Exceeding Scribes and Pharisees

Scripture Lesson: Isaiah 58: 1-12 and Matthew 5: 13-20 Sermon Title: Exceeding Scribes and Pharisees Preached on 2/5/17 I heard a good Presbyterian joke this week: During a Presbyterian worship service a man began to be moved by the Spirit. Out loud he said "Amen!" So, the Presbyterians around him were a little disturbed. Then louder he said, "Hallelujah!" A few more people were becoming disturbed. Louder still he shouted "Praise Jesus!" An usher moved quickly down the aisle. He bent over and whispered to the man, "Sir! Control yourself!" The man exclaimed, "I can't help it. I got religion!!!" To which the usher responded, "Well you didn't get it here!" I like that joke, because I love being Presbyterian. Growing up, the only thing I wanted to be besides Indiana Jones or a professional baseball player, was a Presbyterian minister, but we’re an acquired taste. And for us Presbyterians as well as every other Christian denomination, that last phrase of our Second Scripture Lesson for this morning is a challenging one. Jesus says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” So, when I read this passage, it’s easy to be critical of scribes and Pharisees, but knowing the Presbyterian Church as we do, we can’t read this passage without also being a little critical of Presbyterians because as much as we’re different, we have a lot in common with those Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Here’s what we know about the religious landscape of Jesus’ day – among the Jews, the Pharisees were the largest “denomination” you might say. They were Jews, but they were different from the Sadducees or Zealots just as Presbyterians are different from Baptists or Episcopalians. By the way, did you hear about the Presbyterian who got a raise and had to become Episcopalian? But back to my point – the Sadducees interpreted Scripture differently than the Pharisees. Those Sadducees didn’t believe that there would be life after death, and they were labeled as collaborators and assimilators because they were quick to compromise with the occupying political power of Rome. The Zealots were the opposite – they were busy destroying bridges and attacking the Roman Legion from their bases in the hills around Jerusalem. They did not not want to compromise with Rome at all, but were aggressively resistant and working towards Israelite independence. Now, the Pharisees were in the middle of the two – they believed rebellion was pointless, but they were also too pious to compromise with infidels, so most Pharisees directed their congregations towards the dedicated religious study and observance while living peacefully if regrettably under Roman rule. And what does that mean – the Pharisees taught people to observe the Laws of Moses without making too big of a fuss. They knew that Romans would be living in Jerusalem for the foreseeable future, so put up with them, but don’t associate with them. The Pharisees urged the Jews to live in community with other Jews, to eat food that was Kosher and to read and study the Scriptures, but by no means should a Jew ever cause a fuss. So, they didn’t like Jesus much. Too many people followed him, and remember, one of them was a Zealot. And then people kept calling him Lord and Messiah – the Pharisees didn’t like Jews using that kind of language because it might upset the Romans who were suspicious of any leader who was a threat to their power and control. The Pharisees then – they kept quiet and they kept to themselves. Is there anything wrong with that? Another Presbyterian joke that I love: what do you get when you cross a Jehovah’s Witness and a Presbyterian? Someone who knocks on your door but doesn’t know what to say. Some of the things that we can say about Pharisees we could say about Presbyterians just as well – they kept to themselves, and some Presbyterians do as well – think about it – Presbyterians like to discuss big words like Predestination but you want to see a Presbyterian squirm start talking about Evangelism. Or worse – the great sin of any Presbyterian minister, the one that will just about mark him or her with a scarlet letter is, “He preaches politics from the pulpit.” Don’t do that – we don’t encourage that and neither did they. We also tend to like things nice and quiet – a good calm worship service where everyone sits quietly and listens, and we do to the extent that some people out on the street like to call us the frozen chosen. It’s true – we can be a far cry from what Jesus admonishes us to be just as they were, for Jesus calls us not to be decent or orderly, quiet or calm, but salt and light. By no means does he criticize the Pharisees for their observance of the Law saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets,” he likes how the Pharisees love the Law. What doesn’t he like – they’ve lost their saltiness. “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?” I’ve been thinking all week about what he means by this, and I asked my barber, Rory Gant, what he thought, and he said, “It’s easy – food without salt is boring, and I sure have been to some boring churches.” You’ve been to the kind of church where you sit there and the most interesting thing going on is the second hand on your watch so you just sit there and watch the clock until it’s over. Mumble out a couple songs. Play tic-tac-toe while the preacher preaches. I heard a story once about a little boy whose Sunday School teacher asked, “do you know why we have to be quiet in the sanctuary children?” “So, we don’t wake the people who are sleeping,” a little boy answered. Salt – think about it – how salty are we? We don’t want to have too much salt – then we’d give people high blood pressure; but then if we don’t have enough we’re bland. I know that we have it. I see it in your eyes, I hear it in your voices, (especially in the voices of these children who just sang), on a daily basis I hear about your kindness and I’m a witness to your tremendous acts of charity, but can there be more? More life, more depth of flavor to our worship, so joy-filled and so un-Pharisee that when people see us on the sidewalk they say, “Those Presbyterians always have a smile on their face and a hop in their step – joy in their heart and a song on their lips. As Christians, we have no reason to fear death – and we can’t be afraid of really living either. By admonishing the crowd this way, telling them that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees he’s telling them that they must be righteous as they are but they must also do more – they can’t be so stogy or so exclusive while they do it – for we read in Scripture one of my favorite verses, “Jesus laughed.” But have you ever read that a Pharisee so much as cracked a smile? No, they were a stiff and dignified lot. Walking around in their fancy hats, praying on street corners, counting sins and coins spent for atonement. Kept to themselves mostly, and what good is that? What good is salt that only salts itself – for if salt is to do any good it must be out in the world bringing flavor to the earth. The Pharisees didn’t think about that, and at times, Presbyterians don’t either, so hear these often-quoted words from the Archbishop William Temple, “The church is the only organization on earth that exists for those who are not its members.” Salt. Salt cannot sit in the shaker – salt must go on food just as Christians must be out in the world, not keeping the good news to themselves but preaching it through word and deed so that all might know the joy that lives in our own heart. And more than that, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to the house.” In the same way, you must let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. A sermon based on those words was first preached in this country in 1630 by Rev. Jonathan Winthrop still aboard the ship Arabella, addressing a group of Puritans preparing to settle into a new country. He challenged them to set an example of communal charity, affection, and unity to the world. Then he warned them, that if they failed to uphold their covenant to God, "we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world.” The world is still watching us, both our church and our nation, and the real challenge that those Puritans faced is there now just as it has always been – will we live quiet, righteous lives, our will we live for the good of the world as our savior did? Will we shine a light of hope for all nations, or will we close our doors, suspend our charity, and push towards quiet insignificance? Will we nullify the words on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” – or will the light of her torch burn so brightly that we are a light to all the nations? Our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees of old. We must live as salt and light – so I call on you now as I call on myself – let us live righteous lives, let us live righteous lives for the good of the world, and let them say of us and our church that we salted the streets of this community with our love. Amen.