Week 5 - What Have You Heard: Part 2
Server Problems in Blogger prevented posting of last week's blog.
Text: Matthew 5:33-48
"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 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 even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your`No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
MT 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
MT 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Each of these points looks to a higher way of living for the Jews of Jesus' day. They were accustomed to their rights of religious behavior. For example, in the case of vows, one could strengthen his words by swearing by a heavenly body or deity. They were bound by Roman law to carry a soldier's equipment one mile if asked, but not a step more. They were taught by the rabbis that it was acceptable to hate any enemy of Israel, just as YHWH hated them.
Once again, Christ challenges the world around Him. How good is good enough? Why do we want to take the easiest path? Robert Frost once wrote, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Christ called His path the narrow way, the one less traveled. The greatness of the Christian faith is that it calls Mankind to heights to which he is capable. Our rules regulate and constrain the worst in us. Laws to keep us from killing each other or stealing. Christ's commands free us to become the kind of person we always wished we could be. By obeying Christ, we rise higher than the lowest common denominator.
This past winter, I discovered a Christian thinker that I had heard of, but never read. I find it difficult still to read his works, not because the language or thought are too high to grasp, but simply because he captures the essence of the great life that Christ calls us to. "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." In this statement, G.K. Chesterton summarizes these last few verses of the Sermon on the Mount. There is no lack in the Christian ideal, there is only our lacking in pursuing it.
Things to Think About:
Text: Matthew 5:33-48
"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 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 even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your`No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
MT 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
MT 5:43 "You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Each of these points looks to a higher way of living for the Jews of Jesus' day. They were accustomed to their rights of religious behavior. For example, in the case of vows, one could strengthen his words by swearing by a heavenly body or deity. They were bound by Roman law to carry a soldier's equipment one mile if asked, but not a step more. They were taught by the rabbis that it was acceptable to hate any enemy of Israel, just as YHWH hated them.
Once again, Christ challenges the world around Him. How good is good enough? Why do we want to take the easiest path? Robert Frost once wrote, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Christ called His path the narrow way, the one less traveled. The greatness of the Christian faith is that it calls Mankind to heights to which he is capable. Our rules regulate and constrain the worst in us. Laws to keep us from killing each other or stealing. Christ's commands free us to become the kind of person we always wished we could be. By obeying Christ, we rise higher than the lowest common denominator.
This past winter, I discovered a Christian thinker that I had heard of, but never read. I find it difficult still to read his works, not because the language or thought are too high to grasp, but simply because he captures the essence of the great life that Christ calls us to. "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried." In this statement, G.K. Chesterton summarizes these last few verses of the Sermon on the Mount. There is no lack in the Christian ideal, there is only our lacking in pursuing it.
Things to Think About:
- Christ says, "Even the pagans do that." What things do we look to in order to justify our morality that really aren't the Jesus way of doing things?
- If we find our Christianity to be lacking, do we blame God or ourselves? Why?
- Why does Christ use the illustration of a narrow road to describe following Him?
- How has following Christ been difficult for you? Is it worth it? Why?
- Think about some modern examples that you could use to describe the Jesus way of doing things.
posted by Brian Jenkins at 9:51 AM
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