Changing the Rules

To Read the Collect and Texts from this Sunday, please click here.

The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A

February 16, 2014

The Rev. Christopher L. Caddell

If there was one rule in Ms. Robinson’s third grade classroom it was “Thou shalt not shoot baskets at the trashcan.”

I’m not sure what else I remember about third grade, but I do remember that.  Consequently I also remember quite clearly my feelings one spring afternoon as I sat out of recess as a punishment for something I clearly did not do. 

I sat in that room with one of my classmates, each of us writing furiously on a piece of paper, “I will not shoot baskets at Ms. Robinson’s trashcan.”

We each had to fill two pages, front and back, with that sentence.  I learned quite quickly that writing in large letters was not going to cut it.  As I crumpled up those two pieces of paper, she peered over her glasses to see if I had the gall to pitch it at the trashcan.

I did not, and I sat down in a huff to begin again.  As I wrote, the list of injustices mounted in my mind.

Ms. Robinson, had not actually seen me do anything wrong.  When asked who threw it, I had done the brave and valiant thing of keeping my mouth shut.  I was not going to be a snitch. 

It was my classmate, after all, whose shot went wide and landed at her feet.  I had not thrown a single piece of paper…yet.  Perhaps there was some intent for the future, but truth be told, in my mind, I had done nothing wrong.  The rules had changed – or so I thought – and here I sat, being punished for a crime I had not committed.  It was an injustice, and in the third grade few penalties were harsher than loosing your free time on the playground.

In some ways, it is that same line of logic that I hear Jesus taking into today’s readings.  He’s changing the rules, and in some cases I’m not quite sure I like it.

From last week’s gospel, we heard Jesus proclaim,

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished… unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Today’s reading follows directly on the heels of that proclamation and goes on to provide concrete examples of just what Jesus is talking about.

Murder, adultery, swearing of oaths – all of these are cornerstones of the Jewish Law, and all would have been recognized as having not only moral implications, but religious ones as well.  The Law had been handed down by God through Moses, and to follow the Law is what made you a good Jew.

By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had made a name for themselves in being strict interpreters of the Law.  Their knowledge and adherence to it was unsurpassed by anyone.  They knew what was permissible and what was impermissible, and their interpretations were looked to in order to determine what was acceptable under the Law.  It was, after all, adherence to the Law that made you righteous, acceptable and worthy in the sight of God.

And it is in this context that Jesus instructs his disciples on this very sacred piece of Jewish tradition.  Jesus casts the net so far and wide that it is hard to imagine someone not being touched in some way by his words. He takes the cornerstones of the Jewish faith and expands them.  Far from negating the Law, he pushes the boundaries out, redefines the terms of the Law, and makes them more stringent. 

Anger is the equivalent to murder. A stray glance is as grievous as a physical act.  Even a harsh word brings about judgment and punishment.

When it’s defined in these terms, even the Pharisees don’ t have a chance.

If I am being honest, I want Jesus to say the exact opposite of what he says.  The overarching Christian narrative is one of love, and grace, and forgiveness.  Christians speak of a God who loves us unconditionally, whose very nature is, in fact, love.  I want to hear Jesus say, ‘All those laws are foolish.  They get you nowhere in the sight of God.’

On one hand it seems as if Jesus does no more than the Pharisees themselves – offering an interpretation of the Law.  But as is so often the case with Jesus, the words hold a deeper challenge.

In the expansion of these basic principles of the Jewish faith, Jesus challenges everyone within earshot to probe deeper into the heart of what it means to live as God intended. 

For Jesus and his followers, the question is not, ‘What must I do (or not do) in order to follow the Law, in order to be righteous?’, but rather, ‘How is God calling me to be – both inside and out – in order that I might reflect the love of God in all my relationships?”

That is what Jesus is after.  And that is what Jesus will model for his disciples (and for us) all that he does.

Our salvation is not only connected to a right relationship with God, but also deeply connected to having right relationships with our families, our friends, our neighbors, and as we will hear next week, even with our enemies.

Far from the legalism of the Pharisees, Jesus points his disciples to look to the spirit of the law that was always intended to foster just and right relationships between humankind and God, and humankind to each other.

The temptation in hearing this text today is to add these more stringent interpretations to the list of do’s and don’t do’s, and to use them as a measuring stick on how we are doing in following Jesus. 

To do so would, in my opinion, be a mistake – not only because we would be doomed to failure, but also because it would miss the deeper question Jesus is asking – How is God calling me to live my life so that I might reflect his love in all of my relationships more fully, more completely, and more abundantly?

For those who remember older versions of the Prayer Book, or are accustomed to a Rite I service, you will recall that each Eucharist begins with the words that come much later in Matthew’s gospel.  Not surprisingly it comes from another confrontation with the Pharisees. 

When asked which commandment was the greatest, Jesus replies,

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: You shall love your neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

This is at the heart of Christian discipleship.  It is the basis of what Jesus teaches his disciples on that mountain by the sea, and what will define both the life and death of Jesus.

May it also be what defines our life as we seek to follow him.  Amen.