Lk 10:25-37 NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

There’s a whole genre of movies that basically aim to re-tell history – to tell the untold story behind the well-known tale. The most recent that comes to mind is one with possibly the longest title I’ve ever heard: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. There’s something pretty appealing about looking at a familiar story in a very different light.

Jesus was a master storyteller. In Luke’s Gospel, we see one lawyer on a mission to test him, and Jesus turns the tables on the lawyer – simply by not giving a direct answer. I’m pretty sure the lawyer blinked hard a couple of times at that. It’s what lawyers are famous for, isn’t it?
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“In the Law, what has been written? How do you read it?”
The lawyer is suddenly answering his own question. And he’s good with the answer, too. His reply comes from two different books of Moses’ law – widely spaced but equally recognized by Pharisee and Sadducee. Deuteronomy 6:5 “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and your soul and your mind and your strength.” Leviticus 19:18; “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus twists the lawyer’s tail a bit, too – “You have given the right answer; do this and you shall live.” The lawyer, out to trap, gets his own answer approved by his target.
The lawyer’s been considerably embarrassed. Jewish society put a lot of store in word-plays and cleverness with language – and a lawyer should be at the top of his game. Jesus has just flipped him, though, and he’s wearing a little egg.
It’s hardly surprising that his next question is put out there to justify himself. “'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ And who is my neighbor?”
At this point, Jesus tells a rather surprising tale. We’re all used to it, we’ve known it since Sunday School or Kids Church or Scripture – the Good Samaritan. My guess is that if you all had a sheet of paper, you’d be able to scribble the main line of the story down pretty quickly, and maybe even word-for-word.

Here’s a surprise. Jesus’ listeners would have been able to do the same (well, those who could write), and their answer would be longer than yours. It wasn’t called the Good Samaritan, but it was a well-known Greek story. And Greek stories were popular, even in Jewish Palestine.

There was a guy, and he was really down on his luck. He was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho, and the one thing guaranteed to happen to a guy down on his luck… happened. He got robbed, stripped, beaten to within an inch of his life and left for vulture-bait.
Man number one walks past and does exactly the right thing – he gives him a wide berth. Jesus adds the element that he was a priest who ran the risk of becoming unclean. An unclean priest would be as welcome in Jerusalem as one of Bob’s breakfasts – so he does the sensible thing. Jesus’ audience would have approved. A Levite does exactly the same thing, for the same reason. Good call.
But along comes the stumblebum – Jesus adds a local touch for good measure; the stumblebum’s a Samaritan. This guy is the butt of more jokes than a Kiwi sheep farmer. He’s actually considered an unperson – worse than a Gentile. He’s the idiot, he’s the fall-guy of the story.

As evidence of his stupidity, he is filled with compassion at the sight of this beaten-up man lying on the road. He does some field first-aid with oil and wine and bandage, picks up the man, slings him over the donkey, takes him to an inn, and pays for the guy to stay until he’s better.

Familiar? Sort of…

The well-known story would continue. Bad luck was contagious. You never went to help someone who was unlucky enough to be robbed and left in the nude. You only lent an out-of-luck person a tiny bit of money. Bad luck was actively contagious, and would – at this point in the story – literally jump from the victim to the Samaritan, and the audience would cheer as a good storyteller would pile on the misfortunes that would follow the idiot that stopped to help. This was the turning-point in the story. Not just for the Samaritan, either. The guy who was beaten up would wake up in a hotel, fully paid-for, and would stay a long, long time. His bad luck had left him! Free holiday!
This is the point in the story when everyone would be leaning forward, listening in for the catalogue of woe that was about to descend on this Samaritan’s head. But Jesus is no ordinary story-teller. Right at the climax, he chops the story dead.

Right at the point where the Samaritan leaves himself open to be financially fleeced – “Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend” – Jesus shuts the story down, turns to the lawyer.

“Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”
And Jesus said to him, “You go, and you do the same.”

And twice the lawyer has the question come back at him. Once gently, and once with a lot of force. Who is my neighbor? Wrong question, champ. Who is that person’s neighbor? Who is that person’s?

The one who shows him mercy.

You go, and you do the same.

Reg has been encouraging us to begin to start praying for our neighbors – to pick three neighboring families, and to pray for them. Not just pray for them, but pray that they will be receptive to the Gospel, receptive to the moving and powerful Word of God, receptive to the saving love of our Saviour. I think that that’s one of the best things that we can do – long-term, planned prayer for our neighbors so that their hearts will be softened to the Good Message of our Lord’s grace.

But they’re not the only ones, are they? When we go out that door, we’ll re-enter the world of men, and the world of men is a place where the bruised and the mugged and the robbed and the crippled are lying on the ground. Occasionally physically, sometimes chemically, mostly spiritually. We know who they are.

We know that the wisdom of the world hasn’t changed. Leave them alone. Stay focused on your career – a workmate with a tarnished reputation can harm your own image, and these days your image is your worth. Step around them, do what you must do, but do not pity. It’s weakness, and it’ll be seen, and the bad luck will flow. You’ll lose value in the transaction. Save your reputation, only spend when there’s something in it for you.

The true, untold story of the Good Samaritan hasn’t stopped. It still rumbles on. If we listen, it’s very, very familiar – particularly in the world of men.

Jesus has marked out our place. Who is our neighbor? Wrong question. Who is that person’s neighbor? And that person’s?

The one who shows him mercy.
We go. And we do the same.
In Jesus’ name...

Amen

Artwork: Gustave Dore: Arrival of the Good Samaritan at the Inn (Woodcut) taken from http://reformedfaith.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/is-the-good-samaritan-no-more/ which is an interesting story, too...

Note: Scripture quotes from the UBS4 Greek.

Matt 5 (Part 4) THE UNBELIEVABLE

Real Righteousness Part 4

Part of the "Design of a Disciple" series

Sunday 19th October, 2008 7pm service

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, life for life.[1]

Sounds like a pretty brutal code, doesn’t it?
It’s actually pretty natural. It’s how we naturally measure justice. And it’s all scriptural.

We know instinctively that if someone does wrong, they must make some sort of restitution - they should pay. Whether it’s a criminal through the judicial system or a bully getting expelled, there is some visceral satisfaction in the knowledge that the guilty have been made to pay... something.

Getting even means exactly that. Levelling the score means exactly that. Adding insult to injury means exactly that.

Jesus quotes it, again, as an example - but it's an odd example, isn't it? Particularly in light of what he advocates next - the total abandonment of any thoughts of vengeance. So why remind the people of an eye for an eye?

That law was intended to be more than a guide for punishment in harsh crimes. It was also a limiter - and a very effective one, too. It was a governor, embedded in the Laws of Moses, to ensure that punishment was kept appropriate to the crime, and that justice would not descend into vengeance. Because that's a natural part of our view of justice, too - that the payback includes a little interest. That the pushing-back is a little more forceful than the first shove.

Jesus quoted the scriptural mandate that limited punishment, and then avocated something utterly alien.

I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

The idea of simply standing still when someone’s taking a shot at us is… well, it’s stupid. Certainly, in the eyes of anyone around us, it’s a sign of weakness, an opportunity to invite further attack and exploitation.

Make no mistake, there is nothing natural about anything that Jesus is suggesting here. Look at verse 38. If someone smashes you on the cheek – physically assaults you – your natural instinct is to either flatten them or run away (possibly to find someone who can flatten your attacker for you). But Jesus says no – do no harm to your enemy. If anything, give him further room to have at you again.
Verse 39 – if someone tries to take the shirt off your back (and, incidentally, there were laws to stop an Israelite suing anyone out of their clothes, so this person is seriously out of line and deserves a clocking), give him more. Context – your coat's gone, your cloak's gone – you’re in the nuddy, now. You have given your enemy everything that you physically have.

That’s madness!

It’s irresponsible to the rest of your family and loved ones!

And it’s what Jesus asks.
Verse 42 – someone once said to me that if someone borrows $50 off you and you never see them again, it was probably money well-spent... Wrong motive, of course. Turn nobody away. Lend what you can to someone who needs, give when you're asked

Matty said it last week. This gets down so much into who we are. It’s so much more than what we do. Unless a genuine, Christ-centred love for our enemies is part of who we are, we’ll never be able to do this.

Unless a genuine, Christ-centred, Spirit-fuelled, God-inspired love for our enemies is part of who we are, we'll never be able to do it. As a matter of fact, we’ll never be able to understand it.

You want to weigh your heart? Ask yourself a question – do you want to see the person who has wronged you the most – cut you the deepest – ruined your world… do you want to see them in Heaven with God the Father and the risen Lord Jesus?
There’s nothing amazing about loving your friends. There's nothing wrong with that, but... it's what everybody does. How we take care of our own hardly sets us apart from the world.

Jesus' suggestion sets us apart massively. There’s nothing easy about loving your enemy, and sometimes the only assurance we can possibly have in this is... simply this.

It's exactly what Christ did. He loved His enemy. I'm not talking about the crucifixion, although he was the perfect model of to what extreme his love would physically go. Forgive them, Father, for they don't know what they do. But that's not the enemy I'm talking about.

I'm talking about another enemy.

An old enemy of God.

A rebel, an insurgent against his Father's rule. A usurper who wanted no sovereign hand over me… an enemy of God.

But Jesus loved His enemy.
Me.

Let me take you to Rome, when Paul’s letter was being read out. I want you to feel the force of these words: For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us! Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, [then how] much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.[2]

Jesus asks us to do the unbelievable. Jesus asks us to do the completely unnatural. Jesus asks us to be a people whose lives are visibly defined by his grace. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Here's the challenge.

Look at Michael Hart's observation of Christians as a whole, in their relationship to Jesus' words:

We do not normally practice love for our enemies, we do not expect others to practice it, we do not teach our children to practice it. Jesus’ most distinctive teaching therefore remains an intriguing but basically untried suggestion.[3]
It's not. It's not an untried suggestion. As hard as it is, and as poorly as we often do at this, we can keep our Master in our eyes. Because he did it first.

But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!

Amen

[1] Exodus 21:23-5

[2] Romans 5:6-11

[3] Michael H. Hart, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. London: Simon & Schuster; 1993. p 21

Photograph [ via The Associated Press] appeared in a CBS news clip. The article itself is worth a read. Click onto

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/02/01/world/main2420546.shtml

Matt 5 (Part 3) MURDER ONE TWO THREE

Real Righteousness Part 3
Part of the “Design of a Disciple” series

Sunday, 19th October, 2008 7pm service



"There’s a big difference between the righteousness of being compliant and the righteousness of being joyfully obedient." From Part I
“The fact is, adultery is a promise-breaking sin. It’s an act that breaks vows, and that’s something that flies hard in the face of God’s character.” From Part II

After chewing on something as heavy and as serious as adultery, we’re going to move back a few verses to find a lighter topic.
Murder.
Matthew chapter 5, verse 21… You’ve heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not murder”[1], and “anyone who murders will be subject to judgment”.
Knowing the nature of the internet, I’m not going to make the assumption that everyone who will ever read this has kept Commandment Number Six. But it would probably be fair to assume that the majority hasn’t broken it. That law hasn’t been broken by that many people. Well done. There’s that line again, the righteousness of obedience.
But what leads up to the line? Let’s listen to Jesus’ words again:
Whoever murders will be subject to judgment” – but I tell you that…
· Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment;
· Anyone who says to his brother Raca [2] is answerable to the Sanhedrin [3];
· Anyone who says you fool will be in danger of the fire of hell.
That’s quite a sliding-scale, isn’t it? In the eyes of God, whoever is angry with his brother is on an equal footing with a murderer – judgment is coming.
Call a brother brainless, you’re up before the Supreme Court.
Call your brother a fool – you’re standing on the edge of hell...
Now that just plain frightens people.

There’s something here that makes me squirm, though. I think what really makes me uncomfortable is that we live in a culture where, even when we’re being friendly – actually, especially when we’re being friendly – we regularly couch our language in terms of contempt or derision. We use some pretty deadly terms as affectionate name-tags, but they’ve got an edge to them. You’re such a loser… Mate, that’s just so gay… lame… I haven’t even started, have I?
Here’s a measure of the depth of this world’s corruption. Even when we speak with love and affection, our language is absolutely shot through with terms of contempt, arrogance, poison. We don’t have to be angry with someone to do a killing job on them.
Be careful. Even among our closest friends…
Part of our knockabout culture is that brand of fun that hooks into the whole paying-out thing. You know how it goes… somebody makes a mistake, commits some social faux-pas, says something the wrong way, wears a pink shirt or the wrong clothes or whatever…
and we just mercilessly pound that person for days, weeks, months. And the worst part is that if the poor sucker is actually hurt, he can’t say much – because it’s only a joke, right? We’ve made a really sharp hook for a brother or sister to hang off, and we’ve left them with no way to get themselves off. We’re pretty free with saying “it’s just a joke” – or, even more callously, “it’s nothing personal”. Really?
It’s not that far a jump from talking to a brother or a sister like that to the beginnings of secretly holding them that way in our heart – even if it’s a little bit. If we’re comfortable with using that language to each others’ faces… maybe we’ve got some quiet contemplation and repenting to do.
I do. I find the whole paying-out thing pretty easy, and pretty fun. I’m good at it – really good at it – and I have absolutely no right to be proud of that.

Jesus then gives us two practical demonstrations, two ways that show how righteousness happens, what righteousness looks like. In the first example (Matthew 5:23-24), he puts us in a position where we’re in conflict with a brother or a sister.
The other (Matthew 5:24-6) is a situation where we’re in conflict with someone who is most definitely NOT a brother or a sister.
Here’s the trick – Jesus very quickly sketches two pictures, and in both scenarios he cleverly gives no suggestion at all that we’ve done wrong.
There’s no suggestion that we should repent, or that we have anything to repent of. For all we can tell, we’re the ones being falsely accused.
So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you [notice, not that I have some outstanding issue against my brother…] leave your gift there before front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Whether or not I’ve been wronged, Jesus has made it my responsibility to make things right. Sacrifices to God can wait – says God – until the heart is right. And here, again, is righteousness that exceeds beyond. See it?

Again, looking to the other example; if someone wants to have a crack at us – whether we deserve it or not – Jesus has made it my responsibility to do everything to make amends. Before I get taken to a place where others will judge between the two.

What’s that got to do with murder?
If I’m penalised unjustly, how hard is it going to be for me to think compassionately of my accuser? Or am I likely to languish in that prison, growing a little plant of bitterness? You have heard it said by the ancients, “You shall do no murder” – the righteousness of the Pharisees, and the line of the law – but I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother is in danger of the same judgment as someone who has gone and murdered.
The righteousness that God requires of me means that I have to keep my heart so far away from that place. Not just a matter of keeping on this side of the line that the law describes, but keeping our hearts in a way that the line isn’t even approached.

Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

[1] Jesus’ quote can be found at Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17
[2] Aramaic word – basically, Raca means emptiness, with the implication of an empty skull.
[3] The Jewish Council in Jerusalem – we’d call it the Supreme Court.

Matt 5 (Part 2) SEMPER FIDELIS

Real Righteousness Part 2
Part of the “Design of a Disciple” series

Sunday, 19th October, 2008 7pm service

“There’s a big difference between the righteousness of being compliant and the righteousness of being joyfully obedient.
There’s a big difference between the righteousness of the Pharisees and the righteousness that God is asking for.
If we can separate mere compliance from loving righteousness, we’re on our way to understanding…” From Part 1

Now that we’ve had a look at the way Jesus has separated mere obedience and real righteousness, I’m going to jump over to Matthew 5:27
You’ve heard it said that that “You shall not commit adultery”[1].
Well, that’s pretty easy to figure out if you’ve crossed that line or not, isn’t it? Excellent – we shouldn’t have any problems, then. No worries...
You know better. Adultery’s one thing we’d rather not talk about that much. But, just for the record, this is how seriously Jesus takes it. Listen to his language.

You have heard that it was said to the ancients, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, tearit 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.[2]


That’s pretty extreme. And that’s twice he’s talked about hell.


In the Greek, his choice of words adds some graphic richness to the picture here – the word is Gehenna.
Gehenna is often used as a nickname for Hell. It was also a real place.
It was the garbage-dump outside the walls of Jerusalem. It’s where the dead horses and dead dogs and dead humans ended up, along with everything else. This is a city with no flush-buttons and no rolls of soluble toilet paper, and hot dry summer days. Things caught fire and smouldered for days. It was famous for its flies. Get the picture?
It's a clever picture, too – there's a word-play here. Throw your eye into the garbage before your whole body ends up being tossed out with the trash. If you have to, throw your hand into the garbage before your whole body ends up there… and if your body does end up there, it’s because you’re dead. You’re out there with the flies.
I’m not advocating that we physically start hacking off pieces of our own bodies like something out of a SAW movie. But… that’s still a hard-core, violent picture that he paints, isn’t it?

If something is going to drag you into sin, get rid of it. Get it out of your life. Lose it. Chop it off, pluck it out, unplug it, de-program it, cancel the account, get a new SIM-card and number for it if you have to…

This is serious, Jesus uses deadly-serious language, and we need to pay serious attention to just how seriously Jesus comes out swinging against adultery.
Let’s get something straight – Jesus isn’t talking about a situation here where somebody walks by, and our eyes catch a glimpse, and little bits of us go… hey! The Lord God made man, and He made woman, and He stood back and saw that it was good… Genesis 1:31, it was very good. The first time I saw Fiona, my Adam’s apple just about did a cartwheel.(Still does, too!) Okay, that’s one thing.
There’s a difference between that, though, and what Jesus is talking about here. Again, going to the Greek is pretty helpful… everyone looking upon a woman with a view to desire has already committed adultery in his heart.
A view to desire… That implies more than a casual glance, doesn’t it? This is a different kettle altogether.
Let’s not be mucking around here. If there’s something that constantly provides a pathway for you to sin here… to slide from merely being tempted to being a promise-breaker…
Because that’s the worst bit about adultery. That’s the violence of adultery. It’s not just about the sex or the misuse of sex. There’s that line again. There’s the righteousness of the Pharisees. This goes beyond sex.

The fact is, adultery is a promise-breaking sin. It’s an act that breaks vows, and that’s something that flies hard in the face of God’s character.
You’ve made a solemn vow and promise to your wife or husband – and you’ve made that promise in the presence of God.

God is a God of promises, and a God of faithfulness to promises. You want to know how highly God thinks of marriage and the strength of those promises?
How often does God use the language of marriage when He describes Israel, His people, His church, His Son…? The relationship between God and Israel is often described as a marriage in the Old Testament.

And some of the most ripping, most painful language that you can find is used by God when Israel is unfaithful. Homework – read the book of Hosea. Read the front end of Jeremiah. They are two frighteningly painful books.

And if you’ve been the victim of adultery, or if you’ve had someone cheat on you, Hosea’s prophetic message just resonates with pain, anguish and raw, howling anger as the people of God abandon Him for others. You feel the rage and sorrow; it’s almost a physical force.

You’ve made a solemn vow and promise to your wife or husband – and you’ve made that promise in the presence of God. God is a God of promises, and a God of faithfulness to promises. If you’ve made a promise to someone in God’s name, then for God’s sake, keep it.

Semper Fidelis. It’s the motto of the United States Marine Corp. It means Ever Faithful, and it’s a great motto to take for ourselves. Ever faithful to our partners. Ever faithful to our children, to our families. Ever faithful to our Lord, who is always and forever faithful to His Word and His promises.

For those of us who haven’t made those promises to another yet… let me say this. Take this seriously, too. Yes, you need to be married before you commit adultery. But you need to understand exactly how important, how sacred, how precious God considers this bond. Treat it with that level of respect. Don’t even begin to approach that line in anyone else’s promise. Live like you’ve already made a promise to a beloved one.

If you can master these temptations now, while you’re still young, you’re on a path that will set you up well for later. It won’t be easy. The world will not let you have it that easy. But if you can master the temptations now, you’re on the way.

Obedience – compliance – says “you shall not commit adultery”.

Righteousness says that you are an example to the world of what faithfulness looks like. Both godly faithfulness to each other, and the kind of faithfulness that marks God Himself – the faithfulness of God to His word and His people.

Semper Fidelis. Ever Faithful.

NEXT - MURDER ONE, TWO, THREE...

[1] Jesus' quote can be found at Exodus 20:13, Deut 5:18

[2] Matthew 5:27-30
Photograph was sourced from http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x149/nappiejean/blacklove3.jpg I cannot find a credit for the photographer; it has appeared in several blogs. Originally located via Google Images under "old love"

Matt 5 (Part 1) RIGHTEOUSNESS EXCEEDING BEYOND

Real Righteousness Part 1

Part of the "Design of a Disciple" series.

Sunday 19th October, 2008 7pm service.

A few years ago a man called Michael Hart wrote a book called The 100. He attempted to rate the 100 most influential people in history. It got quite a reaction, because, against everybody’s expectation, the winner wasn’t Jesus.
His choice was Mohammed.
The runner-up wasn’t Jesus – he chose Isaac Newton.
Jesus Christ, the only and unique Son of God, the defeater of Satan, sin and death, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world… came third.
Second place wasn’t hard to justify, because gravity is pretty important stuff. But Mohammed? First? My gut-reaction was, quite simply, tell him he’s dreamin’.

Here was the kicker, though. Michael Hart looked at how followers follow. From his viewpoint, Islamic people today are far more faithful to the teachings of Mohammed than Christians are to the teaching of Christ. Here’s what he says. He’s referencing Matthew 5:43-48 – specifically, the command to love ones’ enemies:

These are surely among the most remarkable and original ethical ideas ever presented. If they were widely followed I would have no hesitation in placing Jesus first in this book. But the truth is that they are not widely followed. Indeed, they are not even actually generally accepted. Most Christians consider the injunction to love your enemy as at most an ideal which might be realised in some perfect world, but one which is not a reasonable guide to conduct in the actual world we live in.
We do not normally practice love for our enemies, we do not expect others to practice it, we do not teach our children to practice it. Jesus’ most distinctive teaching therefore remains an intriguing but basically untried suggestion.[1]

That raises a pretty valid question. What does it look like to be a disciple, a follower, a Christian? What should the design of a disciple look like?

Matthew records Jesus teaching his disciples and a huge crowd, and it’s famously known now as The Sermon On The Mount. And that’s a pretty good place to start.

Matthew 5:20 – Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Greek here is even more emphatic – Unless your righteousness exceeds beyond that of the Scribes and Pharisees…

We’re pretty comfortable with that. We’ve seen the movie, and we know that the Pharisees are the bad boys. Weirdie beardies with big robes and a scowl... Not quite…
The scribes and the Pharisees were seen as the standard of righteousness – they were famous for it. That was their job. People listening to Jesus would have looked to these scribes and Pharisees to see what righteousness looked like, to see the design of a good, obedient, godly person.
Much to the peoples’ surprise, Jesus says that their righteousness is insufficient – it’s not good enough. So the obvious question that Jesus’ listeners would have asked now is: “what’s the difference between righteousness and righteousness?” The Pharisees were all about obedience to the law. Is there a difference between righteousness and obedience? Good question.

Let’s say I drop a glass by accident. There’s lots of glass on the floor. Being an old glass, it’s shattered into slivers, and it’s gone into the carpet. That makes it very hard to find the pieces. That’s not good, because I have little kids. So I say to them, don’t come into the room.
Benny is three. He looks at me, and I say Danger really carefully. He blinks, says danger, and goes away. He goes and watches Maisy, counts frogs, plays with his Thomas the Tank Engine train-set (thanks, Mum and Dad).

Grace is nearly seven, smart and a real livewire . And she’s still there. And she edges right up to the doorway… Now, I know Grace – she'll push the line, so I have to make a line for her. She edges up to the door. I tell her there’s glass in the carpet, gorgeous, and it’ll shred her feet. I want to help you, Daddy – she goes and gets a pair of shoes. No – it’s too dangerous. Don’t come into the room. But I really know my daughter. I need to tell her don’t go past this line. And she needs to know, too. And she’ll wonder – and ask – if on the line counts as being over the line… you get the picture.
She doesn’t physically cross that line. She’s obedient in form, she’s obedient to the letter… she hasn’t disobeyed me.
But it’s all about the line. The glass – the real danger – is nowhere in her mind. There’s a difference between the righteousness of Grace and the righteousness of Benny, who’s just gone okay, Dad and toddled off.

There’s a big difference between the righteousness of being compliant and the righteousness of being joyfully obedient.

There’s a big difference between the righteousness of the Pharisees and the righteousness that God is asking for.

We live in a world where compliance is the key. We’re not by nature lovers of law, and the idea of loving the law is very alien to us. We live right on the edge of the law in so many ways... speed-limits and taxes, for instance.

King David’s passionate love of the Law of the Lord that we read in the Psalms just seems so bizarre to us.
But if we can separate compliance from righteousness, we’re on our way to understanding.

Next week....
REAL RIGHTEOUSNESS PART II: Semper Fidelis

[1] Michael H. Hart, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. London: Simon & Schuster; 1993. p 20-21

Image from an article on Pro-Boolean software. Available at www.cguu.com/.../il_probool_glass_shatter.jpg