Friday of the First Week of Lent – Feb. 26, 2010
Matthew 5:20 – 26
“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.
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift.
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
We have inherited a Christianity that largely is made up of moral demands and ethical guidelines for living life a certain way. This expression of the Christian life carries certain ideas about what “goodness” is. In many cases, being “Christian” is equated with being “good.”
However, it is very, very easy to spend a lifetime within the context of traditional Christianity, to keep all the rules, so to speak, and never have a significant encounter with God as revealed in Jesus. Keeping the outer dimension of Christianity is no guarantee that we have been transformed inwardly.
Contemporary expressions of Christianity emphasize the outer aspects of faith, how our faith is expressed in the world. Don’t misread me. I’m not suggesting that faith should not be expressed outwardly in our church, community, or world. But that is not the extent of the kingdom of God.
In this passage and in other places, Jesus drives the outer actions inward. He moves life to the interior, to the motives that produce the exterior actions. He drives to the core of a person, for it is from the core that a person’s life proceeds.
We have to be reminded often that our doing proceeds from our being. That is, our being, our essence, our core identity is first. It resides at the heart of each of us. And it is from this inner core that we live, act, think, speak, serve, and witness.
It is one thing to live one’s faith at the external level. It is another to move our faith-expression to the interior. If Jesus’ kingdom is not perceived from the inside, it is likely misread and misperceived.
So God invites us to find ways to attend to the inner person, to transform the anger, control issues, bitterness, and divisiveness that reside within us. We utilize prayer practices that open us to God’s inner healing. We practice prayer that does not demand, but opens us in attentiveness.
The Season of Lent is a beautiful time to attend to our inner life.
“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.
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift.
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
We have inherited a Christianity that largely is made up of moral demands and ethical guidelines for living life a certain way. This expression of the Christian life carries certain ideas about what “goodness” is. In many cases, being “Christian” is equated with being “good.”
However, it is very, very easy to spend a lifetime within the context of traditional Christianity, to keep all the rules, so to speak, and never have a significant encounter with God as revealed in Jesus. Keeping the outer dimension of Christianity is no guarantee that we have been transformed inwardly.
Contemporary expressions of Christianity emphasize the outer aspects of faith, how our faith is expressed in the world. Don’t misread me. I’m not suggesting that faith should not be expressed outwardly in our church, community, or world. But that is not the extent of the kingdom of God.
In this passage and in other places, Jesus drives the outer actions inward. He moves life to the interior, to the motives that produce the exterior actions. He drives to the core of a person, for it is from the core that a person’s life proceeds.
We have to be reminded often that our doing proceeds from our being. That is, our being, our essence, our core identity is first. It resides at the heart of each of us. And it is from this inner core that we live, act, think, speak, serve, and witness.
It is one thing to live one’s faith at the external level. It is another to move our faith-expression to the interior. If Jesus’ kingdom is not perceived from the inside, it is likely misread and misperceived.
So God invites us to find ways to attend to the inner person, to transform the anger, control issues, bitterness, and divisiveness that reside within us. We utilize prayer practices that open us to God’s inner healing. We practice prayer that does not demand, but opens us in attentiveness.
The Season of Lent is a beautiful time to attend to our inner life.
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