St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 6th Sunday after Epiphany
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37
Gospel: Matthew 5:21-37
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 21“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22But 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. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come 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. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If 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. 30And 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.
31“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But 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.
33“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.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
NRSV
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Life Giving Teachings
Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It was a day or two after a heavy snow shower, and I was home for the weekend. It was cold and damp, with slush everywhere. It was a very good Saturday morning to sleep late and stay home. Nonetheless, I had a seminary class assignment. A Hebrew assignment, to be more precise. I had to attend a Torah service in the local Synagogue. Torah services are not the main service on Shabbat, which is Friday evening. The Rabbi would not be there, as the people usually lead the service. I had contacted the Rabbi beforehand, who informed me so, and told me someone would be waiting for me.
Torah services are a big deal for the family and friends of those assigned to read from the scrolls on that day. They had spent weeks training in the enunciation of the Hebrew vowels. It is a great honor to say them correctly. The person who was reading that day was the same one who greeted me, so she introduced me to another attendee who would sit with me in the service and explain what was going on since the whole service was carried in Hebrew.
The highlight of the service for me as a Christian observant was when the scrolls of the Torah, the law of Moses, were taken from the sacred space in the sanctuary and processed through the assembly. The reverence and the joy of the people were moving. My host, apparently, did a perfect job with her reading. So it was time to celebrate. I was invited to this awesome spread for brunch after service.
One of the elders at my table asked me how I enjoyed the service. It gave me a moment of pause. I realized I was enjoying my time with these stewards of our ancestral faith who had kept these scrolls for us for hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus was even born. Anyway, I mentioned that the reactions to the processing of the scrolls were moving to me. Some had tears, some were reciting prayers in Hebrew, and some were fervently praising God. The elder moved to tell me enthusiastically, “of course they did. We are still a people because of those scrolls. Because of them, we are still alive!”
I always remember that experience when we reach this moment in Deuteronomy. The final chapters of the first five books of the bible, also known as the Law of Moses or Torah. Our first reading today brings us to the scene where the Hebrews are about to cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan.
There God reminds them of everything they have been through, all the blessings, but also all the curses, the good, the bad, and the ugly of their journey together since they were liberated from slavery and oppression in Egypt. One more time, God pleaded for them to listen, to hear, and be intentional about God’s instructions, for God only wanted them to live. God had given all these commandments and taught them to the Hebrews so that things would be well with them, so they could be a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, and flourish together alongside each other and with God, so they could have shalom.
Interestingly, a few verses later, in Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 16, God gets Moses to the side and tells him something along the lines of, yeah, they will not listen and not do as I say. It sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We still don’t?
Anyway, God still loves us. God has always loved us and wanted us to live well and abundantly, so God comes down, in the form of Jesus Christ, to teach and show us the way so things would be well in the community of his disciples. This is, in a nutshell, what the Sermon of the Mountain tries to accomplish, what God has always wished for us. Here Jesus begins to refocus God’s ancient teachings for us.
However, the apple does not fall far from the tree. The Son, like the Father, knows that eventually, we will not hear and do. Jesus knows that the lives we ought to live will pressure us to stray from the way he taught us, and we will be angry at each other, and God knows what else. So Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit that brings us to the font and reminds us of what we were taught. It reminds us that God knows what we will do and always forgives when we say I am sorry with renewed hearts and minds. May the Spirit always show us the way to live. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Bridging Faith 