Striving for Perfection

    As per the church-wide email I sent out this past week, I need your help this morning as we begin into this sermon.  I asked everyone to consider what a perfect congregation might look like.  What are its character traits?  What are the things it does?  If you would, please share some of your thoughts this morning.  Those of you who did not get this email, please, off the tops of your heads, share your thoughts about what character traits the “perfect” church has and what things such a church would do.

(Other notables from the first service responses: freedom to express one's view without judgement; people pray for each other [response from a 9 year old], people listen to the contributions of youth; outreach oriented; no quarreling)

    O.K. So, these are the character traits and actions that those of us who are gathered here this morning see in a perfect congregation.  There might be a few more that we could add, but let’s say that this indeed represents a perfect congregation.  Now, let me ask you this: if this represents a perfect congregation, are there such things as perfect congregations around?  Has there ever been a congregation which in actuality meets this vision?

    Did you say no?  I’d be flabbergasted if you said yes.  You and I know there is no such thing as a perfect church or a perfect congregation.  You and I know that sin pervades every aspect of our lives here on this planet and is inescapable.  You and I know perfection is an unattainable reality until we pass the threshold of death.  This is something we cognitively know.  And so I must ask, if we know that we cannot reach perfection, why do we have a vision of it?  Why does such a vision even exist?  I mean if we can’t attain it, why even bother to think about it?

    Last Sunday, our Gospel lesson began with these words from Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus then shows what it means to be more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees.  “You have heard it said to those of ancient times, you shall not murder.  But I tell you if you are angry with a brother or sister, you are liable to judgment...You have heard it said to those of ancient times you shall not commit adultery.  But I tell you if you look at a woman with lust in your heart you have committed adultery with her.  You have heard it said you may write a woman a certificate of divorce.  But I tell you if you divorce a woman you cause her to commit adultery and if you marry a woman who has been divorced you commit adultery.  You have heard it said do not swear falsely, but I say do not swear at all, by heaven, by earth, or by Jerusalem.  Let your word be yes, yes or no, no.  Anything else comes from the evil one.”

    Today, Jesus finishes out His sayings about true righteousness.  It doesn’t get any easier.  “You have heard it said an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth, but I say if someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer them your left also.  Give your shirt as well as your cloak.  Go the extra mile.  You have heard it said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say love your enemy and bless those who persecute you so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven.  Be perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

    There you have it.  This is true righteousness.  Perfection.  Just as God is perfect, you be perfect as well.  This concludes Jesus’ vision of what it means to be truly righteous.  As I said last time, true righteousness consists of having one’s heart in complete and total alignment with God’s heart.  True righteousness is a heart condition for out of one’s heart comes anger and lust and failure to commit and fear of saying simply yes, yes or no, no.  Out of the heart comes the desire for revenge and retribution.  Out of the heart comes the desire to hate one’s enemy.  Only a changed heart can defeat such things.  Only a heart that is completely and totally oriented toward God and toward what is good can accomplish what Jesus says in this Sermon on the Mount.

    And as I said last Sunday, so I say again.  We cannot do it.  We cannot willingly make ourselves good.  There is a part of us which seeks our own self-interest.  There is a part of us which continually seeks to take care of our own selves and those closest to us at the expense of others.  There is a part of us which puts our own ego; our own righteousness over others and sees others as less than us.  This part is constantly in rebellion against God and is constantly unleashing all those things Jesus warns us against.

    You know this.  You see it all the time.  You participate in it.  We all do.  None of us can escape it.  So if this is the case...  If we know we continue to have these things come out of our hearts despite our best efforts...  If indeed our righteousness cannot ever exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees and then therefore we cannot ever enter the Kingdom of heaven...then what’s the point?  If we cannot achieve perfection, then why does Jesus set it as the goal?

    I think there are at least two very good reasons for this.  The first reason is one I have articulated before, and it comes from sports.  The record holder for the highest career batting average is held by Ty Cobb.  His career batting average was, get this .366.  This meant, he got a hit generally 1 out of every three times he came to bat.  Mind you, he didn’t hit a home run every time he came to the plate–even though that would be the ideal.  He didn’t get on base every time he came to the plate to bat–even that would have been awesome.  He didn’t even get on base half the time he came to bat.  36% of the time he came to bat, he got on base.  And he’s in the baseball Hall of Fame.  Can you imagine giving a child a pat on the back for making a 36 on a test?  Yet, that’s what folks did with Ty Cobb.  They applauded him for his efforts.

    Now, do you think Ty became disgusted with the way he played by batting .366 for his career?  Do you think he became disgusted with himself because he couldn’t hit a home run every time he came up to bat?  Do you think he thought of quitting baseball because he wasn’t able to get on base every time he went to the plate to face a pitcher?  No.  Of course he didn’t because there was always the chance to hit the home run.  There was always the chance of achieving a little piece of perfection.  There was the goal, dangling out there begging to be reached.  Generally, we can approach humankind in a couple of fashions.  We can set the bar low, and believe me, folks will reach it and then stop.  Or, we can set the bar high and just see how close people come to reaching it.  One of these ways will unlock greater potential.  One of them won’t.  I’ll let you decide.

    The other reason for setting perfection as a goal is a little different.  It isn’t about unleashing potential–it’s about keeping a person humble.  You see, if God is the only one who can be perfect, and perfection is the only way to achieve true righteousness–true holiness, then I can never be holy on my own.  I can never be righteous on my own.  I will never reach the pinnacle of perfection.   Every time I try to reach it, I will fail.  By my own efforts I can never achieve it.  If I realize this, where does this leave me?  Where do I end up if I know I cannot achieve what is required of me?  Well, I will probably give up.  If it is something I want badly enough, I will probably get depressed and angry.  I will probably shake my fist and have tears well up in my eyes because I cannot get what I desire so badly.  And then I resign myself to my failure.  At this point, and only at this point am I willing to acknowledge my need for help.  At this point, God usually reveals to us something wonderful:

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him.

    My achieving righteousness does not depend upon my work but on God’s work.  My holiness does not come about because I am superhumanly good, but it comes about because Christ is superhumanly good.  My salvation depends not on my righteousness but on Christ’s righteousness.  Only in my humility can I recognize this. 

    When perfection is the goal, when the bar is set high, we reach for it and are challenged by it.  When perfection is the goal, we are humbled by it and recognize our need for grace.  We may never be perfect people.  We may never be a perfect congregation, but we need that vision before us to challenge us, to humble us, and to help us live God’s Word daily. Amen.

Singing in Harmony with God

    I do not know if it is my age or if it is something else, but my tastes in music have changed.  For the longest time, I thoroughly enjoyed it when a soloist would take the stage and belt out a particular piece of music.  I thought this was the best singing had to offer.  Perhaps it is singing in our gospel group that has changed my taste, but I now have a much, much higher appreciation for harmony.  For some reason, music becomes more meaningful, more touching when several voices sing together and fill out the chord.  Recently, I was introduced to Pentatonix an a capella group.  They did a cover of Lourde’s “Royals”, and in my estimation, if you listened to Pentatonix, you’d wonder why their’s isn’t more popular.  I think it’s 100 times better because of the harmony.  So, what does all of this have to do with our lessons for this Sunday, especially that Gospel lesson from the 5th Chapter of the book of Matthew?

    The core Gospel proclamation of Christianity is obvious.  John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all who believe in Him may not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  Further, this core proclamation occurred by pure grace.  It happened without any action on our own part.  Christ died for us while we were still sinners and completely unrepentant.  For those of us who know this message at our deepest core, we also have come to know that no matter how hard we try–no matter what kind of new leaf we try to turn over, we cannot stop sinning.  We know we still fall short of the glory of God.  We are not perfect.  Sometimes, it’s painfully obvious.

    With this in mind, we hear Jesus tell us this morning, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

    Whoa!  Wait a minute.  What happened to grace?  What happened to God’s unconditional love and mercy?  What happened to Christ dying for us while we are still sinners? 

    Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  What’s going on here?

    Let’s look at this within the context of ancient Israel.  First, let’s recognize who the Scribes and Pharisees were.  These were two Jewish groups who thrived during Second Temple Judaism.  The Scribes were, of course, those who wrote on and interpreted the Law.  They were held in very high esteem as those who were blessed by God as they wrestled with interpreting and living the Torah.  The Pharisees are often Jesus’ main nemesis throughout the Gospel stories.  The Pharisees longed and yearned for the coming Kingdom of God, and they had a very particular understanding of how that Kingdom would arrive.  They believed that the Jewish people needed to be holy and pure so that the Kingdom would come.  They believed that the Jewish people needed to be obedient to the purity code with all its various intricacies in order for God to take notice.  Basically, the Pharisees believed if a person ate the right food, associated with the right people, washed hands in the right way and right times, tithed to the temple appropriately, offered the right sacrifices, and so on and so forth, then they would be seen by God as holy and righteous.  Once they were seen by God to be holy and righteous, God would finally forgive Israel for its sins, drive off Israel’s enemies, and establish Israel as the world power and beacon of light and hope God promised Abraham it would be.  When it came to keeping this code, the Pharisees were the supreme example of righteous living–at least as far as most of the populace was concerned.

    So I am sure Jesus caused a few heads to be scratched when He said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of God.”  Is it possible to be more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees?

    Apparently so, because Jesus then begins laying out what it means to be truly righteous.  #1. “You have heard it was said, ‘You shall not murder.’ but I say if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.”  Stop and think about that one for a minute.  Anger must disappear.  This is true righteousness.

    #2. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ but I say if you even look at a woman with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery.”  Stop and think about that one for a minute as well.  Lust toward a person of the opposite sex must disappear.  That is true righteousness.

    #3. “It was also said, ‘You can give a woman a certificate of divorce.’ but I say if you divorce a woman except on the grounds of unchastity, you cause her to commit adultery.  And if you marry a divorced woman, you commit adultery.”  Pause once more to consider Jesus’ words.  Life-long commitment is the only option.  That is true righteousness.

    #4.  And last, at least for this little snippet of the Sermon of the Mount.  “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ but I say, don’t swear at all.  Let your word be yes, yes or no, no.”  Reflect on that for just a second.  How many of us accomplish that one?  True righteousness makes no excuses, doesn’t try to be tactful, doesn’t try to explain one’s position or be nuanced about it.  True righteousness says yes or no.  No wiggle room.  Period.

    Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  How is that possible?  Jesus gives it to His disciples on the hill that day and to us without hesitation. 

    You see, the Scribes and Pharisees had all the externals going on.  They were doing all the commands of Torah to keep themselves holy and pure.  They were following the law, and from the outside, they looked squeaky clean.  They looked like they were pure.  They looked like they were holy.  But in reality, they were a brand new Corvette Stingray with a flawless exterior with a rusty modified Fort Pinto engine underneath.  The inside didn’t match the outside.

    This was problematic, and for this reason Jesus made that intriguing comment in the middle of this teaching, “29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.”

    Now, when you first hear this, you might think Jesus was being literal.  Go cut your hand off if it causes you to sin.  Go pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin.  But everyone would have recognized what Jesus was really getting at.  A HAND DOES NOT CAUSE YOU TO SIN.  AN EYE DOES NOT CAUSE YOU TO SIN.  Where does sin come from?  Where does anger come from?  Where does lust come from?  Where does a lack of commitment come from?  Where does the fear of being straightforward and honest come from? 

    It comes from the heart.  Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of God.  How is this possible?  Well, the Scribes and the Pharisees weren’t righteous.  They had the externals, but their internals weren’t so good.  Their hearts weren’t oriented toward God.  Their hearts were oriented toward themselves.  For, by God, you know that everything revolves around me.  If I do the right things; if I say the right things; if I follow the commandments the right way; if I believe the right things and tell everyone I love Jesus; if I come to church every Sunday of the month; if I put the right amount of money in the offering plate; if I do all these things and more, then I have a claim on God.  He has to listen to me!  He has to give me what I ask for!  He has to unleash the Kingdom of God.  He has to grant me health, wealth, and security.  I hope you catch the sarcasm here.

    So often, we think the externals save us.  We think the externals bring about the kingdom of God.  We think the things we do make us holy and righteousness.  But we can and do a lot of good things for the wrong reasons.  And Jesus calls us on it.

    If your heart isn’t in line with God, then you will never enter the kingdom of God.  Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of God.

    So, get your hearts in place!  Make your hearts right!  Turn them toward God! 

    If it were only so easy!

    Me telling you to do that this morning is equivalent to me telling you, “You have a blockage in your heart, give yourself a bypass.”  Do you think you are capable of doing such a thing?

    St. Paul writes in the seventh chapter of Romans, “I know the good that I am supposed to do, but I cannot do it...Wretched man that I am!  Who will save me from this body of sin?”

    Paul knew he suffered from a heart condition.  We suffer from that same condition?  Who will save us from this body of sin?  Who will save us?

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.”

    You see, by Jesus’ death and resurrection and the unleashing of the Holy Spirit into the world, God works to turn our hearts toward Him.  Through the Word become flesh, God acts in you and me to pound our hearts into submission and orient them toward Him and His love.  God enters into our very being to stomp out anger and lust and lack of commitment and selfishness and fear.  God lives within us as our hearts are convicted by the power of the Gospel.  And when our hearts are convicted by the Gospel, they beat in line with God’s heart.  They begin to sing–not a solo by any means, but they sing in harmony with God.  They join the chorus of God’s own song for the world which says, “I love you.  I died for you.  You are my child!”

    Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Because of Jesus, your righteousness does exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, not because it is your own but because it is based on Jesus’ righteousness.  Jesus died for you that your heart may be turned toward Him.  And when your heart is singing with Gods, then you are truly Living God’s Word Daily.  Amen.

Revisiting Salt and Light

Last week, I received an abnormal amount of hits on one of my previous sermons "Salt and Light." 

Every three years, this particular teaching of Jesus is placed before pastors and congregations that follow the Revised Common Lectionary.  Last Sunday was the appointed time for this text:

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. ¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸For 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. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Apparently, some folks had reached the bottom of the barrel when it came to looking for sermon hints, and in a last ditch effort, several read mine.  :-)

As I saw the hits mount, I decided to read that sermon again.  I don't think it was all that bad, but as I read through it, I thought to myself, "Where is the grace?"

There was none.

My sermon focused completely and totally on action: my action, my congregation's action, the things we were supposed to do.

Where was forgiveness?

Where was God's love for us?

Where was the transformation of heart and soul gifted by the Holy Spirit?

It just wasn't there.

And a straight forward reading of this text, with no other context, doesn't have much grace at all.

But if you place it within the larger context of the Gospel message...

You ARE the light of the world...

You ARE the salt of the earth...

Intriguing use of words there by Jesus, is it not?

You ARE!

Not, if you follow me and believe in me and do what I say, then you will be.  No.  You ARE!

We are created to be light for the world; salt for the earth.  It is our purpose.  We didn't ask for this.  We didn't seek out this purpose.  We didn't ask God for the light to shine through us--God put it there.  We are created to shine light into a world of darkness by doing good works and glorifying our Father who is in heaven.

The problem: we like putting a bushel basket on ourselves.   And it's not because of some sort of humility driving us to do that.

There is a part of us that craves the darkness.  There is a part of us that craves being superior to everyone.  There is a part of us that craves the baser things of life, and when light shines on such things, it shows them for what they are: sinful.

And so, we cover the light.  We hide the light so it doesn't shine and reveal the fact that we enjoy sinful pursuits and perverted pleasures.  We hide the light so it doesn't show our complicity in systems which promote poverty and abuse and subjugation.  We hide the light so it doesn't reveal our darkest secrets and desires of greed, lust, envy, anger, and the like.  We hide the light so that we can go on thinking we are good people because we don't act out those very thoughts.

²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

You see, the Pharisees and scribes were the purity folks of Jesus' day.  They were the folks who concentrated on following all the rules to a tee.  They were the folks who put on an air of holiness, and Jesus tells His followers their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.


How?

Well, the scribes and Pharisees might have had an external facade, but it was the inside that counted.  That's where true righteousness comes from.  True righteousness comes from having a heart oriented toward God--a heart that unashamedly and humbly puts itself on a lampstand to shine light into a room.

And who can have such a heart?  Who can make their heart do such a thing?

Not us.  Not on our own.  St. Paul wrote in the 7th Chapter of the book of Romans:

¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. ²²For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, ²³but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

We know the good we should do.  We know the light we should shine.  We know we shouldn't have certain thoughts of anger, lust, greed, envy, and contempt.  But we have them anyway.  We don't do the good anyway.  As much as we would like our hearts to be oriented toward God, we keep fighting to have them oriented toward ourselves.

Yet, despite this, Christ still died for us.  Christ still offered Himself on the cross to reconcile us unto God.

Only a love like that can change a heart.  Only a love like that, once it's power infiltrates through our barriers can change a person.  Only a love like that can bring a person to his or her knees with thanksgiving and humility and awe and wonder.

"You ARE the light of the world..."
"You ARE the salt of the earth..."

What terrifying, humbling, and empowering words at one and the same time.