February 12, 2023 St. Andrew Church Rev. Anne McAnelly
First Lesson: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
Second Lesson: Matthew 5:21-37
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.’ 22 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. 23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25 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. 26 Truly 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.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 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. 30 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.
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, 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.’ 34 But I say to you: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Last week I told you a member wanted a sermon on anxiety. After that sermon the request was made to explore righteousness. I thought well let’s see where the gospel lesson takes us. Boy was I in for a surprise. Murder, adultery, divorce, and vow keeping. The Big Four! Three of the four are in the 10 Commandments. This is one of those passages I avoided for a while and still might like to ignore. I am divorced and how do I make sense out of this, my comfort is that divorce is not in the 10 commandments. We know we are not supposed to brake God’s law and that God would frown upon such action. But we also know that Jesus came to fulfill the law and not abolish it, (5:17) so there must be more to the story.
First let’s note that these are all about living in community. They are relational. It takes at least two people for any of these actions to happen. Jesus is shaping a community of faith that goes beyond the rule of law to interact with others in ways compatible with God’s love and compassion. Yes, we need to follow the laws, but we also get to understand the intention behind the law.
Jesus starts each teaching with “You have heard it said … but I say to you.” He is reminding them, and us, of the law and then expanding it. I think most of us consider ourselves good Christians who do not break God’s commandments. That is a good thing. We don’t murder, steal, slander or covet. But Jesus is calling us to something more. Taking those primary laws and including our motivation and our feelings. One commentator writes, “No longer do the teachings on murder and adultery apply strictly to acts of murder and adultery. Instead, they become doorways into the examination of many internal dynamics as well as external behaviors of one’s life: anger, derision, slander… lust, temptation, alienation, divorce, and religious speech.” Oden continues, “Jesus connects the dots for his listeners from outward acts to internal orientation, from murder to anger, from adultery to lust. It is one thing to behave rightly. It is another thing entirely for one’s heart to be oriented toward love. Just as it is easier to make a sacrifice at the temple than it is to do justice (Micah 6), so it is easier to keep the commandment against murder than it is to avoid anger in one’s heart” (Working Preacher, Amy Oden). It is not enough to go through life and not murder someone. Now Jesus is challenging us to check our feelings, our anger, the part of us that often leads us to the forbidden action. So, if you are angry with a friend or family member, before you come to worship in community giving your offering to God, pause and go make it right with that person. Eugene Peterson, one of the renowned theologians of our times translates Jesus words in a contemporary way. “Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell, ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple fact is that words kill” (The Message p. 1492, v. 22). Our entire culture right now is plagued by people who yell angry words and fan the flames of hellfire to further their ideological end. And we have all seen how words kill, through social media rants provoking mass shootings, to lies that threaten to kill our democracy. We do not get to be pleased with ourselves for not committing murder, we get to examine our own hearts, feelings, resentments, and lives to see where we are succumbing to the negative energy that leads to death, literal or emotional.
Jesus then turns his attention of adultery, the sin that manifests from coveting another person’s partner. Returning to Eugene Peterson’s translation, “Don’t’ go to bed with another’s spouse.’ But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices- they are corrupt” (The Message p. 1492). That is his translation of scripture! And there is an uncomfortable clarity to his words.
Now let’s look at divorce. “The standard for divorce in the ancient world was low. Practically speaking, a husband could divorce a wife for almost any reason at any time. The hardest part might be coming up with a legal technicality to use as an excuse. In that era, culture was completely dominated by male authority. Women were held in low regard. Worse, it was extremely difficult for unmarried women to conduct business or own property. Being divorced, for women of Jesus’ era, included losing one’s finances and future. But a certificate of divorce provided protection for a woman. It gave her legal standing to remarry, if she could. The man’s legal standing to remarry was simply assumed” (BibleRef.com).
“You have heard it said … but I say to you” Jesus now turns his attention to divorce. The very fact that divorce is mentioned in the Old Testament shows that divorce has happened for a very long time. Jesus is clarifying the process of divorce because it was a big topic at the time. Rabbi Hillel favored a permissive approach where a woman could be divorced for ruining her husband’s meal. While another rabbi made stricter allowances (Working Preacher, Melanie Howard). But as we have already seen, Jesus is calling us to something more. Yes, Jesus upholds marriage, but I would say he also wants to protect the women who can be cast out by divorce. Returning to Peterson’s contemporary translation, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as cover for selfishness, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal’” (The Message p. 1492).
Pretending to be righteous just because you are legal. It is like saying, I am righteous because I have not murdered, but you have hidden your anger against your brother to appear righteous.
I am righteous because I am still married, hiding your shameful lust for another so that you can look righteous. Righteousness means, “acting in accord with divine or moral law.” Righteousness is being in right relationship with God and community. Remember all of these are foundational to living in God’s realm. So how do we square this with divorce? First let us consider marriage. Since the beginning, marriage is part of God’s order; Adam and Eve cleave to each other creating one flesh. Moreover, marriage is a paradigm for how God is in relationship with the church. It is the clearest earthly picture of Christ and the Church. And I would say that each of these four teachings points to what God’s kingdom looks like. These are the goals; these are God’s expectations. Yet we all have been touched by sin, we have all fallen short. This truth is how we know and live in the mercy of God’s love and the comfort of Christ’s care. Divorce is no greater failing than any other, and since we are forgiven by the love of God through Christ Jesus it applies to this as well. One commentator writes, When Jesus says, “You have heard it said … but I say to you” is a call to fulfill righteousness—God’s righteousness. (To) Fulfill (means) “bring to completion or reality.” “Achieve or realize.” “Bring to fruition” (Working Preacher, Karoline Lewis). That is the law of God, and Jesus is reshaping that law through grace and love. So if you are divorced and wonder what Jesus is saying to you? He is saying, “You are my beloved child, a child of God.” Jesus is saying that to you. Because when Jesus says, “But I say to you” it casts the net of God’s love wider than we would typically allow. “But I say to you” presses us to extend the arc of righteousness beyond the reasonable. “But I say to you” names the truths of the injustices all around us yet invites us to hope nonetheless” (Working Preacher, Karoline Lewis). Amen.
