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.
1 comments:
I know that I always fall way short of living according to the expectations that Jesus sets up here. But I believe God in His grace knows that I'm bound to fail and loves me despite that. So I think that Jesus is serious that we are meant to live according to these ideals in a literal way but also is aware that no one will actually be able to match up to what he lays out.
I think it's interesting to see how often the combination of "You have heard that it was said" and "But I say to you" appears in the passage. If Jesus is recognizing that his message is counter-cultural and opposed to the religious interpretations of the law that existed at that time (probably the most lenient possible assuming that people back then had the same resistance to doing difficult things that we do now) maybe he knew that it would be near impossible for people of the world to accept and follow what he said, but that the point was for his followers to change their hearts, their way of seeing what is important in life, and doing so would enable them to meet these expectations by breaking from what the world sees as important.
The only problem is that saying that is so much easier than doing it, and it can be very frustrating to know what the "right" or "faithful" thing to do is, but struggling to seek righteousness like that over seemingly more practical concerns like academics and the consequences for not putting effort into meeting the demands of our day-to-day lives. Hopefully some of that made sense...
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