T he Kingdom of God is a realm utterly characterized by self-giving. We can’t possibly be self-giving and at the same time be unreconciled or hate our enemies. That’s why a major component of Jesus’ message – the one he charged His disciples with as He sent them about the countryside of Galilee was “Repent”. This meant not so much “Be contrite” as “Change your priorities. You have it all wrong. Your value system is upside down.”

Friday of the First Week of Lent

Ezekiel 18:21-28

Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

M atthew 5:20-26 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (21) "You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' (22) But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of  fire. (23) So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (25) Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; (26) truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

Meditation

D eeply embedded in the folklore and fairy tales of Western civilization is a plot line in which a young man performs noble or dangerous deeds to win the hand of a fair maiden – slaying a dragon, scaling a glass mountain, or something equally difficult. The deed was, actually, quite unrelated to the prize, but it revealed something about the suitor – was he clever or courageous or skillful enough to be worthy of the girl’s hand?

Sometimes, I think, we use this plot line to read and interpret the gospel stories – such as today’s admonition about reconciling with one’s brother before offering worship to God. Today’s reading is a continuation of the first great “sermon” of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel – the sermon on the Mount. Applying the plot line in this context, the prize is not a fair maiden, but something of infinitely greater value – entry into the Kingdom of God . The difficult deed is not slaying a dragon, but reconciling with those we dislike or who dislike us. (It’s of one piece with loving one’s enemies, which we will read in tomorrow’s Gospel.) We too easily see this reconciling or love of enemies as unconnected to the prize – just something difficult that is required of us, precisely to show that we are worthy or to pass the entrance exam.

But in this case, the cultural plot line is all wrong! To begin with, we are not worthy. God wants us – loves us – anyway. There is no way we can demonstrate our worthiness. God imputes worthiness to us – as a free gift, undeserved, impossible for us of ourselves. There is nothing we can do to change God’s mind about this. Second the deed is not only connected to the prize, it is, in a sense, the very prize itself. Recall: “God is love” (1 John 4:16), or better translated, “God is self-giving”. The Kingdom of God is a realm utterly characterized by self-giving. We can’t possibly be self-giving and at the same time be unreconciled or hate our enemies. That’s why a major component of Jesus’ message – the one he charged His disciples with as He sent them about the countryside of Galilee was “Repent” (e.g., Mk 1:14; Mk 6:12). This meant not so much “Be contrite” as “Change your priorities. You have it all wrong. Your value system is upside down.” This message was to be accompanied by the disciples’ proclaiming that “The Kingdom of God is near”. Truly, when we are self-giving, then indeed the Kingdom of God is present.

A word of caution: When, in our reflecting on these passages, we substitute “ Kingdom of Heaven ” for “ Kingdom of God ”, we can too easily pass the prize off as “pie in the sky when we die”. But Jesus told his disciples to ask God to inaugurate his Kingdom on earth (the Lord’s Prayer). It’s now that we have to reconcile. It’s now that we have to give ourselves. It’s now that the Kingdom can come.

Supplementary Reading

Obedience

Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and You have not rescued Your people at all. ~ Exodus 5:23

H ave you ever felt that the more obedient you are to following God, the more adversity there is? Moses had been instructed to go to Pharaoh and tell him to release the people of Israel . God had said He was going to deliver the people through Moses. The only problem is that God did not tell Moses at what point they actually would be released. When Moses complained to God, the Lord told Moses that He had to harden Pharaoh's heart in order to perform greater miracles. God was behind hardening Pharaoh's heart. We forget that the king's heart is in God's hand. God had a specific reason for each plague and each delay. God said to Moses, "I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord" (Exodus 10:1b-2).  

God has a reason for everything He does. These delays were designed to bring greater glory to God and were to be a lasting legacy of God's miracle-working power for generations to come.  

When the people were freed, God again hardened Pharaoh's heart to go after them. This action of God to harden Pharaoh's heart was to set the stage for an even greater miracle-the parting of the Red Sea . The people were angry with Moses for bringing them to the desert "to die." But God said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on" (Ex. 14:15b). There was only one place to go by this time-the Red Sea . God parted the Red Sea , and another greater miracle took place.  

Moses learned several lessons that each of us must learn. God's promises are true, but His timing is not the same as ours. God always wants greater glory than what we might be willing to give Him. God puts obstacles and adversity into our lives in order to build perseverance and faith. Why has God put the mountain in your life at this time? To demonstrate His power through your life. To show His glory. --OS Hillman

• 02/28/2010 00:16 - Mar 3, 2010 - Wednesday Meditation (Simply Be A Servant)
• 02/28/2010 00:14 - Mar 2, 2010 - Tuesday Meditation (Humility - Seeing Ourselves the Way God Sees Us!)
• 02/28/2010 00:10 - Mar 1, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Overcome Evil with Good)
• 02/26/2010 13:50 - Feb 28, 2010 - Sunday Meditation (Walking with Jesus in Our Own Jerusalem)
• 02/26/2010 13:39 - Feb 27, 2010 - Saturday Meditation (Radical Kind of Love!)

• 02/21/2010 06:31 - Feb 25, 2010 - Thursday Meditation (Selfish Prayers?)
• 02/21/2010 06:29 - Feb 24, 2010 - Wednesday Meditation (Dont Continue to Reject God's Warnings)
• 02/21/2010 06:26 - Feb 23, 2010 - Tuesday Meditation (As We Forgive Those Who Sinned Against Us)
• 02/21/2010 06:24 - Feb 22, 2010 - Monday Meditation (Welcome Jesus in your Brother!)
• 02/19/2010 23:08 - Feb 21, 2010 - Sunday Meditation (Dont Make God an Idol!)