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Lent Week 2- February 28, 2021

Matthew 5:13-48 When I was a junior in college, I lived abroad. I spent my first semester in Costa Rica, then came home for Christmas and my sister’s wedding, and then went to Spain. Because of the wedding, I arrived later than my group and was responsible for getting myself from the airport in Madrid, to my host home in Granada. Navigating the airport was manageable and then I got my ticket and got on the bus. I had traveled all night and was exhausted from the trip and nerves, so I slept for most of the bus ride. About halfway we stopped for lunch. The place was like a café, except in Spain, most places also had a bar. You could order a sandwich and a drink (of whatever type) and sit at a small table.

I grew up in California and know Californian rules, which include standing in line to order. Right, you go to McDonald’s (you know when you actually used to go inside) and you’d look for the end of the line and take your place. If people are all mushed together, then you ask, “Is this the

end of the line?” Pretty simple, right? We all know how to do it. But the rules in Spain are different. They don’t form lines. Literally. I know, it’s crazy. If you grew up in the US, this is weird. If you haven’t traveled outside of the US, it’s almost unimaginable. No lines! But how on earth do you know who is next?!

I didn’t even know this was a thing when I arrived in Spain. So I just stood at the bar, confused, waiting, for….I don’t even know what. It was like playing double-dutch jump rope, where you try and find the rhythm and figure out when to go for it. I was there, waiting, trying to figure out the order of things….who was next? When was my turn? How would I know if it was my turn? And because I didn’t know, I didn’t jump in at the right time, so they kept skipping past me. Finally, the bartender took pity on me asked if I wanted something and I ordered. But it was a very strange experience not knowing the rules.

And I say that to say this, we like rules. They define the boundaries. They create order. They help manage expectations. They establish a sense of justice. They make it easy to know when we are right and when we are wrong. When there might be a reward and when there might be a punishment. Rules are helpful. And so God gave us rules. From the very beginning, God gave rules. Do whatever you want, but don’t eat from that tree. Those were pretty simple, and we couldn’t even get that right!! So, God gave us more rules. And then more, and then more.

You see, sometimes we don’t like the rules. Sometimes we would rather do things our own way or on our own terms and so we figure out a way around it. We look for the loopholes. I mean if the rules mean specifically this, then doing that would be permissible. And so God gives more rules. God wasn’t trying to overly litigious, God was trying to help us find our way and stay in our lane, so to speak. God saw that people struggle with obedience, that we often look at the letter of the law more than the spirit of the law, and then we hurt people, and the earth, and ourselves. So God gave more laws to help us do less harm.

Are you with me? Ok. So, today’s passage is about the law (or the laws). Jesus is saying, “you’ve heard it was said” or “here is the law”, and….let me help you out so you don’t try and sidestep it…that also includes this.

For instance, you have heard it said “thou shall not murder” (that’s the law), but just so we’re clear, it’s not just about taking actual physical life, it’s about much more. So you shouldn’t hold anger in your heart either. Do you see? The letter of the law is do not kill, the spirit of the law is “do no harm”. Jesus is going from a narrow path to a much broader expectation?

Thou shall not commit adultery. We get that one. And yet, it’s not just a president from the 90s who made their case saying, “but I didn’t cross that line.” Adultery isn’t just about going this far, or this far, or this far, or this far. It’s not just about how you touched or for how long, it’s also about the thoughts in your head, the images you conjured. That’s adultery too. Because adultery isn’t just about the physical act, it’s also about the feeling of lust and Jesus says even that is too far.

In many ways, Jesus isn’t creating new laws, instead, he’s clarifying the expectation about the old laws. He’s being really clear about the high standard he wants to set. He’s not doing away with the Jewish requirements, he’s leveling up, so to speak, he’s helping us to know he is expecting more. And when he does that he raises the bar for everyone who follows the law. He emphasizes the spirit of the law not just the letter of the law. If any of us, who consider ourselves Christian, has the belief that how we live or what we do doesn’t matter to our faith, we are plain wrong and this passage highlights that. Jesus pushes us to be our best selves. The expectations he outlines here, much like the 10 commandments, are not meant to hinder us from living or doing fun things, in fact, to the contrary, they are meant to help us live our best life—to have life and have it abundantly—that is after all why Jesus came.

Jesus wants to help us look with the broad view. Let me explain. I’ve known more than a few Christians who had a faithfulness checklist.

· Prayed?
· Worshipped?
· Read the Bible?
· Given to the poor?
· Tithed?
· Made a casserole? (sorry, that’s just Methodists!)

Some of us make the list so we know we are getting it right. We want to be a good Christian, so we are intentional to do the required things. We pray. We study. We give. And yet, sometimes we get so focused on doing what is required that we lose sight of why it was required. And that can lead us to a place of pride and self-sufficiency. In theological terms, it leads to the sin of works righteousness—where we convince ourselves that it’s our deeds that save us, not grace.

Ironically, it’s from this teaching where Jesus tries to help us get it more right, that Christians have often done exactly what Jesus was teaching us not to do, and gotten it more wrong. Do you know which one I’m talking about? The extensions talk about murder, adultery, swearing an oath, giving our coat, and loving our neighbor—we get those, or at least we could with a little time. But it also says 31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’[f] 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife…, makes her the victim of adultery… and since this extension comes right on the heels of the one on adultery, you kind of end up with this implicit commandment: thou shalt not divorce.

And I want to say, this teaching on divorce has been terribly misunderstood and mishandled. This is one of those places in scripture people (including the good, God-fearing Christians), have pointed at the letter of the law “you shall not divorce” and failed to even try and see the spirit of the law. I realize there are generational differences here, but I’d imagine most of us remember a time when divorce was pretty culturally taboo—even in regular society, and it was worse in the church. More than a few divorced folks have been run out of the church. If we were to raise our hands if we know someone who was ostracized in the church because of a divorce, I imagine most of us would have our hands up. That, my friends, is not what Jesus intended.

And I have to admit here that finding the real heart of what he intended, just in these verses, without pulling on other scripture is hard and messy. Because, in the first century, women were treated as property. Women didn’t enter into the covenant of marriage….not independently, of their own doing. Women were promised by their father—by a man and kept by their husband. Women weren’t offered personhood or voting rights. They couldn’t do full-time work and support themselves as single people. It just wasn’t the culture or the time. And so any discussion of covenant and equality, of mutual separation is not even a part of the equation here. It is not insignificant that Jesus’ caution is for men here. Husbands. It was a patriarchal culture and men had the legal rights. A man could ask for a divorce. And Jesus’ extension here is for the men specifically. Jesus wanted them to take their covenant seriously. He wanted them to be intentional. He didn’t want a divorce to happen on a whim. He wanted to be clear that you couldn’t just cast aside a wife like you might a farm animal.

I haven’t read anyone who has a full grasp on those lines of the scripture and what Jesus was driving at. Here’s the best I do have: was Jesus cautioning against divorce, yes. Was it so people, particularly women, would have to stay in abusive, toxic, or unloving relationships? No. Was it so the church could clearly exclude divorced people? No. was it so husbands would take real responsibility in caring for their wives? Probably. Was it so the covenant of marriage would be honored and respected? Probably. Was it so we would have a narrow and overly legalistic understanding of divorce. No.

Remember, Jesus wants us to have life and have it abundantly, and in marriage, that means being supported, cared for, loved, respected, and uplifted for who we are. Each spouse by the other. Jesus wants us to live our best life. And being miserable in an unhealthy marriage, isn’t it?

Alright, I want us to zoom back a bit and again look at all of the extensions. Jesus wants to amplify our understanding of the law. He wants us to see not just the checklist of things we can and cannot do. He wants us to get our hearts right so we can follow more faithfully. In some ways, that sounds simple: don’t hold onto anger, don’t lust, don’t swear an oath. But we know that what may sound simple is often difficult to do, especially when it’s asked of us not just once but over and over again. Jesus is very much concerned with how we live and he wants to help us do it well, to be our best selves, and to live our best lives and so he offers us an understanding that will hopefully help us do that.

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