Dear Faith Family,
First, a quick word on my invitation last week to "talk politics." I sent an email the other day with details of this Sunday's conversation. If you didn't receive that email and need the details or to RSVP, please email me. Hope to see you Sunday!
Speaking of Sunday, on this past one, we found our hearts exposed, and our Father's heart revealed through Jesus' words in Matthew 5:17-48. As we progressed through Jesus' six antitheses, "You have heard it said...But I say," we spiraled deeper and deeper into the heart that divides, becoming more and more uncomfortable and defensive as each new layer was exposed. And yet, even as we moved further into our internal and social segregation, we found ourselves ever more aware of the heart of our Father for us, for something more and 'perfect' (5:47-48).
The heart of the divide is our self-righteousness, which is why entrance into the kingdom requires a "righteousness that exceeds" the self-identified righteous (5:20). A self-righteous heart demands what we are owed, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." (5:38). Yet to a heart hardened by entitlement (and even by true loss) that requires of others, Jesus says "Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you."
"As if!" was a term made famous in the mid-nineties by the movie Clueless, a truly great film. (If I knew how to insert emojis, you'd see the laughing eyes with tears and the winking face after that last comment...just so you know!). "As if," was the main character's typical response to what she considered an absurd observation or suggestion. While obviously dated, this phrase nonetheless captures how we feel when Jesus tells us to give what we have rather than demand what we are owed.
Certainly, Jesus' observation is absurd, especially for creatures so demanding of our rights. But the absurdity is not in what he says we give up, but in why he implies we are able to do so. The poet Malcolm Guite helps us feel the absurdity in his aptly titled poem "As If,"
The Giver of all gifts asks me to give!
The Fountain from which every good thing flows,
The Life who spends himself that all might live,
The Root whence every bud and blossom grows,
Calls me, as if I knew no limitation,
As if I focused all his hidden force,
To be creative with his new creation,
To find my flow in him, my living source,
To live as if I had no fear of losing,
To spend as if I had no need to earn,
To turn my cheek as if it felt no bruising,
To lend as if I needed no return,
As if my debts and sins were all forgiven,
As if I too could body forth his heaven.
So, when our hearts demand of others and the Spirit reminds us of Jesus' insistence to 'give' instead, might "As if!" flow off our lips from a new and 'perfect' heart.
Love you faith family. God bless.