Tuesday, January 16, 2018

The Greatest Commandment; Sermon, October 29, 2017

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18
Matthew 22:34-46

Today is Reformation Sunday!

Growing up in a Congregational Church, I don’t believe we ever marked Reformation Sunday - which is probably true for most UCC churches.  It came as a bit of a cultural shocker that fall when I interned at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square.  My total ignorance and blank question – “wait, why do we have to wear red Sunday?” was met with staggering astonishment; kind of like asking a Nebraskan, “wait, who is Tom Osborne?” 

In deference to those among us who grew up Lutheran, I felt it was important to note that today is the 500th anniversary of Luther’s declarative action of nailing 95 thesis, or a list of 95 questions and propositions for debate, to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church.

The main thrust of Luther’s objections were about the practice of buying indulgences to assure forgiveness from the church.  Just as in Jesus’ time, the requirement to pay for forgiveness became a financial barrier to God’s Grace. And in fact, the date wasn’t arbitrary: Luther nailed his protests on the door on October 31, 1517. Halloween, which began as a pagan ritual, was adapted to fit Christian intentions – like many holidays on our calendar – and from that we got All Saints Day on Nov 1 and All Souls’ Day (or the Day of the Dead) on Nov 2.  All Saints Day was dedicated to the Christian martyrs – and hence why we wear red on Reformation Sunday – and All Souls Day was dedicated to prayer and almsgiving in memory of ancestors who have died. This prayer, in the Catholic tradition, was for the souls of the dead, as an effort to hasten their transition from purgatory to heaven by being purged and cleansed from their sins.  This was another way that salvation was purchased, for money was involved in the rituals of All Souls Day.

Reformation Sunday draws our attention to times in our history when the religious establishment has gone astray and was met with courageous response of reformers who have been willing to challenge the abuses within the body of Christ and lift up the love and freely-given grace of God.   

Luther himself had no intention of starting a new church, let alone an entire movement of people emboldened to express how to best worship God.  He was a devout Catholic and living fully in accord with religious teaching, but his conscience was bothered that the church was putting too much emphasis on enforcing religious law rather than living the principles of that religious law.  Kind of like Jesus

In our scripture this morning, we hear the classic, bedrock declaration of how we are to respond to God’s love for us; the root from which a life with God sprouts.  The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength.  And the second is like it; to love your neighbor as yourself. On these commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Clear, concise, good instruction.  But then he goes on to say something else, an obscure reference to David’s Son, and manages to trap the Pharisees, again, in a question with a twist.  And because of this, no one ever dared to question him ever again.  Why are these two verses placed together?  And why do they seem so different?

Jesus is proving himself to be absolutely orthodox, as in someone who is learned in scripture and Torah law.  For the latter question, the Pharisees answer him accurately and biblically, citing Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel where the Messiah is said to be the Son or descendant of David.  Jesus then quotes the first line of Psalm 110, presumably written by King David, with a confusing verse that infers his descendent will also be his Lord and will be greater than him. In so doing, he tangles the Pharisees in a conundrum, and also shows the Pharisees, those who are considered experts on the theological law, that he knows his stuff.  It seems that the differences of opinion between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day might be the difference between knowing scripture and law, and living according to those principles.   

But more importantly, when the Pharisees ask about the greatest commandment, Jesus answers by referencing the Shema, or a daily prayer recited by Jews of the time, but reinterpreting it by adding a verse from Leviticus about loving your neighbor as yourself.

Theologians might say this is the difference between Orthodoxy – reverence for the correct belief and rituals - verses Orthopraxis – commitment to ethical conduct embodied within faith. Perhaps the Pharisees felt that they were faithfully holding true to the traditions and doctrines of the patriarchs and prophets in their strictest Orthodox manner. However, with most of his life Jesus admonishes these leaders to recognize God’s grace and truth in their lives and with their authority in the Temple. Many felt somewhat confused at Jesus’ admonition. It is quite possible that they, like most of us, assumed that the right ideas and beliefs were enough. Apparently, Jesus saw it differently. He saw them as being enslaved to their “Orthodox” theology -- one of repetition and restraint rather than a “lived” theology.

Interestingly enough, Jesus wasn’t the only learned Jewish person to say this in his time.  There’s a Jewish legend about Rabbi Hillel, a Jewish sage who died 6 years before Jesus was born.  Hillel was born in Babylonia in the first century BCE. As a young man he came to the Holy Land to study Torah at the feet of the sages of Jerusalem. He was initially a very poor, but brilliant student, and became a famous Torah scholar before gaining a following. Eventually Hillel became the Nasi (or president) of the Sanhedrin, that body of Jewish leaders that is part clerical and part congressional. For those of you who heard our Israeli guest Jared preach about the art of constructive disagreement, you might remember that Rabbi Hillel is often mentioned together with his colleague, Rabbi Shammai, a scholar who also had a following but who tended toward a stricter interpretation of scripture than Hillel.

One famous anecdote about Hillel recounts how a gentile wanted to convert to Judaism, but this individual stated that he would accept Judaism only if a rabbi would teach him the entire Torah while he, the prospective convert, stood on one foot. He went first to Rabbi Shammai, who, insulted by this ridiculous request, threw him out of the house. But when we went to Hillel, the gentle sage accepted the challenge.  Once the man was standing on one foot, Hillel simply said:
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole of the Torah; the rest is commentary--go and study it!"

Hillel responds the same way as Jesus, but with one important addition.  When Hillel says, ‘the rest is commentary’, he’s not being sarcastic or flippant.  In Judaism, the entire Talmud is filled with commentary; the opinions and interpretations of Jewish leaders commenting on the realistic interpretation of scripture.  Like in those books in the Old Testament that detail exactly when, how, and to what extent to judge or punish people – this is because the Law and Torah are not meant to be taken in the abstract. Jews spent centuries thinking, debating and writing down how to interpret what is fair.  Discerning what it means to love God and to love your neighbor is not so easy.  It’s incredibly simple and straightforward in words; but it requires a lifetime of seeking, study, and understanding to do it well.  And, in every culture, in every community, in every relationship or interaction, showing love to your neighbor may need a new interpretation.

We as a church have done a good job of loving our neighbor.  Just in the last few months, I can list off many important, loving and generous actions we have taken to love our neighbors, near and far. 

Because of FCUCC’s youth, and your generosity, we turned in nearly $500 in donations to Church World Service when our group of 10 showed up to walk.  That was $90 more than our goal – and now that I know how much you all exceed expectations, don’t think I’m not going to remember that.

When one of our members suffered a fire, this community jumped into action with food, clothing, furniture, shopping trips, transport to appointments, and every other manner of emotional and material support.

A few months ago, one of our new members brought a suggestion to Women’s Fellowship: would we consider purchasing and packing a suitcase for a child now in the Foster Care system.  When children are taken from their home, even temporarily, not only do they lose the sense of security and stability that home provides, they more often than not lose all their belongings, or those that remain get thrown into garbage bags to go from residence to residence.  CASA is running a program that provides a filled suitcase for each kid, and 3 women in our fellowship group shopped, filled, and delivered that suitcase in short order.  The effort was so inspiring that all of Women’s Fellowship has now voted to fill 5 more suitcases this Christmas, to help provide a slightly more comfortable holiday for 5 more children.

And two weeks ago, our church began a Fair Wage Discussion Group.   A small group of us joined together to hear from each others’ experience, and opinions, and learn more about what it means to live at poverty level or work a low-wage job in real terms.  How is this about loving your neighbor?  As Rabbi Hillel points out, sometimes it requires diligent study to fully understand how to love your neighbor.  Since we only know our own lives, it may require research and seeking to understand others in order to love our neighbor – or not be hateful to them. 

There is a lot written about Rabbi Hillel.  Apparently later in his writing, Hillel was documented saying, “Do not judge your fellow man until you reach his place.” This, from the President of the Sanhedrin – that it is fundamentally impossible for one human being to judge another, because no one ever occupies the same “place.” That is, no person ever experiences exactly the same circumstances as another.  That’s why Hillel told the convert to go and study. That is why the Hebrew scriptures and commentary are so very long.  The years of study Hillel recommends are designed to reach the ultimate level of fairness that a human being can reach, at times through occupying someone else’s ‘place’ – i.e. walking in their shoes.

We cannot profess to love God if we don’t love the things God loves – as in, other people.  It is never easy, or simple, and often requires the lens of God-given grace.  As Martin Luther said, Grace that is freely-given by God cannot be refused, and it cannot be earned; yet because it is given to us freely and abundantly, it is required that we would give that grace to others just as freely and abundantly.  And that is not simple at all, but it is necessary.

Let us pray;
God, help us to love you with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength.  And God, please help us to also use all our heart, all of our mind and all of our strength to understand how best to love our neighbors, near and far.


Amen and amen.

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