Blogging Toward Sunday, March 26
New Year, Same Promises:
"God's Promise of Guidance"
Matthew 5:13-20 (NRSV)
"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 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.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
As we wrap up the "New Year, Same Promises" sermon series, we have the promise that God will guide us. One of the primary ways that God guides is with God's Law, the same Law that permeates all the scriptures. The first five books of the Bible are known as the Torah, the "Books of the Law". Psalmists write about how God's Law is "sweeter than honey to my mouth." In this passage from Matthew, Jesus affirms that the Law is essential to our relationship with God.
But if the Law was enough to save us, Jesus would have praised the Pharisees rather than scolding them in this passage. The Pharisees devoted themselves to the study and teaching of the Torah; they were experts in the Law. Yet in Matthew 23:27, Jesus makes this scathing assessment: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth."
What were the Pharisees doing wrong? Their purpose was to control the Jewish people's observance of the Law, so that the nation of Israel would never ignore the Law again. To do so, they took "control" of the Law, redefining obedience to the Law in ways that could be observed and measured; in this way, the Pharisees could be certain the Law was followed. But by substituting their interpretations of the Law for the Law, and by convincing themselves of their righteousness in following the observable regulations they had written, they inoculated themselves against letting the Law affect their minds and hearts.
Jesus calls us to submit ourselves to the Law and dedicate ourselves to the principles of the Law. For example, it is important that "thou shalt not steal" - that is an example of a law that is observable and measurable. It is more important that we are dedicated to the principle of respect for each other and respect for others' possessions. If we are committed to that respect, if our relationships with others are guided by that principle, we will not commit the act of stealing. That principle of respect for others comes directly out of the fundamental commandments of the Law: Love God and love other people in the same way that God loves those people.
It is that holy Law, that Law of God's perfect love for us and in us and through us - that Law is sweeter than honey, and that Law is the guidance that God faithfully provides to us.
See you Sunday!
