February 12, 2023

 Gospel: Matthew 5:21-37,  1^st Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20, 2^nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

 I went pretty much by the book with my baby when he was born, like a lot of first-time mothers are. I hear the first one, you go by the book, and after that you've learned more how to think for yourself and feel a little freer to experiment. Since my baby was growing properly and eating what I put before him, going by the book worked for me. It was 6 months of mother's milk only. He grew so fast I had wrist supports for a few months because my arms couldn't support his weight. That same day he had his first food, ground up oats mixed into milk. After that he was introduced to one food at a time for a week, adding to what he already had tried, until he had all the food groups. All his food was organic, all was homemade. All went together to make a healthy bouncing baby boy.

But I didn't just give him that food to make him bigger. Some of it was to make him smarter. Most of it was to keep him healthy. And part of it was the experience of sitting down to a meal together, looking one another in the eye, communicating, and being a family.

God also likes feeding God's children. We begin with the food that is easier for us to digest. Life is given to us in more easily digestible terms. There are good guys and bad guys, certain rules to obey without question, and we're not expected to handle information we're not ready for. We accept what other people tell us, our parents and our pastor. We don't have a lot of choice about it.

But as we grow in faith, we try foods we've never tried before, we're encouraged to eat things we don't particularly like, and we start having to chew and use a utensil. As we mature, we learn more about our world, we find out that many things are shades of grey instead of being so clear cut, and we're expected to communicate with people we disagree with in other ways than hitting and yelling. We have a chance to question everything we held as true just because our parents taught us, and we are invited to examine the faith that was handed down to us and decide whether to make it our own.

Of course our faith journey is always changing—what we could stomach before, we can't anymore, and what our bodies and minds once needed changes. We find that faith isn't just between me and God, but that we're part of something bigger than ourselves. It is both a pain in the neck, because other followers don't do things the way I like, and it is a blessing because the gifts of others fills the gaps in my own gifts and we can do so much more together. As we grow in faith, we begin to see God in the struggles and blessings in the conflicts and find peace in the storm. And at times we go back to eating baby food. Sometimes a tall glass of milk just hits the spot. Sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than a bowl of Cheerios.

Moses has led his people out of slavery into the desert. They suffered under slavery, however they liked being spoon-fed. They long for the food they ate in Egypt. But God is leading them on a wilderness walk to teach them who they can trust to provide their food. The taste of freedom is new to them. They aren't sure they are ready for such a thing, because it requires them to think for themselves and to go through some trials. However God is feeding them and continues to offer it to them. God knows this wilderness experience will mature their faith and their relationship with God. God hopes that their wilderness experience will change their hearts. God gives them the commandments and ordinances and decrees not to control them, but to give them life,--long life, abundant life.

Paul is writing to the Corinthians. He brought this community into this world from infancy and fed them by hand. He loves this church in Corinth, these believers. But he has some new expectations of them, that they would grow up a little bit and act their age. Instead, they are breaking into factions and arguing and fighting. Paul is offering them some food that is a little challenging to their pallets and that is the reminder of who provides food for us all, God, and who we owe our allegiance to, God.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus is teaching the Disciples. They've tried the food that is the commandments. Many of them probably feel like they are doing ok on them. The commandments have become staples of their diet. However, Jesus is challenging them to try some new dishes. God wants more for them. They will recognize some familiar ingredients.  The commandments had become a way of justifying themselves, a checklist for people to say they were better than others. However, God wants more than a checklist. God wants a changed heart, a changed orientation, a focus away from showing what a good person I am, to putting God first, a change from worshipping myself and making idol of my works, to worshipping God and living a new abundant life. 

            These teachings are hard.  Jesus says that if we even have the thought, we have separation from our siblings.  This is a recipe with kale, an acquired taste.  For these difficult flavors, you’re going to have to persevere to come a point of acceptance, to see what the benefits really are.  We are sinners every one.  We all fall short.  Sin can send us a couple of places.  Sin is not an ending.  It is a truth to contend with and decide what to do next.  We can keep sinning because it is serving us and our needs.  We can examine how that sin hurts us and others.  We can try something different.  And sin is supposed to remind us that we are not the center of the universe, but sends us back to Jesus who is the fulfillment as Matthew has been trying to teach us.

            Jesus says if your hand sins against you, cut it off.  Strange we don’t but occasionally see someone missing a hand.  Remember this comes right before this statement, “You don’t light a candle and put it under a basket.”  In the same way, “You don’t have a hand and then cut it off.”  Let your gifts shine, let your hand help you and others. 

            This saying of Jesus sends us into self-examination. It is about you not someone else. We so easily want to cut off each other.  We are so divided.  We’ve made judgments against our neighbor, but we give ourselves the grace.  Jesus is saying to look within, stop judging our neighbor.  We have a lot to work on and that is the place to focus our attention, not on blaming other people and making their lives harder.

            Jesus wants us to know that there are consequences to our acts that are unloving, to our thoughts that are unloving.  Jesus has paid the price for our sin and God will always love us, but our thoughts and actions have impacts on other people around us.  Our thoughts and actions can create pain and suffering for other people, they can make life harder for people whose lives are already precarious or difficult.  And our thoughts and actions can shed light and add salt—they can build up the Kingdom of God, they can show mercy and kindness, they can share abundant life.  What we think and do matter and although we don’t have control over what thoughts flit through our minds, we do decide what thoughts we entertain and let ourselves daydream about. 

            These complex flavors are rewiring our brains, making new connections and helping us find deeper meaning, well-rounded health, nourishment for our growing faith. 

            We walk this road with Jesus as his disciples, not to be better than others but because we are still learning.  This food is not easy to chew, not easy to stomach, but it prepares us for life’s challenges.  From this Sermon on the Mount we learn to turn to God for forgiveness and hope, we learn to examine our own thoughts and actions, we remember to act for justice.  We also learn self-forgiveness, to give ourselves grace, knowing that we have difficult decisions to make and each of the options has the potential to harm.  But we can’t let ourselves be paralyzed into doing nothing at all.  After all, Jesus has paid the price and so we are free to think, to act, to live, to make mistakes, knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God.