$H!T Jesus Says Part 2: Righteousness

​​Following Jesus is more than just following a set of rules. It’s a call to embody a higher ethical and spiritual standard. One that honors the intrinsic worth and dignity of every individual as bearers of God's image.

Last week we discovered Jesus says some things that can be hard to hear, and sometimes hard to understand. As we learned, however, Jesus says these things with a purpose.

And we all could benefit from listening to him, taking his words to heart, and applying them to our lives.

Sometimes Jesus speaks matter of factly, and other times he uses parables, and metaphors about farming and weddings, to reveal to us the kingdom of heaven.

​While he rarely minces his words, some the things Jesus says can sound harsh, strange, or cryptic. Thus, the title to our summer sermon series, “Shit Jesus Says.”
 
Like I’ve stated before, if this offends you then there’s a good chance everything Jesus says will offend you. Yet, that’s not his goal. And it’s not ours either. Our goal, like his, is to awaken and realign our hearts with God’s heart. Sometimes that might sound offensive, subversive, or counter cultural. That’s who Jesus was and still is, as his words continue to challenge and even threaten our conventional wisdom.
 
If we are going to take what Jesus says seriously, then sometimes we will need to break some rules or rub a few people the wrong way. But that doesn’t mean our intentions are bad. As we will learn from our reading, the goal is not to tear down what God has given us, it’s to build Christ’s church upon it.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.               Matthew 5:17-20

You might recall from last week that Jesus began his ministry telling us to repent. But the Greek word “metanoia” that was translated as repent isn’t about feeling remorseful for your sins as much as it is an invitation to change our thinking and behavior, so sin is no longer a thought.

​Today, he tells us to what extent we are to do this. That is to say, our thinking and doing must go above and beyond the very best religious teachers and scholars.
 
In this case, the Pharisees, who are a group of religious leaders known for their strict adherence to God’s Law. The Pharisee were so obedient to the Law that their name is synonymous with righteous. Which for many of us today, can elicit images of prideful people, filled with self-admiration for themselves and harsh criticism for people they deem to be sinners.
 
The Pharisees have gotten a bad rap. Historically speaking, the Christian church hasn’t helped their reputation much by accusing them of killing Jesus. But “It wasn’t the Pharisees who killed Jesus, it was conventional wisdom” argues Richard Rohr. It seems the shit Jesus says always tends to threaten the way the world works. It's probably because rarely is our world aligned with God’s world.
 
Truth is, the Pharisees were the good ones. They were reformers intent on bringing the Jewish people back to God. They believed the best way to do that was through strict obedience to the Law of God, something they thought Jesus was undermining.
 
As Matthew states, Jesus didn’t come “to change the laws and prophets, but to uphold them” (Mt. 5:17)

And as we are about to see, this doesn’t mean blindly following a set of rules or adhering to some religious practice and performance. I believe Jesus is telling us to go one step further…to go above and beyond the basic rules and regulations. He wants us to deepen the meaning and expand our understanding of righteousness.
 
If we listen to what he says, and watch what he does, we learn how to live in a right relationship with God and others…like he does. We will see how that involves embracing and embodying a life that is intimately tied to justice and mercy as it’s stated in Hebrew scripture.
 
The prophets, from Amos to Isaiah, all emphatically declare true worship of God isn’t about rituals and dogma it’s about caring for the widows and orphans, advocating for the oppressed, being charitable, living with integrity, practicing peace and forgiveness.

This is how we exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees who always take offense to Jesus when he says things like “Do not judge, do not condemn” (Luke 6:37). “Do not practice your piety in public” (Mt. 6:1).
 
One on hand, Jesus is pushing against the way of the Pharisees. But on the other, he’s showing us how to reimagine the law and bring it into its intended completion - which is to transform people’s lives. That’s how Jesus redeems and saves us…even if it means he has to break the rules to do it.
 
We see this when Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:7-31). He breaks both social and religious taboos just by speaking with her; she was a Samaritan and a woman after all. But Jesus sees beyond her gender and ethnicity. He sees a beautiful child of God, and offers her living water; a symbol of spiritual renewal and inclusion. By this act of defiance, Jesus transcends the boundaries of the Law to fulfill its deeper purpose: transforming and reconciling humanity.
 
A similar thing happens when he visits the house of a despised tax collector (Luke 19:1-10). In this story, Jesus shows us how our quest for righteousness will include actively seeking and embracing those who are hated, marginalized, and shunned. The mere fact that Jesus was in Zacchaeus’ home changes everything in this man’s life, prompting him to repent and make restitution.
 
Feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, welcoming children, giving to everyone who begs from you without asking for anything in return - Jesus says this is how righteousness is defined and a lived out in the kingdom of heaven.
 
While it sounds beautiful and attainable, remember this is the kind of stuff that gets Jesus killed. It’s one thing to hear what Jesus says, but it’s another to live out his words in a way that threatens conventional wisdom. And I’m not so sure most of us are up for the task.
 
Think about how many self-proclaiming Christians would rather choose gun rights over human rights?

How many churches are fine with excluding certain groups of people instead of welcoming them?

How many preachers wear pins that say Jesus loves you, while holding up signs that say God hates you?

Jesus says, “A tree is known by its fruit…and on the day of judgement you will have to account for every careless word you utter” (Mt. 12:33-36).
 
But here’s the thing, if we take Jesus’ words to heart, if we “turn the other cheek,” (Mt. 5:39) or “love our enemies,” (Mt. 5:44) or “give to the needy in secret,” (Mt. 6:1-4) then we will be salt of the earth kind of people (c.f. Mt. 5:13).

Jesus says, “Let your body be a lamp to the world” (Mt. 6:22-23). We must let our light shine, not so people can see how good we are, but so they can see their way back to God.
 
Jesus sends his church out to be “sheep among wolves.” He says, “Go and proclaim the good news that kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus tells his followers to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons (c.f. Mt.10:5-15). What he never says is hate, or take up arms, or deny certain people access to God
 
Following Jesus is more than just following a set of rules. It’s a call to go beyond legalistic interpretations of morality and embody a higher ethical and spiritual standard. One that honors the intrinsic worth and dignity of every individual as bearers of God's image.

For St. Theresa of Calcutta that meant seeing the face of Christ in the poor and rejected. Then loving them and caring for them as if she was doing it to Jesus himself.
 
Anthony Clavier writes, “The road to holiness is the path of love, compassion, of caring and sympathy, of helping each other along that journey, stopping to assist those who have become tired, have fallen on the way, or who have given up in despair.”
 
One of the last things Jesus tells his disciples is simply this, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

Love is the greatest commandment.

Love is the foundation of “all the Law and the Prophets.”

Love is the key to understanding and living out our righteousness.

And the way we love God, …is to love others and serve both.
 
This is how we bear the fruit of the kingdom. And become a light that cannot be hidden. This is how we can do better than the Pharisees, as we unlock the space between heaven and earth until they are one.
 
 
Work Cited
Clavier, Anthony. A Loving Law. February 9, 2014. (Accessed on June 7, 2024).
Rohr, Richard. The Sermon on the Mount. (Franciscan Media, 2006).