[Jesus said to the disciples:] 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

 31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

-oOo-

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

This morning brings us to the end of Jesus’ very first homily, his Sermon on the Mount.  And over the last two weeks, he has shared a great deal with his disciples and the crowd that followed him up the hill.  He began by proclaiming the blessings that await God’s people at the fulfillment of the kingdom; the Beatitudes.  These are the promises of God, and each will result in the reversal of the sufferings that afflict all those who trust in God.  Last week Jesus continued his teaching and we were told that we were the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”.  He proclaimed that we were expected to scatter God’s goodness on others and to illuminate their lives as a reflection of God’s own seasoning and light.  We were told that our actions in the service of others serve as reminders of God’s love for all people.

And this morning Jesus raises the ante.  He told his listeners last Sunday that he has come to fulfill the Law of Moses, not to abolish it.  And to drive the point home Jesus cites a number of specific directives that are found in the Mosaic Law, but addresses them in ways that would surely have astonished those who were sitting at his feet.  While the several topics he chose to expand upon seem to be unrelated, when taken together they coalesce into what turns out to be the reason for his entire sermon in the first place.  What Jesus teaches is that this different way of looking at the Law fulfills it by reaffirming its intent to bring wholeness to the community.  Jesus wants the people to know that proper behavior with regard to the Commandments will result in trust, compassion, and unity among God’s faithful people.

And, to show that he is profoundly serious he starts with the big one; the taking of the life of another.  He reminds the crowd, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’”.  Let’s be honest, Jesus is being somewhat understated here.

He is fully aware that these pious Jewish folks recognized that “You shall not murder” is one of the Ten Commandments of God that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai.  They knew that this mandate is far more significant than, “You have heard it was said”.  The taking of a life is expressly forbidden by the Jewish Law, and results in judgement.  Jesus now expands his interpretation of this commandment to include even being angry with a brother or sister in the faith community.  He contends that anger with another is analogous to actually killing them!  The people at his feet must have been astonished at this statement.  Taking it a step further, Jesus tells the crowd, that if someone has something against them, if there is any disharmony in the community, that they should not approach the altar, but rather resolve the conflict before bringing their sacrifice to God.

Now, this might seem a bit strange to our ears, but we Lutherans have actually adopted this same practice; it is part of our liturgy whenever the Eucharist is celebrated.  Rather than bringing a sacrifice before God, we approach our altar to partake of Christ’s body and blood, in remembrance of the sacrifice he made on our behalf.  During Confession and Forgiveness this morning we acknowledged that “we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves”, and we asked God’s forgiveness of this and all our sins.  Thus, we “resolve” any conflict we might have with our “brothers” or “sisters” before we come to the Lord’s table.  Again, these examples of anger or conflict certainly don’t rise to the level of murder, but that’s just Jesus’ point.  We are not to allow anything to disrupt the wholeness, the harmony, the unity of the community; this is God’s will for the kingdom.  The one to come and the one already here.  Jesus is setting forth the command for adherence to the absolute minimum interpretation of Jewish Law.  It’s not enough to simply refrain from killing your neighbor; being angry or holding a grudge are considered to be in disobedience to God’s will.  In truth, the way in which we treat our neighbors is essentially a reflection of how we respond to God; for it is God’s Law we disobey when we are angry or in conflict with our fellow humans.

Next up, Jesus deals with the issue of divorce.  Again, like murder, one would assume that this was an area of the Law that wasn’t open for discussion.  Moses had stated that a man may simply give his wife a certificate of divorce and both may go on their merry way.  And the topic of adultery figured prominently in the Jewish community, and whether or not adultery occurred if divorce was or was not granted.  In fact, the accepted grounds for a man to divorce his wife were hotly contested in Jesus’ time and there were two quite distinct schools of rabbinical thought.  Rabbi Hillel, one of the most respected scholars maintained that a man could divorce his wife for as trifling a reason as having ruined his dinner.  On the other end of the spectrum, Rabbi Shammai, the other highly regarded religious leader of the day held a decidedly more permissive interpretation.  He contended that divorce should happen only in the  most extreme of cases, mainly infidelity.  Jesus and his listeners there on the mount would have been aware of these widely differing interpretations of the accepted grounds for a man to divorce his wife, and Jesus’ proclamation was likely highly anticipated.

The crowd was again though, probably greatly surprised by Jesus’ even more radical approach.  He tells them, “anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”  He takes the permissive view that the only acceptable reason for divorce is unfaithfulness, and this is in agreement with one of the two prevailing interpretations.  But, in a culture where women essentially had no rights, Jesus also places responsibility on the men in the case of marrying a divorced woman.  This part would have been unheard of in Jesus’ time.  Within the Torah there wasn’t even mention that a wife could divorce her husband; in this patriarchal society, men had all the power and women had none.  Again, this position that Jesus takes is intended to equivalize the cultural and religious norm, thereby bringing wholeness to the community.  Women should not be dismissed over a burned supper, Jesus proclaims; and men ought to think twice before considering marrying a divorced woman.  These issues of the dissolution of marriages and the stigma of adultery should not be taken lightly, for the community as a whole suffers when relationships crumble.

And finally, Jesus offers instruction on the proper way to make a vow.  Again, this seems a rather odd topic for his first public sermon.  And how might this lend itself to the promotion of the trust, ethics, and compassion he is advocating are necessary for healthy human relationships, and the health of the community?  In the time of Jesus, most dealings were sealed not with signatures on a document, but with a verbal vow.  And many people would strengthen their oral pledge by swearing on something thought to have higher value than just one’s word.  Jesus lists some of these this morning; “don’t swear to God, or to heaven, or on your own head”.  He calls people to let their word be trustworthy on its own merit; vow-making should exhibit the highest level of integrity and trustworthiness.  Again, if those around you accept you at your word because they know that your vow alone is honest and may be trusted, the entire community experiences the wholeness that is God’s will for the people.

In a few moments Emanual Lutheran Church’s Annual Report will be presented to the congregation, and we will review what has transpired over the last year.  You will hear about the positive steps that have been taken to expand the mission and ministry of this church, and the ways in which her people have striven to act as the hands and feet of Christ in our community.  Jesus’ words to those at his feet as he preached the Sermon on the Mount remain true for us today.  The importance of trust, compassion, and unity within our community isn’t diminished.  The ways in which the people of God in this place have sought to bring wholeness to our community are no different from what Jesus preached 2,000 years ago on that mountaintop.  For that, this congregation should acknowledge that the works that have been done in Jesus’ name have been righteous and in keeping with Christ’s command. 

But you will also hear that Emanuel continues to struggle against headwinds, for our financial condition remains tenuous.  Attendance at worship hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels and the number of people involved in the church’s mission activities is limited.

We recall these words from Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth this morning; “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose”.  We gave been called to that common purpose, that of working together to ensure that this congregation of God’s people as Emanuel Lutheran Church will continue to thrive, and to be a place where wholeness, compassion, and unity are the principles that bind us; to one another, the community, and the world beyond.                    

God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.  Amen.