Sermon - Epiphany 6, Year A

Matthew 5:(20), 21-37

 

Righteousness which Exceeds

 

     "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." 

     I could have stuck with the assigned verses for today and not read this verse.  To my defense, it used to be included in the appointed verses for Epiphany 6, which means that several of the study resources I use speak of this verse as the one that gives meaning to those which follow.  Jesus is speaking of “righteousness” when he addresses murder and insults and adultery.  Still, this is a difficult verse.  And if you were in worship last week, you have now been subjected to it twice.  This verse, the first I read for you this morning, was the last to be read to you last week. 

     "Unless your righ­teousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." 

     The verse is tough. It is difficult to hear.  And maybe worst of all, it sets up salvation as competition.  It calls upon us to set our mind upon comparing ourselves to those around us.  A control group is identified and instructions given that unless our righteousness exceeds theirs, we are left without any hope of entering that illustrious king­dom. 

     I recall, as a young boy, sitting in the church trying to decide who was actually going to make it into heaven.  I had remembered the bible verse which states that few are chosen.  My teachers had read to me Jesus' warnings that the path is narrow and easily abandoned.  There was even that strange reference in Revelation which I understood to give an exact number of those who would be saved.  The number was finite.  It was therefore necessary for me to consider my chances given what I knew about those who sat around me. 

     "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." 

     Don't forget who those "scribes and Pharisees" were.  Their distinction arose out of their adherence to the letter of the law.  The scribes were the scholars, the learned individuals who read through the ancient texts and identified every single instruc­tion that Yahweh had ever given.  Even after eliminating the repeti­tion, there remain over 800 laws and ordinances which had been identified by these scribes. 

     The scribes were those who kept the list.  They were the scholars who studied and wrote and taught what was contained in the scrip­tures. 

     The Pharisees were those lived according to the laws which the scribes found.  They were committed individuals, zealous in their attempts to obey each of the laws.  They became model citizens and active church members.  They were continually examining themselves and striving to make sure they never broke a single one of the stated laws.  They lived lives which approached flawlessness.  They were about as close to perfect as you could ever be. 

     This is the control group.  These are the individuals against whom Jesus says we must compare our righteousness.  Our righteousness is to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven.  No wonder our chins drop upon hearing these words. 

     How are we ever going to manage?  We have a difficult time even remembering the Ten Commandments.  It is a real challenge to obey those we do remember.  What about the 790 or so additional laws which the scribe studied and the Pharisee obeyed?  If this doesn't present us with enough of a challenge, we only need look at the rest of today's gospel reading were Jesus seems to be adding additional laws and requirements.  What are we to do?  If our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, it looks like we won't be seeing each other in the sweet-by-and-by. 

     The key to understanding what Jesus is saying lies in his use of the word "righteous­ness" and in the style of his direc­tives on murder, adultery, divorce and bearing false witness.  Putting these together and remembering that this whole passage is part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, we begin to understand that his talk of a righteous­ness which EXCEEDS has to do with a righteousness born of God and not from our own ability to obey. 

     On the feast day of the Baptism of our Lord, we read from John.  You didn’t get to hear John’s accounting of Jesus’ baptism.  In Matthew 3, when Jesus comes to be baptized by John, John tries to prevent him.  John points out that Jesus is the spiritually pure one, the one who is the Child of God, so he should be baptizing John, not John baptizing him.  Many of us do struggle to understand why Jesus would receive John's baptism, a baptism of repentance, when Jesus had never committed a sin. 

     But John finally gives in and baptizes Jesus.  He does so when Jesus says to him, "let it be so now;  for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteous­ness."    

     “Righteousness.”   

     In the scriptures, there are differing uses of the word "righteousness."  In the New Testa­ment there are at least three.

     First, righteousness is sometimes spoken of as those actions which bring about an increase of justice.  These would be good deeds, done to the benefit of God and neighbor.  Obeying the Ten Com­mandments and all those other laws discovered by the scribes would fall into this type of righteousness.  It is the righteous­ness which represents our adherence to the word and law of God.  This is most likely the understanding of righteousness which, when it comes to mind, fills us with thoughts of inadequacy. 

     A second use of the word righteousness falls into the category of legal language.  It is the prerogative of the judge to declare one "righteous."  No evidence or testimony is neces­sary, the judge simply has the right to declare one as righteous and this becomes their status before the law.  St. Paul insists that this "decree of righteous" is handed out by God to all those who call upon the name of Jesus. 

     But there remains this third use of the concept of "righteousness."  Unlike the other two, this righteousness has nothing to do with us or our actions.  This righteousness only involves God.  God alone IS righteous.  God possesses righteousness.  It is that characteris­tic or trait which makes God - God.  Righteousness in this sense is categorically differ­ent from any righteousness which we could ever achieve or be granted.

     It is this "righteousness of God" which concerns St. Mat­thew.  In writing his gospel story, Matthew hinges the whole event upon God's righteousness.  He repeatedly illustrates the inadequacy of our own attempts at righteousness.  In our gospel lesson for today, Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Phari­sees we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  He then goes on to illustrate why the "righteousness" of the scribes and Phari­sees is worthless.   

     Perhaps one could be successful in abiding by the ancient law, "You shall not murder."   But who is capable of living according to the intent of that law?  Jesus reminds us that the law is more than a prohibition upon the taking of another's life.  It also places constrains upon our anger and insults.  Maybe we can avoid adultery - if by that we only mean certain limited actions.  But who is capable of preventing their eye from wonder­ing? 

     Jesus illustrates that the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is worthless because you can never legislate away all transgressions of God's law.  The level of righteousness which God desires can never be achieved through our acts of justice.  The righ­teousness which exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees is the righteousness of God.  It is the righteous­ness given to us in Jesus.

     The gospel story, the good news of God's anointed Messiah, begins and ends with this outpouring of God's righteousness.  It is freely offered to us so that we might possess it and live in its comfort.  As Christians, we gather to sing praises to the God who has done this marvelous and wonderful thing.  Far be it from us to cheapen God's action by allowing our obedience to take center stage.

     I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, unless it is the righteousness granted to you by God, you will never even recognize the kingdom over which Jesus reigns. 

     That kingdom, the one over which Jesus reigns, is marked by a grace filled understanding of the goodness and the invitation of God’s righteousness. 

Amen.