Jesus Freak, Matthew 5:38-48

O to be like thee, O to be like thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as thou art...
Old gospel chorus

I still remember singing that song as a child in the church I grew up in. We would usually sing it with eyes closed, focused on the savior and sincerely praying to be better than we were. The tune was really smarmy, as I remember. All in all though, the sentiment is valid. If you're striving to be like someone, I guess Jesus is a pretty good standard. Theologically, we call this process of becoming more like Jesus sanctification.

Of course, then you read the Sermon on the Mount, and you wonder if you ought to be careful what you wish for. " You have heard it said and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other one also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give them your cloak also."

Now, this concept of an eye for an eye, for many people, illustrates what is wrong with the Old Testament. It seems angry, vindictive and vengeful. However, as one commentator says, it was meant to restrain vengeance. Vengeance is naturally disproportionate. The desire to get even usually goes beyond getting even, as people, blinded by their own rage, do more than get even. The Law of Moses wisely puts a limit on punishment--an eye for an eye.

But then here comes Jesus challenging us to go beyond the wisdom of the Law. He calls his disciples to steer clear of revenge, but also to let go of our quest for justice for ourselves. He calls his followers to be merciful. Love everyone, not just family and friends but even enemies.

Still want to be like Jesus?

Jesus Freak, Matthew 5:38-48

Thoughts! Matthew 5:21,27-28

You're familiar with the command to the ancients, "Do not murder." I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder... You know the next commandment pretty well too, "Don't go to bed with another's spouse." But don't think you've preserved you virture just by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think no one notices--they can corrupt also. The Message

Monitoring and controlling your behavior can be pretty difficult. Just look at the Old Testament. You get the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law of Moses in the Torah, and most of the rest of the OT is about how the people couldn't keep the covenantal behavioral requirements. The prophets tried to set the people on the right course, but it didn't always work, so the people were exiled to Babylon as a consequence of their unrighteousness.

Obedience is difficult. We get it. We're human, after all.

But now in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is not only calling for right behavior. He is telling us our thoughts need to be pure. Why can't I have my consciousness? Isn't this going a bit far? Can't Jesus let me have my anger? I won't get out of control and strike someone. Can't Jesus let me have my lust? I'll keep appropriate boundaries.

Historically, this teaching from Jesus has been interpreted two ways. First, some have thought that Jesus was the first great cognitive psychologist, showing us that our thoughts are important. They determine how we will experience the world. It is crucial that we are aware of our thought life and seek to bring it into submission to our will, and of course, the will of God.

Augustine, if I remember correctly, thought that Jesus was pushing this obedience thing to the extreme to show that none of us can live a righteous life and therefore are dependent on the grace of God because of our sin. Remember, the scribes and Pharisees prided themselves, according to the Gospels anyway, on their perfect behavior in accordance with the Law. When Jesus says that even our thought life must be perfect, he renders even the most righteous among us as needy.

What do you think? How's your thought life?

Lightly Salted, Matthew 5:13-16

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it give light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.

Note that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is not like the Ten Commandments. There is no law here; no Thou shalts. Rather, Jesus is simply describing reality, so that his hearers might see clearly into the nature of things. Someone has said, "What is, is the great teacher." Jesus is describing what is in the Kingdom, as if the only things needed from us is acknowledgement and vision.

Jesus doesn't say, Thou shalt be poor in spirit. He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." Jesus doesn't say, Thou shalt be salt and light. He says, "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world."

The only danger here, if I read Jesus correctly, is in refusing to be who you are.

The Nearby Kingdom, Matthew 4:17

After Jesus is baptized, he is driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted, tested and tempered. After that he begins his ministry, and his first ministry action is to proclaim through the countryside: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

I hate that. I don't want God's kingdom, the kingdom of peace and justice, to come near. I want it to be here. Why can't what I long for be in my grasp?

Most theologians think that when Jesus says the kingdom has come near, he is saying that the kingdom has come, in some sense, with his coming and will come fully in the near future. Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher. He believed that God's rule, the supernatural interruption of the natural order, was coming quickly, so people should get ready. The early church got the message and believed the same way. Jesus who had died and was resurrected and ascended would return imminently.

Maybe it's just my way of trying to understand Jesus' words 2,000 years later, but I think he's talking more than about time. I think he's speaking to the human longing for God's presence which is never fully satisfied. Our finite selves daily bump up against the infinite, the great mystery of existence, and we are frustrated, figuring there must be some method for experiencing the great Shalom, unity with God. But we can't find it. We are left with our craving and brokenness. Getting up for work in the morning. Helping the kids with homework.

The kingdom is near. Or to continue the U2 theme from last week: "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

Bleak Winter, Psalm 40:1-11

Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us
even in the leafless winter,
even in the ashy city.
I am thinking now
of grief, and of getting past it.
Mary Oliver

I hate January. Have I mentioned this before?

I hate the perpetual darkness that just hangs low over your head, pressing down on you, threatening to pin you to the ground like a heavy boot. Sure, there are the sporadic glimpses of sunshine, but then everything is frozen solid including your fingers as they fruitlessly scrape the windshield of your car in which the heater doesn't work and a new heater core costs more to put in than to get a new vehicle, almost.

The church becomes unbearable in January as the charm and spiritual warmth of Christmas has given way to ordinary time and beginning-of-the-year administrative tasks that you just have to plow through by sheer act of will. Our church, like any church nowadays, is constantly processing change, adapting to new realities in the American religious landscape. This constant change requires constant energy and attention. In January, that can be hard to muster.

Do I sound grumpy? I'm grumpy. January will do that to me. Psalm 40 is perfect January reading, or not, depending on your feelings about being patient:

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock;
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.

How are you feeling this winter? Does Psalm 40 resonate with your 2011 winter experience?

Baptism of Jesus Sunday

In the liturgical calendar, January 9 is Baptism of Jesus Sunday. At WPPC this Sunday, we'll baptize and confirm six youth. What a great way to celebrate the baptism of Jesus!

When Jesus came up out of the water at his baptism, according to the gospel writers, the Holy Spirit descended on him and a voice pronounced, "This is my son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased." With this knowledge of his identity, Jesus is empowered to launch into ministry.

At their baptism and confirmation, I will anoint the youth this Sunday and pronounce that they have been sealed by the Holy Spirit in their baptism and marked as Christ's own forever. Those are pretty powerful words. Wonder what would happen if each one truly took those words to heart. How would it change their lives? What could they accomplish?

Freedom is a wonderful thing. We have a lot of it in this country, and we should be thankful. The dark side of freedom though is that we think we can go though the world making up our life as we go along. We have no sense that we are chosen or claimed, that we have a destiny or mission. We are left to wander, following our own appetites. Life lived in this kind of freedom can be very unfufilling.

Do you have the sense that you are claimed by God and that that claim matters in your daily life?