My house church is studying Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” and I’ve been reading through the scripture on my own in between our times together to get a better grasp of what Jesus’ teachings are. I mean, this is pretty much the meat of what we are referring to when we talk about the teachings and commands of Jesus, so it’s worth the extra time – and will be until I die.
One section jumped out at me, and caused an internal rant. I’d like to spill that rant out of my head and onto this blog.
The section is from Matthew 5, verses 21-26.
Jesus is talking about anger and forgiveness. I find myself angry a lot of the time lately, so this felt good to read Jesus talk to my problem. What’s surprising is that Jesus applies layers to the sin of anger and how we vent anger. He sets up a series of if/then scenarios that have different layers of results.
Here’s the Son Of God telling me that sin may lead to the same Final Outcome, but in it’s practicality, different sin gets treated differently. Hmmm…that’s not what I was taught in church growing up – myriad pastors told me “all sin is equal in God’s eye.” Did their Bible leave this part out?
Onto the next section: Forgiveness and reconciliation. Versus 23-24 present me with Jesus’ command that reconciliation is not just for rare occasions where there’s mutual desire to mend the relationship, but it’s a mandate before I can present an offering before God. Jesus says in these verses “…if you remember someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”
This does not align with what I hear from the majority of Christians whom I’ve talked to about forgiveness and reconciliation.
What I hear the most is something like: Forgiveness does not mean reconciliation. That doesn’t seem to fit with what I’m reading in these two verses. What’s more, Jesus comes back to the topic just a few minutes later in his teaching, in 6:14-15, only this time he removes any doubt about the importance of forgiveness: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your Heavenly father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
My conversations on this topic are split 50/50. Half the people I’ve talked with believe that we need not forgive unless forgiveness is requested. When scripture is not used, they make very compelling arguments. The actual words of Jesus seem to get in the way of a good point, though, so I think I’ll focus in on asking God to help me forgive those who’ve trespassed against.
This section of the SOTM has me thinking big picture, too. Here are some general statements I hear the most:
You only need to forgive those who ask for forgiveness.
I can forgive someone, but I don’t have to reconcile with them. I can just forgive them in my head.
Jesus wouldn’t tell us today to let the dead bury themselves.
When Jesus said to chop of your hand or gauge out your eye if it causes you to sin, he wasn’t being serious. We need to manage our problems, not cut them off completely.
Jesus’ teaching about divorce was for his generation, not ours.
Jesus’ command to love our enemies doesn’t apply to “the terrorists.” We need to bomb the hell out of them.
Jesus command to not judge, and not fulfill an eye-for-eye doesn’t apply to capital punishment.
I’ll forgive, but I’ll never forget (9/11…hoorah!)
It’s ok if I look at another woman/man so long as I don’t act on it.
Jesus didn’t mean he was literally coming back. It was a figure of speech; and illustration.
God couldn’t have created the entire universe in 6 literal days. It was a metaphor. That’s why climate change is so radical in the context of billions of years (not so much in the context of thousands, ey?)
At what point does a person stop this kind of thinking, stand erect, and admit to themselves and those around them that they don’t actually believe what they think they do? Perhaps some of us (most of us?) should do as Brennan Manning suggests and stop what we’re doing, get on the floor and beg mercy from the God we half believe in (paraphrase). I’ve had to do that many times when I’m confronted with truth. Biblical truth, that is.
Perhaps I’ve crossed over into being a fundy. Or maybe I’m on to something. Maybe the gospel is a scandal. Maybe the cross is just as infuriating to our logic as it was to those back then. I wonder how I’d feel or react if Jesus confronted my clinging to grief over the loss of my grandparents as it relates to my following him and doing his work? Lewis was right: He’s not a tame lion.
