If - A Sermon for Sunday February 12, 2023
GOSPEL: Matthew 5:21-37
The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exhorts his followers to embrace standards of righteousness that exceed legal requirements and traditional expectations.
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 21“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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.
31“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
If you don't eat your vegetables,
then you can't have any dessert.
If you don’t submit your assignment by Friday,
then you will be docked 10% off your grade.
If you don’t show up on time,
you’ll be fired.
If you don’t take care of yourself
you’ll have a heart attack.
That word, “if” has become so engrained
in our way of thinking,
from a young age.
Church people like the word “If”
Some church folk say:
If you don’t accept Jesus
as your personal Lord and Saviour
then you will burn in hell.
If you want to be healed from your injury,
all you have to do is believe
and you will be healed.
In this time of massive societal change
and church decline,
Some church folk say:
If they don’t hire the right person,
it is going to die.
If you want revival in your church,
you have to pray for revival.
I heard a scary “If” last week
from our Anglican friends;
Based on current projections and statistics
if things don’t change
the Anglican church will be closed
by the year 2040.
If.
I confess to you all, I don’t like the word “if”
But in this sermon on the mount,
Jesus used the word “If” quite a few times.
“if you are angry with a brother or sister,
you will be liable to judgment;
if you insult a brother or sister,
you will be liable to the council;
if you say, ‘You fool,’
you will be liable to the hell of fire.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away;
if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away;
Moses used the word “if” as well:
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, …
then you shall live and become numerous,
and the Lord your God will bless you
in the land that you are entering to possess.
if your heart turns away and you do not hear,
but are led astray to bow down to other gods
and serve them,
I declare to you today that you shall perish;
If.
That one, tiny, two-letter word
brings baggage with it:
If means there are conditions.
If means action and consequence.
I’ve heard a few “if”s here at Advent
over the past two years
Some good.
Some not so good.
If we don’t have potlucks,
are we still Lutheran?
If we don’t change how we worship
we will never grow.
If you go ahead with that new thing,
or if you don’t do this old thing
then I’m leaving the congregation.
Much of what we do;
as individuals,
as families,
as a congregation,
is motivated by “if”
It is so easy,
and it is so tempting,
to get stuck on that word - If.
You might recall how Jesus’ sermon begins:
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
those who mourn,
the meek,
those who hunger for righteousness,
Blessed are the merciful,
the pure in heart,
Or put another way - You are blessed.
Jesus blesses you,
and Jesus blesses you for a purpose.
As we heard last week,
The purpose is this:
you are blessed to be salt and to be light.
You are the salt of the earth,
you are essential to survival,
you are flavour for the world,
you preserve the truth,
you bring healing.
You are the spicy jalapeño of the world.
Jesus says you are the light of the world.
You reveal truth.
you offer a path amidst darkness and uncertainty.
You are a place of safety,
you reflect Jesus.
And there is no “if”
Jesus does not say
“if you go to church each and every Sunday,
then you are the light of the world.”
Jesus does not say
“If you serve on council,
then you will be the salt of the earth.”
Jesus does not say,
“If you give the correct amount of money
to the church,
then you will be blessed.”
Jesus says you are blessed.
Jesus says you are salt.
Jesus says you are light.
Or put another way,
Our God is at work in the world,
and, ready or not,
you are blessed to join in God’s work.
Being blessed,
being salt,
being light means:
You are useful
and you are called
and you are commissioned
for God’s purposes.
Even so, Jesus warns us with some if’s.
If you are angry with or insult a sibling;
if you call someone a fool;
If you have an enemy;
if you look at a hottie with lust in your heart;
if you can’t always keep your word;
If you use the law
to wield power over another;
There are consequences…
A couple notes on the consequences…
The word “Hell” that we hear in consequence:
Jesus uses the word “Gehenna”
Gehenna is the trash valley outside the city of Jerusalem.
It’s the garbage dump,
where the fire is never extinguished
because garbage gets burned.
It’s not about some place of eternal torment,
rather Gehenna represents a place of existence
that is outside of God’s presence,
outside the gates of the city of God.
If we choose anger,
or pride,
or insults,
or accusations,
or lust,
or sin,
or lies,
If we use the law to wield power over the other
then we choose to separate ourselves from God,
and others who are made in the image of God.
Even so,
Psalm 139 teaches us that
there is no place we can go
where God is not.
“Where can I go then from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there.
If I make the grave my bed,
you are there also.”
If I fly in the sky, or in the middle of the sea
or even in the darkest place,
God is still with you.”
Even when we create our own hell
and/or live in the hell someone has created for us,
when we choose separation from God
or separation from others:
God is there.
God is there.
And you are still blessed,
and you are salt
and you are light.
We’ve all been there.
We’ve all been enraged with someone
and so we are guilty of murder in our hearts.
We’ve all called someone a fool;
likely a politician.
We’ve all lusted after someone we find attractive
and committed adultery in our hearts.
We have all fallen short of the spirit of the law,
To use Moses’ words,
when given the choice
between life and death,
we repeatedly choose death.
The piece to remember here,
the piece to give thanks for and to cling to,
is that when it comes to the work of the church,
when it comes to continuing
the ministry of Jesus Christ,
When it comes to joining God’s work in the world,
the “If” - all depends upon our God.
God accomplishes the “If”
God chooses to work through people like us,
no if’s, and’s or but’s.
The warning is fair;
don’t get too high on ourselves.
Check our sin,
Check the ways that we use the law
to wield power over the other.
At the same time,
let’s cut ourselves some slack
and give ourselves some permission
to get unstuck on the “if’s”
and move to a faithful
and discerning
and imaginative place of asking
“what if?”
Because that’s where God is.
God is in the dreaming,
in the pondering,
in the wondering.
The Gospel is not about “if”,
but about “what if?”
Instead of:
If I invite someone to church,
they will probably say “no”
and think I’m weird -
“what if” we continue to build a community
at Advent
that our grandchildren would be proud of?
Instead of:
If I stand up to someone who is a bigot,
they will probably just chew me out -
“what if” speaking the truth to power
helps liberate those deemed lesser than?
Instead of:
If I agree to serve on church council
I’ll never be allowed to leave -
“what if” God is calling me
to join God’s liberating work in the church
for the good of our neighbours?
Jesus frees us from “if”
and moves us in faith to “what if”
Jesus frees us to live in God’s presence,
to live in the Kingdom of Heaven,
to imagine and realize
liberty
and unity
and equity
today.
That’s the invitation Jesus offers:
to live in the kingdom of heaven,
right here and now.
To strive for the kingdom of God
and God’s righteousness.
We who have heard and received the Gospel
then live the Gospel
for the good of our neighbours.
We are blessed,
we are salt,
we are light:
by the Holy Spirit,
God will bring good fruit
out of our obedience.
To use Moses’ words,
“I have set before you life and death,
blessings and curses.”
Just imagine …
what if we choose life?
May God remove the barriers of “If”
trusting that God will use both our successes
and our failures.
May God give us a Gospel imagination
to dream and imagine and realize
the “what if”
May we be salt and light;
blessed to be a blessing.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
