Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 11

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.  Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

                                                                Matthew 5:17-20 (NRSVue)

 

There are certain Jewish laws that most Christians don't observe today.  I'm pretty sure there was bacon on my salad the other day (which is problematic in its own right I know).  Our clothing mixes fabrics.  And if you've ever done any chores like mowing the lawn or washing your clothes on a Saturday, you've failed to observe one of the Ten! 

(Don't do any work on the Sabbath which was designated as Saturday.)

Does this mean we are breaking what Jesus commands us to do?

This probably depends on whether you are a literalist or not.  If you're reading this blog, the chances are that you do not believe that every passage must be interpreted literally or exactly the way it's written.  Literalism is a fairly modern way to interpret the Bible.  We started seeing it sometime in the 19th century with the idea that the Bible was inerrant as a part of the rise of fundamentalism.  This was when you started hearing that all passages of the Bible are equal.  It was a response to the scientific revolution and discoveries that were going on in the world at that time.  Interestingly enough, the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility also was presented in the 19th century.

In Jesus' day, rabbis often argued the texts of the Bible from specific passages or philosophies.  Some were key over others.  When Jesus is asked which commandment is the greatest, he doesn't respond, "That's a stupid question, they're all equal!"  Jesus informs us of his philosophical stance from the passages that were key for him.  We should love God with all our being and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  Jesus sums this up for us in Matthew 22:40 by stating, " On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”  In Luke's Gospel, when the question of "and just who is my neighbor" comes in response to this teaching, Jesus answers with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

It's pretty easy to cross to the other side of the road

In that parable, the priest and the Levite avoid helping the accosted traveler - they remain Clean by refraining from touching his blood.  They technically are following the law.  But for Jesus, the greater law is helping the stranger.

So when there is conflict between biblical laws, one should first seek to love God and to love our neighbor.  This is following the philosophy or interpretation or rabbinical school of Jesus.  

Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees who Jesus often critiqued for following the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law.  So as we see the teaching today, the letter of the law - the specifics - do remain important but in their place as subservient to the spirit or intent of the law, i.e., "all is accomplished."

During Lent, it may be helpful for us to think about when we have been caught in the details of our faith to the exclusion of something greater.

Prayer for the Day:  Gracious God, we do thank you for the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount.  They are challenging and we may often miss the mark.  But we do seek to be faithful and we believe that our intentions are pleasing to you.  Help us to follow through more often so that we may be great in the kingdom of heaven more often than least.  We pray these things in Jesus' name.  Amen.

 

Photo by Brett Davis via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2023 - Day 9

What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people.

                                                         John 1:3b-4 

Today, I'm grateful for the tools for the interpretation of scripture instilled in me through The United Methodist Church.

Growing up, we were regulars in church.  I can't recall ever missing Sunday school or worship for illness.  I'm sure I must have missed at least once, but I don't remember it.  We also discussed the scriptures regularly in our household.  Dad would especially talk about them after the sermon.  

When we switched to United Methodism, it was as if a light switched on for my parents.  They were so impressed with a contextual understanding of the biblical world.  What was going on in the lives of the authors?  What was happening in the world at the time it was written?

How do previous scriptures impact the message of later ones?

When I was in high school, I remember our pastor, Dr. Mouzon Biggs, coming to our Sunday school to teach for a period.  I was really impressed that he didn't sugar coat it.  He brought out source theory in the Old Testament and showed us how some of the Israelite tribes referred to God as Elohim in the original Hebrew - this was E Source.  Other tribes in the southern kingdom of Judah referred to God as Yahweh and this was called J Source (Yahweh can also be translated into English as Jehovah).  There was also a D source which wrote Deuteronomy and is also found in some of the books following.  And lastly, there was a P source which was a priestly source that deals with a lot of technical stuff like worship specifications or lists of genealogies.

In their original form, these were all separate writings like we have four Gospels today.  Later, a redactor or editor merged the four sources together into the first books of the Bible.  It helps explain why there are some duplicate stories in the Old Testament!

One thing in particular I still remember from a sermon was when Dr. Biggs brought up the critique that the Ten Commandments may have been based on Hammurabi's Code.  He didn't see this as a problem for people of faith at all.

"Who's to say that God didn't inspire Hammurabi as well as Moses?"

Later, I understood this as another great example of prevenient or preceding grace!

I came out of a more fundamentalist tradition prior to United Methodism and I am thankful for the way we look at the Bible.  It is not scary to interpret the Bible and it is not a bad thing to prioritize some scriptures over others.  Even people that say they take everything literally do this.  

When Jesus was asked which commandment in the Bible was the greatest, he did not respond with, "That's a dumb question!  They are all equal!"

Rather, he gave us the love of God with all our being (the Shema) and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  These are to be the lenses with which we interpret the rest of scripture.

As we move through Lent, which portions of scripture stand out to you?  Which are some of your favorites that help you interpret others?  How do these give you life?

This is the plate from my 3rd Grade Bible