St. Marks United Methodist Church

May 18, 2008  *  St. Marks UMC

“ONE LAW I WOULD NEVER BREAK”

Reading-   Matthew 5:17, 21-24

We humans need rules to live by, don’t we?  But we can also get carried away with making rules.  Some of them are ridiculous.  For instance-- In Oklahoma, whale hunting is strictly forbidden. Not much danger of breaking that law. In Florida, an unmarried woman can be put into jail if she parachutes on Sunday.  Ilda, if you ever vacation in Florida, they’ll be watching you!  In South Bend, Indiana, monkeys are forbidden to smoke cigarettes.   In Kentucky, where gun racks in pickup trucks are common, it’s illegal to carry a concealed weapon more than six feet long.  In Rhode Island, it’s illegal to throw pickle juice on a trolley. Maybe that’s why there are so few trolleys in R.I.  In Alabama, it’s illegal to drive while blind folded. They should keep that one on the books! In Tennessee, it’s illegal to lasso a fish. I thought that law would come from Texas or Montana. In Omaha, Nebraska, parents could be arrested if their child burps during a church service.

Closer to home…  In Ohio, it’s against the law to get a fish drunk!  No more pouring Vodka in the aquarium.  In Youngstown, Ohio, it’s illegal to run out of gas.

Here’s the ridiculous law that makes the most sense- in Minnesota, it’s illegal to tease a skunk.  Now, there’s a law with immediate consequences.

But, looking beyond the ridiculous, we need rules to live by, don’t we? Without these legal boundaries for living, how could we have any hope of a fair, safe or orderly life?  Think of a law that our society couldn’t do without… inconceivable that you would ever break it! (share)

God seems to think rules for living are very important for us.  In fact, God’s rules are all about living out our created purpose….to live in loving relationship.  God’s #1 Commandment-  “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, mind, soul and strength!”  Love God with all that you are!  God’s #2 Commandment- “Love you neighbor as yourself!”  Be as concerned about your neighbor’s welfare, rights, happiness as you are your own!   Then, God sent Moses down from the mountain with The Big Ten- ten timeless mandates, literally chiseled in stone.  Each of these ten rules is meant to help us understand what it means to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbor.  In fact, the Ten Commandments and the other Mosaic Laws are the foundation of OUR own legal system today!  They’re timeless guidelines for how to live together and how to love God.

Now the people in Bible times were no different from us.  They made a lot of ridiculous laws and ceremonies in attempt to keep and understand God’s laws- rules for washing hands to be clean before God, rules for defining “work” so they could keep the Sabbath.  In doing this, they ended up with a cumbersome legal system that nobody could obey; yet, at the same time many forgot the essence or spirit of what God had in mind.

When Jesus came, he pointed out how ridiculous this was.  He allowed his disciples to eat without ceremonial hand washing.  He healed people on the Sabbath day.  And when the religious, legal-minded people had a fit, Jesus pointed out that they were more concerned about washing their hands than having a clean heart….they cared more about not doing anything that was considered  “work” on the Sabbath than the healing of a broken body.  They had forgotten the spirit and essence God intended.

But Jesus was just getting started. According to Matthew, one day Jesus was followed by a multitude up a mountain slope.  There he gathered his followers around him and began to teach what we call, “The Sermon on the Mount.”  Within this collection of teachings, Jesus dared to tinker with the Big 10!  Perhaps “clarify” is a better word.  He begins, (5:17) “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to FULFILL.”

Jesus didn’t come to do away with what God had already said; but rather to bring us back to the center, the essence the spirit of what God desires.  He came to help us re-think our assumptions and to complete our understanding.  Jesus was a threat to people who thought they completely understood things, who were afraid to re-think or complete their understanding; but he poured living water into the hearts of those who sought the whole truth. His words have the same effect, still today!

Today, Jesus dares to amend one of the Big Ten- “Thou shall not kill!” (5:21-22) “You have heard it said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; But I say to you that if you are angry with your 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.”

 “You shall not kill!”  I’ll guess some of us listed that as the one law we would never break.  Except for the necessity of defending a loved one or our homeland, none of us would take the life of another human.  But Jesus seems to be suggesting, “There’s more than one way to kill a person!”  In fact, he equates some things that I and probably you do with the taking of human life!  Let’s take a closer look at Jesus’ amendments…

Amendment #1-  5:22 “If you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.” Could Jesus really mean that? Isn’t anger a natural emotion we all experience?  Can you control whether or not you’re going to feel anger?  Isn’t it unhealthy to suppress anger?  Jesus got so angry he drove the hucksters out of the temple and called the Pharisees a pit of snakes.  What was he getting at?

There are two Greek words for “anger”—“Thumos,” describes an anger that flares up, like a paper sack on fire, but dies down as quickly. “Orge,” describes a long-lived anger, like smoldering, glowing coals.  It’s an anger one willingly fans, to keep it burning…anger against someone you don’t want to let go of.

Other translations- “Whoever harbors malice” Wms; “Continues to be angry” Amp; “Nurses anger” NEB.  William Barclay interprets it as “an anger which will not forget…the anger which refuses to be pacified…the anger which seeks revenge.”  Get the picture?

When we are betrayed, or overlooked, or abused, or misunderstood…it pierces us to the center of our heart and sometimes leaves us with nothing but shattered pieces and glowing coals of anger…an anger we hold onto like a put-bull on a mail carrier’s pant leg.  We refuse to let go. Reconciliation and forgiveness are not options. 

This is the perilous state Jesus warns against…a state that kills…a condition we’ve all experienced.  The critical question is, “Will I take my anger to Jesus, asking for help to deal with it and to heal my heart…OR…will I insist upon fueling my anger until I am paid in full?”

When you refuse to take you anger to God, the first casualty is the life that is sucked out of you!  Nursing a grudge is suicidal.  Like the old proverb, “The fire you kindle against your enemy often burns yourself more than him.”

There is also the life that is sucked out of the person we are holding anger against.  We’ve all experienced the life it sucks from us to never be released from someone’s anger and unforgiveness…to know they may never cross the bridge of reconciliation you have tried to build.

Forgiveness and healing are a process that takes time.  It may involve honest confrontation.  It definitely involves giving over our anger to God as many times as it takes until the fire is out.

Amendment #2- 5:22  “And if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council.”  Other translations- “Whoever calls his brother ‘Simpleton’” Ber; “You good for nothing” TEV; “empty head” Beck; “Whoever pours contempt upon his brother.” TCNT.

One translation reads, “Anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca.’” Barclay explains that the Hebrew word “Raca,” literally means, “I spit on you!” But “Raca” does not refer so much to the words you are speaking, as much as it describes the attitude, the spirit, the tone in which you are communicating…your facial expression, your body language, your tone of voice.

So then, to say “Raca” to someone would be that, by the spirit of your relationship (your tone of voice, smirk, rolling of eyes, body language) you are communicating contempt, disregard, and condescension.  Without words, or maybe in addition to our words, we let them know how little of brain, or little of worth, or how incompetent, or how unqualified, how much of a loser we consider someone to be.

Why did Jesus consider this another form of homicide?  Ever hear the expression,  “If looks could kill…you’d be dead!”?  Sometimes, looks DO kill!  Communication experts tell us that our tone toward someone, our facial expression, body language, tone of voice, communicate more loudly than the words we speak.  We may not say the words, “You stupid idiot!’ or “Can’t you ever get it right!” or “You don’t measure up!”  But we can say it…we can pour down condescension, contempt, and disgust… by how we shake our head, roll our eyes, brush them off, or stare them down.  The tension is present.  The message is clear.

How is this a way of killing?   For starters, it kills self esteem.  A primary source of self worth is the reflection of how others view us.  Oh the adults I’ve met who are emotionally and spiritually crippled, because they could never measure up, could never do well enough in their parents’ eyes.

  It kills hope— one’s hope of growing into full potential… one’s hope of being accepted or befriended.

  There is a lot of “Raca-ing” killing self-worth and hope of friendship or possibilities around family tables and where we work, at school….  Sadly, there is  “Raca” communicated within God’s family.  God didn’t call us together to evaluate each other’s spirituality, or competence, or how well we measure up.  Have you noticed, in the Bible, the persons God has called to carry out his plan… Moses had a speech impediment…he chose little David to kill a giant and become a king…he chose Gideon, a coward, to lead God’s army…he chose a poor couple to parent his Son.  Jesus himself was “Raca-ed” upon all his life.

   God calls us together to build each other up, to help each other up, to be for each other’s success…not to “Raca” upon each other.

Amendment #3: “And if you say, ‘You fool!’ you will be liable to the fire of hell.”  This offense seems the most serious; but it sounds like the one we just talked about, doesn’t it? 

Again, a closer look helps to get at Jesus meaning.  The Greek word used here for “fool” is “moros,” which refers to a person who is blatantly immoral, a rebel with no remorse, scum…one who is thought beyond redemption and deserves condemnation.

So, Jesus wasn’t talking about calling someone a “dummy;” but rather to condemn someone as a moral failure…to attack their character…to smear their reputation…to judge them as reprobate.  It’s to say to another, “I don’t feel sorry for you, because you’re getting what you deserve!”  It’s to attack a person’s character as morally shameful, as though you yourself have little to be ashamed of.  Sounds like some campaign speeches of late!

But wait!  Don’t we Christians have a right, an obligation to speak out against immorality, to fight for the right?  Aren’t we instructed to hold one another accountable?  In the spirit of love, yes!  As a sinner saved by grace, helping another sinner to find grace, yes!  But never in the spirit of looking down in self-righteous indignation.  NEVER!  When we take up the “righteous sword” we had better be careful where we thrust it and in what spirit we wield it, especially when we start talking about persons or groups of persons we consider to be ungodly.  There is a thin line between righteous indignation and self-righteousness condemnation.

One day Jesus drew that line in the dust.  A crowd of outraged men brought to Jesus a woman who was caught in the act of adultery and confronted him.  “The law says she should be stoned,” they challenged.  “What do you have to say to this?”  Jesus paused while writing in the dust, and then replied, “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone.”  Beginning with the oldest, they dropped their rocks and left.  Jesus turned to her, “Neither do I condemn you.  Go now, and leave our life of sin.”  Of all sins, Jesus came down hardest on self-righteousness.

So what is the killing power of condemning a person’s character?  When we tell them to their face, it gives them one more reason for believing there is no new beginning for them.  When we whisper contemptuously behind their back, it kills their name in the community and their hopes of ever making a comeback in others’ eyes.

These are the amendments Jesus added to, “Thou shall not kill.”  You can get the electric chair for murder; but these are perfectly legal.  Author Wally Armbruster captures Jesus’ amendments in these words, “I always thought: There’s one commandment Moses brought down from the mountain that I could never break- ‘Thou shalt not kill.’  Inconceivable that I would use a gun or a knife or anything to kill someone!  But is this the one that covers killing somebody’s joy, enthusiasm, incentive, faith in himself, or faith in others…killing hope, reputations?  Not with a gun or a knife…but a look, a snicker, a comment, or no comment.  Kill…with a sharp tongue.”  Noodles, pg. 35

Now this creates quite a dilemma, doesn’t it?  Jesus equates some things we often say, and attitudes we often communicate with the taking of human life.  I think that Jesus is trying to pierce our complacency and jolt us into the realization that  the grudges we nurse, the looks we dart, the names we call, the slanders we whisper, that we pass off as not-so-bad, cause much more loss of precious life than we ever knew.  I don’t think Jesus is telling us these things to send us crawling under the bed to hide in shame….but that he is slapping us awake, so that once he has our attention he can lead us by the hand to a better place.

Jesus came to do much more than to clarify God’s laws.  Jesus came to dispense to us GRACE.  Grace is love extended to us even when we don’t deserve it.  It’s what Jesus offered to anyone who would receive it.  Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, the thief on the cross, Mary of Magdala…they received a lot of “Raca” and “Moros” from religious, law-keeping citizens.  But from Jesus, they received love they didn’t deserve…yet a love that transformed them.  That’s the same grace he offers to you and me.  Isn’t it ironic that in clarifying the LAW….Jesus teaches us all about GRACE. 

  When you indignantly wish that some wayward person will get exactly what they deserve…. ask yourself, “What if God gave me exactly what I deserve?”  But he doesn’t; instead, he offers you grace. When you are tempted to evaluate someone as lacking in spirituality or not measuring up, ask yourself how God sees them.  I think he’s trying to teach us to pass the grace we have received along to others.  And if there’s any family that needs to lead the way in being graceful to one another…building each up…helping each other up…working through our differences…it’s US,  the family of God.

  Take a moment to let the Holy Spirit dispense to you the Grace of Christ.  Open your heart and receive his acceptance, his love.  Now, let the Holy Spirit show you the face of someone you need to be graceful to.  Ask him to help you see that person as Jesus sees them and for the courage to hold out your hand.