The Ever Shrinking List of Laws, or We're Growing Up

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.


Last week I was all set to talk about what it means for us to be the salt of the earth. If any of you want to read it, it is online and I have printed several copies of it that you can take home. For a while I thought about giving that sermon today, but it just doesn’t fit with the readings.

Most Sundays our readings have a central theme, but it’s not very often that that theme is so obvious.

“If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.”

“Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.”

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’”


Have you figured out the theme yet? – Following God’s rules.

Can anyone tell me how many rules there are?
- Ten Commandments
- The Great Commandment (Summary of the Law)
- 613 Laws (Mosaic Law)

Our Old Testament readings from Sirach and the Psalms tell us that it is possible to follow the rules. They also tell us that God knows when we keep them and when we break them. This reminds me of Santa. (sing) He knows when you’ve been sinning. He knows when you’re at peace. He knows if you’ve been bad or good. (stop singing) Well, you know the rest. According to these readings, god is happy with those who keep his laws.


In our Gospel, Jesus tells us how we should interpret the laws. Following the letter of the law is not enough. We need to look at what the law was intended to do, and then we need to follow it not just by our actions, but in our hearts.


Then our Gospel gets scary. “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. 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.”


Is Jesus telling us that we should blind ourselves to avoid sins such as lust and greed? Is Jesus telling us that we should maim ourselves to avoid stealing? Or muting ourselves so that we cannot lie?


No!


Jesus is telling us that he knows we are human. Jesus is telling us that he knows we will be tempted to sin and that sometimes we won’t be able to resist. Our reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians talks about this too. “And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh.”


We are human beings. We are not perfect. We will be tempted. We will fall short of the Law.


So what are we supposed to do?

Step 1. “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.”

There are things in our lives that we know tempt us into sin. Our first step is to remove the temptation. For example, I know that in our house there are times when every one of us wants to choose what program is on TV. The temptation is to fight over it. How could we remove this temptation?

- Get rid of the TV.
- Take turns choosing.
- Make a schedule.

I’m sure you can think of your own temptations. I’m also sure you can come up with some ways to remove or at least reduce those temptations.

Our reading from First Corinthians leads us to step two. “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food.” Have you noticed that as we move through the timeline of the bible the lists of rules get shorter?

- 613 Mosaic Laws
- 10 Commandments
- 1 Great Commandment

Does this remind you of growing up? When I was young, someone else made all of the decisions, at least the important ones. My parents told me what I would be doing and when I would be doing it.

As I grew older, I was given a list of things I could do and things I couldn’t do. These rules were more like guidelines that helped me make sure I did what needed to be done and avoid things I shouldn’t do. (Not that I always followed the rules.)

Finally, I moved out and was expected to be able to make my own decisions.


Well, that’s where we are now. That’s what the Great Commandment is about. It’s not about getting rid of the old laws. It is about being trusted to know in our hearts what is right and what is wrong. We’ve grown up. Every one of us knows what is right and what is wrong, but we are still human. We will be tempted. This is okay. This is how God made us. What is not okay is to keep going back to our temptations. Jesus is telling us that we need to learn from our mistakes and to stop repeating them over and over.


All of our readings tell us that with God’s help, we can get better at it. We can avoid sin. When we work at it and trust in God, God is well pleased.


Thanks be to God.

You are the Salt of the Earth

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.


You are the salt of the earth!!!!


Jesus speaks to us just as clearly now as he did 2000 years ago. You, Christian, are the salt of the earth.

What does it mean to be the salt of the earth?

Well, salt serves several purposes. What happens when we add salt to food? It tastes better. It brings flavours to life. What happens when we add too much salt? It becomes bitter. It loses all flavours except saltiness.

Salt – essential for all animal life. Too much salt – deadly. Dries out the body.


So if we think of ourselves, and all Christians, as salt, what does that say about us?

We have an essential role in the world.
We bring out the natural flavours in the world. We help the world to understand love.
If we lose track of our purpose we can do terrible things. Just think of what “Christian” explorers did throughout the world. The horrible things done in Christ’s name did not stop there. They still happen.

Too much saltiness is not only deadly to others, it loses its appeal. It no longer draws us to eat. This has happened to our church as well. Our gospel tells us that when salt loses its taste it is good for nothing and must be thrown out. Well, we’ve been there. But we didn’t throw anyone out, they just left.


How do we become salty again?

Our gospel talks about that too.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and in gives light to all the house. 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.”


This year I believe we have made good progress. We have done a good job of becoming “more salty.” We have shown our light to others. We need to keep doing it.

We also have to be careful. It is easy to look at our lives, at our church, and see only what hasn’t worked. When we focus on our failures, our light gets dim. When we use our failures as an excuse to not try something else, our light goes out. It is overwhelmed by the darkness.


So as we move into our annual meetings, starting today, let’s look at where we have succeeded. Let’s build on our successes. We can let our light shine. Our church can become a beacon. Not because this building will be seen in our community. This building is not the church. You are.

And you are the salt of the earth!