As we read a very small portion of Psalm 119 today, I want us to be aware of a few things. At 176 verses, Psalm 119 is the longest Psalm in the collection. It is a literary marvel and quite an achievement by the psalmist. It is an acrostic. In its original Hebrew, each line begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are other psalms that use the same form though 119 takes it to a higher level. In this particular psalm, each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is given eight lines. So these first eight verses that we will read today all begin with the Hebrew letter aleph. The next eight will begin with beth and so on. Why would the psalmist go to all that trouble? This psalm, which extols the virtues of a torah oriented life, is a reminder that God’s ways and God’s commands cover every aspect of life from A-to-Z or aleph-to-tav. The ways of God provide a structure and an order. This psalm, in its very form, illustrates that idea.

Let’s hear now what the psalmist has to say to us:

[Psalm 119:1-8]

For our second reading we turn to the gospel according to Matthew. We find ourselves in the midst of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. And the words of Jesus that we read this day do not call to mind gentle Jesus meek and mild. Here in Matthew Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the law, interprets the law anew for us. Jesus broadens the scope and expands the meaning of God’s commands.

Let’s hear now what Jesus has to say to us:

[Matthew 5:21-37]

Well, friends, we have two readings before us this morning both to do with the law, the rules, the way we ought to live as God’s children. They’re to do with our relationship to those statutes of God and the way we conduct ourselves as believing people. They have a great deal to say about our relationship with God and also about how we are to live in community with others. It’s about covenant living. God’s covenant with us and our call to live in covenant community with others. And when our Faith in Real Life small group read both of these passages on Wednesday morning, the room went dead quiet. There seemed to be a collective, inaudible, “Oh.” The psalmist tells us that we’re blessed when we do no wrong so that blessing seems just about impossible to attain. And then Jesus’ words in Matthew, well, this isn’t the Jesus we like to hear from…what’s all this talk about cutting off hands and tearing out eyes and fire? Where’s the grace? Isn’t Jesus all about grace?

I think the collective silence of our small gorup had to do with our suddenly realizing or maybe remembering that we’ve got no leg to stand on. Our own efforts and our own actions won’t get us far in our quest to live a righteous life before God. Sin, it would seem, gets in the way. Sin: our very human tendency to fall short, to stray from the path, to go against God’s intention for our lives, to be separated from God and others, to willfully choose that separation.

So first I want us to consider this psalm. If we were to read all 176 verses of it, we would hear, in great detail, the psalmists love of God’s law. You see, the word for law found in verse one is torah in Hebrew. The psalmist loves the torah of the Lord. And the psalmist seeks a life oriented around torah. These opening two verses are beatitudes…they use the phrase blessed are those. In this case, blessed are those who follow God’s instructions, who allow God to set the boundaries on the path of life. Blessed are those who follow the rules and do not stray, the psalmist says. Blessed are those who seek God with their whole heart.

Now for us, the heart is the center of our emotional life. But for the earliest hearers of this psalm, the Israelites, the heart was something else. The heart was the very core of being, the source of thought and intention. To seek God with your whole heart meant to be completely obedient to the Torah, to God’s instruction. This beautifully crafted love poem to the law of the Lord is meant to encourage its hearers to live a life in full obedience to all that God has decreed. There is great delight in following God’s ways as Todd told us last week. Following the law of the Lord provides a focus in life and a distinct path to follow. There is little, if any, wiggle room and very little question about the right way to live. To live this good life with God, the psalmist says we have to be law abiding, submitting to God’s ways in all things.

I suppose that means we have to know God’s law. We have to be familiar enough with it to weave it into every aspect of our lives. That requires something of us. It requires us to know God’s word and God’s ways. The psalmist assures us that we will be blessed by this word and this way of life. The word is not meant to be restrictive but meant to free us into living the life God has intended for us. We can have a tendency, as Jesus following believing type people to dismiss the law of the Lord in favor of grace. We think that those two things can’t hold the same space. Sometimes, I think we feel like we’ve got Jesus and grace on our side so we don’t have to know much about God’s commands. I think the psalmist would disagree. And I think Jesus would disagree. This Torah, this instruction, this path, this word is the starting point of our life with God. It is the beginning of our journey and a means to grace. OK. Now, that’s all well and good but what do we do about Matthew?

Our psalmist wrote a love poem to the Torah…the law, the way, God’s precepts and wrote about what a joy it is to follow this path. Then we turn over to Matthew and Jesus kicks it all up a notch. Jesus interrupts all of those law abiding blessings with “buts.” The law we thought we knew? Jesus reinterprets it for us. The word of God that we’ve heard and read? Well, Jesus, the Word made flesh, gives us something more. Jesus says the letter of the law isn’t enough; our spirits and our hearts must conform to the spirit of the law, too. Our intentions matter. Our inner lives matter. What we hold in our heads and in our hearts matters. Jesus calls us to a higher standard.

Anybody can follow the rules, he says. It’s not about the rules. It’s about God’s presence in every action, every glance, every thought, and every word out of your mouth. We’re beyond the rules here. It’s about the way we treat other people. It’s about the way we conduct ourselves. It’s about what we say and what we do. Because all of those things are inextricably linked to our relationship with God. Jesus is calling us into a different way of living…a kingdom way of living. Jesus wants us to live as though the kingdom is already here.

Here in Matthew 5, Jesus has chosen to address some of the most contentious issues of his day. He asks the people to call to mind what they already know, what they’ve already heard and then he interjects. You’ve heard it said but I say. You know the rules but I’m taking it further. You live in this world but I want you to live as kingdom citizens. The language he uses is harsh and hyperbolic. It might even be a little bit frightening. I don’t think we want to hear merciful Jesus telling us that our mean, nasty words for our neighbors may send us straight into the fire. I don’t think we want to hear merciful Jesus telling us that our impure thoughts will get us maimed. I don’t think we want to hear merciful Jesus telling us that our half-truths and broken promises will damn us. Why, oh why, would Jesus says these things?

Perhaps as a means of helping us to understand the seriousness of covenant living. Perhaps as a way to get us to sit up and listen. I think it’s hard to pay attention to Jesus these days. The noise of the world is so great. The messages of the world are so confusing and contrary to what we’ve been taught as followers of Christ. And yet the messages of the world can be so enticing. “If somebody disagrees with you, shame them, call them names and do so in a public forum. Don’t worry about telling the truth when alternative facts will do just fine. Make sure that everyone knows you’re absolutely right about everything even if it costs you every relationship in your life. Shut your doors, build walls, and self-protect at all costs. It’s so much easier to live that way.”

Wait a second, Jesus? Are you speaking? I’m not sure I can hear you anymore.

Maybe these hyperbolic words in Matthew 5 are intended to make us sit up and listen. They may be hard for us to hear but they are necessary as we seek to live a righteous life with God, as we hope to delight in the ways of our Lord. Jesus presents us with the better way. For Jesus, the emphasis is on reconciliation and peacemaking, integrity and truthfulness. This is the path to a right relationship with God. It takes work and intention. It means putting ourselves and our opinions last. It means acknowledging our own brokenness before God and before others.

And Jesus takes away every opportunity we may take to be self-righteousness. You’ve never murdered anyone you say? Jesus reminds us that our words can kill. Our words can deprive another of life. And if we hold anger toward another in our hearts or know of anger being held against us we are called to reconcile with others before we bring ourselves into the presence of God. We are called to reconciliation regardless of who is at fault. Jesus says let your yes be yes and your no be no. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Speak the truth, God’s truth. Have integrity within yourself, make sure your intentions and your actions match up, make sure your attitudes and practices do, too.

Something about the world we live in has caused us to stop seeing other people for who God created them to be. Something about the world we live in has caused us to stop listening to one another or being curious about one another. Something about the world we live in has caused us to look out for ourselves before we look out for anyone else. This isn’t the way God has called us to live. And when we do live this way, we are not loving God’s laws or God’s ways or God’s commands.

This passage in Matthew should bring us to our knees. It should level us. As the great Reformer John Calvin would love to remind us, we are totally depraved. We are sinful. Not one of us can say otherwise. There’s no but here. Jesus takes us all to our knees. And that’s the posture we take when we realize the only way to live this Torah loving, law abiding, in-need-of-grace life is with God’s help. Psalm 119:8 says, “I will observe your statues; do not utterly forsake me.” My translation? “I will with God’s help.” It’s how we get through each day. Each day we must choose which path we’ll take. Will we follow the path that God has set before us? Or will we follow the path of this world? If we choose the path that God has set before us, hemmed in and illumined by God’s word, it isn’t easy. It’s a difficult path to take. Reconciliation is hard work. Having integrity is hard work. Listening is hard work. Seeing the image of God in another is hard work. This higher standard to which Jesus calls us challenges us each and every day. It’s impossible to do on our own. Follow the ways of the Lord? I will with God’s help. Acknowledge my sin? I will with God’s help. Reconcile with sisters and brothers? I will with God’s help. The grace in all of this is that we need Jesus and thank God Jesus has already met each of us exactly where we are.

Blessed are those who seek God with their whole heart. I will with God’s help.

Amen.

Rev. Alex Rodgers
Decatur Presbyterian Church
Decatur, GA
February 12, 2017