"You have heard that it was said .... but I say to you" Jesus
"Christianity has not been tried and found wanting;
it has been found difficult and not tried." GK Chesterton
it has been found difficult and not tried." GK Chesterton
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
In Matthew's gospel Jesus has begun his first "sermon" by commissioning his disciples to be both salt and light into the world. He has come as a completion or fulfillment of the Law (which includes the Ten Commandments), not to abolish it. He then makes this startling statement: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:20)
The remainder of the Sermon on the Mount is righteousness-training 101 for the disciples, and us! Pharisaism had begun as a holiness movement within Judaism; an attempt to return the people to the ways of God, but as is often-times the case, over the years it had developed into little more than a check list of do's and don'ts. "I don't commit murder" - check one!
Jesus' response is that this is a superficial righteousness - as the Son of God he knows the true meaning underlying the Law for he first gave it - it is for our wholeness - to bring us life and not death, blessings and not curses. Any rupture in our relationships brings a kind of death, and character assassination and anger bring about just such a rupture. These act as a corrosive agent to our emotions, our soul, and our spirit, and can, and often do spill out into physical dis-ease.
Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit we are to train ourselves up in righteousness, to stand against the temptation to act in anger and to speak a word of insult. If we fail there is a remedy - we are to immediately seek reconciliation. This is not easy for our pride gets in the way, and the Enemy delights in ruptured relationships. But Jesus did not say that the Christian life was going to be easy. He did say that he would send his Spirit who would guide us into all truth and to a fullness of life without compare.
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: mercifully accept our prayers, and because in our weakness we can do nothing without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed, living not just according to the letter of the law, but according to the heart of your holy law so that we may live lives unfettered by the bondage of judgment, anger, resentment, and unforgiveness. Lives that mirror your reconciling love. Amen.
In His Peace, Grace, and Love,
Rev'd Sarah+
In Matthew's gospel Jesus has begun his first "sermon" by commissioning his disciples to be both salt and light into the world. He has come as a completion or fulfillment of the Law (which includes the Ten Commandments), not to abolish it. He then makes this startling statement: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:20)
The remainder of the Sermon on the Mount is righteousness-training 101 for the disciples, and us! Pharisaism had begun as a holiness movement within Judaism; an attempt to return the people to the ways of God, but as is often-times the case, over the years it had developed into little more than a check list of do's and don'ts. "I don't commit murder" - check one!
Jesus' response is that this is a superficial righteousness - as the Son of God he knows the true meaning underlying the Law for he first gave it - it is for our wholeness - to bring us life and not death, blessings and not curses. Any rupture in our relationships brings a kind of death, and character assassination and anger bring about just such a rupture. These act as a corrosive agent to our emotions, our soul, and our spirit, and can, and often do spill out into physical dis-ease.
Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit we are to train ourselves up in righteousness, to stand against the temptation to act in anger and to speak a word of insult. If we fail there is a remedy - we are to immediately seek reconciliation. This is not easy for our pride gets in the way, and the Enemy delights in ruptured relationships. But Jesus did not say that the Christian life was going to be easy. He did say that he would send his Spirit who would guide us into all truth and to a fullness of life without compare.
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: mercifully accept our prayers, and because in our weakness we can do nothing without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed, living not just according to the letter of the law, but according to the heart of your holy law so that we may live lives unfettered by the bondage of judgment, anger, resentment, and unforgiveness. Lives that mirror your reconciling love. Amen.
In His Peace, Grace, and Love,
Rev'd Sarah+
