Category: Lent

You have hear that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Again, Radical Jesus preaches on the hillside that it’s what’s in our hearts that corrupts us, not just our external actions. He makes it clear that our motivations are not hidden from Him and that discipleship at His feet consists of more thatn just implementing a scaffold of rules to control our behaviors. Following Jesus means, literally, to get down to the heart of the matter.

Following the Law with regards to adultery meant that one was not guilty until the act was consummated. Sadly, in humankind’s broken state, this becomes license to uninhibited fantasy and the resulting objectification of others. Radical Jesus says that this pattern of thought is incompatible with the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Transformed. Discipleship means that we cooperate with Him in performing the radical housecleaning necessary to form the undivided heart of Love.

Walking toward the cross weighted down by unholy motivations results in slow progress. Our radical guide says to strip off this unnecessary burden and cast it alongside the path. It will hurt, but tearing it out and leaving it behind as we press on toward the goal is a small sacrifice.

This morning we read from Exodus 3:1-15 and Psalm 103 in response.  Though our burning bush experience may not be as dramatic as what confronted Moses, there should be no doubt that God will be trying to get our attention from time to time. The question we need to ask of ourselves is whether or not we are spiritually aware enough to notice. If we have allowed our lives to be consumed by the things of this world there is a good chance that they will drown out enough the brightest blaze that God puts before us. On the other hand, if we are diligent about our spiritual formation and ever increasing in our relationship with I AM, even the sound of a feather dropping from the sky will be sufficient to rouse our attention.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 The notion of being persecuted because our Faith is often foreign to modern American Christians. The Church is so bland and non-threatening that most of us run little risk of being insulted, let alone persecuted. Therein lies the problem.

We have lost the dangerous ways that once made the Church a threat to the empire and the hope of the oppressed and impoverished. The Church was persecuted because it not only protested these social injustices, it moved to eradicate them and shine a light on their source. The Christians were persecuted for their role in restoring justice to the world, and they were blessed for it.

Lent is often a period in which we sacrifice some personal comfort in order to focus our hearts on the ultimate sacrifice at the cross. Perhaps this Lent we might consider sacrificing more than our personal comfort, perhaps we can give up our fear of being uncomfortable and each of can step out against an injustice in the world. Pray for the persecuted church. Cancel Sunday worship and spend the day with the poor of your community. Be dangerous.

Blessed are those who persecuted because of their righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Go along and get along or stand out, and risk drawing the attention of those around you. This age old dilemma narrows our reflection this morning. The question for followers of the Savior is, do you stand out? Is there such a righteousness apparent in your life, in contrast to the world around you, that your shining light threatens to push back the darkness? Or does your candle flicker so feebly that there is little to distinguish you from the crows. Sadly, in the modern era of cheap grace, the lives of many of Christ’s followers are little different from the prevailing culture and they invite little persecution.

The radical Jesus we walk with toward the three crosses of Calvary this Lent desires radical followers. Followers whose righteousness is seen in word and deed, whose holiness is intentional, and whose sacrifice is total. He desires followers who are a threat to the unrighteousness of the dominant society and whose focus is singularly drawn toward the restoration of justice and the extension of mercy. 

Lent is a good measure of how radical your commitment to Christ is. If it is a period in which your sacrifice is something you are probably better off without anyway, would you honestly say that you’ve counted the cost of discipleship? Perhaps in the remaining few weeks of this years observation it would be a good time to pull out your copy of Bonhoeffer’s work of the same name and consider how the radical pull of the Sermon on the Mount enabled him to stand up under persecution and follow the radical Jesus, even to the point of paying the ultimate cost.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

To become sons (and daughters) of almighty God is the gift of grace bestowed on those who believe in the speaker of these mighty words. They act like sons and daughters of God when the seek the peace in which the original world was enveloped. Peace is a product of our willingness to live among the tares without exclusion or violence against them until the day of the Harvest, as much as it depends on us.

We can use our meditative focus during the Lenten season to consider how we are each contributing to the peace of our little place in the world. Are we using our faith as a bludgeon to summarily judge those who disagree with us or are we converting faith into action, hoping to show the truth to one more? Have we reconciled broken relationships within our own family? The choices for action are endless.

We can be peacemakers, accepting the responsibility of our sonship and working where our Father is working. Or, (no flippant discourse today in the interest of peace.)

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

What does it mean to merciful in our world. Is it simply serving a meal or soothing a hurt? These are certainly merciful acts but are the reflective of our Spirit transformed core? The mercy that is blessed goes beyond compassion, it is measured by forgiveness. Forgive as you have been forgiven.

As we reflect during our observation of Lent on the mercy that has been shown to us, we are called to bring that mercy to life, to be incarnational. The news invades our meditations. A young woman in nearby Pueblo has traded her baby for the down payment on a gold Dodge Intrepid. Our mercy is gauged in our reaction to this evil act. Does our mercy extend to her, praying for her restoration and for the welfare of the family or are we quick to pass judgement? Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

No, lets just give up sugar instead. It’s easier and each cup of coffee without it will remind us with each bitter swallow of the sacrifice that we are soon to commemorate. Or, we can consider the mercy that has transformed our standing before God and pray that this same mercy can be visited on the lives of others.

Technorati tags: Lent, Jesus, Sermon on The Mount, Mercy, Faith, Christianity