6 Epiphany Year A 2/12/2023
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; Matthew 5:21-37
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
One of the many important themes that threads throughout the scriptures can be described in the word Relationship.
A major theme in the Bible.
We find it early on in Genesis…
The relationship between humanity and God…
The relationship between male and female.
And when sin entered God’s good creation through the fall of humankind we have the relationship between God and humanity severed.
Likewise, the relationships between people became broken.
And throughout the Bible we read of the relationship struggles…
People hurt and kill other people.
God gave the law so that people would know how to have a good relationship with God and others.
Yet, people rejected God’s commands.
They continued to do their own thing…
Which only brought more abuse, more inventions of evil,
more wickedness.
The stories are all throughout the Old Testament.
David, Solomon, Nation vs. Nation, the prophets…
But then in the proper time…
God sent his only begotten Son into the world…
To save people…
To restore the relationship that had been broken.
The story of the Bible is really a story of relationship restored.
And, of course, the Son of God’s name is Jesus.
And we find him in our Gospel reading today…
Teaching and declaring the words of God in the Sermon on the Mount…
Jesus was declaring himself to be God…
Giving a new commandment.
He quotes the Old Testament…
The Torah…
The law given to Moses.
Jesus said:
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’
He quotes Moses…
He quotes the law…
But then He says:
But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment… and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.
Jesus declaring that he was greater than Moses…
Gives new rules to the law.
All throughout the history of Israel…
No one could live up to the fullness of the law.
Jesus… God-Incarnate… comes and makes it even harder…
It’s not just murder… It’s mistreating one another.
It’s not just adultery… It’s having lust in your heart.
What was impossible became even more impossible.
Which is the point…
If the summary of the law is to Love God with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind…
And to love your neighbor as yourself…
We fail miserably over and over.
And we cannot live up to the law…
The law of Moses or the law of Jesus.
But, there is one person who has lived up to the requirement of the law.
That person is Jesus Christ…
The Son of God…
God in the flesh.
He obeyed every bit of the law…
And yet suffered the punishment of the law.
He died on our behalf… (2 Corinthians 5.21)
Because we can’t earn our salvation by good works.
So, he did the work!
Over a life of ministry…
He suffered and died on the cross.
And he finished the work.
With the result being the resurrection from the dead!
Jesus said:
…Anyone who believes in me shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3.16)
He did not say…
Anyone who follows every part of the law…
Anyone who can earn enough credits…
He said:
…Anyone who believes in me shall not perish but have eternal life.
And when we believe…
Which births a desire to change (called repentance)…
The Holy Spirit comes and makes dwelling in our life.
We become indwelled with the Holy Spirit.
Which is the guarantee of our salvation.
(Ephesians 1.13-14)
And the more we yield to the Holy Spirit in our life…
The more we become like Christ.
We call this sanctification…
Being made holy…
Christians aren’t perfect…
We know that!
But we yield to the Spirit…
The giver of fruit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
(Galatians 5.22-23)
And in this new life…
This new creation… (2 Corinthians 5.17)
We become reconciled to God and reconcilers among people in this world. (2 Corinthians 5.16-21)
If the mission of the Bible is to restore relationships that sinned destroyed.
Our mission in this world as ambassadors of Jesus Christ is to participate in the mission of restoring relationships.
So…
When we hear the words of our Lord today in Matthew chapter 5…
We are reminded that most of our life…
Our joys…
Our pains…
Our struggles…
And our pleasures…
So often revolve around our relationships in this world.
Our relationships with each other are so important.
Just think about our worship…
Our liturgy has us confess our sins against one another…
Our liturgy has us share peace with each other…
Our liturgy has us united going into the world to share the good news of Jesus.
In The Lord’s Prayer we pray that we will be reconciled with each other through forgiving one another.
Our Baptismal Covenant says (BCP, 305):
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
I will, with God’s help.
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God’s help.
Our worship and life revolve around our relationships with people.
In fact, outside of natural disasters, most (if not all) the greatest difficulties in our world can be boiled down to people not getting along.
The Ukraine and Russia Conflict.
The Economic difficulties.
The political unrest.
Relationships of all types matter to God and humankind.
Relationships are hard work.
Author Pamela Reeve’s wrote:
Involvement with people is always a very delicate thing…
It requires real maturity to become involved and not get all messed up.
Most of our heartache has to do with other people.
What they did or what they did not do.
And we focus on it…
We become so focused on it that it can consume us.
Forgetting that our mission in this world is to be people of reconciliation.
We become so focused on the bristles of others.
There is a story about two porcupines in Northern Canada huddled together to get warm, according to a forest folktale.
But their quills pricked each other, so they moved apart.
Before long they were shivering, so they came close again.
Soon both were getting jabbed again.
Same story; same ending.
They needed each other, but they kept needling each other.[1]
This is our case…
So often we focus on the needles of the other person…
and not on the purpose and the reason…
that God has brought us together.
Relationship.
It’s one of the keys to understanding the Scriptures.
How we treat each other matters.
Thankfully, it mattered to Jesus too.
Preacher and author Dr. Tony Evans writes:
Jesus didn’t wait until we got better to die for us.
He died when we were in our most unlovely state.
The person who doesn’t deserve love actually needs love more, not less.
Jesus taught us all kinds of ways to behave with others in the Sermon on the Mount.
And the only way forward in this world for us…
Is to be reconciled with God…
And to pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us up…
So that we may truly walk in the Spirit in this world.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you shall renew the face of the earth.
Amen.
[1] Leslie Flynn, When the Saints Come Storming In