7 Epiphany 2014

7 Epiphany 2014

As many of you know, we are fast approaching the end of the Epiphany season—the season where we recall the places and ways in which God in Jesus Christ was made manifest. And while many of the readings throughout the season  have talked about miraculous acts—these last couple of weeks, we see that things are changing. What Jesus is making known is no longer a show of outward power, but has instead begun to talk more about the heart of things.

In last week’s reading we remember Jesus talking about moving beyond the word of the Law, and paying more attention to the heart and spirit with which it calls us to live as God has intended.

So, we basically have Jesus going through some of the more infamous rules and cultural practices of the time (however, we know some of these to be timeless), and he is teaching the people either what is really meant by certain laws, or what is really preferable practice. And, as we have seen over the past couple weeks, Jesus is calling all of us not only to a fuller understanding of what God calls us to with regard to one another—but he is reminding us that it is what happens in our hearts that makes the difference. If we can learn to live out of this kind of thinking, then; Jesus explains that we can be the salt and light of the world.

Now, at first blush, taking this perspective about the law and commands of God might seem like kind of a cop-out. We might get the idea that we can justify certain actions if only we attach some hopeful good intention—this way when we break a rule we can always say that we had the best of intentions in mind.

However, this is the furthest thing from the truth. First, living from the perspective that we follow the heart of God’s laws means that our hearts must be changed. We read in the Old Testament reading that God calls the people to be holy because God is holy. And apart from that sounding like an impossibility, we have to remember that holiness, at it’s very basic, is whole-ness. So, if nothing else, we are called to be integrated people—we’re called to be people who not only try to follow the laws of God, but also understand them in the fuller context of justice, humility and mercy.

Secondly, trying to live out the heart of the law requires some real commitment to loving God and loving others as ourselves. Jesus says that the whole of the Law and the Prophets (the two things that make up the body of Scripture) hang on these two laws. So, assuming that we are always able to start from this understanding; things like making sure the poor are cared for becomes easier, and the more rigid rules become more tempered.

Finally, what Jesus is proposing here is far from easy. By calling the people to look deeper at their own cultural assumptions, and even their understanding of the law—he challenges them to see if they’re really right after all. As Jesus teaches, he says things like “You have heard it said…” or “there was a time when…” And he uses this language to introduce the many justifications that their culture had allotted to them that allowed them to not only live as the chosen people of God—but to make absolutely sure that no one else ever could be.

So what makes Jesus’ teachings particularly difficult is that rather than reiterating the shoulds and should-nots of the law, and continuing to allow for the justification of certain behaviors and practices that were at times violent, and dehumanizing –instead, he challenges them to think. But not only think; Jesus is challenging them to think with a mind that begins with loving God and loving others first.

The point is that it would probably be much easier if Jesus were a little less cagey about which rules to follow—or, even an outline to help us follow the laws step-by-step. But, then, that’s what the Pharisees and Scribes were all about (some attitudes never change), and Jesus said we were gonna have to do better than them if we really wanted to be the light and salt in the world.

  

In a couple more weeks, we begin the season of Lent. In the 40 days of Lent, we’re called to self-examination and reflection—the kind of reflection that Jesus is referring to in the readings these past few weeks. And while this is a wonderful time for self-reflection, and living intentionally by giving something up for Lent, or taking on a discipline—either way, what will we hope to learn? What will we hope to have change in us?

It’s my hope that we take this series of Gospel readings as a kind of preparation, and a reminder that we are called to a high calling—higher than being meticulous about rules or piety—but we are called to live our lives reflecting the heart of the law. Lent is a great time to get in touch with that fact. And if we can learn to internalize this lesson, we can live so that the law of God not only serves our benefit, but that of the whole world.