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Following JesusWednesday, March 22, 2006
Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will be any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
"And I tell you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
Slam! The door is closed. Not a single letter of the law will be erased. We cannot follow it perfectly. When we degrade the law, settle for a lower standard and encourage others to follow our example, we are in more trouble yet. My conscience is not what it could be. Over the years I've grown accustomed to Small Sins. I don't even notice them most of the time. People around me do the same crummy little things, and they don't care when I do them; in fact, we take solace in our mutual inability to toe the line. It's easy to laugh about it together. Late at night, alone in my bed, I feel more guilty. But Jesus offers no comfort; he insists that I turn from my wicked ways. God cannot stomach even the smallest selfishness. So I roll over, try to sleep, and look forward to the smaller but substantial comfort I do get from my fellow sinners. And day by day, night by night, I become more cool, more cruel, more selfish ... and more afraid. Not many of us are going to break out of this cycle on our own. It's so much easier to turn away from God altogether and blame Him for his high standards than myself for not following them. So Jesus says, "Follow me." When I follow Jesus, I see immediately that although he doesn't sin the way I do, he also doesn't condemn me the way I expect him to. Every word he says is tempered with mercy and grace. I am astonished by his eagerness to accept me even as he utterly rejects my behavior. Speaking to a Pharisee who met him in humility, Jesus speaks of this paradox: "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God didn't send his Son to condemn the world, but to save the world through him ... Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:16-21). Lord, give me patience. I don't understand your ways, but I can understand the simple call, "Follow me." Free me from selfishness enough so I can do that, step by step. Day by day. |
Jesus recognizes the Pharisees' claim to be the most fastidious followers of the law in Israel. But he shuts hard the doors of heaven to them and therefore anyone who claims the right to enter by virtue of his own righteousness.