Sermon for February 10

The reading 

Matthew 7:1-14, 24-29

1 "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. 6 "Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. 7 "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10 Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12 "In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. 13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!" 28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

The message

Today, we hear the end of Jesus sermon on the mount.  In Matthew’s Gospel it is about 2000 words start to finish (on average that is about 15 minutes of speaking time).  There is an even shorter version in Luke s Gospel known as the sermon on the plain.  In this short time, Jesus makes 50 or so statements, focused on Christian living, what life is like in the kingdom of God and people’s relationship with God, people’s relationship with others and people’s relationship with authority, religious and secular powers. Jesus covers topics that include prayer, fasting and other religious observances,  divorce / remarriage and legal life together, loving your enemies, being light in a dark world and sharing the good news. Each individual statement, taught with authority has filled books with interpretation could take a lifetime of prayer, practice and dedication to live out. I have had 2 or 3 hour conversations to go over a verse or two, what Jesus words meant to the first audience, are they possible to live out and what they mean to us in a very different world.   

One of the challenges in going from Jesus world of shepherding, fishing, farming and limited science and communication to our world is that meanings in parables and instructions can be missed or lost.  The meaning of words change.  Today, our section starts with one of the more misunderstood statements in the sermon on the mount.  Jesus warns the crowd “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged”. Our world has always had judges, one of the first jobs Moses fills in ancient, wilderness wandering Israel was to set people aside to make decisions on guilt and innocence as well as the enforcement of contracts and promises. Even a lot of the actual sermon on the mount is about judging, about seeing who is righteous, who needs correction, who must change and who is on the right path.  We need to judge for us to function, interact, correct, maintain order, protect others and choose relationships.

A better way to understand Jesus warning on Judgment is “Do not go on and condemn people to hell, Do not condemn others and God will not condemn you”. We are not invited to tolerate sin openly, to close our eyes and confront abuse with “I don’t want to judge” (Jesus never did).  Live and let live is not a biblical value (Jesus never said that).  Instead, the instruction to not judge others, is a warning to not try and be God, to try and determine who is saved based on what we think of their actions, their beleifs or their level of repentance.  

 

Parts of Jesus sermon are very practical, keeping true for 2000 years and speaking to something fundamental about human life. The warning of do not be a hypocrite, no one will listen to a hypocrite, to someone who tells you one thing and does another. A rich person speaking about the spiritual greatness of poverty and charging $1000 to hear him should not win too many people over.   We are also invited to be real. Do not sing “Ive got joy, joy, joy in my heart” when you don’t; there are other songs to sing, laments, cries for help, calls for change. .   

The advice of do not cast pearls before Swine / pigs also remains true, Pigs do not want pearls, they would have nothing to do with them, and they have no value in the pig pen. Pigs.want food, other pigs to hang out with, a cool place to rest (from time to time, I mention I do not know much about sheep, well I know less about pigs so those statements are basically guesses) . Introducing pearls would not only be a waste, it could ruin the pig pen, they could choke on them (thinking they were shinny snacks), they could fight over them or be invaded by people looking for the treasure.

The sermon on the mount was not shared so it could be analyzed, critiqued, liked or disliked.  It was shared so it could be done.  Jesus ends with  Anyone who hears these words and acts on them is building their house on Rock.  Jesus does not say anyone who hears these words and agrees with them, talks about them, interprets them correctly, promises to do them, etc  is building a house on the rock.  Jesus says hears and acts on them.  Jesus does not call people who hear his words and ignore them, doubt them or reject them. people who build their houses on sand. They just wont get it, the joy of faith, of knowing you are loved by God, will not come to them . Jesus calls the people who hear his words, accept them and then do nothing people who build on sand.  

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