Sunday, February 13, 2011

Worship for Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Sixth Sunday in Epiphanytide

Theme: Radical Faith

Prayers of the People

We praise you, God, for guiding the Church with your commandments and other teachings. Continue to cultivate us, construct us. Lord of All, (congregational response: heal and teach us.).

We exalt you for the human race and magnificence of creation. Bless the State of Ohio, and those who lead her, our Governor John, our Senator Kris, and our representative Jay. Bless the United States and people all around the world, that we may be one according to you love. Bring peace to Egypt. Make us all instruments of liberty and equality. Lord of All, . . .

Loving God, we are in awe of love. We thank you for such a mysterious and beautiful gift. Help us to use love in accord with your love. Guide us to bring comfort to the lonely on Valentine’s Day. Lord of All, . . .

It is easy for us to get caught up in jealousy, mean-spiritedness, and divisive competition. Tutor us to be one, cooperative, working together to promote love. Lord of All, . . .

You have shown us love through healing. Heal everyone in need now. Guide our hands to assist you. Lord of all, . . .

Hear us as we pray in silence.

We know you hear us. We thank you for taking care of us. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Matthew 5:21 ¶ "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 unchastity, 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.

“The ‘Buts’”

This week, I couldn’t help myself in thinking about President Jimmy Carter--then Candidate Jimmy Carter, who 35 years ago gave an interview to Playboy magazine. In the interview, Carter confessed to a sin that probably most of America never much thought of before: “I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times…”

Mort Sahl had a great joke that came out of that--playing on the old Goldwater ’64 slogan. Remember the Goldwater slogan? “In your heart, you know he’s right.” Speaking of Carter, Sahl’s version was, “In his heart, he knows your wife!”

This all comes out of the passage before us today, a snippet of the Sermon on the Mount. At first look, it might seem that Jesus is picking on various unrelated things--murder and anger, adultery, divorce, and swearing oaths. But, as Disciples scholar Ronald Allen points out, “the four themes cohere around a common motif: broken relationships.”

New Testament scholars refer to this passage and the one that follows as the “six antitheses.” I prefer to think of them as “the buts.”

Here’s where you come in, I will make a statement that Jesus quotes from the Law, and you yell out, “but!”

We can all see that murder is wrong--but Jesus points out that the relationship is broken when anger begins and is not rectified.

We can all see that adultery is wrong--but Jesus points out that the relationship of husband and wife can be torn apart by a leering, fleeting look.

The law, says Jesus, says it’s ok to swear an oath, but what does that say about the rest of what we say? Do we then just assume that if you don’t say “I swear” you must be lying?

The Law existed for the same reason it exists today--so that people can live together in community. Any community of human beings has to have some guidelines as to how its members live out their life together. That’s why we have stop signs and speed limits.

Now, even though Jesus says in the passage that immediately precedes this one that he has come to fulfill the Law, not destroy it. But, as Disciples’ scholar Eugene Boring points out--no rabbi ever contrasted his own pronouncement with what God had said in Torah.

In fact, Rabbi Jacob Neusner, who is a foremost authority on ancient Judaism, and a leader in Christian-Jewish dialogue, says that it is here--right here--that Jesus separates himself out from the rest of the Jewish tradition. He gives a clear indication of departure from the Torah by the use of that word--BUT. It is right here that Jesus lays it out--you can go the old way, or you can go the new path.

What Jesus’ audience found so amazing is that this Rabbi didn’t just quote the scripture--he spoke of this own authority. Matthew makes it clear that from this point on, large crowds followed Jesus everywhere he went--choosing Jesus over Torah. Or did they?

Boring writes that Jesus is not so much departing from Judaism and Torah, but radicalizing it. Now we complete misuse the term in our context. We think of a radical as someone who is way different from us in our faith or our politics. We’ll speak left- wing radicals, and far-right radicals, but that’s not what the word means.

In radicalizing the faith, Jesus does not depart from Torah, nor does he expand it. We may think that Jesus is expanding the law--making it bigger, but nothing could be further from the truth. Literally, radical means root--taken from the same word--radix--from which we get the word radish.

Radicalizing the faith makes it--not bigger, but smaller--by getting down to the roots. Jesus drives us down under the soft, conventional, pretty, bushy leaves of the faith which we can plainly see above ground to the small, pithy, sharp, and even bitter root.

To follow this radical Jesus, is not about making big choices, but small ones.

Kill? Of course you wouldn’t, but the root of killing is anger.

Illicit sex? Of course you wouldn’t. But, at the root of sexual relationship which don’t honor God is the treatment of someone made in God’s image as a thing.

So, what would this radical Jesus say to a bunch of folks who call themselves by his name and gather around his table week-in and week-out, say his words, and eat bread and grape in as seemingly absent minded state? What does Jesus say to us this morning as we prepare to gather around his table? If he told those folks on the mountain way back when that they should turn back from worship and mend relationships. What would he tell us?

Leave the bread and wine on the table. Go reconcile with your neighbor, and the come worship. Leave the elements and go away, then come back. Really? How long is this gonna’ take, cause, if you get to the buffet line before noon, the Baptists will get it all.

Does Jesus mean for us to take this literally? In his time, worshipers would come to the Temple from all over the world--traveling days and weeks to get to Jerusalem would Jesus really expect them to drop their offering and run off to make nice?

Let’s say that if we don’t take this teaching literally, we take it seriously. Joey Jeter reminds us that the opposite of remembering is not forgetting, but dismembering. What a perfect metaphor for celebrating communion in the midst of broken relationships--what you get is a dismembered body of Christ!

Most of you know that I grew up in the fellowship of the a capella Churches of Christ. Now, we Disciples have common roots with the Churches of Christ, but we are very different.

For a very long time, it was very difficult to go back--to worship in that context, after having becoming a Disciple. But, when my Mother was living, nothing pleased her more than having me take her to church. And nothing could please me less than going to church with my Mother. I’d rather do 30 days in Richland County lockup.

But, I was a good son. So, I went. On one such occasion, I found myself sitting on the back pew of my parents’ church in Chattanooga. I’d just heard the worlds’ worst sermon--so bad that God has blocked it from my memory completely. I sat as the communion elements were passed--with no music, so you hear each person snap off a piece of the unleavened bread. With each snap, I got more and more agitated and angry. What was I doing there with those people? I loathed being there. The thought of sharing the body and blood of Christ with those people disgusted me.

The tray was passed to me, and I started to simply pass it on, but, something happened. I held the tray and looked at it, as Jesus’ words convicted me--rolling across the centuries, across my barriers, across my prejudice, across my own shame. Jesus words cried out to me for reconciliation and peace.

I looked up, and suddenly became aware that I was surrounded, not by those people, but by my brothers and sisters who welcomed me as Christ would. Communion that morning--and every Sunday since--has become for me both the conviction to work for reconciliation, and means of grace to do it.

I’ll never forget the taste of that bread that morning. It was so different, so fresh, so strange. It tasted, well, like one of these.

Offering Sentences

Giving is an act of faith. We believe that what we have to offer makes a difference in this world. But more than that, we believe in the One who is behind our giving. We may not "see" God with these "eyes of flesh"; we may find it difficult to even catch a glimpse of what God may be doing around us and in us. Likewise, we may not see the effect of what we give, of what we do for Christ. But still, we believe, trusting in the One who is faithful, whose "new mercies" we often can only see by faith, day by day. I invite you, my sisters and brothers in Christ, to give now as an act of faith.

Offering Prayer

Holy God, your holiness makes us more than uncomfortable. In times of surface living, when we think we are doing pretty well in our relationships and actions, we gloss over your demanding call to fulfill your teaching. Forgive us, we pray. Prompt us to realize how totally every one of us relies upon your grace. We bring you these gifts of our finances and our prayers, not to earn our way to you, but in overflowing gratitude for your grace. This we pray by your power through the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Benediction (Deuteronomy 30)

Go forth to walk in God's ways.

May your ways be blameless.

Hold fast to God in all you do.

Your hearts belong to God.

May the love of God be yours.

God's blessings rest upon you, and give you peace. Amen.