Matthew 5:17-26
June 9, 2013
What is the Bible? Is it simply a collection of ancient
writings? Or is it the Word of God? Are the words merely the words of human
beings, capturing their biases, their cultural situations, and their
interpretation of events? Or are the words inspired by God, speaking the deep
truths of God and God’s people? Does the Bible contain errors that can be
questioned? Or is every word perfect and without error, totally true and
trustworthy?
These questions – and others like them – tend to catch us in
this awkward place of “Yes, but...” These questions try to fit the Bible into a
category and depending on what category you affirm, you are then placed in a
category. You are either liberal or conservative, hell-bound or heaven-bound.
There seems to be no room for gray.
Adam Hamilton captures this tension in a quote he found on a
blog written by someone named ‘Strada’: “I spent 6 long... years in a black and
white church and it almost killed me or at least my spirit. I have no verses to
quote but I can say I dig the gray area, not because it leaves me room to twist
His word, but it gives me room to understand it, make it real... God gave us a
brain, we should use it and try to wrap it around His word” (Hamilton, Seeing Gray, p. 59).
I admit that I also dig the gray area. I love wrestling with
the difficult texts of scripture, not because I ever find easy answers –
actually I often end up with more questions than answers and an uneasy knot in
my stomach. I love wrestling with difficult texts because they push me to see
God and the people of God in new ways. The challenge is that when I read
scripture deeply I inevitably confront my own sin, my own vulnerabilities, my
own shortfalls. Through scripture God calls me to change, to repent, to grow in
holiness – and while that is beautiful, it is never easy.
I’m struck by the fact that over the past century much
energy has been spent arguing about the authority of scripture. The
fundamentalists insist on the inerrancy of scripture, arguing that the Bible is
fully inspired by God, with every word placed in the minds of the Biblical
authors by God’s spirit. Consequently every word of the Bible is true and
without error. Way at the other extreme we find folks like the Jesus Seminar
who come to the Bible with great skepticism. The Jesus Seminar argues that only
18% of the words attributed to Jesus in the gospels were likely actually spoken
by him. Essentially they dismiss Biblical authority completely, leaving the
Bible as not much more than a bunch of stories.
I think these arguments are the work of the devil. Arguing
about scripture has successfully kept us from actually reading and engaging
scripture. Bibles sit on shelves, covered in dust. Morning devotionals cite
scripture, but so often we don’t take the time to actually read the scripture.
Many so-called Bible studies are really book studies or social gatherings. Many
worship services gloss over scripture instead of actively engaging it.
I think it is time for us to reclaim God’s Word in our
lives. I think it is time to dust off those Bibles and see what the book
actually says. Speaking from personal experience, the year I took the Bible off
its shelf and started reading it was the year God became real to me. It was the
year Jesus went from being a wisdom teacher to being the love of my life. It
was the year that shook me to my core, forcing me to reevaluate my priorities.
It was the year that transformed my understanding of worship, and made Holy
Communion holy. It was a year!
I love this book. I am much less concerned about who
authored it or whether it has errors in it than I am with how God speaks to us
through His Word. And I do believe it is the Word of God for the people of God.
This book is a vital key to our growth in the knowledge and love of God. Today
I want to challenge us to read scripture using 4 C’s. Scripture is meant to be
read Communally, Critically, and Confessionally. Scripture is meant to be
Communion with God.
Scripture is meant to be read communally. The invention of
the printing press in the mid-15th century radically changed the way
people read scripture. Prior to that time the limited numbers of Bibles meant
scripture was inevitably read in community. I don’t think it is a coincidence
that the one holy catholic church splintered into hundreds of factions once
people began to read and interpret the Bible on their own.
I don’t want you to hear that you shouldn’t read the Bible
on your own. Rather, I want you to hear that we read scripture in light of a
great cloud of witnesses. We read scripture in light of our creeds and our
doctrines. We read scripture in the light of faithful interpreters from
Augustine to Aquinas and St. Francis to Luther and Calvin to Wesley and
Bonhoeffer and even Rob Bell.
I think this is what Jesus is getting at when he says, “Do
not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to
abolish but to fulfill.” We can’t dismiss the pillars of our faith. We can’t
throw out laws we don’t like just because we don’t like them. Jesus didn’t come
to abolish them but to fulfill them – to bring them to completion.
Even as we wrestle with the difficult issues of our day, we
know that Jesus is calling us to a higher standard, a greater righteousness. So
we read scripture communally, listening to the great cloud of witnesses and
paying attention to our traditions, constantly seeking to grow in holiness. At
the same time we don’t just accept scripture at face value. Rather we read
scripture critically.
How many of you have heard the saying, “The Bible says it. I
believe it. That settles it.” Oh, if only the world were that black and white!
The Bible says a lot of things – God tells the Israelites to destroy entire
cities because the people in those cities are non-believers. If I simply
believe that at face value then what am I to think about God? And what do I do with
the commandment about murder? No, nothing is settled. We are called to read the
Bible critically.
So just what is Jesus getting at when he says, “You have
heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and
‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are
angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you
insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say,
‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.’” The Bible says it. Do I
believe it? If so, then all of us will be judged for our anger or thrown into
the hell of fire for calling someone a fool. And what about grace?
A critical reading calls us to question our holy texts, to
ask how these texts have been interpreted over time, to seek to understand how
they witness to Jesus, how they call us to grow in our love of God and
neighbor. A critical reading of this text may lead us to the conclusion that
life is precious to God and that all our actions should consequently be life-giving.
When we are angry at someone or call them a fool, we are diminishing their
lives, sucking the life out of them. Murder is simply the most dramatic way to
take away someone’s life. But so many other actions can keep a person from
living life fully. How are we, as Christians, called to help everyone live life
to its fullest? How do we invite everyone into God’s abundant life?
A critical reading calls us to read scripture imaginatively
and to find ways to embody scripture in our daily lives. The Word of God is so
much more than a series of laws and practices. It is a call to holiness. The
Word of God constantly invites transformation. Which brings me to our third C –
reading scripture confessionally.
Several years ago I read today’s scripture passage while
leading worship with a group of men at the Durham County Jail. It’s one thing
to read these words here, surrounded by people who value life and seek to love
others. It’s another thing to read these words when you are surrounded by men
who have never been given a reason to value life; men who have never been loved
by others. Murder, anger, and insults are simply a way of life on the streets
of downtown Durham. Life has no value. And yet God calls us to a higher
standard. “If you remember that your brother or sister has something against
you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your
brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”
It is in the uncertainty and unsettledness of the text that
we hear God’s voice. Calling us to repentance. Calling us to seek forgiveness.
Calling us to be reconciled. A confessional reading of scripture opens our eyes
to new truths and calls us to humility. I want to share a paragraph from my
reading on scripture that speaks to the challenge of reading scripture confessionally:
More often, in our
postmodern milieu, our attitude is one of tolerance rather than humility. There
is an important difference between the two. Tolerance can keep its distance:
Competing ideas can be relativized, promoting polite agreements like ‘You have
your view and I have mine, and both are of equal value.’ Differences can be
shrugged off, allowing misleading generalizations like ‘All religions are
saying the same thing anyway.’ Common ground thus gained rests on artificial
supports and pleasantries; it cannot withstand the give-and-take of real
exchange. Humility, however, requires engagement: One view is held in relation
to another. Conversants hold a stake in a point of view for which they are
willing to argue. Conversation goes back and forth; there is an exchange. With
this exchange, viewpoints are challenged and honed. A robust teasing out of
meaning comes through difference, engagement, and a willingness to have views
revised. An attitude of humility requires a willingness to explore competing
ideologies and to identify the fault lines and shortcomings of our own beliefs
as well as those of others” (The Art of Reading Scripture, 140).
That night in that jail I came to see my own shortcomings.
For I was no different from the men I sat with. Perhaps I thought tolerance was
the answer when I went into that jail that night. But tolerance keeps its
distance. And that night I realized that we all needed to leave our gifts at
the altar and be reconciled to someone – to one another, to our brothers and
sisters, to God. Reading the Bible confessionally is a humbling experience –
one that requires engagement with the text, with one another, and with God. Reading
the Bible confessionally means being open to being changed. And the beautiful
thing is that reading the Bible confessionally inevitably draws us closer to
God.
Which brings me to my fourth C. As we engage scripture we
are called to read scripture communally, critically, and confessionally. When
we do, scripture becomes communion with God. Adam Hamilton describes an analogy
that I find helpful. The Bible is like Holy Communion. When it comes to the
bread and wine we use in communion we know human hands created these things. We
can analyze the ingredients, describe the production process, and recognize the
flaws. But something happens when we gather as the community of faith to share
this ordinary meal. The Holy Spirit uses the bread and wine as an instrument of
grace – the meal becomes holy – and we encounter the risen Lord in this
profound and intimate way that is full of mystery and beauty.
In the same way the Bible is a kind of communion, written by
human beings, shaped by their historical context, their limitations, and their
agendas, yet inspired by God and used by God as an instrument of grace. Through
our faithful encounter with the text, the words become holy and we meet our
risen Lord in ways that can profoundly transform our lives (see Hamilton, pages
68-9). Through our faithful
encounter with the Word of God we enter into this incredible story of our God
and the people of God. It is my prayer that this summer as we wrestle with
difficult texts and challenging topics we will be open to change – open to
repentance – open to a radical reorientation of our lives and our thinking that
is good and faithful and true.
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