming of God’s kingdom.
One powerful place for
that understanding to emerge is over our shared meal. It is our great place for
fellowship and restoration. We hunger for a full life and we are fed at table. One
of the members of this Oxford group said the Holy Eucharist is the only truly
democratic moment in life.
When we are willing to
come together at table, offer ourselves without reservation, and receive in
return all that we need not just to survive, but to be fully alive, then we
have experienced something remarkably different and essential. For being together
at table is the ultimate leveler, where status and opinion fade away, for those
in relationship and those who are yet to be in relationship. Especially for those
estranged from one another.
While we strive for
Jesus’ ideal, when things fall short of the mark, coming to the table, humbly offering
our gift of self to God and one another is not a bad place to start anew. Jesus’
invitation to table for all sorts and conditions of folks serves as a powerful grounding
in what ultimately matters.
Dorothy Day, the
founder of the Catholic Worker movement, knew what ultimately mattered. She used
to say to her fellow workers, particularly in difficult and stressful times;
“If each of us could just remember that we are all created in the image of God,
then we would naturally want to love more.”
Dear ones, here is the
key. Here is what we are to understand. The basis for our understanding, the
foundation for our new and renewed relationships begins in love.
We are not a part of
some grander plan God has in mind. We are the plan. You and me, with our love, we
are God’s plan! It is as simple as that. In this simplicity, the living spirit
that is ourselves with God renews itself as we understand what God would have
us understand. This living spirit that is our lives, completes itself in Jesus
Christ, and fulfills itself as we love even more.
Standing shoulder to
shoulder, hand in hand, at God’s table of life we live the plan and we understand
that in God’s realm there are no outsiders. Every gift is accepted, each
offering is received.
From this point in our
renewed understanding the hard work begins. For what once seemed impossible is
now actually becoming God’s kingdom on earth, God’s kingdom in this place. It
is Genesis Presbyterian Church, where our hearts are large with our love for one
another and the one who stopped his world so we could get on.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen 021614.gpc
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