Leviticus 19: 1-2, 9-18 Psalm 119: 33-40
1 Cor. 3: 10-11, 16-23 Matthew 5: 38-48
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
In our second reading for today the apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth that he is building his faith like a skilled master builder. I happen to know that we have at least a couple of skilled master builders in this congregation. Let’s see if they’d be willing to help me out this morning with the sermon. (Gordon or Bill), what do you need to have first and foremost if you are going to build a stable structure. (A solid foundation)
(Preacher gets out Jenga game and proceeds to build the Jenga tower).
So first we need a solid foundation. Something like this, if you are at all familiar with this game of Jenga.
Paul says that the foundation has already been laid for the church and that it is Jesus Christ. (continues to build). I think we would all agree that Jesus is the foundation of the church as we know it and the foundation of our own faith.
I need some help here from our confirmation students (or from the congregation). The Apostle’s Creed, which we say together in worship, says what about Jesus?
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son our Lord. (more building)
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again, he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
This is what we believe about Jesus, the statement of faith we profess, even though it is possible we do not always understand all of these things. Things like descending to the dead and the virgin birth. This is also the place where your confirmation students are currently in their studies.
Building a firm foundation, though, means that we continue to build on our understanding of what it means to be people of the faith and followers of Christ.
In our Old Testament lesson today, the people of Israel seem to be forgetting who exactly it is that is God. Who is Lord. Five times in this section of Leviticus it is necessary for God to remind them: I am the Lord. I am the Lord. I am the Lord. I am the Lord. I am the Lord. Five times. Understanding the holiness of God and that it is God who is LORD, not us, not other people, not other organizations, not even the church…but God. That is important in building our firm foundation. (Jenga tower continues to be built).
In between God’s reminders, the Israelites are given clear examples of how they, too, can be holy. First, they are told, they are to leave the gleanings of their land and fields for the poor and the alien…the outcast, the outsider. In other words, they are not to use up all they have simply because they can. At its simplest, they are to share what they have been given. From their abundance, others are to receive.
Secondly, they are to deal with one another honestly – they are not to lie or cheat one another but treat one another justly.
Thirdly, they are not to steal from their neighbor or make life difficult for the deaf or the blind.
The forth item on God’s list is that the Israelites are to judge all people equally, while not slandering them or profiting from their misfortune.
And finally God says that the people of Israel are to let go of grudges and love their neighbors.
Jesus picks up on the theme of neighbor love, which is also the theme of our congregational RECESS event coming up on March 5th. Jesus says we are to love our neighbors and our enemies. And our enemies. And those who persecute us. Really? We are to love them? I am to love her? Him?
Oh this is where it gets hard…this loving our enemies and our persecutors. It is not what we are taught by the world. It’s not what we learn on the playground or in the classroom or in our homes or on the streets or in our offices or in our relationships. If we love our enemies, aren’t we just giving in? Aren’t we just giving them what they want? Won’t they then have power over us?
Jesus is telling us in this portion of Matthew’s Gospel that the only way we will receive peace is if we stop retaliating. If we stop paying one another back in kind. If we stop thinking in this eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth model.
Because here’s what happens when we think that way. Little pieces of our community of faith start to be chipped away. (Jenga pieces begin to be removed).
When we find ourselves acting in ways that are not for the good of the community; we find ourselves with a less stable arrangement. (Another piece is removed)
When we don’t share what we have been given with others, when we in fact gather and keep all that we have (another piece is removed) it becomes uneven.
When we slander one another or lie to one another. (another piece)
When we stir up trouble among us, because we are frustrated or angry or insecure (another piece)
When we don’t treat one another fairly (another piece)
When we cause others to stumble because we have not thought about their needs at all (another block)
When we steal (another block)
When we cheat (another block)
When we lie (another block)
When we only love those who love us (another block…hopefully the final block)
Paul writes to the church at Corinth, who was experiencing some of these same kinds of difficulties: “If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise.”
Paul didn’t mean that we should literally be foolish. Paul was telling those early Christian believers that the model of a life of Christian discipleship is foolish to the world. It is upside down. It is exactly the opposite of what the world would tell us.
After all, the world tells us to grab all the gusto we can and amass all of the possessions and money we can. It rewards people who get rich off the backs of the poor. Lies are the order of the day. Defrauding one’s neighbor is so common we barely blink an eye when we hear about it. Stumbling blocks are thrown in front of the least of God’s children…the poor remain trapped there; the abused are not believed. People are judged by the size of their paychecks rather than the size of their hearts. And loving our enemies, thinking that it is possible that they could also be our neighbors? This is not the world’s message. The world’s message is that “they” are out to get “us” and so we had better arm ourselves and be ready or, better yet, strike first.
Jesus said to the disciples “you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also…”
Friends, we have the firmest foundation possible in Jesus Christ. On him and through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit we build…but look at what happens when our actions are not Christ-like. Those actions don’t just take down the top of the tower, they take it all the way down to its foundation. All the way down to Jesus. Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead. Jesus who will want to know how well we loved both neighbor and enemy. And Jesus who loves us enough, no matter what, to die for us.
That is the good news for this day and all our days. Thanks be to God.
Amen.
0 Comments