WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
February 13th 2011
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Matthew 5:21-24
“Stepping Up”
I was nurtured on a steady diet of television sitcoms. I learned a few important lessons from that interesting diet. The first thing I learned was that all the greatest things in life can be purchased for the low-low price of only 19.95, if you act now. The second lesson I learned was that all human conflict and relationship struggles could be solved in anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes. One of the early disappointments in my life was to find out that most of what is purchased for 19.95 does not last. Most of the world’s greatest gifts cannot be purchased. And, human drama and relationships are far more complex and messy then portrayed on television, even when they are a gift. It turns out that well nurtured grudges and even our prejudices are seldom, if ever, overcome through logic, let alone right after the next commercial break.
This is an important lesson for those of us called to the ministry of reconciliation. Even if we cannot see where the load might lead or when the road gets rough, we are called to stay the path. In a world hungry for the easy path to a deeper life, Jesus does say the way of faith is not easy. The message of the Sermon on the Mount, and particularly our passage today, does not provide promises for our “Best Life Now” or a get “Rich because God loves you plan.” In an age where we expect our needs and desires will be catered, Jesus say that the way of discipleship is not the way of ease.
This passage lays bare our religious sensibilities. At the heart of the Gospel is not a set of rules we are called to follow that will insure our sense of righteousness or provide a “get out of hell free” card. Instead, we are called to go deeper. It is not enough to abstain from murder. Most of us have that covered. Instead, we are called to search deep in our hearts to figure out if we have issues with another person. Are you mad at someone else? Do you harbor thoughts of anger toward another person? Is there another person in your life with whom you harbor ill will? Jesus says; skip worship until you deal with that issue, your heart, and that person. For Christians, the condition of our thoughts and hearts matters just as much as those who are sitting on death row for what they may or may not have done. That is how seriously Jesus takes the issue of reconciliation.
For most of us this sort of speech will lead us to believe it is an impossible ethic. We can probably come up with at least a handful of valid objections as to why this would not work. There are, in fact, times when reconciliation and forgiveness are not possibilities given our human sinfulness. But, these objections should not and cannot become the cover that allows us to ignore the places in our lives which need attention.
Malachite Orthodox Priest Father Elias Chacour has served a parish in the town of Ibillin in Israel. He is a Palestinian Christian whose family has been in Nazareth since the time of Jesus. His call to ministry has been through the message of reconciliation. He is a peacemaker and knows deeply that it must begin with our hearts and thoughts. The small community he found when beginning his ministry was deeply divided and hurt. This hurt had kept members from coming to church. In his early days Father Chacour worked to bring healing and reconciliation. It was no small task and after a time he began to wonder if any change was going to come. Then, one Palm Sunday he made a bold decision. Using this passage that we read this morning, he walked to the back of the church and took a heavy chain and locked everyone in the church. He explained how he knew the struggles and lack of forgiveness and infighting was destroying the church and was a poor witness to the love of Jesus Christ. He explained that on that day people would either kill one another in the sanctuary, and he was willing to do funerals for free, or they would work to make reconciliation a reality. It did come… one by one people began to admit the harbored anger and the ways they had hurt one another. That which began inside those walls moved out into the surrounding community. Tensions and struggles that had plagued the town begin to be addressed and resolved.
There are amazing stories of reconciliation throughout the world that run right alongside the places of war and devastation. From India where independence was gained from the British Empire through the use of non-violent means of social change to the Civil Right movement in this country and more recently to South Africa. While it is good to focus on these examples of reconciliation “out there,” we cannot miss the deeper message of this passage. Jesus is calling the disciples to inward change. It is only then that true outward reconciliation can occur.
This passage can and should be convicting for our own hearts. When faced with this passage we must ask the hard questions. Where are we harboring anger, resentment, and even condescending attitudes toward other people? Where are we finding ourselves thinking, “You are such an idiot” toward another human being? Maybe that is someone in the public arena, a public official. Maybe it is a neighbor or even family member, or dare I say someone who sits in the same space each week when we gather here? This is what Jesus is talking about.
The good news is that I do not have a thick chain with which to lock the church doors. I am not going to ask folks to stand up and begin confessing the secret thoughts of our hearts. We are not like the community in Ibillin that was a community tearing itself apart. In fact, we have a lot for which we can be proud. The ways in which we came together to offer hospitality to the Presbytery yesterday is something for which I knew we could do and am also in awe of the power and spirit that is at work among us. But despite this, it is critical for each of us to examine our hearts and to consider where we are being called to work for reconciliation with one another right here.
We are going to move into a period of silent prayer. And during this prayer ask God to show you where you are being called to work for reconciliation and to overcome the secret thoughts of your heart to be part of God’s mission in this place. Let us move into a time of prayer. (After a long period of silent prayer, “Amen.”) I trust that God has revealed things to each of us. Let us commit to moving forward on this. Reach out to one another; be open to hearing how we have hurt one another and to how we can move forward. And out of this may we continue to be part of God’s new thing happening in our midst. Amen.
