The Spiritual Gift of Integrity

February 12, 2023
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Matthew 5:33-37[1]

In our world today, integrity seems hard to find. Saying what you mean, letting your yes mean yes and your no mean no, is a virtue that is becoming more rare. The idea that “the end justifies the means” is an acceptable school of thought for many. We see it when sales people over-promise and under-deliver. We see it when business executives hide reports of pollution or toxic spills in order to keep their profits from being used to fund clean-up. We even see it in churches who post signs saying “All are welcome” yet make it clear - through side glances and shunning - that some people really are not welcome.

This is not a new problem. All the way back in the time of Moses we can read the call to live according to the values claimed by a people. “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.”[2] Live according to the commandments, decrees, and ordinances, and your virtuous life will be rewarded. God will bless you and your descendants if you observe the law. But turn away, follow other gods and serve your own interests, and you shall not live long. Even so long ago we hear the prayer in Psalm 7, “Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.”[3]

Integrity means “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.”[4] A contributor to Forbes magazine once wrote, “Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose, so never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity.”[5]

Another definition is offered by Barbara Killinger, an author and clinical psychologist in Toronto who specialized in workaholism. In a book she wrote on integrity, she said, “Integrity is a personal choice, an uncompromising and predictably consistent commitment to honour (sic) moral, ethical, spiritual, and artistic values and principles.”[6] We judge the integrity of others to the extent that they act according to the values, beliefs, and principles they claim to hold.

From an ethical perspective, an individual is said to possess the virtue of integrity if that person’s actions are based upon an internally consistent framework of principles. “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything” is the line in a country song by Aaron Tippin.[7]

Yet what we stand for should also conform to reality. We must be willing to adjust our principles when they are proven to be inconsistent. If what I believe to be true is shown to be false, I must try to incorporate the truth into my internal framework. This is where our media and political systems fail us, by allowing false equivalencies to rule the day. False equivalencies give plausibility to each side even if one side is provably wrong. False equivalencies encourage one to mislead in order to maintain a narrative, even when it has been proven to be wrong.

As Christians, we adhere to the importance of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. And yet those values are not always reflected in how we live our day-to-day lives. As Jesus reflected on the world around him, he saw a great lack of integrity from the leaders of the people. Those charged with teaching and keeping the laws would make bold promises, swearing by heaven, earth, or Jerusalem, and then continue to lie, cheat, and steal. The laws of Moses, meant to free the people to live together in society came to be used to oppress the poor and enforce power and control over the people.

Judaism had developed a system of oaths and vows to guarantee that at least some words would be especially true. In both the Gentile and Jewish worlds, an oath invoked God to guarantee the truth of what was said, or to punish the one taking the oath if it was not true.

“You have heard that it was said…” proclaimed Jesus, “But I say to you… Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No.’”[8] Your integrity matters. Doing what you say you will do matters. Jesus paraphrases the Old Testament teaching about oaths, then commands that his followers take no oaths at all. Jesus sought to abolish the distinction between words that must be true and those that must not, between words one is compelled to stand behind and those one must not, and called for all speech to be truthful. I say that there must be truthfulness in all that we say.

The importance of integrity can be seen in the final days of Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem. The act that set the ruling priesthood against him came when he took up a whip and angrily drove the money lenders and merchants from the grounds of the Temple. By profiteering from pilgrims coming to worship, they had corrupted the integrity of the Temple as a holy place.[9] Later, he preached a lengthy sermon condemning the Pharisees and teachers of the law as hypocrites, claiming that they and their followers obeyed the narrow letter of the law on the outside while they were corrupt, greedy, self-indulgent, and spiritually dead on the inside.[10]

For Christians, integrity and faithfulness is about more than simply following all the rules. It is about doing the work of the heart, of living up to the values we claim even when it’s hard. It is embracing the challenge to reflect God’s grace, God’s goodness, and God’s integrity in what we say and do. What Jesus was saying is that following the law is easy, but it does not transform. Living with a God-formed integrity of heart, speech, and action is what truly makes a difference in people’s lives.

Jesus calls us to have integrity in how we live. There are so many ways we separate ourselves in this world – nations war against nations; political parties slander and undermine each other; religions seek to kill one another’s followers; wealthy and poor seek to protect themselves from each other. The destruction brought about by this division is devastating. If we can begin to find our common humanity within, and begin to live, from a Christ-like heart, perhaps we can begin to heal some of the damage we have done.

Christ’s challenge is to refuse to allow ourselves to live only according to the low standard of law, but to go beyond it to living from the heart – serving, seeking justice, offering welcome and compassion, protecting the vulnerable, and preserving our rich ecological heritage on the planet. There is no question, though, that to adopt Christ’s heart-driven life can be painful and difficult. It will, however, also open the doors to life for us and others. Integrity is a spiritual gift, and through it the Spirit can empower us to change ourselves and the world.

When we allow God to capture our hearts with love, when we allow God to grow our hearts, when we live in a way consistent with Christ’s love for God and others, and allow that to guide our speech and actions – then we become those who make a healing, restoring impact on the world around us. We will find, and bring to others, fullness of life, a deeper connectedness, and a more gracious community.

Do not be lead astray. “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying and holding fast to the Lord; for that means life to you and length of days.” Live a life of integrity, and the world will be transformed.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Deuteronomy 30:15.

[3] Psalm 7:8.

[4] Webster’s Dictionary online, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity.

[5] Amy Rees Anderson, “Success Will Come and Go, But Integrity Is Forever” November 28, 2012, online: https://www.forbes.com/.

[6] Killinger, Barbara, Integrity: Doing the Right Thing for the Right Reason. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010, P.12.

[7] Aaron Tippin, “You’ve God to Stand for Something” on You've Got to Stand for Something, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 1990.

[8] Matthew 5:33-37, selected.

[9] See: Matthew 21:12-13.

[10] See: Matthew 23:1-39.

Raise Up the Foundations

February 5, 2023
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 5:13-20[1]

I used to read science fiction comedy by Douglas Adams, about this average guy from a town in England who discovers his best friend is actually from another planet. In one of the novels, they have to park their spaceship in a town on Earth near a sporting event. In order to keep the spaceship from being seen, they have to use an invisibility shield. They wrap the ship in an energy field called “Somebody Else’s Problem.”[2] You see, when it’s somebody else’s problem, you don’t really notice what’s going on and you can ignore it.

Now, as Americans, we enjoy certain inalienable rights; and individual freedom and opportunity are protected in our laws. The value that our society places on the individual enables us to achieve incredible things, allows us to do and be our best, and promises that every person has value – no one is expendable.

Those who serve our country and protect those rights, particularly those in uniform, know what it means to “Be all you can be.” And they deserve our thanks for their service. Several years ago, I read an article by General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army, retired, former Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. The article, “Step Up for Your Country,” was published in the January 31^st, 2011 copy of Newsweek. McChrystal raised an important point about our rights and freedoms. He says, “As important as those inalienable rights are, there are also inalienable responsibilities that we must accept and fulfill.”[3]

A soldier knows a great deal about responsibility. If the unit doesn’t perform as a team, or if any member of the unit fails to do their job, someone is going to die, and it won’t be the enemy. There can be life or death consequences if anyone thinks something is somebody else’s problem. And the tremendous responsibility that comes with command in the armed forces has given McChrystal an important perspective on what many of us might dismiss as somebody else’s problem. He wrote, “We have let the concept of service become dangerously narrow, often associated only with the military.”[4] He continued, “This allows most Americans to avoid the sense of responsibility essential for us to care for our nation – and for each other.”[5]

Are there any Boy or Girl Scouts here today? You know something about responsibility as well. “‘Do a Good Turn Daily’ is a core Scouting precept. Scouting encourages young people to recognize the needs of others and take action accordingly. Scouting works through neighborhoods, volunteer organizations, and faith-based organizations to help young people appreciate and respond to the needs of others.”[6]

Shared responsibility for the well-being of our neighbors, our community, and our world is not as clearly defined in our laws. It is, however, quite clearly defined in our scriptures.

Isaiah’s people are trying to figure out what led to their exile in Babylon. They believe that they must have angered God, who punished them, and so they focus with zeal on worshiping God and over-observance of religious ritual. “Isaiah’s people appear to be very religious. They not only go to worship daily; they also fast frequently. The people complain that they have observed the fasts, but God has not answered their prayers. Isaiah has to point out that the wealthy are fasting on the holy days, but their employees still have to work.”[7] “Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers.”[8] Their energy is misdirected, they are missing the point, and their fasting serves no purpose. “Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself?”[9]

Isaiah suggests that observing the letter of the law misses the spirit of the law. Worship is supposed to fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit, and charge us to go forth to bring the “Day of the Lord” or the “Kingdom of God” to fruition. Worship should remind us of our responsibility to our fellow family members, the children of God. Fasting is supposed to free up resources that could be used to serve others in the community. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”[10]

Both Isaiah and Jesus make the point that worship of God is about more than faithful observance of ritual. When Jesus says “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,”[11] he means that there is something more important than obsessive observance of the letter of the law. What God desires, offering food to the hungry, satisfying the needs of the afflicted, is what gets missed when our focus is on ourselves rather than on our responsibility to our neighbors.

In that Newsweek article,[12] General McChrystal described a situation he saw in Afghanistan. In that harsh environment, agriculture was sustained by a complex and extensive irrigation system using underground tunnels. This system was essential, and required labor-intensive maintenance. The members of the community understood their responsibility to do the work necessary to keep the system flowing. It was a shared task.

When the Soviet Union invaded in 1979, the system was damaged. Ironically, this resulted in private individuals digging their own wells and setting up their own systems, disrupting the community dynamic. What had been a unifying responsibility for all was now a source of wealth for a few – and yet another source of frustration for the rest.

In our own country, it is often more efficient and cost-effective to hire professionals to complete a project, but not if our objective is to shape our society with a sense of shared responsibility.[13]

Snow removal is a perfect example of this type of shared responsibility. Clearing the sidewalks so children can safely walk to school is the responsibility of all of us. And it’s more than just the sidewalk in front of my house – if the path ends in a snow-bank where it meets my property line, that’s a dead-end, not a safe and clear passage. Now, I have a deal with my neighbor, who has a bad back and a snow-blower, that I can use the machine and clear the snow from both properties. But ultimately our responsibility goes all the way to both corners. When it snows, if my neighbors and I work together, there will be a clear path by the next morning.

There are other examples, things that members of this congregation are already involved in. Serving at the MORE Food Pantry, or the Food Pantry in Huntley. Raking leaves and shoveling show for our neighbor with a bad back is one way our family takes responsibility for others. Loosing the bonds of injustice and letting the oppressed go free are more difficult duties, but not beyond the ability of people in this room, particularly if we work together.

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.”[14] Worship of God means to bring salt to the world. Salt is that spice that brings out the flavor of food. A life lived in worship of God can enhance our experience of the world, and help us bring out the best in others. Salt also preserves food. A worshipful life helps us hold onto our heritage and all that has made us who we are. Salt makes us thirsty. Worship of God can give us a thirst for justice and the desire to end oppression.

“You are the light of the world.”[15] To be told we are the light of the world encourages us to share our gifts and talents with others. “However, there is another reason for light to shine. There is darkness in life – external and internal.”[16] “The light is not given for our own personal enjoyment.”[17] We are given the light in order to go into the darkness, “to engage and walk through it, so that, in time, the light can overcome it.”[18]

To be the light of the world is to take on the responsibility to rebuild the ancient ruins, to raise up the foundations of many generations. To be the light of the world means that we repair the breach, we restore the streets to live in. To be the light of the world means that we recognize our shared responsibility for the well-being of our world in the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. To be the light of the world means that we see through what seems to be somebody else’s problem, and understand that we have a responsibility to serve one another in the name of Jesus Christ.

When we bring salt and light to the world, we raise up the foundations of something better. We bring glory to God and raise up the foundations of the City of God![19]  Amen.

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[1] The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] Douglas Adam, Life, the Universe and Everything (Harmony Books, 1982).

[3] Stanley McChrystal, “Step Up for Your Country,” Newsweek, 31 January, 2011, 36.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Boy Scouts of America, from http://www.scouting.org/Visitor/WhyScouting/ServingOthers.aspx (accessed 2/7/2011).

[7] Brett Younger, “Homiletical Perspective” on Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12), in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 1 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 319.

[8] Isaiah 58:3b.

[9] Isaiah 58:5a.

[10] Isaiah 58:6-7.

[11] Matthew 5:20.

[12] McChrystal, 36, 38.

[13] Ibid., 38.

[14] Matthew 5:13.

[15] Matthew 5:14.

[16] Charles James Cook, “Pastoral Perspective” on Matthew 5:13-20, in Feasting, 336.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid.

[19] The worship service concluded with the singing of the hymn “You Are Salt for the Earth, O People,” paraphrase by Marty Haugen, 1986, alt.; in The New Century Hymnal (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 1995), 181.

Blessed Instructions

January 29, 2023
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Micah 6:3-4, 6-8; Matthew 5:1-12[1]

I’ve heard it said that the Bible is instructions for life. Now, I don’t believe that the Bible is as simple as a list of do this, don’t do that, eat this, don’t eat that. There is quite a lot more going on in there. But there are some simple instructions to be found in the Bible. Love God, love your neighbor. Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God. Maybe Jesus was, at least in part, trying to give us some guidance for life.

Jesus has been baptized, overcome temptation in the wilderness, and called his first disciples. He is already famous for teaching and healing. The crowds have gathered to hear what he has to say. And he begins with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3). What is he trying to tell us? That it is a good thing to be poor in spirit? What if I am rich in spirit? What if I’m doing just fine?

He goes on. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (5:4). Well, that’s nice. Widows and orphans deserve to be blessed, what with all they’ve been through. Then things get a little strange. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (5:5). Well that just doesn’t make any sense, now, does it? The bold and the strong, they’re the ones who will inherit the earth, obviously. You can’t get ahead in this world if you’re meek. You have to take what’s yours, and if you have to take it from someone weaker than you, too bad for them.

“Blessed are the peacemakers…” (5:9). There is a scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) in which people at the back of the crowd are too busy talking to hear what Jesus is saying. “I think he said, ‘Blessed are the cheese-makers.’”

In our culture, if you’re peaceful, you’re likely to be seen as unpatriotic, or un-American. If you are merciful, you’re soft on crime. If you’re meek, you’re asking for someone to push you around. In our culture, competition, power, and fear are the driving forces. Even if you think the Beatitudes are a nice idea, it is all too easy to see them as sentiment and not a practical guide for living.

But Jesus wasn’t just saying how nice it would be if people were more kind. He wasn’t saying that we should just get used to how things are, put up with oppression and injustice, and wait for the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was giving instructions, saying that we should live this way. Jesus was saying that we should be meek, humble, merciful, peaceful, and that we should desire to live in right relationship with God. And Jesus wasn’t just talking to the disciples; he was taking to the crowd, and by extension, to us.

What if we looked at the Beatitudes as a whole, with one thing leading to the next? What if we took these blessings seriously, and not just metaphorically? Can we try to understand the Beatitudes as a guide for living, a set of principles which are an alternative to the way we usually view the world through the lens of our competitive consumer culture? A theology professor named Charles Cook[2] suggests that there are three principles for living that can be found in the Beatitudes: simplicity, hopefulness, and compassion.

If we read the words as they are, and not try to layer meaning on them, they point to a way of life in which simplicity is valued. Those who are meek are humble. If you are humble, you are open to the idea that you don’t know everything. You are open to the idea that God has not yet revealed everything, and there is yet more light and truth to be found. The humble ones know that they are only a part of the bigger picture. It takes humility to understand that we don’t own this world; it was given into our care by God. In caring for the earth, we care for that which belongs to God.

In a world filled with things that can cause us to fear, we need courage. If we hear what Jesus has to say, if we live our lives with humility, peacefulness, and mercy, we will be blessed with courage. In caring for others, we find that we have strength. If we live within our means, rather than grasping for more and more, we find that we have been blessed with abundance, with all that we need to live and more. The way of simplicity can free us from our culture of greed.

Do you have hope that things will get better? Many people no longer believe that. As the gap between rich and poor grows wider, as the divide between those on the left and right grows deeper, hope for the future seems to be getting lost, and is replaced by cynicism. The mantra of cynicism is “That’s just the way it is, get over it.” That way of thinking takes these words of Jesus, “For you always have the poor with you” (26:11), and turns them into a pronouncement rather than a call to always recognize and care for those among us who are poor.

Who are the poor in spirit? In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus phrases the line a little differently, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (6:20). When you have next to nothing, faith in God can be the most important thing in your life. But poor in spirit can also mean those whose spirits are broken. If you lived in Roman occupied Galilee in the first century, your spirit as a nation had been broken. You were, as a people, oppressed, downtrodden, and brokenhearted. Yet, you are still God’s chosen people. Remember that, and it can give you hope. Jesus echoed the promise of Isaiah: God sent him “to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1).

Hopefulness is the second principle of living into the Beatitudes. Christ offers hope to the hopeless. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (5:6). The day will come when right will win out over wrong. When we live in hopefulness, we know that mercy, humility, peace, and love will one day be the norm rather than the exception. When we face the world with hope, we know that it is darkest just before the dawn, and that the dawn will come. Because we live in Christ, we know that even though the road ahead leads to the crucifixion, it will also lead to the resurrection.

Hopefulness is what empowers us to believe that God’s kingdom is coming, and righteousness will claim the victory. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:10). These words inspire the kind of hope that moved the Pilgrims to set out for a new world, even though some would not live to see it. This hope caused the revolutionaries to set a course for independence, even though it would cost the colonies dearly in blood and treasure. This spirit of hopefulness allowed the abolitionists to keep fighting to end slavery against those who would use the same Bible to keep the Africans in bondage. Hopefulness and faith in the kingdom of heaven empowered women to demand the right to vote, the descendants of slaves to demand an end to discrimination, and gay and lesbian people to demand the right to marry the ones they love.

The most powerful principle found in the Beatitudes, the key to walking in the steps of Jesus, is compassion. Compassion is much more than pity. To pity another means that you feel sorry for them. Compassion is more than sympathy. To be sympathetic means that you share the feelings of another. To have compassion means more. It means that what hurts you hurts me. Compassion means that when you mourn, I mourn with you, and thus you may be comforted. We are in this together. You share my humanity. You are part of my family.

Compassion is the principle that led Jesus to break so many of the Laws of Moses. Compassion led Jesus to heal the man with the withered hand on the sabbath (12:10). Compassion led Jesus to touch the leper and heal him (8:2-3). Compassion led Jesus to perform miracles, such as feeding the five-thousand (14:14-21). Compassion gives us a hunger for justice and a thirst for righteousness. With compassion we can be merciful, we can seek peace, we can see the other as an extension of ourselves. With compassion we can love our neighbor as ourselves.

Compassion is the principle that is motivated by love. It was love that gave us Jesus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). It was love that carried Jesus to the cross. It is compassion and love that can give us the power to endure persecution for the sake of Christ. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (5:11-12).

When we follow these blessed instructions, when we allow simplicity, hopefulness, and compassion to guide our lives, we will be able to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). When we live in love, we know that the kingdom of heaven is near.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Charles James Cook, "Pastoral Perspective on Matthew 5:1-12" in David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, General Editors, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 1 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 308-312. Cook is Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Theology, Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, Texas.

A Bigger Perspective

February 16, 2020

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Matthew5:21-37

One day Abraham invited a beggar to his tent for a meal. When grace was being said, the man began to curse God, declaring that he could not bear to hear God’s name. Seized with indignation, Abraham drove the blasphemer away.

When he was at his prayers that night, God said to Abraham, “This man has cursed and reviled me for fifty years, and yet I have given him food to eat every day. Could you not put up with him for a single meal?”

Sometimes we’re like Abraham. The things that people say and do make us so mad we could just spit. We don’t watch the news on TV in my house, mostly because we don’t want to go to bed angry. But I do read news stories during the day, on the internet mostly, and I try to process what I am reading productively, in a way that doesn’t burn me up with anger.

Sometimes, whether we admit it or not, we’re like the beggar. We say and do things that make others angry with us. And sometimes we purposely stoke the flames to get a rise out of the other person. “Don’t poke the bear” is a phrase that helps me refrain from intentionally egging on another.

God knows it’s hard to live with other people. Sometimes they just make us angry. Trust gets betrayed, we abandon one another, and we play fast and loose with the truth. It is so easy to break relationships, and so much work to build or repair them. But God also knows we need one another. We need support from others, and we need to offer support to others. We need family, friends, partners, people we can trust.

So God gave us some rules. God spoke through Moses and gave the Hebrews the Law, the commandments recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. And as long as the people obeyed, as long as they loved God and walked in the ways of God, they were blessed. Over time, the people disobeyed and broke trust with God, so God sent prophets to remind them of the choice between blessings and curses.

Then Jesus came, speaking to the crowds as the one who came to fulfill the law and the prophets. He took on some of the more contentious issues of his day and reinterpreted them. “You have heard that it was said… but I say…” The law and the prophets have only gotten us so far. If you want to know the kingdom of heaven, something more is needed. Following the letter of the law is not enough. Righteousness is to be found in the spirit of the law, the purpose behind the law, which is the building up of relationships based on compassion and love.

If you would be righteous, you must understand that when anger enters your relationships, you have the opportunity to choose between the path that leads to life, and the path that leads to death. You have the opportunity to seek out the other person and try to reconcile. You are given the choice between a relationship restored and a relationship destroyed.

Jesus takes the commandment against murder and directs our view to the anger that drives us toward punishment, retribution, and revenge. You have heard it said, “You shall not murder.” But I say, “What is it that drove you to the point of violence in the first place? It is anger which has gotten out of control.” Jesus doesn’t say that anger is wrong; anger is an emotion that all people feel. Rather, you will be judged by how you behave in your anger. Do you lash out, seeking a violent solution to your problems? If so, you are headed down the path that ends in murder. Do you seek to restore peace and harmony, and do the hard work of reconciling differences? Then you will be blessed with life.

Anger can also murder relationships. Insults are meant to cause pain. Differences left un-reconciled eat away at us causing divisions that widen into chasms. Jesus wants us to build bridges and fill in the valleys between us before it is too late, before the relationship has died. It is hard work. It takes tremendous humility and courage to approach someone when there is anger between us. But Jesus knows that love and compassion are more powerful than anger. Jesus tells us to be brave, when we remember that there is a break in our relationships, and do what is necessary to heal them. “Come to terms with your accuser” and you may be offered forgiveness.

Adultery is the betrayal of a relationship that should be based on mutual trust and support. Marriage is a bond that can keep us together in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, for better or for worse. But there are forces out there that seek to tear us apart. The betrayal may begin with lust, with the desire for another based not on love and mutual care, but on sexual desire. The betrayal may begin with neglect, when we stop trying to meet the needs of one another, or perhaps stop even asking what the other person needs. In biblical times, adultery was much more dangerous for women than for men. What were they going to do in that story from John’s Gospel to the woman caught in adultery? They were going to stone her to death. What were they going to do to the man caught in adultery? Leviticus outlines the punishment for both, but in the story in John, well, that part didn’t come up.

God knows that we cannot control every thought that enters our mind. But we can, however, choose where we focus our attention, and we can control how we respond to our impulses. Jesus knows that it can be hard to resist temptation, but it is easier if we separate ourselves from those things which cause us to sin. I think it is better to not take verses 29 and 30 literally, tearing out our eyes and cutting off our hands, lest we all go around blind and hand-less. But maybe we should click on another web page, find another part of the store to shop in, or seek the support of those who can help us to resist our temptations.

In ancient times, women were often considered more like property than people. The marriage laws allowed for the man to write a certificate of divorce dismissing his wife. The wife had no such right, by the way. A divorced woman was then left without legal protections. She would return to her father’s house – in other words, ownership of her returned from her husband to her father. She lost any personal property she may have had, and she lost her children as well, who were the property of the husband. And it would be much more difficult for the woman to remarry.

God knows it can be difficult to live with each other. But ending a marriage is often even more difficult. Now, if you have been through divorce, or know someone who has, you know the pain, the shame, and the turmoil it brings with it. I don’t want to cause you any more hurt than you have already experienced. There are situations, of course, such as an abusive relationship, when divorce is the only good option. But, I think what Jesus is talking about here is divorce done for frivolous, or lustful, reasons. This was much more common in that society. This was particularly true among the Romans, but it was common among Jewish and early Christian people as well.

God knows that marriage is supposed to be a life-long commitment, a relationship based on mutual care and trust, a rock that withstands the storms of life. Jesus points out here one consequence of treating marriage as a commodity rather than a relationship. A relationship which is meant to bring stability, trust, and support should not be treated carelessly. “If your heart turns away… you shall not live long in the land.” Make the effort to repent of your sins and forgive one another. Make the effort to treat one another as worthy of love. Your relationships deserve your best effort.

Integrity is the final topic Jesus covers in this passage. And Jesus knows we need help these days to speak the truth and deal honestly with one another. How can a society survive if “Yes” does not mean yes, and “No” does not mean no? If we are to live with one another, there has to be some honesty in our speech. Trust cannot be built on deception, broken vows, and false witness. It doesn’t matter what you swear by if you don’t mean it. Don’t swear by heaven, or Jerusalem, or even by the Bible. Just do what you say you’ll do, and mean what you say. “Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No.’” As someone said recently “Right matters, and truth matters. Otherwise, we are lost.”[1]

If we are to live with one another, Jesus tells us that we must learn to live into the spirit of the law, rather than looking for loopholes. We must live with love and respect toward one another, and treat each other as worthy of our compassion and care.

God, help us to do the hard work of loving each other, even when we’re as angry as Abraham, or as anger inducing as the beggar. Teach us the kind of love that is promised in your kingdom, love that goes beyond following the rules and becomes a part of us, love that drives us to seek reconciliation and peaceful solutions to our problems, love that keeps us focused on our relationships of trust and mutual care, love that resists selfishness and does the hard work of forgiveness, love that speaks truth and values integrity, love that chooses life. Make us love others as you have loved us. Amen.

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[1] Congressman Adam Schiff, speaking to the United States Senate, January 23, 2020.

Raise Up the Foundations

February 9, 2020

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 5:13-20[1]

I used to read science fiction comedy by Douglas Adams, about this average guy from a town in England who discovers his best friend is actually from another planet. In one of the novels, they have to park their spaceship in a town on Earth near a sporting event. In order to keep the spaceship from being seen, they have to use an invisibility shield. They wrap the ship in an energy field called “Somebody Else’s Problem.”[2] You see, when it’s somebody else’s problem, you don’t really notice what’s going on and you can ignore it.

Now, as Americans, we enjoy certain inalienable rights; and individual freedom and opportunity are protected in our laws. The value that our society places on the individual enables us to achieve incredible things, allows us to do and be our best, and promises that every person has value – no one is expendable.

Those who serve our country and protect those rights, particularly those in uniform, know what it means to “Be all you can be.” And they deserve our thanks for their service. Several years ago, I read an article by General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army, retired, former Commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. The article, “Step Up for Your Country,” was published in the January 31^st, 2011 copy of Newsweek. McChrystal raised an important point about our rights and freedoms. He says, “As important as those inalienable rights are, there are also inalienable responsibilities that we must accept and fulfill.”[3]

A soldier knows a great deal about responsibility. If the unit doesn’t perform as a team, or if any member of the unit fails to do their job, someone is going to die, and it won’t be the enemy. There can be life or death consequences if anyone thinks something is somebody else’s problem. And the tremendous responsibility that comes with command in the armed forces has given McChrystal an important perspective on what many of us might dismiss as somebody else’s problem. He wrote, “We have let the concept of service become dangerously narrow, often associated only with the military.”[4] He continued, “This allows most Americans to avoid the sense of responsibility essential for us to care for our nation – and for each other.”[5]

Are there any Boy or Girl Scouts here today? You know something about responsibility as well. “‘Do a Good Turn Daily’ is a core Scouting precept. Scouting encourages young people to recognize the needs of others and take action accordingly. Scouting works through neighborhoods, volunteer organizations, and faith-based organizations to help young people appreciate and respond to the needs of others.”[6]

Shared responsibility for the well-being of our neighbors, our community, and our world is not as clearly defined in our laws. It is, however, quite clearly defined in our scriptures.

Isaiah’s people are trying to figure out what led to their exile in Babylon. They believe that they must have angered God, who punished them, and so they focus with zeal on worshiping God and over-observance of religious ritual. “Isaiah’s people appear to be very religious. They not only go to worship daily; they also fast frequently. The people complain that they have observed the fasts, but God has not answered their prayers. Isaiah has to point out that the wealthy are fasting on the holy days, but their employees still have to work.”[7] “Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers.”[8] Their energy is misdirected, they are missing the point, and their fasting serves no purpose. “Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself?”[9]

Isaiah suggests that observing the letter of the law misses the spirit of the law. Worship is supposed to fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit, and charge us to go forth to bring the “Day of the Lord” or the “Kingdom of God” to fruition. Worship should remind us of our responsibility to our fellow family members, the children of God. Fasting is supposed to free up resources that could be used to serve others in the community. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”[10]

Both Isaiah and Jesus make the point that worship of God is about more than faithful observance of ritual. When Jesus says “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,”[11] he means that there is something more important than obsessive observance of the letter of the law. What God desires, offering food to the hungry, satisfying the needs of the afflicted, is what gets missed when our focus is on ourselves rather than on our responsibility to our neighbors.

In that Newsweek article,[12] General McChrystal described a situation he saw in Afghanistan. In that harsh environment, agriculture was sustained by a complex and extensive irrigation system using underground tunnels. This system was essential, and required labor-intensive maintenance. The members of the community understood their responsibility to do the work necessary to keep the system flowing. It was a shared task.

When the Soviet Union invaded in 1979, the system was damaged. Ironically, this resulted in private individuals digging their own wells and setting up their own systems, disrupting the community dynamic. What had been a unifying responsibility for all was now a source of wealth for a few – and yet another source of frustration for the rest.

In our own country, it is often more efficient and cost-effective to hire professionals to complete a project, but not if our objective is to shape our society with a sense of shared responsibility.[13]

Snow removal is a perfect example of this type of shared responsibility. Clearing the sidewalks so children can safely walk to school is the responsibility of all of us. And it’s more than just the sidewalk in front of my house – if the path ends in a snow-bank where it meets my property line, that’s a dead-end, not a safe and clear passage. Now, I have a deal with my neighbor, who has a bad back and a snow-blower, that I can use the machine and clear the snow from both properties. But ultimately our responsibility goes all the way to both corners. When it snows, if my neighbors and I work together, there will be a clear path by the next morning.

There are other examples, things that members of this congregation are already involved in. Serving at the MORE Food Pantry, or the Food Pantry in Huntley. Raking leaves and shoveling show for our neighbor with a bad back is one way our family takes responsibility for others. Loosing the bonds of injustice and letting the oppressed go free are more difficult duties, but not beyond the ability of people in this room, particularly if we work together.

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.”[14] Worship of God means to bring salt to the world. Salt is that spice that brings out the flavor of food. A life lived in worship of God can enhance our experience of the world, and help us bring out the best in others. Salt also preserves food. A worshipful life helps us hold onto our heritage and all that has made us who we are. Salt makes us thirsty. Worship of God can give us a thirst for justice and the desire to end oppression.

“You are the light of the world.”[15] To be told we are the light of the world encourages us to share our gifts and talents with others. “However, there is another reason for light to shine. There is darkness in life – external and internal.”[16] “The light is not given for our own personal enjoyment.”[17] We are given the light in order to go into the darkness, “to engage and walk through it, so that, in time, the light can overcome it.”[18]

To be the light of the world is to take on the responsibility to rebuild the ancient ruins, to raise up the foundations of many generations. To be the light of the world means that we repair the breach, we restore the streets to live in. To be the light of the world means that we recognize our shared responsibility for the well-being of our world in the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. To be the light of the world means that we see through what seems to be somebody else’s problem, and understand that we have a responsibility to serve one another in the name of Jesus Christ.

When we bring salt and light to the world, we raise up the foundations of something better. We bring glory to God and raise up the foundations of the City of God![19]  Amen.

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[1] The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] Douglas Adam, Life, the Universe and Everything (Harmony Books, 1982).

[3] Stanley McChrystal, “Step Up for Your Country,” Newsweek, 31 January, 2011, 36.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Boy Scouts of America, from http://www.scouting.org/Visitor/WhyScouting/ServingOthers.aspx (accessed 2/7/2011).

[7] Brett Younger, “Homiletical Perspective” on Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12), in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A, Volume 1 (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 319.

[8] Isaiah 58:3b.

[9] Isaiah 58:5a.

[10] Isaiah 58:6-7.

[11] Matthew 5:20.

[12] McChrystal, 36, 38.

[13] Ibid., 38.

[14] Matthew 5:13.

[15] Matthew 5:14.

[16] Charles James Cook, “Pastoral Perspective” on Matthew 5:13-20, in Feasting, 336.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid.

[19] The worship service concluded with the singing of the hymn “You Are Salt for the Earth, O People,” paraphrase by Marty Haugen, 1986, alt.; in The New Century Hymnal (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 1995), 181.