I had a tricky task this morning- it was only my second sermon since
starting ordination training but the gospel reading I had to preach upon was
one of the most challenging and troubling. Here's how I tackled it:
Matthew 5:21-37
‘You have heard that it was said to those of
ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to
judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or
sister, you will be liable to judgement; 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.
(Other passages referred to below are Psalm
119:1-8, Deuteronomy 30:15-20 & Jeremiah 31:29-34)
As most of you will know I’m very new to preaching so was unsure
how to feel when I began to study today’s very challenging gospel reading. It’s
probably something I would have preferred to reflect upon with a bit more
experience behind me. Yet, as I spent time with the scripture I was challenged
and inspired by what Jesus had to say.
I’ve come to realise that, whilst the passage is difficult, I have the
privilege to preach on a Gospel passage that thousands before me have preferred
to gloss over, talk around or even worse, the scripture has been used to
justify violent punishments and oppress abused wives. So where to begin…
How many of us have friends who whilst they don’t come to church,
or even identify themselves as Christians, have told us how marvellous they
think Jesus was? That they may not consider him the son of God, but he was a
wonderful moral guide and teacher? Love, peace and loveliness was the business
of Jesus. Standing up for the oppressed, the marginalised, standing up for
women. Even when he got angry in the temple it was to make a stand against
hypocrisy. Jesus was a moral crusader- and a gentle listener-“let the little
children come to me!” we hear him say.
He spoke of lilies and sparrows. We like this Jesus. Non Christians like
this Jesus. Stand up Comedian Eddie Izzard in a very tongue in cheek skit calls
this version of Christ the “Anglo-Saxon Hippy”. This Jesus is often depicted in
art as a fair haired European surrounded by children, birds and animals. St
John’s in Old Trafford has a beautiful window depicting the risen Christ as
decidedly blonde and Scandinavian looking. It’s nickname, I’m told, is Bjorn
Again.
So, then we meet the Jesus of today’s gospel reading. More fiery
tele-evangelist than Anglo-Saxon hippy. There’s potential eye gougings, hand
choppings and our gentle saviour informing us that he hasn’t come to abolish
the Jewish law, but to make it even more difficult to fulfil. Who is this
version of Jesus- and do I know him at all??
The answer to that lies in the knowledge that most things we read
in the bible cannot just be taken at face value. Everything has context. To
address the issue of the violent imagery Jesus uses we need to understand some
of the traditions used by Hebrew orators. Hyperbole was used then, as now, to
emphasise the importance of what was being said. These extreme metaphors we
might paraphrase as “look- just don’t even think about it!” They’re deliberate
exaggerations to hammer the point home. At times, with our lack of knowledge
about pictorial style of speech used by the Jews of the time, we Christians can
fail to see the reality behind what is figurative.
Even the fires of hell are figurative as the translation is not
Sheol but Gehenna- where the cities rubbish dump burned day and night.
So what about the issue of divorce- it can still be very divisive in the
church even though it’s widely accepted in secular society. Divorced people may
be allowed to marry in church, and train for the priesthood, but here it is-
Jesus plainly stating don’t do it. There are issues dividing the church which
many would love there to be such clarity about.
You can only divorce your wife if she’s unfaithful. But this is also not
quite so clear, and rather than oppress women Jesus’ words are to protect them.
Jewish men could obtain divorces for all sorts of lax reasons, abandoning their
former wives and children and devaluing marriage and married love. Woman had no
legal voice so could not divorce their husbands or protest if they were to be
divorced.
Jesus reminds his listeners they need a really good reason to
divorce, or they won’t be right with God, preventing women being abandoned and
unsupported by the whim of their husband. It served as a reminder of the
importance and value of marriage- that it’s not something you enter into
lightly.
Of course in our modern British society women thankfully are as
legally valid as men. We also realise there are other valid and painful reasons
a couple may choose to divorce. Jesus chose his words to make his audience
remember that if they married a woman they were responsible for her.
So what of Jesus taking the law even further? You shall not murder is
extended to include feelings of anger, you shall not commit adultery to include
lustful feelings, and making wrongful use of God’s name includes swearing oaths
by it.
I thought Jesus was sent to fulfil the law because God knew it was
impossible to keep all the laws ourselves? Yet here he makes what many found
unattainable even harder.
But many of the things Jesus refers to here concern our outward
actions in relation to what we feel in our hearts. How many times do we excuse
someone’s actions by saying “well at least their heart was in the right place?”
We learn in the gospel that what is in our hearts is far more important than
our actions- but more than this, if our heart is in the right place then our
actions will be correct. It’s no good if we just do all the right things,
sacrifice and worship mean nothing if they are just for show. Reconciliation is
more important than sacrifice, and making peace more important than worshiping
God. When we have done these things we are in a right relationship with God and
ready to come before him.
Psalm 119, the hymn of praise to the law, tells us to seek God with our
whole heart and that if we learn and follow God’s law we will praise him with
an upright heart. The reading from Deuteronomy reminds us that if our hearts
turn from God we will go astray.
With St Valentine’s Day just 2 days ago there are images of hearts
everywhere- beautiful red and pink sparkly outward signs of the inner feelings
we have for our most dear and loved ones.
But what would a true representation of our heart look like? I
think mine might sometimes look a bit saggy, and a bit ragged, and some of the
glitter might have fallen off, because as much as we love and seek God, and
strive to do good things, we don’t always feel it in our hearts.
How do we feel in our hearts when Jesus’
message is not always one of comfort? He was a radical and his message was, and
still is, radical.
The new covenant promised in the Book of Jeremiah is this : I will put my law within them, and I will write it on
their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No
longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me.”
Jesus has made this possible by atoning for
our sins, in the most radical act imaginable, by fulfilling the law and by one
other thing. He has sent us our Guide and counsellor- the Holy Spirit- who
lives in our hearts. We therefore have God’s law within us. We’re not always
very good at accessing it, and we may sometimes need a bit more reconciliation
and peace making than at other times before we’re ready to come before God, but
it is there in each and every one us.
With that knowledge, of God in each of us, maybe
seeking him won’t seem so hard at times. Maybe the knowledge that God is in our
hearts will help change our hearts, give us integrity between our hearts and
our actions, and help us not to hide our brokenness but to bring it openly
before God, who knows us, knows our hearts, and loves us.
