The Law of the Heart

 

PROPERS:          FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR A         

TEXT:                MATTHEW 5:13-20

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2023.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The superseding of the Law comes through a converted heart that obeys the essence through conversion.  

 

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”

 

            In Judeo-Christian practice, the Law originated at a place I recently visited – the craggy, extinct volcano in barren northernmost Egypt named Mt. Sinai.  It was there, scripture tells us, that Moses communed with God and received the Ten Commandments.

 

            Over the millennia, the Law developed further in the Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy and the writings, to this day, of Jewish sages and rabbis. The Law, as it exists today, applies to every imaginable aspect of human existence.

 

            So, what does it have to do with us?

 

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            Jesus says today, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law.” Yet, each of us likely violates the tenets of the Law multiple times each week.

 

            One of the delights of living on the Eastern Shore is the ready access to seafood.  Just this past week, Nora and I enjoyed roasted shrimp at our favorite restaurant, Red or White in Fairhope.  I thoroughly enjoy crabs, mussels, and oysters – though I wonder who exactly ate the first raw oyster.

 

            My other temptation is barbecue – pork, especially.  It is a delight when Randy and Von Nix or Jim and Lisa May smoke a pork shoulder for this congregation’s enjoyment. I had some this past Friday on the way to Atlanta. Even though I am not as good at it, I like to slow cook pork on my home smoker – whether it is pork shoulder, pork butt, or ribs.  I have always loved it.

 

            But all this, and much, much more, is explicitly prohibited by the Law.  Did you drive a car yesterday?  Not allowed. Did you cook lunch or dinner yesterday? Not okay. Did you work or shop yesterday? Out of bounds. 

 

Remember, according to the Law, the Sabbath was yesterday. Today is not the Sabbath.  Today is the Lord’s Day – the Day of Resurrection.  Does that free us from the requirements of the Sabbath found in the Law? According to the Law, maybe not.

 

Jesus loved the Law.  For him, it was a gift from God to order lives and to bring structure to communities. But he viewed the ways it came to be interpreted and the manner in which religious authorities applied it to be burdensome. The target was not the conversion of the heart, but adherence to every jot and tittle of the most minute interpretation.

 

For Jesus, the volumes of the Law, it’s very essence, could be greatly reduced: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” In his day, Jesus was not alone in that interpretation.  Other rabbis of his day said the same thing.

 

I suspect most of us think we adhere to this summary. But it is not a goal we reach, but something to which we aspire throughout our lives.  The more certain we are that we have reached that standard, the less likely we are to have gotten there.  It is a lifelong process of sanctification, always striving to move toward the goal of holiness.

 

A way I interpret it is to intend the best for each person and each thing I do. It is not something I realize.  I fall short mostly.  But I seek it.  

 

Pork, shrimp, mussels, and oysters? Doesn’t matter.  The heart is what matters.