Delivered Feb. 3, 2008
by Pastor Eric Henderson
The sermon today is the third sermon based on what Matthew presents as one sermon by Jesus. Jesus is the child born king who set out to preach and establish the kingdom of heaven. We've come to know this important teaching as the Sermon on the Mount which includes the beatitudes.
As I was trying to understand chapters 6 & 7 in my mind I did some ranting. (Perhaps I've been watching too much Rick Mercer or I just continued to do what I've been practicing for quit a few years.) Rick Mercer's show features a rant about the politics in Canada. Here's a taste of what the rant in my mind was like as I tr
Matthew declares that Jesus came to preach Good news of the kingdom and healed people of sickness and demon possession. Well, I' ve read the last sections of Jesus sermon and have no idea how this is good news for anyone. After reading it several times it seems like a burden of things to do and how to do them then there's the things not to do. Is this kingdom ruled by a tyrant with all kinds of picky rules or what?
Let's look at it! We're supposed to give without showing off, pray by lone, without a lot of words and repetition. But then Jesus gives a prayer that I've heard people pray over and over. Then there's fasting which is a pain to the body no matter what the reasons are for doing it.
Earlier in the sermon Jesus makes additions to some of the original laws. He's added condemnation of what happens inside to the condemnation of what we do outside.
It seems like Jesus has something to say about every part of life. He's not content to teach us about religious things like praying, fasting, giving. No, there's things that relate to family, money, what I think about others, how I treat others - Is Jesus asking us to be some kind of puppets?
To top it all Jesus claims the way to life is small and narrow and few find it so why try? What's the use!?
I might be one of those bad trees that bears bad fruit and in the end after trying to be a good person, and do the right things, to be told "I never knew you, Get away from me, you evildoer." Or to do the best I can, and try to build a life and have the rough times come and watch it all crumble around me. I'm just like the crowds all right. I'm amazed at the teaching of Jesus, because I can't see what the good news is in all that!
Matthew claims Jesus went all over the place preaching good news of the kingdom, healing diseases and sickness. That may have been true at one time, but I wasn't getting how this could be good news for me or anyone else.
Is it so terrible to give money and have a plaque put up somewhere? We celebrate big sales for TTV. Is that a bad thing! If praying in public is a bad thing, then what's up with all the Psalms that were said in the temple, and the OT priests praying before all the people?
Aha!
After my internal ranting calmed down a bit, I kept studying and noticed repetition and patterns. That usually means what is repeated is important. First v. of ch. 6. Reward from heavenly Father. Giving in a way not for the honor of others, but rewarded by heavenly father. Praying not to impress others, but for reward of heavenly father. Forgive to be forgiven, to fast not be rewarded by people but heavenly father.
I get the repetition, but how is that good news?
Next are some do nots (6.19) which I took a deep breath and looked at again. This time I noticed that the do not is sometimes followed by do.
Again, I see the repetition and understand some of the meaning of the do not's
I still am missing what the good news is in all that. I mean, sometimes it actually happens that when we need to pay for something there's money in the bank to pay for it. That's good news for me. And if I didn't worry about cloths, and food what would I do with myself? And I've helped people get things out of their eye and they seemed rather grateful.
Then I thought about Marilyn's sermon from last Sunday. She took us all the way back to Genesis. Way back to the original laws. In her sermon she said Jesus came to fulfill or embody the law. Jesus was God in the flesh, God dwelling among us.
I asked myself what is this God like that wants to reward?
God's original creation of life included a world in which people freely talked and spent time with God and each other. Adam and Eve tended their garden and didn't need to get into the car to go get whatever they needed. It was close by and provided for them. There was no hiding, no shame, no guilt, and no politicians. Now that's paradise!
Then sin entered the world and the blame game began, and shame, and soon people were killing each other in jealousy, and wickedness and violence increased and people began trying to run other people's lives - politics was born.
But God kept seeking people who would live as his people. People who would be and do what he originally intended. Abraham and his descendents became God's people, but they spent 400 long years in slavery to the Egyptians. So they cried out in their misery and God heard them and delivered them. God delivered them not because they were strong, or numerous, or a special ethnicity, but because he loved them.
After God's mighty deliverance the people were given words or commandments to help them live as God's chosen people. The first word is:
Ex. 20 I am the Lord your God, who brought you ... out of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
Jesus fulfilled or embodied the law which begins with the word of grace,
20 I am the Lord your God, who brought you ... out of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
If you were in slavery and someone set you free, that would be good news. We're not in slavery physically like the Egyptians enslaved people. There's no one putting chains or handcuffs on us, or no one beating us to make us work or do one thing or another. And we don't have any little statues of Zeus or Buda or any other god that sits in my house to which we bow down and offer money and food.
I still didn't get what Jesus and setting slaves free and no other gods have to do with worry, and judging and narrow gates, good and bad trees and fruit and whether you build a house on sand or rock. So now what?
But I kept asking and listening to the text and Jesus the Holy Spirit wondering what's the good news? What about being like Jesus, and the kingdom of God, and living this sermon of Jesus is good news? What kind of a kingdom is this that Jesus preaches about?
One thought which came to mind was Jesus saying the spirit had anointed him to preach good news and set the captives free. I recalled a conversation with someone two Sundays ago. Someone commented that people may be hungering and thirsting after something, but they don't go to God to meet their needs. We talked about people becoming attached to something other than God to fill the void. I remembered a book called Addiction and Grace. The author contends that everyone has a deep desire for God. But sometimes instead of becoming attached to God and finding the love we need, we find a substitute. We become attached and addicted to something or someone else. Instead of knowing the love of God and loving God in return we seek a replacement.
And I've been reading a book Marilyn gave me for my birthday titled Healing of Memories by David Seamands. It is for people who want to be free of painful memories that affect present behavior and Christian growth. (preface)
I again listened to the sermon of Jesus and considered being bound, trapped, addicted, attached and set free, healed, and good news. Marilyn's sermon was about kingdom living being different. Like boys playing a game to make it fun for someone else and so someone else was included and would experience the thrill of playing, not just to winning for yourself and getting more points than another team.
What occurred to me was that Jesus and the kingdom of God offers freedom from tyrants.
Seeking the applause of others for our generosity can be a tyrant. Because there's always someone that's given more, or there's someone who doesn't approve of your motives, or there's someone certain that you gave the money to the wrong person or agency in a way that hinders more than helps.
But Jesus invites us to free ourselves from trying to please others with our giving. And give seeking the reward of God who knows exactly what our motives are and rewards us.
Seeking to pray to please people can be a tyrant. Some quote verses about silence and are pleased only with silent prayer, another quotes verses about shouting and are pleased only with volume, some expect a formula of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication and are only pleased with that, while another requires sitting another, standing, or kneeling, head bowed, hands lifted on and on.
But members of God's kingdom can pray silently, loudly, all the time, anyplace, in any language, any posture and God will reward us. The stipulation is that God is the one to whom we pray, the kingdom that we seek, the one we ask to provide our needs, the one we seek to know and obey.
Seeking to do any religious act to impress others can be a cruel taskmaster so Jesus said, stop. Seek the reward of God only. Seek relationship with the one who knows for sure your motives and intent and rewards rightly. Seek relationship with the one who loves us now and is pleased when we love in return. Seek to give to others because God loved us so much he gave life and forgiveness through Jesus.
Jesus asks us to forgive so that we are forgiven. We are set free from bitterness and trying to get revenge if we forgive when others sin against us. Moby Dick is the classic story of a man obsessed with killing a whale that bit off his leg. Revenge consumed him. He was enslaved. King Saul became jealous of young David's popularity with people and set out to kill him. In his later life and leadership Saul is more and more obsessed with eliminating this potential rival to the throne. Jesus calls us to forgive which will set us free.
Seeking money and material things and trying to protect them can be a tyrant. Jesus said either God or money will be our master - choose one!
The rich young politician that came to Jesus apparently decided that his attachment to money was more important than following Jesus. Howard Hughes was one of the financially wealthiest men in the US in the 1950s - 1970s. However he lived the last years of his life as a recluse obsessed with fears of other people who might take his money and hooked on drugs because he feared diseases. He served his obsession for money and was consumed with the cruel tyrant of worry.
Jesus offers freedom to serve God and seek God's kingdom above all else which are heavenly treasures that need no security system, or accounting, and you don't need to pay yearly taxes.
We lived in Iowa in a small house on a farm when our boys were all preschool age. I had gotten them in bed, and was reading as I waited for Marilyn to return home. I heard one of them start to cry and call for me. I went upstairs and brought the one downstairs because the other two were sleeping. He was pointing at his nose and crying and trying to tell me something. Upon inspection up his nose I saw a thumbtack he had pushed inside and couldn't get it out. I laid him on the bed and tried pulling the thumbtack out with a tweezers. It was slightly slick so didn't come out easily. One of my tries resulted in a small cut on the side of his nose which caused bleeding. Now there was no way he wanted me to keep trying.
As far as he was concerned the thumbtack could stay. It didn't hurt, it was just stuck. Getting it out was more of a pain than leaving it in. From my perspective it had to come out for his future well being.
Jesus sermon offers us a kingdom way of life that not only removes harmful things, but can help us avoid harmful stuff in the future. Our perspective may be that it's easier and less painful to be left alone even if we know there's something stuck somewhere that could be removed. But God loved us enough to send Jesus who came to set the captives free, to heal us, to help us live a life that blesses us and those around us.
Not only does Jesus and the kingdom of God offers freedom from tyrants, but the offer is for everyone and it won't be forced. We can choose.
Choose to pray, give, fast, sing, serve to try to please others, or to be rewarded by God.
We can choose to serve money and work hard to acquire more and more protect it, or choose to serve God and seek God's kingdom.
We can choose to take on total responsibility for everything in life and worry whether things will be ok, or seek first God's kingdom and ask God to supply what we need.
We can choose to be judgmental of others, or deal with our own junk so that we can humbly help others.
We can choose to live try to create our own kingdom or live in the kingdom of God and establish a solid foundation for life.
You might be skeptical that I'm making the choice to be part of the kingdom where God offers freedom sound too easy, too simplistic. You're right. It wasn't easy for Jesus and it isn't for us.
After talking with someone recently I reread a chapter in Richard Foster's book titled Prayer. It helped me understand that one of the keys to set us free is found in a familiar phrase of the prayer Jesus taught. The first three phrases are keys to entrance in the kingdom and to be free to seek the reward of God, to serve God not money, to enter the narrow way.
Our father in heaven,
hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done.
Throughout his life on earth, Jesus told the disciples that he was doing the will of his father in heaven. But near the end, when that will involved suffering and a cruel death, Jesus agonized for a long night with God's will. He pleaded and asked, and sought, and prayed that there would be another way. He admitted to his closest friends that he was overwhelmed with sorrow and begged them to pray with him. Matthew says Jesus asked his heavenly father 3 times to do something different, and finally, after a long sleepless night said in words and with action, your will be done.
For many of us, the critical key that opens the lock and sets us free to enter the kingdom is to say and live your kingdom come, your will be done.
Richard Foster's book titled Prayer has a chapter titled the The Prayer of Relinquishment. He concludes, The will is surrendered moment by moment as you face the ordinary decisions of home, family, and job. He then offers a practice of prayer which can help us find freedom from the bondages of trying to please others, money, worry, striving to be good enough, and the self - sins such as: self - sufficiency, self - pity, self - absorption, self - abuse, self - hatred, and others. It can free us from the burden of trying to live life according to our will and our way, and live seeking first God's kingdom and seeking God's will be done.
I invite you to join me in a time of prayer.
Join me in praying the first part of the prayer Jesus taught ending with your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Petitcodiac Mennonite Church