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.