Sermon preached at Choral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 13th February 2011. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30 Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s 3pm Evensong.
Fourth Sunday before Lent – Year A
Readings: Ps 119: 1-8 Ecclesiasticus 15: 15-20 Matthew 5: 21-37
One of my favourite Winston Churchill quotes relates to the time when he was appointed within H. H. Asquith’s government to be First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911. At that time there was widespread concern about the build up of German naval power, and there was a recognition that the Royal Navy would need to be strengthened if it was to retain its command of the seas. However there was political disagreement about how many dreadnought ships should be added to the navy, perhaps four, perhaps six. Then a German warship started to intimidate French shipping off Morocco, and suddenly a political consensus emerged. Churchill later summarised the debate saying, “The Conservatives wanted six; the Liberals wanted four; we compromised on eight.”
I was reminded of this story by our gospel reading today. Jesus was talking about the Jewish law and commenting on different matters, some of which were controversial at the time. The conversations would typically be about how much the Law should affect the day to day behaviour of the people. The Pharisees might say by four degrees, the Scribes might say by six degrees, but Jesus would say by eight! Jesus’ interpretation of the law always seems to go much deeper and be far more far reaching than the interpretation of other scholars at the time. In fact it seems to me that Jesus thinks about the Jewish Law in a way that is quite different from the way that scholars of the time might think of it.
It seems to me that the law given through Moses was an effort to explain what good behaviour was; what it meant to help people to be good Jews, worthy of receiving God promises to his chosen nation. But then, over time, it seems that the Law ceased to function as something pointing people towards God, but became more like a boundary defining what was, and what was not, acceptable behaviour for a Jew. During this period the number of rules increased dramatically, and things like how far you could walk on the Sabbath became very precisely defined.
It seems to me that Jesus did not think of the Law as a boundary at all. For him it was all about pointing us towards God. And for Jesus it was not just behaviours that mattered. What mattered much more was the inner attitudes and values and beliefs that drive behaviours. In the eyes of Jesus, it is essential that attitudes, beliefs, values and therefore behaviours too are orientated towards God, that they draw us towards God. Jesus wants us to know God better, to share in God’s attitudes plans and hopes, to become like God.
And this makes the Law Oh so much more demanding. The letter of the law condemns the killing of a person, but Jesus condemns even being angry with a person, or thinking of that a person is a fool or traitor. The letter of the Law condemns adultery, but Jesus condemns even lust. The letter of the Law has a procedure for divorce, but Jesus condemns divorce. The Tradition says you must not break a vow, but Jesus says don’t even make vows, but always keep your word. And in fact Jesus goes on. It gets even harder in next week’s gospel with “Love your enemies”.
What is very noticeable when we think of the Law like Jesus does, as something that points us towards God, as something which prepares us for an eternal life shared with God, is that suddenly we are completely inadequate. No anger, no criticism of others, no lust, no divorce, no parting from our word…we are all of us hopelessly inadequate because none of us can live to this standard.
What we have to accept is that we are on a journey, a journey towards God, towards the life of heaven. It is a journey and we are not there yet. We are not 100% saints yet. We certainly cannot live to the standard that Jesus expects, we are not yet ready for life in heaven. But we also need to accept that by faith in God, and by the grace of Christ, we will one day complete that journey, we will pass through different purifying experiences and God will make us ready for heaven. Ultimately, as our first reading pointed out we all have to choose between fire and water, between life and death, between heaven and hell. So really we have to choose heaven, and the quicker we make progress on the journey to get there the better it is for everyone.
So we are on the journey towards heaven, but every now and again something happens that reminds us that we still have a long way to go. Perhaps a scripture reading like today’s reminds us that we are completely inadequate. What do we do? Do we give up on the journey because it is too difficult? Do we start to hate ourselves because we know that we are sinners? No. No, we remember that God continues to love us, and we must continue to love ourselves and, like God, we must hope for and work for the very best for ourselves. We must remember that Jesus came into the world precisely to save sinners like us and to bring us to the life of heaven. So we need to confess our sin and our inadequacies and our failings to God. We need to hold them before God and see them as God sees them and become totally realistic about them. And this can be painful, it reminds us that we are not as good as we like to think we are. But, it seems to me, that pain, in conjunction with Christ’s sufferings on the cross, gives us the grace to move forward. It fills us with the desire to move forward. It assures us that we move forward in God’s strength not our own. It helps us to make progress on the journey. We realise that God’s love for us goes much deeper than our sin.
So we hear a scripture reading like today’s and when we hear all about God’s laws, let’s not think of them as a boundary, and worry whether we are inside or out. Rather let’s think of them as pointers to God and to the life of heaven. Let’s be sure that we still have a long way to go before we reach God, but let’s also have confidence that Jesus will walk with us on that journey, and that Jesus, through his death and resurrection has already overcome all our sin. The end of the journey is assured, but we still need to walk it Amen.
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
13 February 2011
01 February 2009
Giving from our gifts
Preached at St Michael’s,
10.30am Eucharist on
Presentation of Christ in the
Last week I was talking to a lady, and she was experiencing panic in her household because 31st January was the last date for submission of an on-line self assessment tax return. Well today is 1st February, so I hope that they got the job done and can now relax. This got me thinking about tax. I don’t know about you, but I always used to think that it was very strange that people who worked for the government had to pay tax. I used to think it would make much more sense to pay government employees smaller salaries, but to pay them tax free. Would this not save all kinds of administrative costs involved in paying out money and then taxing it back in again? But as I have got older I have come to understand the wisdom of everyone paying tax. There are many administrative advantages, but it seems to me that the biggest single advantage is that government employees share in the experience of being a taxpayer. If taxes go up, because of some government policy, then they share the pain with everyone else. If taxes go down they share the benefit. If some mess up in government wastes a lot of tax payers money, then government employees are likely to be just as annoyed and frustrated by it as any other tax payer. So the additional circulation of money caused by paying government employees and then charging them tax ensures government employees and the rest of us have a shared experience of being tax payers. This common experience of paying tax helps us to understand one another. It helps the nation to build a common mind on the way that government money should be spent. In its own small way it helps us to build unity in the nation.
And we have a similar situation in our financial giving to the church. There are people, like me, who work for the church and are paid by the church, but we also give money to the church. Just like everyone else in the congregation we have to sit up and take notice when the church asks us to review our giving and perhaps to give more. So church employees face the same challenges on giving as other members of the congregation. And this additional circulation of gifts in the life of the church gives us a shared experience of giving. This helps us to understand each other and to build unity in the church.
This pattern of giving from the gifts that we have received is also evident in the Presentation of Christ in the
Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was the Son of God. So they knew that the whole temple, and all its officials which exist for the worship and glory of God, also exist in a certain way for the worship and glory of Jesus. And yet this did not prevent them from making the sacrifice required by the law, “a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons.” In fact we are told that Mary and Joseph did everything that was required by the law of the Lord before they returned to
So even though the Holy Family received very special gifts from God, given to them for very particular purposes, they still felt the need to give gifts back to God. And so we see a circulation of gifts a bit like the circulation caused by government employees paying taxes, or church employees giving money to the church.
And this pattern of receiving gifts and then giving back goes very deep. It is central to the life of God himself. God the Father gives everything to Jesus. In Ephesians (1: 21) we read that the God has set Jesus far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and … has put all things under his feet and has made him head over all things. And yet Jesus too gives everything to the Father. In
As Christians we are called to share in the glory and holiness of this life of God, this divine life of heaven (e.g. 2 Th
Let’s give then, not just money, but of time, attention, talents and prayers. And let’s not be ashamed to receive gifts or love or attention from others, because these enrich us and allow us in turn to give more. All this giving helps goods, and money and news and experiences to circulate within the life of the church, and within the life of the wider community. This helps to build up a common life, a shared understanding. It leads to a sense of belonging and cohesiveness in the community, and it leads to unity in the church. Unity! This is perhaps God’s greatest gift to us, but we can only receive it when we are giving ourselves completely to one another.
26 August 2007
The old covenant and the new covenant
Sermon - 26/08/07 – Trinity 12 (Proper 16) – Year C
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull 8.00am Eucharist on 26/08/07
Readings: Isaiah 58:9b-14 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17
In the gospel reading that we have just heard, Jesus performs a healing miracle on the Sabbath. This is a great scandal to the leader of the synagogue because this appears to be working on the Sabbath and it is certainly not consistent with the Jewish Law as it was generally understood. The synagogue leader argues, “You have six days in a week for work; come and be healed on those six days, but keep the Sabbath day holy.” Jesus however is completely insistent. He appears to see the healing of the woman, bound by Satan for 18 long years, as something that just has to be done. He perhaps even suggests that the Sabbath Day is a particularly appropriate day to do it.
It seems that this was a popular move. The gospel reading tells us that the entire crowd rejoiced at the wonderful things that Jesus was doing. And yet for ordinary Jews who sought to live a good life this must have been a very confusing incident. For a Jew at that time, to live a good life meant, by and large, to follow the Law of Moses. It was the job of the Scribes and the Pharisees to explain to the people what the Law was. It was important to keep the Law. Through Moses, God had agreed a covenant with the people of Israel. They would keep God’s law and God would give them the Promised Land. Keeping the Law was doing you side of the bargain; it was honouring God and helping to secure the Promised Land.
But then Jesus comes along, who is clearly a man of God and a good man, and says don’t just focus on the detail of the Law, rather focus on doing good! Jesus was redefining the covenant of Moses and redefining the relationship between God and his people.
From the earliest times in the Church, we have always been very clear that Jesus was able to do this. Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God, who could be worshipped as God. He was much more significant than Moses, and had every right to redefine the covenant.
Through his passion and death, Jesus mediated a new covenant between people and God. No longer should we be slaves to the details of the Law, but rather we are saved through faith in Christ and by following Christ, the way, the life and the truth. In the Eucharist we celebrate this new covenant, nurturing ourselves on Christ. We hold up the chalice and remember the words of Jesus, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.”
The difference between the old and new covenant is emphasised by our New Testament lesson. It is a difficult reading, and worth studying again when you get home. It says that we have not come to something tangible and rigid like the Law of Moses. It describes the scene from Exodus chapter 19 with the tempest, the trumpet and the terrifying voice when the Law was handed over to Moses. Rather, the reading emphasises, we have come to a new covenant, to the city of the living God, to innumerable angels, to the assembly of the first born enrolled in heaven, to God, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and above all to Jesus.
Notice that the new covenant is expressed in terms of people and relationships, much more than it is expressed in terms of rules and regulations. Rules and regulations, like the 10 commandments, are still there to guide us, but our primary responsibility is to true to our heavenly relationships, especially to be true in our relationship with Christ.
So how do we do that? How are we true in our relationship with Christ. Well, in John chapter 14 Jesus says, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” In the same discourse he gives us the New Commandment – to love one another, as he has loved us. Love is indeed the fulfilment of the Law (Romans 13:10). It is by growing in love that we live out the new covenant, and grow in communion with all the citizens of heaven.
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull 8.00am Eucharist on 26/08/07
Readings: Isaiah 58:9b-14 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17
In the gospel reading that we have just heard, Jesus performs a healing miracle on the Sabbath. This is a great scandal to the leader of the synagogue because this appears to be working on the Sabbath and it is certainly not consistent with the Jewish Law as it was generally understood. The synagogue leader argues, “You have six days in a week for work; come and be healed on those six days, but keep the Sabbath day holy.” Jesus however is completely insistent. He appears to see the healing of the woman, bound by Satan for 18 long years, as something that just has to be done. He perhaps even suggests that the Sabbath Day is a particularly appropriate day to do it.
It seems that this was a popular move. The gospel reading tells us that the entire crowd rejoiced at the wonderful things that Jesus was doing. And yet for ordinary Jews who sought to live a good life this must have been a very confusing incident. For a Jew at that time, to live a good life meant, by and large, to follow the Law of Moses. It was the job of the Scribes and the Pharisees to explain to the people what the Law was. It was important to keep the Law. Through Moses, God had agreed a covenant with the people of Israel. They would keep God’s law and God would give them the Promised Land. Keeping the Law was doing you side of the bargain; it was honouring God and helping to secure the Promised Land.
But then Jesus comes along, who is clearly a man of God and a good man, and says don’t just focus on the detail of the Law, rather focus on doing good! Jesus was redefining the covenant of Moses and redefining the relationship between God and his people.
From the earliest times in the Church, we have always been very clear that Jesus was able to do this. Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God, who could be worshipped as God. He was much more significant than Moses, and had every right to redefine the covenant.
Through his passion and death, Jesus mediated a new covenant between people and God. No longer should we be slaves to the details of the Law, but rather we are saved through faith in Christ and by following Christ, the way, the life and the truth. In the Eucharist we celebrate this new covenant, nurturing ourselves on Christ. We hold up the chalice and remember the words of Jesus, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.”
The difference between the old and new covenant is emphasised by our New Testament lesson. It is a difficult reading, and worth studying again when you get home. It says that we have not come to something tangible and rigid like the Law of Moses. It describes the scene from Exodus chapter 19 with the tempest, the trumpet and the terrifying voice when the Law was handed over to Moses. Rather, the reading emphasises, we have come to a new covenant, to the city of the living God, to innumerable angels, to the assembly of the first born enrolled in heaven, to God, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and above all to Jesus.
Notice that the new covenant is expressed in terms of people and relationships, much more than it is expressed in terms of rules and regulations. Rules and regulations, like the 10 commandments, are still there to guide us, but our primary responsibility is to true to our heavenly relationships, especially to be true in our relationship with Christ.
So how do we do that? How are we true in our relationship with Christ. Well, in John chapter 14 Jesus says, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” In the same discourse he gives us the New Commandment – to love one another, as he has loved us. Love is indeed the fulfilment of the Law (Romans 13:10). It is by growing in love that we live out the new covenant, and grow in communion with all the citizens of heaven.
Keeping the Sabbath
Thought for parish pew slip – 26th August 2007 - Trinity 12 (Proper 16) Year C
Readings Isaiah 58:9b-14 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13: 10-17
Our readings today challenge us to think about the Sabbath.
In our reading from Isaiah, the prophet asks us not to go our own way, serve our own interests or pursue our own affairs on the Sabbath, but rather to honour the Sabbath and to think of it as a delight.
In our gospel reading Jesus performs a healing miracle on the Sabbath. This is one of several gospel stories where Jesus heals on the Sabbath, and it is always a challenge to the Scribes and Pharisees because it goes against the detailed regulations of the Law. Jesus however is insistent. In Luke 6:9 he asks, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil”.
Nowadays we live very busy lives and it is hard to live the Sabbath well. And yet the busyness of our lives makes it all the more important to set aside time for rest, for the family and for worship. If we don’t do these things on a Sunday, then when do we do them? Trying to observe the Sabbath is a good way of ensuring that rest, family and worship do not get crowded out of our lives. We need these things if we are to live fully human lives.
Readings Isaiah 58:9b-14 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13: 10-17
Our readings today challenge us to think about the Sabbath.
In our reading from Isaiah, the prophet asks us not to go our own way, serve our own interests or pursue our own affairs on the Sabbath, but rather to honour the Sabbath and to think of it as a delight.
In our gospel reading Jesus performs a healing miracle on the Sabbath. This is one of several gospel stories where Jesus heals on the Sabbath, and it is always a challenge to the Scribes and Pharisees because it goes against the detailed regulations of the Law. Jesus however is insistent. In Luke 6:9 he asks, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil”.
Nowadays we live very busy lives and it is hard to live the Sabbath well. And yet the busyness of our lives makes it all the more important to set aside time for rest, for the family and for worship. If we don’t do these things on a Sunday, then when do we do them? Trying to observe the Sabbath is a good way of ensuring that rest, family and worship do not get crowded out of our lives. We need these things if we are to live fully human lives.
19 February 2007
Working through the law
Sermon preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 6.30pm, Sunday 18/02/07
Year C – Sunday before Lent
Readings: Deuteronomy 11:18-21&26-28 Romans 1:16-17 & 3:26-28
Over the last week the young people of the UK have been in the news. The main reason has been gun crime; tragically, three teenagers have been killed in separate gun incidents in London. The other big news story featuring young people has been a new UNICEF report, that suggests that the UK has the lowest level of child well being among all of the rich nations of the world. The report suggests that countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic, despite being significantly poorer than the UK, provide much better environments for children and young people to grow up in.
I don’t know about you, but I have been fascinated to watch the political reaction to these two news topics. Tony Blair has discounted the UNICEF report, saying that it is based on out of date data. He has said that the gun crime is not part of a general problem but is a specific difficulty affecting certain young people in parts of London. He proposes tougher laws on young people caught holding illegal firearms. He also wants to see gang membership as a factor to be taken account in sentencing. David Cameron says that he has grown tired of changes to the law, and extra money to finance new initiatives. He emphasises the importance of a change in values so that family life is given higher priority. He wants to see a broader cultural change in which relationships are properly valued.
These two contrasting political positions are very different in their approach to law. Mr Blair believes that the law, or changes to the law, can be used to directly address particular problems in our society. Mr Cameron sees law very differently. He wants the law to concentrate on building a healthier value based culture in our society, so that problems like gun crime do not arise in the first place.
A similar contrast in approach to the law is evident in the two readings that we heard earlier in this service. In the first reading Moses is reminding the Israelites just how important the Law is. In the second reading St Paul is telling us that our salvation comes from faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not by obedience to the Law. We are therefore invited to reflect on the Jewish Law, on law in general and on law as we experience it today.
The first five books of the bible, which Christians often call the Pentateuch, are known by Jews as the Torah, which means “teaching” or “law”. They contain stories like the call of Abraham and the exodus from Egypt, which define the Israelites as God’s chosen people. The five books also contain lots of rules and regulations which God asks the Israelites to live by. These rules and regulations were known as “the law”. In the part of the book of Deuteronomy that we have just read, God’s deal with the Israelites is set out very clearly. The Israelites were to keep all the commandments of the law and if they did then God would bless them and give them possession of the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey, but if they did not follow the ways of the Lord and keep his commandments then they would be cursed and would loose the promised land.
Much of the Old Testament is precisely the story of that deal. The Israelites alternately seem to drift away from God, who strips them of the promised land. Over a period of time they repent, return to God and eventually are returned to the promised land.
When Jesus comes, his attitude towards the law is very interesting. Jesus strongly emphasised the importance some of the underlying principles set out in the law. For example the commandments “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut 6:5, cf 11:13) and “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18). Jesus strongly affirmed these principles, saying “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt 22:40). The law also contained the Ten Commandments and held these as central. Jesus upheld the Ten Commandments and even developed them further. For example, he said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” (Matt 5:21 see also 5:27).
Jesus lives most of his life in simple obedience to the law. As a baby he was presented in the temple, in accordance with the law. With his disciples, he observed the religious festivals set down in the law. However there are times when Jesus appears to go deliberately against the law. He allows his disciples to pick wheat on the Sabbath, and he works healing miracles on the Sabbath (Matt 12:3-14). Jesus is extremely critical of Pharisees who use the detailed regulations of the law to avoid fulfilling the more central obligation to “honour you father and mother”. He also pronounces all food as “clean” contrary to the detailed regulations (Matt 15:1-20). And yet Jesus remains a strong supporter of the law. He tells us that he has not come to abolish the law, but rather to fulfil it. “Not a single jot or pen stroke of the law will disappear until everything has been accomplished,” he tells us (Matt 5:17-20).
Jesus seems to be telling us how to interpret the law. He is always emphasising that the central obligation is to love God and to be obedient to God’s will. The love of neighbour is another central obligation and these central obligations always take precedence over the detailed regulations. Jesus also emphasises that he himself is of greater significance than the law. “The son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath,” he tells us (Matt 12:8) He also tells us that his disciples are correct not to fast when the bridegroom is still with them, although they will fast when he is gone (Mark 2:19-20).
And it is this point about the overriding value of the person of Christ that Paul makes in the reading that we had from the book of Romans. It is faith in Jesus Christ and in the gospel that brings us righteousness and justification. Paul is at pains to point out that this is true both for Jews, who grew up under the law, and for gentiles, who did not. So where does this leave us in the debate about gun crime, and the well being of children. Well it seems to me that Mr Cameron has a very good point. We should seek to use the law to build a healthy society based on good values, rather than hoping that we can solve our problems through detailed regulations. However the key question for Mr Cameron has to be “What are the underlying values on which this healthy renewed culture is to be based?” Are they solid and enduring Christ like values; love for God, obedience to God’s will and love for neighbour? Or are they based on nothing more substantive than Mr Cameron’s own personal opinions.
Who knows if we will ever find out? In the mean time, however, let’s make sure that we base our own lives on the substantive and solid values that we find in the person of Christ.
Year C – Sunday before Lent
Readings: Deuteronomy 11:18-21&26-28 Romans 1:16-17 & 3:26-28
Over the last week the young people of the UK have been in the news. The main reason has been gun crime; tragically, three teenagers have been killed in separate gun incidents in London. The other big news story featuring young people has been a new UNICEF report, that suggests that the UK has the lowest level of child well being among all of the rich nations of the world. The report suggests that countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic, despite being significantly poorer than the UK, provide much better environments for children and young people to grow up in.
I don’t know about you, but I have been fascinated to watch the political reaction to these two news topics. Tony Blair has discounted the UNICEF report, saying that it is based on out of date data. He has said that the gun crime is not part of a general problem but is a specific difficulty affecting certain young people in parts of London. He proposes tougher laws on young people caught holding illegal firearms. He also wants to see gang membership as a factor to be taken account in sentencing. David Cameron says that he has grown tired of changes to the law, and extra money to finance new initiatives. He emphasises the importance of a change in values so that family life is given higher priority. He wants to see a broader cultural change in which relationships are properly valued.
These two contrasting political positions are very different in their approach to law. Mr Blair believes that the law, or changes to the law, can be used to directly address particular problems in our society. Mr Cameron sees law very differently. He wants the law to concentrate on building a healthier value based culture in our society, so that problems like gun crime do not arise in the first place.
A similar contrast in approach to the law is evident in the two readings that we heard earlier in this service. In the first reading Moses is reminding the Israelites just how important the Law is. In the second reading St Paul is telling us that our salvation comes from faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not by obedience to the Law. We are therefore invited to reflect on the Jewish Law, on law in general and on law as we experience it today.
The first five books of the bible, which Christians often call the Pentateuch, are known by Jews as the Torah, which means “teaching” or “law”. They contain stories like the call of Abraham and the exodus from Egypt, which define the Israelites as God’s chosen people. The five books also contain lots of rules and regulations which God asks the Israelites to live by. These rules and regulations were known as “the law”. In the part of the book of Deuteronomy that we have just read, God’s deal with the Israelites is set out very clearly. The Israelites were to keep all the commandments of the law and if they did then God would bless them and give them possession of the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey, but if they did not follow the ways of the Lord and keep his commandments then they would be cursed and would loose the promised land.
Much of the Old Testament is precisely the story of that deal. The Israelites alternately seem to drift away from God, who strips them of the promised land. Over a period of time they repent, return to God and eventually are returned to the promised land.
When Jesus comes, his attitude towards the law is very interesting. Jesus strongly emphasised the importance some of the underlying principles set out in the law. For example the commandments “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut 6:5, cf 11:13) and “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18). Jesus strongly affirmed these principles, saying “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt 22:40). The law also contained the Ten Commandments and held these as central. Jesus upheld the Ten Commandments and even developed them further. For example, he said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” (Matt 5:21 see also 5:27).
Jesus lives most of his life in simple obedience to the law. As a baby he was presented in the temple, in accordance with the law. With his disciples, he observed the religious festivals set down in the law. However there are times when Jesus appears to go deliberately against the law. He allows his disciples to pick wheat on the Sabbath, and he works healing miracles on the Sabbath (Matt 12:3-14). Jesus is extremely critical of Pharisees who use the detailed regulations of the law to avoid fulfilling the more central obligation to “honour you father and mother”. He also pronounces all food as “clean” contrary to the detailed regulations (Matt 15:1-20). And yet Jesus remains a strong supporter of the law. He tells us that he has not come to abolish the law, but rather to fulfil it. “Not a single jot or pen stroke of the law will disappear until everything has been accomplished,” he tells us (Matt 5:17-20).
Jesus seems to be telling us how to interpret the law. He is always emphasising that the central obligation is to love God and to be obedient to God’s will. The love of neighbour is another central obligation and these central obligations always take precedence over the detailed regulations. Jesus also emphasises that he himself is of greater significance than the law. “The son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath,” he tells us (Matt 12:8) He also tells us that his disciples are correct not to fast when the bridegroom is still with them, although they will fast when he is gone (Mark 2:19-20).
And it is this point about the overriding value of the person of Christ that Paul makes in the reading that we had from the book of Romans. It is faith in Jesus Christ and in the gospel that brings us righteousness and justification. Paul is at pains to point out that this is true both for Jews, who grew up under the law, and for gentiles, who did not. So where does this leave us in the debate about gun crime, and the well being of children. Well it seems to me that Mr Cameron has a very good point. We should seek to use the law to build a healthy society based on good values, rather than hoping that we can solve our problems through detailed regulations. However the key question for Mr Cameron has to be “What are the underlying values on which this healthy renewed culture is to be based?” Are they solid and enduring Christ like values; love for God, obedience to God’s will and love for neighbour? Or are they based on nothing more substantive than Mr Cameron’s own personal opinions.
Who knows if we will ever find out? In the mean time, however, let’s make sure that we base our own lives on the substantive and solid values that we find in the person of Christ.
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