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Fifth Sunday of Epiphany

Matthew 5
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
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.


Just in time for Oscar night, a quiz. And following our custom, I’m going to move from the absurdly obscure to the painfully obvious. Just shout out your answers.

[Dave, for the sake of fairness, if you know the answer, simply say “got it” rather than revealing it. Sheesh.]

This 1987 film was nominated for four Oscars, taking home the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Brian de Palma directed the film, and David Mamet wrote the screenplay.

The film concerns the United States Treasury Department.

The film is set in Chicago.

It stars Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery (the Oscar winner in this case).

The name of the film is also the name of a group of legendary crime fighters led by Elliot Ness.

The film, of course, is The Untouchables, and it recounts the true story of Al Capone, or rather the true (and unlikely) way the Untouchables brought down Al Capone. And without completely spoiling the film, I will say it underlines the importance of paying your taxes. Oscar night and tax time makes this the most topical sermon ever.

But there is more. There is a connection between The Untouchables and Matthew 5, and it’s partly found in a bit of dialogue near the beginning of the film. This is Elliot Ness defining the “spirit” (no pun intended) of the Untouchables:

l have one more thing to say. l know that many of you take a drink. What you've done before today is not my concern. But now we must be pure, and I want you to stop. It's not a question of whether it's “a harmless drink.” lt may well be. But it's against the law. And as we are going to enforce the law, we must do first by example.

The context is prohibition, and the extent to which people ignored a law that they didn’t agree with. Speakeasies, bathtub gin, rumrunners—all of these reactions to prohibition demonstrated the extent to which people were willing to go against the law of the land. Eventually the law would be repealed, but until then Elliot Ness and this gang of Untouchables would uphold the law.

So here is Jesus’ Elliot Ness moment, from the Sermon on the Mount, addressed to everyone who seeks to follow him:

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.

Perhaps the first thing that likely pops into your head is all the ways in which Jesus seems to break the law: healing on the sabbath, eating on the sabbath, openly cavorting with the wrong sort of people. I want to come back to this question, but first I want to highlight where Jesus is headed as he creates his own version of the Untouchables.

What follows the passage Linda read is a seeming attack on the law he has just defended—defended in the most unambiguous way. Jesus says this:

The law says 'you shall not commit adultery,' but if you have lust in your heart, you already have.
The law says follow the proper procedure in obtaining a divorce, but by divorcing your spouse you cause them to commit adultery.
The law says do not swear falsely, but you shouldn't swear anything, just say yes or no and nothing more.
The law says ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ but you should turn the other cheek instead.

In other words, he didn’t come to abolish the law, he came to embellish the law. When he said ‘your righteousness should surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law,’ he meant don’t stop at the letter of the law. Don’t stop at the letter of the law but look instead to the spirit of the law—what more could you do?

Jesus doesn’t abolish the laws concerning divorce, oaths, or retribution—he says they don’t go far enough. Or rather, Jesus takes what is permitted under the law and says “yeah, but Moses didn’t say you had to divorce, or swear an oath, or seek revenge.” You’re not breaking the law of Moses if you choose another way.* I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

And fulfilling the law means continually seeking a better way. It means doing more than is required, not just the minimum to get by. To misquote a familiar quote, "not only must righteousness be done; it must also be seen to be done." If righteousness means living in a way that pleases God, we need to make it a mission, not a passive effort to avoid God’s ire. If righteousness means living in a way that pleases God, we should find joy in being righteous. What could be more joyful than pleasing God?

I promised I could come back to this question of Jesus breaking the law, so I guess I better keep my word. It’s one of those debates that always seems freighted—it takes us into doctrine, tradition, and the often picayune. Think of that other Sean Connery film, The Name of the Rose. Monks dying left and right and it turns out the whole sorry episode turns on the question “did Jesus own a cloak?” It’s on the list of great films that were completely shunned by Oscar.

The question of Jesus breaking the law comes down to a dispute, and a false accusation, but not in the way you might think. You see, the Pharisees are recorded as complaining about Jesus healing and eating and cavorting, framed as breaking the law. But we know that the Pharisees were reformers just like Jesus, but with very different ideas about the nature of holiness. We read what seems like a life and death struggle (especially in light of Good Friday) but what we should read instead is a debate between reformers. The fact that the four gospels are written at a time when church and synagogue are in direct competition, should tell us all we need to know about the way the Pharisees are unfairly portrayed.

So imagine with me that Jesus and the Pharisees are rivals and not enemies, and further imagine that they were creatively debating for the sake of reform, then listen to this:

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Three things. I love the spices, and I cook with all of them, especially cumin in refried beans—see me later for a recipe. Next, this was omitted from the lectionary, our three-year cycle of readings, obviously from someone who prefers coriander or chili powder. And finally, it gives us the best frame for this question of fulfilling the law: with justice, mercy and faithfulness.

But hold on. In the same way that the disciples of Jesus become the church and eventually become you and me, the Pharisees, the religious ones, also become you and me when we’re failing to see what Jesus sees. They become a stand-in, a metaphor, for everyone who is more interested in who is tithing than who who just, merciful, and faithful. Jesus said “you should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” give and be generous, tithe if you can—but don’t neglect justice, mercy and faithfulness—the heart of the law.

And if you have to win an Oscar, make it in the best supporting category: best supporting others, best supporting your church, and best supporting the heart of the law. Amen.


https://www.bibleodyssey.org/passages/main-articles/sermon-on-the-mount

posted by michael jacob kooiman @ 5:02 AM