Did Jesus mean what he said?

In this week's passage, Jesus calls his disciples to do some fairly radical things, such as loving their enemies, giving to anyone who asks, turning your left cheek to someone who just slapped your right cheek, and even stripping down naked to give someone all the clothes you're currently wearing.

Last week we explored the beatitudes in worship, and most of us can get behind those, even if we don't exactly display the qualities Jesus blesses.  We can reflect on the ways God might find to bless such folks, even if the blessings are non-traditional.  This week, though, I'd like to pose the question: Was Jesus for real?  Did he really mean what he said?  Some commentators say yes, while others say no, and most hedge with a maybe of sorts.  

Those in the no/maybe club find ways to say that Jesus simply used those concrete examples as ways to point to the general idea of letting go of one's own desires so that others might be served and so that God's will might be done.  Jesus didn't really mean to end up naked when somebody tries to take your shirt, at least according to some.  Or, others suggest that Jesus was providing seemingly impossible ways of living, knowing we would fail to do them, but in the process we would live better lives than we might have otherwise.

Those in the yes group look at the sermon on the mount as a whole, particularly in the context of the entire gospel according to Matthew and say that Jesus consistently sets expectations for his disciples, knowing that their lives will look different than the rest of the world.  They challenge us to think about how the world would be different today if over the past 2000 years, followers of Jesus had taken him seriously.

So, what do you think?  Was Jesus for real?  Did he really mean for us to do what he said?  Does Jesus really expect us to love as completely as God, or as the NRSV translates it, "Be perfect as God is perfect"?  If we make it about that, do we fall into the trap of legalism and become Pharisees?  If we fail to love as completely as God, can we really claim that Jesus is our Lord?  I'd love to hear what you think about these teachings of Jesus.

Matthew 5:33-48

Law of solemn pledges

³³ “Again you have heard that it was said to those who lived long ago: Don’t make a false solemn pledge, but you should follow through on what you have pledged to the Lord. ⁿ³⁴ But I say to you that you must not pledge at all. You must not pledge by heaven, because it’s God’s throne. ³⁵ You must not pledge by the earth, because it’s God’s footstool. You must not pledge by Jerusalem, because it’s the city of the great king. ³⁶ And you must not pledge by your head, because you can’t turn one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Law of retaliation

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth .^o39 But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. ⁴⁰ When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. ⁴¹ When they force you to go one mile, go with them two. ⁴² Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you.

Law of love

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, You must love your neighbor ^p and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who harass you ⁴⁵ so that you will be acting as children of your Father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Therefore, just as your heavenly Father is complete in showing love to everyone, so also you must be complete.

All this has happened before...

And all of it will happen again.

All of the Battlestar Galactica fans just let out a cheer.  As I read the passages for this week, I couldn't help but think of that tagline from one of my favorite sci-fi shows.  Here goes Matthew again, rooting Jesus' story in the stories of the Old Testament.  Jesus passing through the waters of baptism before facing 40 days in the wilderness is designed to echo the story of Moses and the Israelites passing through the Red Sea before facing 40 years in the wilderness.  Just as Moses was deeply committed to following God, so will Jesus humbly follow God's plans, resisting the temptations of the devil to perform miracles, establish security, and claim power.

Reading these two passages back to back makes me wonder what might happen in a local church somewhere if we were to combine teenage/adult baptism and/or confirmation with 40 days of fasting in the wilderness.  What if instead of a fancy luncheon with their confirmation sponsors, all of those ninth graders (as if God only calls people of a certain age to decide it's time to make a lifelong commitment to discipleship) were immediately sent out into the wilderness to contemplate their new life of discipleship with only a backpack containing some sleeping gear, a change of clothes, a water bottle with purification tablets, and that nice Bible the church gave them that usually sits on the shelf at home?  What if when people joined the church, we immediately required 40 days of fasting and spiritual contemplation as to how they would live out their discipleship?  I don't think we would have as many people signing up for confirmation or for church membership, and yet I wonder what the church might look like if we did.

Some questions to consider:

• What, if anything, do you remember from your confirmation experience?
• How do you think Jesus feels about the "celebrity" he has become in some circles of faith?
• What temptations could Satan offer you that would be awfully hard to resist?

Matthew 3:13-17 & 4:1-11

Baptism of Jesus

¹³ At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River so that John would baptize him. ¹⁴ John tried to stop him and said, “ I need to be baptized by you, yet you come to me? ”

¹⁵ Jesus answered, “ Allow me to be baptized now. This is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. ”

So John agreed to baptize Jesus. ¹⁶ When Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and resting on him. ¹⁷ A voice from heaven said, “ This is my Son whom I dearly love; I find happiness in him. ”

Temptation of Jesus 

4 Then the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. ² After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “ Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread. ”

⁴ Jesus replied, “ It’s written, People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God . ” 

⁵ After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, ⁶ “ Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone. ” 

⁷ Jesus replied, “ Again it’s written, Don’t test the Lord your God . ” ^h

⁸ Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ He said, “ I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me. ”

¹⁰ Jesus responded, “ Go away, Satan, because it’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him . ” ⁱ¹¹ The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him.

Change your hearts and lives!

"Change your hearts and lives!"

How about that translation of the Greek word metanoia?  We usually see the word Repent, and yet metanoia indicates the action of "turning around."  In this week's Scripture passage, this wild, wilderness-living, locust-eating, camel hair-wearing character named John breaks onto the scene with his radical message of:  "Change your hearts and lives!"  "Repent!"  "Turn your life around!"  We are told that people from all over the place show up to be told to get their lives in order so they can be baptized.  Besides that, he goes on the attack when the Pharisees and Sadducees show up, calling them children of snakes.

I don't know about you, but if I walked into a church and the preacher sounded like John the Baptist, I'd probably walk out during the passing of the peace and never come back.  And yet, there's something attractive about somebody who is bold enough to call on people to reorient their lives.  I fear that we mainline church folks are so worried about sounding judgmental that we get all squeamish and squirmy when it comes to the word Repent.  We focus so much on making everybody feel welcome that we ignore all that the Bible has to say about faithful living/bearing good fruit.  We act as if God's love means our actions don't matter, whereas I tend to agree with David Bartlett who writes:

"...if God does not care about what I do, I will begin to suspect that God does not actually care about me.  If God loves me enough to welcome me into Christ's family, then God loves me enough to expect something of me. (What God expects, it need hardly be said, is not necessarily what churches that specialize in judgment expect.)" -Feasting on the Word, Year A, Volume 1, Page 46

John the Baptist's call to change our hearts and lives is one echoed throughout the history of Israel, in the story of Jesus, and throughout the history of Christianity.  We are called to reorient ourselves to the Kingdom of God, especially as it is displayed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

As we prepare for worship together, may we reflect on/discuss/comment on the following questions:

• Describe negative experiences of feeling judged by disciples of Jesus Christ
• How might we call people to change their hearts and lives in ways that are helpful and life giving?
• How do God's expectations for us differ from the expectations of the world/culture/?

Matthew 3:1-12

Ministry of John the Baptist 

3 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the desert of Judea announcing, ² “ Change your hearts and lives! Here comes the kingdom of heaven! ” ³ He was the one of whom Isaiah the prophet spoke when he said: 

The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 

“ Prepare the way for the Lord; 

make his paths straight. ” ^e

⁴ John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey.

⁵ People from Jerusalem, throughout Judea, and all around the Jordan River came to him. ⁶ As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. ⁷ Many Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized by John. He said to them, “ You children of snakes! Who warned you to escape from the angry judgment that is coming soon? ⁸ Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives. ⁹ And don’t even think about saying to yourselves, Abraham is our father. I tell you that God is able to raise up Abraham’s children from these stones. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be chopped down and tossed into the fire. ¹¹ I baptize with water those of you who have changed your hearts and lives. The one who is coming after me is stronger than I am. I’m not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹² The shovel he uses to sift the wheat from the husks is in his hands. He will clean out his threshing area and bring the wheat into his barn. But he will burn the husks with a fire that can’t be put out. ”