And in Conclusion....
Scripture: Matthew 7:21-29
Our assigned reading from the gospel of Matthew is an odd little bit of Scripture today. Last week, we got a chunk of the Sermon on the Mount, which is a two-chapter condensation of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus’ Greatest Hits, if you will. And then our assigned reading is basically the “and in conclusion” part of the sermon.
Have you ever been in the middle of a long, boring lecture – never here in this church, of course – but somewhere else, perhaps, and heard those three little words, “And In Conclusion?” Makes your ears perk up, doesn’t it? Well, that’s our scripture lesson for today: “And in conclusion,”
Jesus says, “I’ve told you some very important things, and now it’s important that you actually do them. If you do other things, but say that you’ve done them in my name, that won’t give you an entry into God’s true life. And if you don’t act on what I’ve said at all, it will be like you’ve built a house with no foundation. When the storms come, that house will fall.”
It might help at this point to backtrack a little and remind ourselves just what these things are that Jesus wants us to do. Because some of this stuff is just ridiculous. You may remember the beatitudes:
“Congratulations to you if you’re living in poverty! God’s true life belongs to you.
Way to go, you mourners! You’ll find comfort soon.
It is time to celebrate, all you quiet, unassuming types. Soon you’ll be running the world.
Good news for you, you people who are burning up for justice. Your thirst will be quenched.”
And so on. Really? You should be happy to be poor? In mourning? Really? A just world is around the corner? The meek are on the cusp of leadership?
And then there are some stories, analogies, and commandments that seem to have a similarly tenuous grasp on reality:
“You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world.” “Don’t murder, yes, but beyond that, don’t even get angry with a brother or sister.” Or, you may remember this classic: “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to lose your hand than it is to have your whole body go into hell.” A few prickly remarks against divorce here, a prohibition on swearing any oaths there, and then Jesus urges us to turn the other cheek when slapped, walk a second mile when forced to go one, and to give away all your clothes when someone sues you for your coat. Also we’re supposed to love our enemies, and be perfect like God is perfect.
There is some more approachable stuff in here: giving your offerings secretly, and praying in secret. The Lord’s Prayer is also in here, which is a good prayer, if a little short on ostentation. Check your own eye for logs before removing a little teeny sliver from somebody else’s eye. All right. And finally we come to our text from last week, which, after all this, tells us NOT to WORRY! The grass in the field has nice clothes, the birds in the air have enough to eat. Sounds good, but have you checked the price of gas lately?
And in conclusion, Jesus says, And in Conclusion, your job is not just to hear this, but to do it. Whew.
There’s a movie you may have seen called Cliffhanger. It’s a Sylvester Stalone flick from the early 90’s, and we saw the beginning of it while channel-surfing a few weeks ago. In the opening scene, Stalone’s girlfriend is climbing with him on some huge mountain, and a series of problems with her harness causes her to fall to her death. I think the first time I saw the movie, the Hollywood version of a fall from a cliff seemed pretty believable and scary. But Heather and I took up climbing a couple years ago, and this time the movie seemed totally unbelievable.
Basically, the principle with climbing is that when you’re getting into your gear, you make sure that there is a backup for every piece of safety equipment. If one thing breaks, the next thing should catch you. And the other principle is that that all the little straps and knots tighten when you put pressure on them – your weight actually makes you more secure in the equipment. Of course, in the movies all those straps are just waiting to slip loose and drop Sylvester Stalone’s girlfriend into a canyon. Sorry if I’ve just ruined the movie for anyone. I’m sure the rest of it is totally accurate and realistic.
What if Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is somehow more real and more true than our common sense notions of the right way to do things? Jesus says that hearing his words and doing them is like building a house on rock instead of on sand. Another way of saying it is, if you hear his words and act on them, it’s like someone who took the time to check their climbing gear, and made sure all their knots were made right, and that the rope wasn’t too old, and that it was secure at the top, and that all the harness straps were doubled over to prevent slipping, before they ever set foot on a climbing wall, much less a huge mountain cliff. If you hear his words and don’t act on them, it’s like climbing the Hollywood way, which means that when you fall – and that’s an inevitable reality with climbing – when you fall, you’ll keep falling. The ropes won’t hold you fast.
Doing what Jesus says, in other words, is of the essence. Hearing by itself will not get you where you want to go.
There is good news in our gospel reading for today. First of all is the center of the Good News (capital letters) – Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God. In our culture there’s a tendency to talk about the kingdom of God as something that happens in heaven, far away, when we die, with streets of gold and pearly gates. You know the drill. But that’s really not what Jesus is talking about. At least that’s not the bulk of it. The kingdom of God is HERE RIGHT NOW. The way in is to recognize it. It’s something unlike anything we’re used to.
The kingdom of God goes against most of our usual ways of being humans. God’s abundance for all, the poor and oppressed in the highest seats of honor, and a way of peace that is neither submission nor vengeance, but something else that illuminates without demanding eye for eye. The kingdom of God is a place where we pray for the people who are out to get us – for our mean boss, for that irresponsible neighbor, and even for Al Qaeda. This is not the usual human way of doing things. Jesus is giving us a new story about the world and everything in it. One that is bigger and more beautiful and more real than our usual stories about self-preservation, survival, and getting even. The good news is this: the kingdom of God, true life in God’s ecology, the sacred economy of love, the mercy and peacemaking complex, all this is here with us, among us, to be recognized and treasured.
The crowd is impressed with Jesus. He sounds like someone who knows what he’s talking about. As the scripture goes, “He spoke as one having authority.” So maybe he’s right. Maybe the truth of this new realm will become real to us in the acting. Maybe this upside-down muddle of teachings is really the best way into God’s territory of new life. Maybe it’s time to tighten our straps, tie our knots, and start climbing. Thanks be to God, Amen.
Our assigned reading from the gospel of Matthew is an odd little bit of Scripture today. Last week, we got a chunk of the Sermon on the Mount, which is a two-chapter condensation of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus’ Greatest Hits, if you will. And then our assigned reading is basically the “and in conclusion” part of the sermon.
Have you ever been in the middle of a long, boring lecture – never here in this church, of course – but somewhere else, perhaps, and heard those three little words, “And In Conclusion?” Makes your ears perk up, doesn’t it? Well, that’s our scripture lesson for today: “And in conclusion,”
Jesus says, “I’ve told you some very important things, and now it’s important that you actually do them. If you do other things, but say that you’ve done them in my name, that won’t give you an entry into God’s true life. And if you don’t act on what I’ve said at all, it will be like you’ve built a house with no foundation. When the storms come, that house will fall.”
It might help at this point to backtrack a little and remind ourselves just what these things are that Jesus wants us to do. Because some of this stuff is just ridiculous. You may remember the beatitudes:
“Congratulations to you if you’re living in poverty! God’s true life belongs to you.
Way to go, you mourners! You’ll find comfort soon.
It is time to celebrate, all you quiet, unassuming types. Soon you’ll be running the world.
Good news for you, you people who are burning up for justice. Your thirst will be quenched.”
And so on. Really? You should be happy to be poor? In mourning? Really? A just world is around the corner? The meek are on the cusp of leadership?
And then there are some stories, analogies, and commandments that seem to have a similarly tenuous grasp on reality:
“You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world.” “Don’t murder, yes, but beyond that, don’t even get angry with a brother or sister.” Or, you may remember this classic: “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to lose your hand than it is to have your whole body go into hell.” A few prickly remarks against divorce here, a prohibition on swearing any oaths there, and then Jesus urges us to turn the other cheek when slapped, walk a second mile when forced to go one, and to give away all your clothes when someone sues you for your coat. Also we’re supposed to love our enemies, and be perfect like God is perfect.
There is some more approachable stuff in here: giving your offerings secretly, and praying in secret. The Lord’s Prayer is also in here, which is a good prayer, if a little short on ostentation. Check your own eye for logs before removing a little teeny sliver from somebody else’s eye. All right. And finally we come to our text from last week, which, after all this, tells us NOT to WORRY! The grass in the field has nice clothes, the birds in the air have enough to eat. Sounds good, but have you checked the price of gas lately?
And in conclusion, Jesus says, And in Conclusion, your job is not just to hear this, but to do it. Whew.
There’s a movie you may have seen called Cliffhanger. It’s a Sylvester Stalone flick from the early 90’s, and we saw the beginning of it while channel-surfing a few weeks ago. In the opening scene, Stalone’s girlfriend is climbing with him on some huge mountain, and a series of problems with her harness causes her to fall to her death. I think the first time I saw the movie, the Hollywood version of a fall from a cliff seemed pretty believable and scary. But Heather and I took up climbing a couple years ago, and this time the movie seemed totally unbelievable.
Basically, the principle with climbing is that when you’re getting into your gear, you make sure that there is a backup for every piece of safety equipment. If one thing breaks, the next thing should catch you. And the other principle is that that all the little straps and knots tighten when you put pressure on them – your weight actually makes you more secure in the equipment. Of course, in the movies all those straps are just waiting to slip loose and drop Sylvester Stalone’s girlfriend into a canyon. Sorry if I’ve just ruined the movie for anyone. I’m sure the rest of it is totally accurate and realistic.
What if Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is somehow more real and more true than our common sense notions of the right way to do things? Jesus says that hearing his words and doing them is like building a house on rock instead of on sand. Another way of saying it is, if you hear his words and act on them, it’s like someone who took the time to check their climbing gear, and made sure all their knots were made right, and that the rope wasn’t too old, and that it was secure at the top, and that all the harness straps were doubled over to prevent slipping, before they ever set foot on a climbing wall, much less a huge mountain cliff. If you hear his words and don’t act on them, it’s like climbing the Hollywood way, which means that when you fall – and that’s an inevitable reality with climbing – when you fall, you’ll keep falling. The ropes won’t hold you fast.
Doing what Jesus says, in other words, is of the essence. Hearing by itself will not get you where you want to go.
There is good news in our gospel reading for today. First of all is the center of the Good News (capital letters) – Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God. In our culture there’s a tendency to talk about the kingdom of God as something that happens in heaven, far away, when we die, with streets of gold and pearly gates. You know the drill. But that’s really not what Jesus is talking about. At least that’s not the bulk of it. The kingdom of God is HERE RIGHT NOW. The way in is to recognize it. It’s something unlike anything we’re used to.
The kingdom of God goes against most of our usual ways of being humans. God’s abundance for all, the poor and oppressed in the highest seats of honor, and a way of peace that is neither submission nor vengeance, but something else that illuminates without demanding eye for eye. The kingdom of God is a place where we pray for the people who are out to get us – for our mean boss, for that irresponsible neighbor, and even for Al Qaeda. This is not the usual human way of doing things. Jesus is giving us a new story about the world and everything in it. One that is bigger and more beautiful and more real than our usual stories about self-preservation, survival, and getting even. The good news is this: the kingdom of God, true life in God’s ecology, the sacred economy of love, the mercy and peacemaking complex, all this is here with us, among us, to be recognized and treasured.
The crowd is impressed with Jesus. He sounds like someone who knows what he’s talking about. As the scripture goes, “He spoke as one having authority.” So maybe he’s right. Maybe the truth of this new realm will become real to us in the acting. Maybe this upside-down muddle of teachings is really the best way into God’s territory of new life. Maybe it’s time to tighten our straps, tie our knots, and start climbing. Thanks be to God, Amen.
posted by Amy Sens at 7:33 PM
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