Before reading this entry, you might take a little time to become reacquainted with this sermon. It is too long to put in this blog, so I will link it here.
What I Love About This Sermon:
What I love about this sermon is the implied holiness of God.
You cannot come away from this sermon without realizing that when God says he is holy, that means an exceedingly high thing. This sermon is a sermon no doubt Jesus followed, for he of all people would want his life to be built on the rock of these teachings. If God is holy like this sermon, that to me means he is trustworthy, and that relying on him will keep us, each of us, safe. I love any message that exemplifies the righteousness and goodness of God.
What I Hate About This Sermon:
These expectations are surreal.
No one can follow this sermon completely. I believe Jesus himself had the strength to follow it, but... no one else. It is very hard. Some things in it I've incorporated into my life, like I try not to talk about any good deed I have done- I try to keep those things to myself. If I do talk about them, it is to make some sort of point, not just to make myself look good. Also, I've found the prayer in 6:9-13 to be very helpful to know how to pray. Knowing how to pray is essential to following hard after God. And of course the whole idea of laying up treasure in Heaven is very appealing to me- it is my life's work to store up as much treasure in heaven as I can. But much of it is... very harsh. "But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." One of many impossible followings of Jesus. I have been slapped before. When it happened my mind was not on this sermon. I did not retaliate, to my credit. However, I did not turn the other cheek either. I immediately reported it to the hospital authorities. So I proved in that moment that this sermon is very difficult to follow- obeying God in moments like these is extremely difficult.
If I were to break down every verse that is anywhere from "extremely difficult" to "wellnigh impossible for any mortal"... I would be going on and on. One moment in particular stands out to me where I arguably dropped the ball- I was driving to a donut shop, ultimately on my way to Idaho from Corvallis (I was in Portland at this point, a place notorious for people who beg who are not really in need), when I missed the shop and had to turn around in this parking lot. Out of nowhere this woman appeared and asked for financial assistance. Now... in my defense, she did not seem to be in exceptional need- this was not a "Good Samaritan" moment where someone is obviously in dire straits due to zero fault of their own. However, scripture is clear that if someone asks you for help you should help them, and Jesus even indicates in one particular passage in Matthew that we will all be judged based on how we treat "the least of these brothers of mine," which I've tended to interpret as meaning the homeless, the imprisoned... those whom life has been nasty and brutish. However, in that moment I was unprepared. Usually before someone asks me for help I have a moment to pray and ask God if he wants me to help someone or not, and in this case I had no such moment. Moreover, my general way of handling the needy is not to give cash, but to go with the person in need and get them what they actually need, whatever that may be. That is my practice. And I had a tight schedule- I was meeting someone in Idaho later that day, and I did not want it to be super late when I go there as that was not even my final destination. So I said no. To this day I wonder if I sinned in that moment.
It's hard following this sermon. Jesus did not sugarcoat what it means to be a disciple. I wish it were easier. I wish... I wish being a disciple was not... so intense. Anyone who majors on Paul and the Pauline epistles may think that being a disciple is about grace, about "doing our best and accepting Jesus' forgiveness." No. Being a disciple is understanding just how terribly we measure up. We don't just fail slightly... we are destitute and without hope except surrender to God. We should put into practice as much of this sermon as we have capacity to- Jesus didn't preach this sermon as just some ideal that we can safely ignore. We should try to follow it, fail, and wholly latch on to the notion that Jesus and his sacrifice are enough. This sermon should teach us true humility, not a false pretense that God does not despise the way we live. This sermon is a wakeup call, that all who call themselves disciples would do well to meditate on the plain teaching of scripture.
This is sermon is a hard word. May we follow Jesus by following his teachings and learning to be like him. Let us never take for granted the mercy God gives us. Never.
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