Matthew 6:1-15 NRSVUE

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

Our Father in heaven,

    may your name be revered as holy.

10     May your kingdom come.

    May your will be done

        on earth as it is in heaven.

11     Give us today our daily bread.

12     And forgive us our debts,

        as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13     And do not bring us to the time of trial,

        but rescue us from the evil one.

14 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

We’re still in the Sermon on the Mount.  

We started with learning that being Blessed is about being a blessing to others.

Then we talked about what it means to be Salty, Lit and Righteous – that Jesus does call us to stand up for our faith.

But in this passage Jesus has a few words about how we shouldn’t practice our faith in public.

And it might seem kinda confusing because in chapter 5, Jesus is telling us that we’re blessed when we get persecuted like the prophets for standing up for God (Mt 5:11-12)

And then Jesus tells us not to hide our light under a bushel basket, NO!

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine! (Mt 5:14-16)

But now we’re not supposed to practice our righteousness before others?

It sounds contradictory, if we aren’t paying attention to the subtle, but major differences.

Verse one of today’s reading lays out the important difference of intent between 

Performative Faith

And

Sincerely following Jesus.

Look at verse 1 where it says:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them.

If you’ve got a pencil or pen or lipstick or eyeliners on you – underline the words:

“In order to be seen by them.”

“In order to be seen by them.”

“In order to be seen by them.”

There are 2 versions of Christianity in this country right now.

Fans and Followers.

Fans of Jesus — are the people who go to Churches who sing songs about how much they love God, and have fabulous youth and children’s programs, and small groups, and all the stuff that people like… but pretty much ignore the teachings of Jesus to love our neighbors.

This is how I was raised.  I was raised to be a fan.

I was taught that I needed to go to church every week.

Say the right prayers, do the right rituals.

Dress with modest femininity.

Be polite and obedient, and nice.

And then leave church stuff at church.

I was supposed to love God, but not necessarily love my neighbors, because, well, that’s just not the way the world works.

I was taught that “the Lord helps those who help themselves,” as if it’s in the Bible, which it is not.

For Fans of Jesus, Church is about respectability and Western Culture.

For Fans, faith is kinda like a religion badge that helps you gain entrance into the “right circles”

We hear this performative faith from politicians all the time:

• Quoting the Bible out of context in order to be seen by the crowd as having Christian credibility.
• Showing up at a national day of prayer in order to be seen by the crowd.
• Preaching White Nationalism, and “our European Heritage” and calling it Christianity.

And we see this performative faith in Churches and Pastors whose only metric for faithfulness is the number of converts who attend their church.  Disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples to make more disciples, as if the numbers game is all that matters to God.

Fans or followers….

Followers of Jesus — are often people who go to Churches who may not have the most fabulous worship experience or the best ever children and youth programs, but who are actively working to love our neighbors, care for the least of these, welcome the stranger, and include the outcasts — because that’s what Jesus taught.

And ironically, I learned to be a follower instead of a fan, at a large, pentecostal, Assemblies of God church,with a good worship experience,  a great youth program that actively evangelized me, and supported a ministry to the unhoused…however, they weren’t great at including the outcasts, but they did include me.

And in that offshoot of Methodism, Assemblies of God are an offshoot of the Methodist Holiness movement…in that offshoot of Methodism, I experienced Sanctification during an altar call.

They asked everyone who was ready to commit their lives to Jesus to raise their hand and I raised my hand.

Sanctification is the 3rd type of Methodist Grace.

Methodists name 3 kinds of Grace:

1. Prevenient Grace – pre, as in before we love God, God loves us.
2. Justifying Grace – Now we know we are loved and “justified” – is old language for forgiven and accepted.
3. Sanctifying Grace – Now that we know that God loves us – All of us – we realize that we are called to love our neighbors.

I already knew that God loved me and I loved God — I was already a fan of Jesus!

But in that altar call moment I felt Jesus asking me to follow him.  To change how I lived outside of church.

And at first I thought that meant that I needed to be a better fan-girl!

• Wear more Christian T-shirts
• Listen to more Christian music.
• Go to church several times a week…because once a week attendance was for those who weren’t fully committed!
• And….Study the Bible.

That last one got me.  

The more I studied the Bible, the more I started to realize that there was more to being a disciple than making more disciples.

That God has things to say about how we use money.

God has things to say about justice and mercy for the poor and the oppressed.

That when Jesus encountered the gay Centurion with the sick body servant (Doulas Pita is the Greek – which was gay coded language at the time) Jesus was totally ready to hop on over to their house and heal – even though their household was not Jewish, was gay, and was Roman!  (Matt 8:5-13)

That God called the Prophets to criticize bad leaders for their lack of mercy towards the poor over and over again!

The more I studied the Bible, the more I began to realize that it is not enough to make disciples – we must also teach them to obey everything that Jesus taught us. (Matthew 28:19-20).

It was when I started to care about justice and mercy for the last and the least that I realized that being a fan of Jesus makes good photo-ops.

Being a follower of Jesus means not only getting out of our own comfort zones – but acting outside of the comfort zone of our culture.

And we need to pray in private and pray that God’s will be done, because sometimes God calls us to Follow Jesus into situations where we don’t know how to do this yet.  And it’s just not dignified to be praying – are you sure God???  Surely there’s someone better prepared to do this!

And we need to pray for our daily bread because those who do justice, practice mercy and walk humbly with God seldom get rich doing it!

And we need forgiveness for ourselves and others because following Jesus is counter cultural and people are going to criticize us.

You may notice that the last line of the traditional Lord’s prayer isn’t there – “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever”  isn’t in the Bible. 

I didn’t end the passage too soon.  

It just isn’t in there.

Verse 16 reads, 

16 “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

Jesus didn’t tell us to give God elaborate fan-girl praise – Look at verse 7.

7 “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words”

I don’t think that going to church is bad – obviously I’m here.

I just don’t think going to church makes you a follower of Jesus anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.

I don’t think that singing is bad – I think we need to sing, as a form of meditation and prayer to realign our hearts and minds towards God.

And I’m totally in favor of quality church programs for all ages.

I’m also very in favor of evangelism – and – once they’re here, let’s teach people what Jesus actually taught!

But none of these things are an end unto themselves.

They are means for the goal of following Jesus.

Following Jesus so that God’s will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-20 NRSVUE

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.\

14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Last week we were reading the first half of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:1-12, where we realized that Jesus’ definition of Blessed does not mean that we are enjoying the good things in life.  Jesus’ definition of Blessed is the counter-cultural call to be a blessing to others and God’s promise that Justice will eventually arrive.

There’s no change of venue, there’s no Jesus took a break and then started teaching again.

Jesus says, 11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

And then Jesus says

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

Being reviled and persecuted for speaking up like the prophets is the context for, “you are the salt of the earth.”  

That changes it a little bit doesn’t it.

I admit that when I was taught these verses about salt and light, I was not about it in context!

I was taught that we are supposed to be noticeably Christian.

• I was taught that I was supposed to be wearing a cross all the time.
• Wearing Christian T-shirts
• Dress with modest femininity.
• I was taught that I shouldn’t smoke or chew or go with the boys that do.
• No cussing.
• I was taught that a good Christian girl is supposed to be meek and sweet and nice.
• I was taught to be unquestioningly obedient to those in authority.
• I was taught that I was supposed to initiate awkward conversations about Jesus… I think that’s the only one I’m still doing, no, wait, I still wear Christian T-shirts, but they’re a little different than the ones I used to wear!

I do bring Jesus up in conversation all the time. 

And I confess that I can be a little salty about it.

Salty – as the young people use it these days – means to speak with passion, sarcasm, or bitterness, as a result of being angry or upset; or feeling out of place or under attack.

The Prophets were often salty.

When Amos said, in chapter 5:21-24

21 I hate, I despise your festivals,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,

I will not accept them,

and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals

I will not look upon.

23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;

I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

24 But let justice roll down like water

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

That was salty.

Here’s some salt from Jeremiah 21:12

12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

Execute justice in the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
anyone who has been robbed,
or else my wrath will go forth like fire
and burn, with no one to quench it,
because of their evil doings.

Have you ever noticed how salty Spirit gets in some of the Psalms?

Here’s Psalm 109:7-16

7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty;

let his prayer be counted as sin.

8 May his days be few;

may another seize his position.

9 May his children be orphans

and his wife a widow.

10 May his children wander about and beg;

may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.

11 May the creditor seize all that he has;

may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.

12 May there be no one to do him a kindness

nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.

13 May his posterity be cut off;

may his name be blotted out in the second generation.

14 May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the Lord,

and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

15 Let them be before the Lord continually,

and may his memory be cut off from the earth.

16 For he did not remember to show kindness

but pursued the poor and needy

and the brokenhearted to their death.

Whew!  That’s not just salty – that’s spicy!

But many of us were taught that all that Old Testament stuff doesn’t matter anymore since Jesus came, so here’s Jesus being salty in Matthew 23:27

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful but inside are full of corruption and rot.”

God – Creator, Christ and Spirit are salty when it comes to violations of God’s one simple rule of LOVE –

Moving on to verse 14 – still in the context of the sermon on the Mount, Jesus is calling us to be Lit.

Lit, according to the Urban dictionary means

lit

1. A term used to describe something that is cool and exciting, or just generally something you would want to experience.

In verse 16 it reads, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven”

The idea being that our light is the good news of God’s Love for ALL people, which should shine through our words and actions.

The Good News that Jesus taught is something cool and exciting, and just generally something you would want to experience, right?

Right??

Right???

I was taught that this meant that I was supposed to invite people to church… and I still think that’s a good idea…to invite people to church.

But I also think that Jesus is calling us to be lit everywhere we go.

That we are called to shine the light of compassion by serving at Family Promise.

That we are called to shine the light of love by building affordable housing.

That we are called to let it shine all around the neighborhood as we go about our lives by how we treat others and by what we are willing to stand up for.

Verses 17-20 are troubling to a lot of people, because they wonder what “not abolishing the law but fulfilling it” means.

The question being – did Jesus just say that we need to follow all the rules in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus???  

Including Leviticus 15:20 where it says that men are not supposed to sit in chairs where a menstruating woman has sat? Because if so, my husband and son are going to be doing a lot of standing because there’s 3 people with uteruses in my house!

No.  I don’t think so.

Jesus already answered this question in Matthew 22:37-40

37 ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 Love is the fulfillment of the law.

 Love is the fulfillment of the law.

Because the Pharisees were actively trying to follow the letter of the law.

Every little rule and every big one.

They were honestly and sincerely trying.

But they got so caught up in the rules that they forgot that the purpose of the rules is love.

Later on in this same sermon, because in Matthew the sermon on the Mount goes on through chapter 7!

Right after this reading Jesus goes into a series of interpretations of the law that are all formatted, “You have heard it said…something something… but I say… something else”

In Matthew 5:43 Jesus directly address the law of Love

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

I don’t hear Jesus telling us that we need to obey every single little Kosher law.

I hear Jesus telling us that to be truly Righteous, we need to practice neighbor-love from the inside out.

We need to pray for those who persecute us so that we can keep fighting FOR what we love, instead of fighting AGAINST what we hate.

We need to pray for those who persecute us so that we can keep fighting FOR what we LOVE, instead of fighting AGAINST what we hate.

We’re called to be Salty – to speak truth to power.

We’re called to be Lit – to shine the good news all around the neighborhood.

We’re called to be Righteous – to fight FOR what we LOVE. Not fight against what we hate.

righteous

Containing the best possible attributable qualities.

A belief in love

Matthew 5:1-12 NRSVUE

1.When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Last week we talked about the Nicene creeds utter lack of teachings of Jesus

This week we are looking at what John Wesley considered to be the foundational teaching of Jesus – everything we should be doing – our Method for Christian Living.

Tuesday I signed up for the 8am shift at the Federal Courthouse to do clergy accompaniment alongside the Legal Observers.  I needed to leave at 7:15am in order to get there and park before my shift, so of course I hit the snooze button 4 times and stumbled out of bed at 7:05 and made it to my car at about 7:22am.  

Morning People, I salute you!  I am not one of you.

After getting turned around exiting the parking garage, I managed to arrive at my post near the entrance of the Federal Courthouse at 8:01, where Pastor Kris was already stationed and our Legal Observer showed up one minute later.  Us clergy wait outside to walk people to their cars or to make photo copies of their asylum papers – Immigration court gives you 1 copy of your papers, but you need to turn in 1 copy upstairs, turn in another copy downstairs and keep another stamped copy on you at all times.   So we do a lot of photocopy runs.

It was a peaceful shift, but something odd happened… and kept happening.

The staff kept thanking us for being there.

Federal employee after Federal employee, wearing their badges over their coats, carrying their insulated lunch bags, coming in for the day, saying, “thank you for being here.”  “Thank you for being here.”

And the Army recruiters – there’s a recruiting office inside the Federal Courthouse – dressed in their fatigues, who usually eye us suspiciously, all greeted us with a friendly good morning.

That was a little odd, but it was a pretty typical day.  Immigrants with brightly colored folders walking up to the door, for us to greet and ask if they have a lawyer, and tell them about PIRC and ECO if they don’t.

Then the Legal Observer messaged us, that the family she was talking to said that Court was canceled today – and their hearing was rescheduled for 2 years from now.

Our first thought, was, “oh no, what has the administration done now?”

But then somebody from the court came out and made an announcement in Spanish.  Our Legal Observer that day doesn’t speak a whole lot of Spanish, but managed to find out that the court clerk was sick, so court was canceled.  There’s been so much defunding of Federal staff, that if one person gets sick, it shuts the whole operation down.

Then the Army recruiter came out and offered a chair for our Legal Observer to sit in, because they make the Observers stand in the hallway – they won’t let them into the courtroom anymore — new policy.  But since court was canceled, we were going to leave.

Remember how last week I said,

It’s hard to maintain a dictatorship when the people believe everyone has value in the eyes of God!

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Mt 5:9) is apparently catching on at the Courthouse.

Last week we were talking about the Nicene Creed – and noticing that it does not contain any of the teachings of Jesus.

Today we are delving into one of Jesus’ most significant teachings, sometimes called The Sermon on the Mount, because Jesus stepped up onto a little hill so the crowd could see him better.  In the gospel of Luke it’s The Sermon on the Plain, but regardless of the elevation, it’s a very counter-cultural teaching in pretty much every time and place.

We don’t think of it as counter-cultural because we’re used to it.

Many of us learned about the Bee-Attitudes in Sunday School class while making terrifyingly large bees out of pipe cleaners and craft paper, where we focused on the Blessings.

But look who Jesus is calling Blessed…

Starting at verse 3 — you can follow along in your bulletin…

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

So… is Jesus saying that you’re blessed if you’re depressed?

The gospel of Luke leaves out “in spirit,” (LK 6.20) so…. Is Jesus saying, God loves poor people???

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Luke reads, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” (Lk 6:21)

So…. is Jesus saying that grief is a blessing?  I think, perhaps Jesus is saying that those who are suffering now, are beloved of God and that their suffering will not last forever.

Verse 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

In a culture that tells us to “lean in” and “promote your personal brand,” humility doesn’t seem likely to deliver the wealth of the whole earth.  But Jesus seems to place a high value on walking humbly with God.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Luke 6:21 reads:  “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.”

So…kinda different messages, but both are counter cultural.

Luke promises the blessing of fullness to those who are currently food insecure.

Matthew tells those of us longing for justice that the arc of history may be long, but God is bending it towards justice.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

Blessed are the merciful is very different from the current message that if people would just mind their own business and stay home, they’ll be safe.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

The phrase, ‘pure in heart,” reminds me of people with Downs syndrome, and autism, and children, who are so very vulnerable.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

This one seems less counter cultural – I mean, there’s a Nobel peace prize.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I can tell you that tear gas does not feel like a blessing, but standing up for what’s right is Kingdom of God work.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

Are you sure Jesus?  Being reviled, persecuted, threatened and having your name drug through the mud, does not feel like a blessing, to me.

And maybe that’s because our definition of what it means to be blessed in this culture, is defined by what is pleasant, comfortable and attractive.

When we say, “I’m so blessed,” we’re usually referring to having the privilege of going on vacation, having a nice house, a solid income, a stable family.

We don’t generally refer to poverty, grief, and persecution as a blessing.

So maybe the problem is our definition of blessing.

Maybe God is thinking not of what is a blessing to us, but of what is a blessing to others.

Mary mother of Jesus, is called Blessed.  Her life was not easy, but she was a blessing to others.

And in verse 12, the  author of Matthew brings up the Prophets.

The life of a prophet was often kinda terrible, listening to God, speaking up for God, and having kings try to kill you for your trouble is not what we would call, “too blessed to be stressed,” but their lives have definitely been a blessing for others.

Jesus’ calling to,”Take up your cross and follow me,”

Found in, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23

Isn’t a calling to a life of comfort, wealth, and popularity.

It’s a calling to be a blessing to others.

I was watching videos of animals using word buttons while doing dishes the other night, when a video came up from an official government account, where some blond woman was addressing herself to Christians.  Telling us that God expects us to be on the side of law and order, and that we should stay out of the way of the legal actions of this administration.

My hands were wet with dirty dish water, so it played through twice before I could stop it.

Listening to her weaponize Romans 13:1 – which didn’t work out so well for the authentic Paul, who wrote it – Rome executed him.

Listening to her weaponize Romans 13:1 and completely ignore everything that Jesus taught about how we are to treat the stranger among us…  and everything that Jesus taught us about standing up for what’s right, in the name of Law and Order, was dissonant.

Because laws are not always just.

Slavery was legal.  Helping people escape was illegal.

The Holocaust was legal, hiding Anne Frank’s family was illegal.

Resisting the gestapo was illegal.

Protesting was illegal.

And now they are trying to tell us that offering help to people who have been injured while practicing their first amendment right to peaceful protest is un-Christian and illegal.  They’re dragging Alex Pretti’s and Renee Good’s names through the mud and telling us to not believe our own eyes.

Friends, we’re not called to stay home and stay safe.

We’re not called to be nice and avoid talking about politics.

We’re called to be a blessing in such a way that we are inconvenient to those trying to do harm.

So keep boycotting.

Keep emailing and calling our legislators.

Keep annoying the heck out of your friends and family members.

Keep showing up and volunteering and donating where you can.

Keep singing, laughing, hoping and dreaming.

Keep being the Church — you are a wonderful church, and I’m so grateful to be in ministry with you!

You are a blessing.

We are a blessing in a world that desperately needs us to follow Jesus.