Be of this Attitude

Message for 29 May 2005

• Scripture: Matthew 7:21-29

About a month ago, when I was home in South Carolina on my way to a friend’s house, I decided to take a brief detour down memory lane. For the year prior to my moving to Berkeley, the summer of 1999 to the summer of 2000, I shared a small house with a friend in a remote town of Spartanburg County called Woodruff. As you may recall, cotton was once king in the south, and this house is in what used to be called a mill village, the houses around the textile mill employees and their families used to live in. Today, that old textile mill, like others in the area, stands dilapidated; a relic of the way things used to be, reminding us that time has marched on. I drove passed my former residence, driving through a small town struggling to maintain its pulse, to the outlying areas, passed the recently closed community hospital because it was not cost effective to the county. As I rounded the curve, glancing at the hospital in my rearview mirror, I looked up to a sight that reminded me that I was definently no longer in the San Francisco area (or at least just not Berkeley or San Francisco; in the front yards of many residents were signs displaying the Ten Commandments.

This slice of home brought a smile to my face; however, it is also what makes me scratch my head. The Ten Commandments come from Moses, and we are to follow them, but as followers of Jesus, wouldn’t we want his unique commandments to get publicity, too? Imagine if verses from the Beatitudes were posted in public places, like “Blessed are the merciful” in a court room, or a sign in some of our houses of government that reads “Blessed are the meek.”

Actually, those who want to display the Ten Commandments in public are doing what the Bible tells us to do. Deuteronomy 11:18-21 reads: "You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them to your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. "And why not? God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai and these commandments are of fundamental importance for both individual and collective morality. But what scares some of us is the harsh language, and we sometimes view those who would post the Ten Commandments as the gospels often depict the religious leaders of Jesus’ day: overly pious and a bit too self righteous.

We see people like this today; those whom know just the right thing to say, but when the rubber hits the road… Bye. In this age of partisan politics, it’s a shame that something like the words of the Bible, which is near and dear to the hearts of so many, is used a tool of political divisiveness. Jesus says in today’s scripture reading: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day, many will say to me 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me you evil doers[1].'” The glory of God is not brought about through chest thumping, but through details of our every day lives.

It is a fallacy that those of us who are Christians who do not want to place the Ten Commandments in every public building are weak in our faith. It’s just that being a Christian is more than just about the words we say, but ultimately how we act. The old song does not go “And they will know that we are Christians by our rhetoric or political agenda,” but “And they will know that we are Christians by our love.” Lest we forget, God is ultimately beyond our comprehension, and thus beyond our labels. Jesus may have brought a sword, but he wanted to make sure everyone was invited to the banquet.

I don’t know about you, but another reason I am not rushing out petitioning to have the Ten Commandments posted in public buildings as a testament to our Christian heritage is because doing so portrays God as a judge in the clouds, hand waiting on the buzzer to send lightning down and zap you when you do something wrong. Thou shall not do this; thou shall not do that. Is this not the very reason why people get turned off to Christianity in the first place? Whatever happened to doing justice, or loving kindness, or even just walking humbly with your God? Is this still required?

Jesus said: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock[2]. "

Let me repeat part of this, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them… and acts on them.” These words come to us as part of the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The author of the Gospel of Matthew was writing to a Jewish Christian audience, so it is significant that Matthew have Jesus teach these words to a Jewish audience. For Matthew, Jesus is a new Moses, giving his followers a new set of commandments for the new covenant; not unlike Moses bringing down the original Ten Commandments.

Since Jesus speaks these words at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, what exactly are these words Jesus wants us to put into action? Well, it starts out by talking about being poor in spirit, humble, meek, mournful, pure in heart, merciful, being peace makers… the Beatitudes. [Cool man, can you dig it[3]?] Though I like to think of these as the Ten Commandments of the New Covenant through Christ, but it’s more than that. Jesus was quite aware of the of how the holiness codes found in the Torah were used as a way to separate people not just from each other, but also became a tool of telling others they were not worthy of God. Jesus’ teachings set forth in the Sermon on the Mount in Mathew chapters 5-7 are by no means meant to be seen as challenging Moses and the commandments, but emphasize intention over ritual. Jesus gives these words as a reminder to all that the rituals are not ultimately what are important, but rather the purity of our hearts before God and each other. We are not brought closer to God through our ritual acts of worship, but ultimately how we live before God and with our neighbors.

Entry into the kingdom of heaven of which Jesus speaks does not come through the ways we might find impressive – such as prophesying or casting out demons. Rather, entry into the kingdom comes from acting upon the unspectacular things Jesus details throughout his Sermon: embodying the virtues of the Beatitudes, “not being angry with those around you (5:22), mending broken relationships (5:23-24), being true to your word (5:33-35), and so on.” These actions of which Jesus tells us will build that firm foundation that will weather the storms of life[4]. Jesus says that entry into the kingdom is not to be found in spectacular deeds. Rather, God’s kingdom is to be found in the details of our every day lives. Amen.

[1] Matthew 7:21-23
[2] Matthew 7:24-25
[3] Think Beatnik, ok?
[4] A Decathlon of Faith, by Paula Gooder. Sojourners Magazine, May 2005 (Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 48-49). Living the Word.

Pulpit Politics

Imagine my surprise this morning as I opened the newspaper while waiting for a bus when just below the fold on the front page the headline read, "Debating politics in the pulpit Bill would allow churches to back candidates, issues," (here is a link to the story: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/16/MNGASCPR0F1.DTL). I almost wanted to pinch myself to make sure I was not still sleeping, but alas I was not.

Apparently, the recent goings on in a Waynesville, NC church where the then pastor asked some congregants to leave because they voted for Kerry has reignited interest in a House of Representatives bill entitled the House of Worship Freedom of Speech Restoration Act. (I would love to hear George Lakoff discuss this title.) The bill was introduced by NC representative Walter Jones and "would amend the Internal Revenue Service tax code to enable church leaders to endorse candidates and campaigns in their sacred buildings." Though this could be of use to more conservative churches, the point was made by Tom Beaudoin of Santa Clara University saying the supporters of the legislation "may see an example of the law of unintended consequences -- one that encourages liberal pastors as much as conservative ones."

This may be so, and I am a progressive Christian who is a political junky, but I do not agree with this legislation. I do feel that it is important for a minister to be prophetic, and make strong stances on social issues from the pulpit, but not endorse a candidate. Jesus calls us to worship together in spite of our differences, and such a move would aggrevate such differences to make some people feel unwelcome.

Besides, as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that it is the role of the church to be the conscience of society. If the church becomes intertwined with a politician or political party, its role as moral conscience becomes diluted, and could easily cause the "moral conscience" to justify something that is wrong.

As Sojourners magazine said, "God is not a Republican, or a Democrat." God and Jesus are beyond our labels. Through the Biblical prophets and ministry of Jesus we are called to a faith that engages us in a political struggle, yes, but one that seeks to hold all parties and candidates responsible.