Daily Devotion for Lent 2019 - Day 11

Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:13-29 (NRSV)

Jesus brings us to the end of the Sermon on the Mount today.

Matthew's Gospel has much more of a tone of works righteousness over that of righteousness by faith.  It finishes by reminding everyone that those who merely hear the word without following up with action are lacking in the transformation needed by each Christian.

It reminds one of the epistle of James (2:17) stating, "Faith without works is dead."

As the sermon takes a judgmental turn we see this in the following:

• The narrow gate and few find it
• The tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire
• Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will make it into heaven
• Not following through is like building your house on sand

Castles made of sand fall into the sea eventually.

Some Christians point to these passages and declare that Jesus has high expectations for us and that we shouldn't try to water down God's word.  The only trouble is that those who point this out are often not paying attention to the first part of the sermon.

As I read over the parts leading up to this, I see Jesus trying to shape us in humility, peacemaking, doing what is right no matter the cost, foregoing anger and lust, loving our enemies, sharing our light with the world, not amassing wealth for ourselves, praying, fasting and giving alms for the right reasons, trusting and relying on God, not judging others and following the golden rule.  

These are the foundations for building our house on rock.  So it is quite ironic that the very Christians pointing out how bad you are doing are missing the point!

This doesn't mean that we can't call out behavior that is sinful and causing harm.  But it does mean that we need to ask ourselves if we are communicating the message in a way that will be heard.  If we are sharing judgment with a world where transformation can never take hold, we are the ones saying, "Lord, Lord!"

When have you found life on the hard road?


Prayer for the day:

God, we get nervous about hearing you say that you might reject us.  It sounds awful to live outside of your grace.  And yet, if we choose to hold onto bitterness, wrath and malice, we seem to be already doing that.  Forgive us for hearing your instruction and promptly ignoring it.  We know that the times we listened and acted were times of blessing.  Help us to find these more often.  Amen.


Photo by Gary J. Wood via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.