In the name of
God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
“You
shall be holy, for I the Lord your
God am holy…Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” I was
just hoping to make it through the day without thinking uncharitable thoughts
towards others, but holiness and perfection? That’s a tall task. One of the
aspects of Leviticus, and any of the Law-giving statements, that is often
overlooked is their context. In this handful of verses from Leviticus, we find
the refrain “I am the Lord your
God” five times. What is easy to miss is that these passages about Law aren’t
simply a “do” and “don’t” list. As I’ve said before, the Bible is not a book of
directions, but instead is a book that provides direction. And most of these
rules, if that’s how we read them, are fairly self-apparent: don’t lie, don’t
cheat, don’t steal. Any godless society that is interested in having order
could come up with a similar list of rules.
But
what if these aren’t a set of rules, but rather a set of responses? We misread
these passages when we interpret them to mean “I am the Lord your God, therefore you better listen to me when I tell
you not to defraud your neighbor or render an unjust judgment.” No, it’s the
other way around- “Do not defraud your neighbor or render an unjust judgment because
I am the Lord your God.” We
sometimes understand this in regards to family names. Have you ever said, or
been told, “well, you’re a Johnson, and therefore you need to” whatever the
thing happens to be? If your last name is Manning, being a quarterback is in
your blood. If your name is Bush or Kennedy, well then you can start putting your
campaign together. And if you’re a Rockefeller or Vanderbilt, you don’t need to
worry about money. This same line of thinking is happening in Leviticus. God is
saying, “I am the Lord your God;
you belong to me; you are my people. And this is what it means to be a child of
the Creator of Heaven and Earth: don’t defraud people, and don’t be unjust.”
And
what Jesus is saying is no different. These aren’t rules to follow, but rather
responses to our identity as children of God and followers of Jesus. Just a few
verses earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the crowd, and us, that
they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Therefore, turn the
other cheek, and give your cloak, and go the second mile, and give to those who
beg of you, and love your neighbor, and be perfect. Don’t do those things to
become my followers, but those are the things that my followers do. Two weeks
ago, I preached about the fact that the Law and the Sermon on the Mount are
part of God’s Law, but they aren’t rules. Instead, they are a vision of what
God dreams this world might look like. These readings today are giving us a
further glimpse into that vision.
Today
that vision is clarifying into a slogan- “be holy, as I am holy” as Leviticus
puts it, and “be perfect as your Father is perfect” as Matthew records it. But
we’ve all heard things like “God is the only one who is perfect. We are just
wretched souls that need to be saved.” Well, that doesn’t appear to be what
Jesus thinks of us; Jesus expects more out of us. One of the things that my
personal trainer says to me is “don’t define yourself by your limitations, but
by your potential.” So whether you’re trying to do a bench-press or love your
neighbor, this seems to be what Jesus is saying to us- “you have heard it said
that you’re imperfect, that you’re incomplete, that you are depraved, but I say
to you- be perfect, because that potential is in you.”
At
this point, a quick word study would be helpful. In Leviticus, the word for “holy”
means “to be separate” or “set apart.” To be holy in this sense means to be
different from what is considered “normal.” In Matthew, the word used for
perfect means “complete” or “having attained its end or purpose.” Notice that
these words do not mean “without blemish or error.” I’m a type A person, an
INTJ on the Myers-Briggs, a Type 1 on the Enneagram, which lists “perfection”
as a goal. Trust me, I need to hear this more than anyone else here: when Jesus
says “be perfect” he is not calling us to be without error. Instead, he is
calling us to live into our being, or our core identity of God’s beloved child.
Living into your purpose might mean making mistakes everyday of your life- and
you can still be perfect.
And
this notion is furthered by the understanding of holy meaning “set apart.” The
world will put a lot of expectations on you. You can watch commercials and see
what their idea of perfection looks like. But we are called to be holy, or
different from those idols.
Today,
we will baptize a young child into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
through the Sacrament of Baptism. We will be setting him apart, making him
holy. His Baptism today will forever change his life. Perfection will take on a
new meaning for him. Instead of perfection being about the ends of education,
wealth, status, or power, his purpose will be renounce all the forces that
rebel against God, it will be to renounce all sinful desire, to turn to Jesus
Christ, to put his whole trust in his grace and love.
And
the same is true for those of us who have been baptized. Our end is to continue
in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers.
Our perfection is to be found in proclaiming by word and example the Good News
of God in Christ. We will be made complete when we seek and serve Christ in all
persons, striving for justice, peace, and dignity.
Perfection
and holiness are to be found by living into our Baptisms. But I realize that is
a fairly large scope. So in the interest of giving you something really
specific and tangible to focus on, and in paying attention to the Gospel text
today, let’s spend a few moments on the notion of forgiveness, as a means of
practicing our perfection and holiness.
Huston
Smith is a renowned scholar of world religions and was once asked to list what
was distinctive and unique about each world religion. When he got to
Christianity, he said “Forgiveness. Forgiveness of enemies. This is the very
strange notion that makes the teachings of Jesus distinctive.” And indeed,
forgiving our enemies is a strange concept, you might even say that it sets us
apart, or makes us holy.
When
Jesus mentions the idea of “an eye for an eye,” he is appealing to a Levitical
law. And though it seems harsh, it actually was a rather helpful law, as it set
limits for retaliation. But there is also the innate sense that for things to
be fair and for justice to be done, that there must be consequences for our
actions. Plato, in The Republic,
defines justice as “giving each their due.”
Some
of you know that I was on vacation last weekend. I took the day off because I
was in Charlotte to see a stage production of CS Lewis’ The Great Divorce. It is a great book that tells the story of a man’s
journey towards Heaven through Hell and Purgatory. Lewis wrote the book as a rebuttal
to William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven
and Hell, which seems to suggest that there are no either-or decisions, but
rather that all decisions can eventually lead to good. In his introduction to the
book, Lewis writes “I believe, to be sure, that any man who reaches Heaven will
find that what he abandoned (even in plucking out his right eye) has not been
lost.” If there is to be justice, there needs to be real consequences to our
actions. All cannot simply be forgiven without penalty.
But
Jesus seems to tie forgiveness to perfection. Throughout the play, I was struck
by the way that in each scene, when the characters were presented with the reconciliation
of God, they rejected it. In one scene, a blue-collar man who thought that he
had lived a “good life” found himself working his way through Purgatory, and
his guide, someone who had already made it to Heaven, was someone who had
killed one of this man’s good friends. At one point he says that if murderers
get into Heaven and are forgiven, that he wants no part in it. And as the drama
unfolds, the stories change, but the rejection of Heaven doesn’t. What came to
my mind was a line from TS Eliot’s Four
Quartets- “go, go, go said the bird, for humankind cannot bear very much
reality.”
Jesus
presents us with a specific way to practice perfection- break the cycle of
retribution by forgiving. But we cannot bear that reality. It is in our nature
of seek out revenge, to want what is “fair,” to want others to share in the
misery that they cause. But Jesus wants no part in that economy of retribution.
Someone slapped you? Give them the other cheek. Someone steals your shirt? Give
them your coat, even if that leaves you naked. The word “mile” is only this one
time in the entire Bible; everywhere else, the word is “stadion,” which was the
Greek word is used. Mile is a Roman word. And by using this word, Jesus is very
clearly talking about your oppressor forcing you to do something. The response?
Do double. Someone asks you for spare change on the street? Go ahead and give
them your credit card. This isn’t easy work, but it is certainly holy, and
different, work.
A
word of caution- Jesus isn’t asking us to be doormats, nor is he condoning
situations of abuse or violence. Turning the other cheek is not the right strategy
to use with an abusive spouse. Instead, Jesus is ending the cycle of violence.
The old law was “if you slap me, then it’s war,” Leviticus sought to limit that
and said “if you slap me, there will not be generations of bloodshed, but
rather there is a limit to retribution.” And Jesus takes that even further by
saying “if someone slaps you, there will be no retribution, but rather an end
to the violence.” If you’re in a situation where you are constantly being
slapped, robbed, or cheated, then get out of it. That doesn’t mean you
terminate the relationship, but get out of arm’s reach.
Notice
that Jesus doesn’t address the person who does the slapping, or the stealing.
Perhaps that is because Jesus is assuming that we would never be the one doing
the violence, only receiving it. To be sure, those doing the slapping and the
stealing will at some point have to give an accounting of their actions. But
our response to the violence will need to be accounted for as well. And so
Jesus equates forgiveness with perfection and living into our purpose of being
the light of the world.
Let
our focus be on ending the cycles of violence in our lives and in our world.
Let us pray for the strength to forgive and leave retribution to God’s justice
and mercy. And may we let our Baptisms be reminders to us of our call to be
holy and different, to live into God’s perfect purposes for our lives.
Today’s
Psalm is a wonderful prayer that expresses the beauty of God’s Law, and the
challenges of following it. So let us pray:
Teach me, O Lord,
the way of your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; I shall
keep it with all my heart.
Make me go in the path of your commandments, for that is my
desire.
Incline my heart to your decrees and not to unjust gain.
Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless; give me life
in your ways.
Fulfill your promise to your servant, which you make to
those who fear you.
Turn away the reproach which I dread, because your judgments
are good.
Behold, I long for your commandments; in your righteousness
preserve my life.
Amen.
