February 21
Matthew 5.17-20
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
I had another faith conversation over coffee this morning. One of the people I sit with really likes the understanding that the call of following Jesus is summed up in loving God and loving neighbours. Jesus uses that summation of the law, which comes from Leviticus and Deuteronomy, to those asking about the commands that will lead to life.
Jesus here says that the law remains. The law that states that we love God and neighbour. All the pieces that show us how we love neighbours. Protecting life at all times. Being generous to those in need. Being satisfied with things God has given us. Seen for some of us in the song the Cadets would sing: “Living for Jesus”.
All the things that follow in the Sermon on the Mount show the ways that the laws point to loving God and neighbour. We will see some places where Jesus will begin with the phrase, “You have heard…” And then the “but I say to you…” that will follow. The laws were good. The use of them was sometimes skewed.
Then it points us to the statement that our righteousness will need to surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Not in being legalistic and following the rules flawlessly. In seeing that the laws were not the means to righteousness. They were an expression of loving God and neighbours. We are called to be more loving.
Song – The Father’s House
Prayer
God of grace, we grieve that the church, which shares one Spirit, one faith, one hope, and one calling, has become a broken communion in a broken world. The one body spans all time, place, race, and language, but in our fear we have fled from and fought one another, and in our pride we have mistaken our part for the whole. Yet we marvel that you gather the pieces to do your work, that you bless us with joy, with growth, and with signs of unity. Forgive our sins and help us to commit ourselves to seeking and showing the unity of the body of Christ. In his name, Amen. —based on Our World Belongs to God, Art. 43