Second Sunday before Lent

Genesis 1.1-2.3; Romans 8.18-25; Matthew 6.25-34

We've been working our way through the Sermon on the Mount in these weeks leading up to the start of Lent. As Easter is late this year, we've got an opportunity to listen to this wonderful and important teaching of Jesus in a way that doesn't happen in most years. And we are taking it as a preparation for Lent because this teaching is directed at each and every one of us. It goes right to the heart of our discipleship and what it really means to be a follower of Christ, to be a Christian.

I've tried to remind people many times that every Christian is part of Christ's body; we are very much His living presence in the world now. So it's for each of us as far as it lies in us, to become like Him. We are to 'abide in Him as He abides in the Father' as He tells us in St. John's gospel. And this teaching that the Lord gives us in His Sermon on the Mount shows the way. It tells us exactly how we are to be and what we are to do to be like Him, to be Christ-like.

Towards the end of the first couple of chapters of this Sermon Jesus reminds us of the sort of background to which we ought to live our Christian life. The other two readings set for this Sunday are the first creation account in the book of Genesis, and St. Paul's theological reflection on the work of God's creating Spirit as the Spirit brings things to completion in Jesus Christ when the Kingdom of God will at last become fully real and Christ as it's said will become 'all in all'.

But we ourselves are caught up in this great creative work of God and it's a difficult business. Being and living in the world isn't easy. God is bringing in His Kingdom and it's tough going. Being a Christian, caught up in all of God's activity as we are is hard work. And Jesus, conscious of this, part way through this Sermon tells us the frame of mind, the spirit in which we should live in this coming Kingdom. And I think it takes us by surprise because he sums it up in three words 'do not worry'. And He'll say this again and again to His disciples in actual fact. And maybe we are so busy worrying that we don't hear Him. But He says 'do not worry'. But why should Jesus put it this way? Who doesn't have cause to worry in this day and age?

Well in these few sentences we read today, Jesus is telling us to have faith. It's another way, a rather gentle way of telling us to have faith in, to trust in, God. He says, look around you at creation. Look at how God provides for all of His creation. Won't He all the more provide for you? All you need do is not to worry about these things but put Him first. Easier said than done, you'll say.

I think it's true to say that the backdrop to most peoples' lives in the Western world is anxiety, worry. Even if we can't think of something to worry about in our own lives, television, radio, newspapers, the internet, all hold out a whole plethora of things simply begging to be worried about. This world of ours is so small now that we have to be worried, it seems, about what's going on in the likes of Libya just now, not just for the people there but for ourselves, because of the threat of terrorism or that the price of petrol might go up as a result putting increased pressure on our personal finances. That's just one small example. There are hundreds more we could think of right now I'm sure. But among all of that Jesus says - 'do not worry'. Well why does He say 'do not worry'? How can you not worry? Well this is why He says it.

Most people, I guess would think that the opposite of faith is doubt. But it isn't. The opposite of faith is fear. Worry and anxiety are forms of fear. And where there is fear, there is no faith, no trust that things will work out positively. What Jesus is saying to us here today is to do away with your worry and anxiety, do away with your fear by cultivating faith. He says that God has created the world, the universe and He sustains it. Creation gets on without worrying and so should we. And He says that the key to that faith is to live your life as someone in His Kingdom already, to work for it and everything else will fall into place.

Now Jesus is not so naive as to think that there won't be trouble along the way. It came to Him right from the start and came to Him at various points in His life right to the end. But He overcame His fear by faith in His heavenly Father. Sometimes it was a great personal struggle to do that, as we read of His prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. But His resurrection is the vindication of His faith. And He asks us to do the same as He did in our journey through life, to put our faith in our Heavenly Father.

Worry is a great destroyer of life. It sucks the life out of us, sucks all our spirit out of us. Indeed I read many years ago that the word 'worry' comes from an old English word 'Worrowen' which means 'to destroy'. So Jesus's request to us might sound simple, even naive in this world of today. But we shouldn't under estimate it because His words 'do not worry' are life saving, if we can replace our fear with faith.

Again, none of this is easy, but all of what we are reading here, all of chapters 5 to 7 in St. Matthew's gospel are of a piece, and after these reassuring words of Jesus we've read today, he launches into his next round of instructions on the Christian life, the life of faith, our life in the Kingdom. And we build up our faith only inasmuch as we put into practice all that Jesus teaches here either side of those words - 'do not worry'. And Jesus will tell us as much right at the end of chapter 7 when He says, 'He who hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.'

We are meant to take all of these words and build what they tell us into our daily lives as Christians. Only then will we be able to eradicate the fear, the anxiety, the worry from our lives and begin to have real faith in God, the faith which, Jesus says, moves mountains.

Fourth Sunday before Lent

Deuteronomy 30.15-20; 1 Corinthians 3.1-9; Matthew 5.21-37

We are moving on futher into Jesus's Sermon on the Mount this week. Last week we thought about those two images that Jesus gives us of salt and light. He says that we, as His followers are the salt of the earth and light to the world. He told us, in that way that we are essential to the life of the world. But with it comes the obligation to stay that way as Christians, otherwise we become worthless. In becoming worthless we become worthless to the world, to ourselves and to God. So although this was great encouragement it also brings great personal responsibility. So as we take that responsibility to be 'salt' and 'light', we can ask how do we go about staying that way, staying of value in the way to the world, to one another, to ourselves and to God?

Well I think Jesus goes on to tell us in the rest of His sermon. Because after this He goes deeper into what it means to be a Christian, what it means in a very personal way for each and every one of us. All of this sermon speaks to the heart of each one of us.

I remember once; not here, I hasten to add; after preaching a sermon one Sunday morning, on the way out of church one woman said to me 'you told them this morning vicar'. What the woman hadn't realised was that the sermon was meant for her just as much, if not more than everyone else. And I think we can come to something like this Sermon on the Mount and think that it really applies to other people. We think that really we aren't that bad that these sorts of words should apply to us. But they do apply to each and every one of us because this Sermon isn't about someone else, it's about you. It's about your heart and mind and the way you live with God, with yourself and with other people.

After telling His disciples that they are to be salt and light, Jesus goes on to say, as we discovered last week that He hasn't come to abolish the law and the prophets. He hasn't come to do away with anything that has gone before. He has, instead, come to fulfil all that has gone before, in all that the people have been taught and learned in their religion. And I think that as we read what Jesus says from here on in, in this sermon, we can see what He means. Because now He takes one or two of the commandments and not only retells them but also goes much deeper into the implications of those commandments.

First of all Jesus picks up the commandment - you shall not murder. But for Jesus it's not simply a matter of the taking of life by someone. His concern is with what leads up to someone committing such a crime. And even more than that He's concerned with the origin of the motivation for such a thing; which often lies in something that we feel to be quite mild. So Jesus talks about anger. In fact, He says that anger and insults are worthy of punishment themselves. And then He flips it around and we see that this isn't about murder or anger or insults at all. He says that if somebody has anything against us, then we should go out of our way to put it right. We could be quite innocent or feel ourself to be quite innocent in a situation. But nevertheless, if someone has something against us it's for us to put it right; especially before we come before God to offer Him our prayer and praise. So this is not simply about keeping a commandment, sticking to a rule, obeying a law; it's about a way of life. It's about relationships with other people. It's about living a peaceable life that creates a Godly peace in ourself and in others.

Next Jesus picks up on the commandment - you shall not commit adultery. But again as we hear Jesus's words to us we can see that He's not just talking about keeping a rule. He says that if a man divorces his wife for any reason except on the grounds of unchastity, he causes her to commit adultery. So right away, we can see that Jesus is telling us that our actions have consequences. And the consequences of our actions can be to lead others into sin. And this is not acceptable. And Jesus tells us to look at ourselves and remove the causes of sin within ourselves also - 'if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away'. Drastic action and it's only figurative, but Jesus means what He says about rooting out the causes of sin within oneself.

All of this is the stuff of serious reflection and serious work on our part. Because it's all about integrity. It's all about wholeness of body, mind and spirit. It's about heart, mind, soul, spirit and body working together in a unity which is the same as that which Jesus Himself had. And living in the same way with God and with others. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit act as one. And God wants us to be united with Him in the same way; to be integrated with Him in the same way. But we can only do that if we have integrity ourself. And when we do have that integrity then we are truly salt and light. We stand out as a beacon and people just know. We add a richness to the lives of others and the world.

And we don't have to prove ourselves; others will know who and what we are. Because they will see Christ in us. They will see God in us. As Jesus implies in what He says at the end of this reading today; that integrity doesn't have to be proved, we don't have to promise or prove anything to anybody because this integrity, this way of life, this Godliness is who and what we are, lived out now with ourself, with others and with God Himself.

5th Sunday before Lent

Isaiah 58.1-12; 1Corinthians 2.1-16; Matthew 5.13-20

The Sermon on the Mount - Carl Heinrich Bloch

We find ourselves in Ordinary Time now and delving this year into St. Matthew's gospel. And of course we start near the beginning of his gospel, after the accounts of Jesus' birth, baptism, temptation in the wilderness and calling of His first disciples, with readings in what is commonly referred to as Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

Unfortunately we've missed the beginning of the Sermon because last Sunday we celebrated Candlemas. If we'd ignored the feast, instead, we could have read the other readings set for that day, the beginning of Jesus' Sermon and that part of it known as the 'Beatitudes'. It's a very well  known text. In a way, I think the Beatitudes set out what is the outcome of living the Christian life. They tell us what we can expect, that is, how we can expect to understand what being 'blessed' means in a Christian context. And we come to understand all of that only as we embark upon and live out the Christian life to the full. Because being blessed in God's terms, is very different to what we might see as being blessed in human terms. And we only have to read Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 to 12 to see that. And I'd encourage you to read those verses and think about them as we make our way through what's before us over the next two or three weeks in Jesus' Sermon.

It's a pity really that we don't read the Sermon on the Mount during Lent. I think it's the best Lent study text we could have. It's the best reflection on what being a Christian means for our daily life and for our own Christian self development if you like, that you can find anywhere in the world. There are countless thousand books that tell us how we should be and what we should do, to be good Christians, good followers of Christ. But nothing beats the words from the Man's own mouth. This is Jesus speaking directly to us, telling us exactly what He wants of us. He aims it straight as an arrow right at your heart; and He's uncompromising. Because He wants to change your heart; as His Father spoke in the Old Testament, from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. And so after he sets out who are blessed He tells us who and what we are. And this telling, this Word is at the same time the greatest challenge and also the greatest affirmation for His disciples, for you and me.

'You', Jesus says, 'are the salt of the earth'. There's no ifs and buts about this; no qualifications. 'You ARE the salt of the earth'. This is, as I said, the greatest affirmation. There's nothing like knowing what you are about and nothing like being praised and valued for what you are. And I get the impression from this that this is what Jesus is doing; at the same time as telling His disciples what that actually means in real terms AS His disciples.

Those of you old enough to remember will recall the bags of crisps that had a little blue wax wrap of salt in them. This was an aspect of the good old days which really was far better than today. You were given salt with your crisps but you could choose whether or not to put it on your crisps. And if you did put it on you could choose how much. I think you can still get that arrangement but usually it's all, lightly salted or nothing and somebody else chooses the amount of salt for you. The point about that really is that the salt made all the difference, it brought out the flavour of the crisps as much as you wanted it to. It enriched your crisps in that way. And this is what we, as Christians are meant to do for the world - enrich it, in a very particular way. And not only are we meant to enrich the world but Jesus says that we DO enrich the world.

But Jesus goes on to say that you have to stay 'salty'. You've got to keep being what you are meant to be. He'll say this in a different way further on in the sermon. You are useless if you lose what you bring to the world as its 'salt'. And this is where the real work lies, keeping up, keeping on, staying the Christian course and BEING what you are meant to be as a disciple of Christ. And that means continually becoming what God intends for you. So, a Christian enriches the world in his or her own particular, distinctive way.

And then Jesus changes the image to bring another way of seeing what a Christian contributes to the world. Again, Jesus is affirming us in our discipleship. This IS what you are as a disciple - a light to the world. And a light is only a light if it's put where it's light can be seen and where it can do its work. A light hidden away is as useless as salt without its saltiness. You don't hide a light, you put it on a stand, you lift it up where it can do its best work. As a disciple you are only any good to the world if you can be seen and if what you are spreads out into the world. This light does a number of things which Jesus leaves for another time. For the moment He says that the purpose of your light the purpose of being a disciple of His in the world is so that others will see you and give glory to God. And what a challenge THAT is. The question is obvious. Do people see you and me and give glory to God because of what they see?

So again, affirmation and challenge. It's a great and wonderful thing being a disciple of Christ but it has consequences. You are here for the sake of the world, your life, as a Christian, is for the life of the world, to borrow a phrase from the late Fr. Alexander Schmemann. And we round off this affirmation and challenge by hearing what Jesus says next; that all of this is what He's here for, and all of this is that we are hearing in this sermon is what we are about as Jesus' disciples. Nothing that has gone before this time, with God's people is done away with. On the contrary, in Jesus and His followers is the fulfilment of all that has gone before. And it's for we His followers to make sure that we keep ourselves in His way and teach others the same.

This is truly serious business. When we are called by God to be salt and light to the world we are called to something special, for us and for the world. And it is not to be compromised. For in the end it is all so that others might look towards God and like us find in Him, their hope, their joy and their life.