Choose life

Readings for the 6th Sunday after the Epiphany can include

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (Australian lectionary uses Deuteronomy 10) or Sirach 15:15-20 •

Psalm 119:1-8 •

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 •

Matthew 5:21-37

What are we to make of this idea

that even thinking about sin

might be as bad

as sin itself?

What Jesus seems to be getting at

in these little sayings:

Don’t just not be angry

Actually do something about it

Don’t just not commit adultery

deal with your inward thoughts

Recognise that you make some serious commitments

and that you need to stick to them

And even…don’t swear an oath

but let your word be of such quality

that it shouldn’t be necessary

to have legal compulsion to tell the truth.

This is the point at which, as the popular saying goes,

the rubber hits the road

or where we not only say the right thing

but we do the right thing.

Is this what people think of us?

Is this, indeed, what we think of ourselves?

or are we two-faced?

We often can rationalize this behaviour

(We don’t want to hurt people

we want to avoid trouble…so on)

But what we hear this morning

is rather consistent

with what we have been receiving

from this section of Jesus’s teaching that we call the The Sermon on the Mount

Your faith should be tasty…like salt

and it should shine out like a light.

Now we hear..

Don’t just say things

but actually ..do them!

And be aware of how you think!

Because your thoughts are probably a tell-tale of what’s really going on

Work for this week

What’s going on in your life?

In particular those secret places

where perhaps we are not up-front with others (or even ourselves)

The word of warning that we are getting here

is that even though we may be duplicitous

with others

and even with ourselves

that it doesn’t actually deceive God

and doesn’t often or actually do what we think.

Avoiding conflict doesn’t resolve it!

Putting on a masquerade

for the sake of public appearances

doesn’t actually make that come true.

Are we thus going to follow our Saviour in deed as well as word?

It is the image of jesus himself. He not only was a good person but his life was put on the line too!

I would even suggest that creating and sustaining the charade

is more damaging in fact than the problems it seeks to solve.

Avoiding conflict is probably more damaging than confronting it.

Suppressing our strong sexual feelings, would seem to be more damaging than actually dealing with them.

When we lose our integrity (our Yes/Yes)

We have lost something centrally and essentially human.

This week, let’s pay attention

to where God is calling us to

not only say but also to be and do our Christianity

This may be hard, probably will be

But we are called not to be wishy washy

But to be faithful…in word and in deed