The Rev. Gary Mongillo

Epiphany 6 A
February 13, 2011
Grace Episcopal Church

“The Law of the Heart”

After reading today’s Gospel, I immediately thought of all those times that I was angry at that man or woman who was following me just a little too close on the roadway.  I have a habit of always watching in my rear-view mirror when I’m turning into my driveway.  One such time, I avoided a near collision as I actually had to move over into the other lane so the person could fly by me.  I knew I had signaled, but I got out to check to see if they were working, and they were.  Now I didn’t want to see him deceased, but to be honest I can’t say I wished him well either.

Jesus, Jesus, always going one step further, always pushing us to be more than we think we can be.

I mean, didn’t God give us the Ten Commandments through Moses; aren’t those enough?  Not according to Jesus, for He  says over and over again in today’s reading, “In times past you have heard it said”, and then He lists one of the laws and then He goes on to say, “But now I say to you. You have heard it said do not murder, but I say do not even be angry.  You have heard it said do not commit adultery, but I say, do not even lust.  You have heard it said do not swear falsely, do not lie, but I say just say yes or no”.

What is it that Jesus is asking of us?  I couldn’t help but think of the rich young man in Mark’s Gospel who wanted to be part of God’s Kingdom.  Remember that young man who said that he had obeyed all the commandments all of his life, but what else must he do, and Jesus knowing that he was rich told him to give everything he had away to the poor and then come follow Him, and the young man turned away sad because he couldn’t do that?

What Jesus brought out in the open was that this man followed the Laws outwardly, but inwardly he had actually put his wealth ahead of God; he had made a false idol.  He obeyed the Laws out of duty and maybe even status instead of out of love.

Then another thing came to my mind:  I thought about my parents and about all those rules they had me follow, or at least tried to have me follow, when I was young.  You know the ones:  Don’t touch the stove burner, wash your hands, brush your teeth, come home before dark, do your homework, etc., etc.  I thought about how I didn’t always like following their many rules, especially as I became a teenager.  Most of the time, I did follow the rules because I didn’t want to be punished and I liked not missing dessert.  But something happened as I got older and I had a family of my own:  I realized that all those rules that they had me follow were for my own good, and that they gave them to me because they loved me.  Their wish was not to punish me but that I would learn healthy habits, and that I would learn what things in the world could hurt me and so avoid any bodily harm.

I thought about how God is just like our parents:  He gave us the commandments so that we could have a guide to live by, so that we could do no harm to ourselves and to others.  He also gave them, like our parents, out of love for us, not so that He could punish us if we failed.

And God wants us to obey them, not for any other reason except that we love Him, and because we love Him, we also love all those He created, because they are all our brothers and sisters.

Wouldn’t it be a great world if everyone did things out of love for God and each other?  We wouldn’t need hardly any laws at all!  We wouldn’t need laws to tell us that texting while driving isn’t a good thing, not just for us, but because we may hurt someone else.  Isn’t it selfish when we don’t think of the other?  We wouldn’t need laws regulating the banks because the banker’s wouldn’t be thinking just of profits, but would actually care about the other person, and wouldn’t let them borrow more than they could afford.

We wouldn’t need stricter laws governing the oil rigs, because the oil companies would care about the gift of creation, and how we are just a part of it and connected to all of it.

We wouldn’t need to fight for women’s rights, which Jesus is talking about when He discusses divorce.  For in Jesus’ time women were seen as property, they didn’t have equal rights.  Jesus was telling the men to not divorce just because of some flimsy excuse they may come up with, just because they had the power.  He told them to make sure it is for a legitimate reason.

The bottom line is that what Jesus is doing in today’s reading is getting to the heart of the Laws:  anger is a seed that can lead to worst things; lust is a seed that can lead to worst things.  Anger can lead to not only conflict, but it also can take control of people’s lives to where all their joy has been drained away.

A while ago, I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen in a while.  We talked for a short time when he brought up someone in town we both knew, and how this person prevented him from getting a job with the town.  He was just as angry at this person as if it just happened, though it was many years ago.  Jesus knows that we have to let go it, so that we don’t hurt others and also ourselves.

And when a person lusts, Jesus knows that we are no longer looking at the other person with dignity but as an object.  Again, lust can lead to adultery, but there is so much more to the Law, “thou shall not commit”, than is present on the surface.

On the surface, we may look like we’re doing all the right things, but inside our hearts, we are far from God.

Now, I won’t mention any names, but how many religious leaders or politicians have seemed to be leading upright and perfect lives, obeying all the commandments, but than their secret life was found out, either because someone came forward, or because it was leaked on the internet.  I could only imagine what would happen if the internet existed during Jesus time.

God gave us the commandments out of love for us, and Jesus, throughout the gospels, teaches what is expected of us when we simply love God and all He has created.  As Jesus tells us in the Gospels, He did not come to do away with the Law but to fulfill it.

Jesus is our great model of what we can all look like when we live our lives in loving sincerity, saying yes to God when we really mean it, and saying no to what is not of Him when really mean it.  Anything else is fooling no one.

And, thank God that He is patient, as patient as a parent knowing that we will need constant guidance and constant forgiveness until that day when we have grown into full maturity, and our hearts will be one with that of Christ’s; and on that day no laws will be needed.

Let us pray:  Oh my God I am heartily sorry for offending thee.  I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pain of hell.  But most of all dear Lord it is because they offend You who are all good and deserving of all my Love.  Help me with thy grace to love you more dearly and see you more clearly, through Christ our Lord, Amen!

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