February 16 sermon - A New Look At Old Things

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:21-42)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

     In 1974, Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager co-wrote a song that you've probably all heard somewhere along the way. It was called “Everything Old Is New Again.” The song has an honoured place in show business history. Peter Allen actually performed it at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City when he became the first male performer ever to dance with the Rockettes! There's a little bit of fun trivia you can take home with you to amaze your family and friends with!

     Jesus would have understood this idea. Well, I'm not sure about the part with the Rockettes. I think Jesus was a man who liked to have fun, but I'm not sure I can picture him jumping on the stage and dancing with showgirls. I'm not sure why, but I just can't get that picture in my head. But I think He would have understood the idea behind the song. The basic message of the song is that the past keeps getting replayed but in new ways. The last stanza of the song includes the words

 And don't throw the past away

You might need it some other rainy day

Dreams can come true again

When everything old is new again.

     If we were to think of another passage of the Gospels, we might think of Jesus' warnings about putting new wine into old wineskins. There was nothing wrong with using wineskins. Jesus didn't say to use anything else. The basic idea was fine – it's just that every now and then it had to be updated. Such was the case with the gospel – which represented a radical new way of relating to God, and in this passage, Jesus takes on that which was old – the old, traditional way of doing things – and he doesn't toss it aside, but rather he changes it into something radically exciting and new; something even revolutionary in its new approach. What Jesus did in this passage was take on the beloved Law of Moses, but rather than rejecting it, He put an entirely different spin on it – different from anything the priests and Pharisees and teachers of the law had ever thought of. For Jesus, obedience to the letter of the Law was no longer enough. What mattered now was being aware of the spirit of the law, and living by its principles.

     Over and over in this passage, Jesus repeats “You have heard that it was said ... but I tell you.” In a way, Jesus makes it tougher for God's people to actually live as God's people. In the past, it had been enough apparently simply to control one's actions. “ You have heard that it was said ... You shall not murder ... You shall not commit adultery ... Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce ...  Do not break your oath ... Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” All these “laws” spoke of action, or of how God's people should act. They were fine; they were good; they were godly. But over the course of time the people had forgotten what the Law was all about. Law, ideally, is about more than just prescribing or prohibiting actions or setting punishments for violations. Law is about establishing principles; law helps us understand not just what to do but also how to live and also how to treat other people. Law is about more than just controlling a person's behaviour; law is about changing a person's heart. That's why Jesus set out in this part of the Sermon on the Mount to challenge the old traditional ways of understanding the Law.

     “You have heard that it was said ... but I tell you. ” It wasn't the Law that was the problem. It was the way the Law was being interpreted and the way it was being used. It was always God's purpose to give life to His people; to give them freedom. The earliest memory of the people of God was God freeing them from slavery in Egypt; liberating them from bondage – and the Law was a part of that freedom they were given. It was itself a part of the people being freed from bondage, but over the years the religious leaders had twisted the Law so that it became itself a form of bondage – used to strike terror into the hearts of the people. And so Jesus explained. “... but I tell you.”

     At first glance, Jesus' view of the Law seems even harsher; it seems to make even more demands on the people. “You shall not murder” becomes a warning against being angry. “You shall not commit adultery” becomes a warning against lust. And so on and so on. Over and over Jesus says that the letter of the Law isn't enough – it's the spirit of the Law that counts. The Law had to change the people not just in their outward actions but it had to have some effect on their inward thoughts. It had to change their hearts and not just control their behaviour. And so Jesus came – with the Gospel. The good news of freedom and abundant and eternal life. If the Law was going to be used to oppress the people of God, Jesus would stand it on its head. So, first He showed how pointless it was to pretend that being obedient to the Law could save anyone – because no one could possibly live up to the demands of the Law. But then, His entire life and ministry would be for the purpose of showing that one can live out the principles of the law or the spirit of the law without perfect obedience. Perfect obedience we leave to Jesus. “I came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfil it,” He said. With the demands of the Law fulfilled by Jesus, we live by the spirit of the Law – or by grace, as we usually talk about it. A life-changing, life-enhancing and life-giving grace given to us by God, and poured out and reflected in how we relate to those around us. That was the purpose of the Law – not to threaten us with punishment for disobedience, but to lead us to a changed heart and into a right relationship with God and those around us.

     Jesus would have understood the song “Everything Old Is New Again.” Jesus took something very old – the Law – and He remade it and refashioned it into a new expression of divine grace. Sometimes the church forgets that, and over the years the church has done a horrid job of living by the gospel of grace, too often sliding into new forms of legalism, with rules and regulations set up to control a person's life, so that Christian faith has been reduced to little more that “you must do this” or “you must not do that.” But Jesus offers us grace. Jesus offers us freedom – freedom not to do as we please, but to do as God pleases without fear. This is the good news. “You have heard that it was said ...” But Jesus says, “No. That's not the way. I'm going to keep giving you this new thing; this grace; this freedom to live as a child of God without fear. That's the gospel. That's what we live by. Old principles, made new again by Jesus!