Church of the Holy City

You Can Do It

You Can Do It
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
February 16, 2014

Deuteronomy 30:11-20 Matthew 5: 38-48 Psalm 119

God encourages us in the book of Deuteronomy. The reading we heard this morning tells us that it is not too hard for us to do what God commands. God tells us plainly, “For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you” (Deuteronomy 30:11). God elaborates His gentle command by saying that it is not far off and difficult to obtain,
It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” (Deuteronomy 30:12-13)
God tells us to look into our hearts, and that we will find His commandment there. And God reaffirms that we can do it, “But the word is very ear you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (30:14). So God tells us that His commands are obtainable, we know them, and they are not too hard for us.
But in our reading from Matthew, we heard some hard teachings from Jesus. Jesus reinterprets the Ten Commandments. He emphasizes love, which is at the heart of the Ten Commandments. But in doing so, He asks some very demanding things of us. At the conclusion of His treatment of the Ten Commandments, Jesus says, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). It simply isn’t possible for us to be perfect. And as if that weren’t hard enough, Jesus asks us to be like God, “be perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Is this the same voice we heard in Deuteronomy? Is this the voice that says, “This commandment which I give you this day is not too hard for you?” Logic gives us two possible interpretations of these two sayings. First, it is indeed possible for us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Or second, the two sayings are in conflict.
There might be a third interpretation. That is, Jesus was using hyperbole. That is, He was exaggerating what He expects of us. Maybe Jesus is saying, “Strive for perfection.” Let’s look at some of the other passages we heard from Matthew this morning.
Jesus gives us a strong statement of non-violence in Matthew 5. He tells us, “Do not resist one who is evil.” Jesus then elaborates with a few examples. He says,
If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles (Matthew 5:39-40).
These statements remind me of those who have made the greatest contributions to social transformation. I think of Mahatma Gandhi. He overcame the English Empire without waging war against it. His was peaceful protest. And the power of peaceful protest threw off the imperialism of England. And I think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King not only made living conditions equal in the segregated parts of America, but he also made great strides toward equality of heart and mind for African Americans and the dominant Caucasian majority. And Dr. King did this not by mobilizing African-Americans to fight, but rather by peaceful resistance. Dr. King learned from the tactics of Gandhi, and he and his followers bore violent attacks without fighting back. They did cover up against fists, clubs, and batons, but they did not exchange blow for blow. They did not return eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And both these peaceful reformers overcame incredible odds and great power. They overcame without war and fighting. So there is power in the words of Jesus.
Jesus, Himself, of course, set the example in His crucifixion. Jesus, as we know, did not resist the evil powers of Rome and the mob of Jerusalem. Even when He was arrested, Jesus did not fight. One of Jesus’ followers drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Jesus would not let this man fight, either. He told him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).
That truth stands up to human experience. “All who take the sword will perish by the sword.” Or as folk wisdom has rephrased it, “All who live by the sword, die by the sword.” Responding to violence with violence will only perpetuate the dynamic. Anyone who has had any experience with this can confirm it. I recall when I was in school a former roommate that I had conflict with. I can’t remember all the details, but I got into an escalating circle of antagonism with him. I don’t think it ever came to a physical altercation. But one morning I woke up to find the headlights on my car smashed. I didn’t have any proof, but I knew it was him. I thought of retaliation. But then I had the presence of mind to see the inevitable results. I break something of his, he breaks something of mine, and so on and so on until the windshield of my car gets smashed. I looked at the broken headlights of my car and let it end there.
This doesn’t go only for physical violence. We can be aggressive verbally, too. We can be argumentative and try to beat up someone else verbally. In fact, the law recognizes verbal abuse as a crime as well as physical abuse. Any time we throw our weight around in any way, we are acting violently. And acting violently starts the cycle of violence that only ends when someone has had enough and turns the cheek or calls in the law.
In fact the law about an eye for an eye has an interesting history. This law was given to soften retaliation. In the history of Israel, sometimes vengeance would be carried out to the seventh generation of the victim. That means that the children seven generations down would suffer for the offences of their great, great, great, great grandfather. But Exodus says that vengeance, or punishment, must equal the offence. So the law says,
you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe (Exodus 21:23-24).
So the law about equal retaliation was meant as a progressive step forward in justice. And for its time, it was. But Jesus makes an even further step forward in the nature of justice. He teaches,
You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil (Matthew 5:38-39).
Well do we have the presence to resist one who is evil? Are we more likely to draw our sword and fight? Will we initiate the cycle of violence that can only result in our ruin? I think that there is a final teaching in this section of Matthew that we may be able to do, or strive to do. Again, revising the laws of the Old Testament that call down curses on those who hate a person, Jesus says,
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust (Matthew 5:43-45).
As Christians, we are called to love our friends and our distant relations. We are to love the members of this church, and the Muslims in Egypt. I think of the extraordinary encounter of the past Pope, John Paul II. Do you remember when Pope John Paul II visited in jail the man who attempted to assassinate him? I recall the photo of the Pope in jail visiting his would-be murderer posted in Time magazine and all over the media. This is the message of Christian forgiveness that runs all through the Gospels. And I think that it is the only way to peace–in our lives, and perhaps on a global scale.
Where are we, now, with respect to the Deuteronomy passage we opened with. God tells us in Deuteronomy that, “This commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you” (Deuteronomy 30:11). God tells us that it is not far off so that we need to send someone up into the sky or across the ocean to get it. Rather, this commandment is in our hearts. I think that it is possible for us to love our fellows. We can pray for those who persecute us. And we can abstain from the cycle of violence. Jesus showed us the way of love and the way of peace. It but remains for us to read the stories about Him and to follow in His footsteps.

PRAYER

Lord, we pray that you lead us in the path of peace. We are tempted at times to want to retaliate when we are wronged. But you have told us clearly to turn the other cheek. You have taught us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Give us the inner peace to follow your example and not to respond and eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. May we not lash out in anger, but seek to moderate conflict and resolve differences peacefully.

And, Lord, we pray that the world may learn from your lessons of peace. We pray especially for the people of Syria. May the rulers of that country realize that war and conflict are not the means for preserving society. We pray that all the civil unrest and war we see may understand that all are like in wanting love and the good things of this world.

We ask for your healing love to fill those who are ailing in body and soul. Lord, send your healing love to all who are in need.