Greetings beloved,
Here's the homily that I preached this morning at St. Paul's. Enjoy!
Our Gospel reading for today is from the Gospel account of St. Matthew chapter 5 verse 20.
We see Jesus as He contrasts the righteousness of the kingdom with the traditional interpretation and application of the Law, and He does so with a strong warning to those who desire to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus warned that... "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven"!
To appreciate and apply what Jesus said, it might help if we first examined THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES.
First, we know from numerous Scriptural examples that the Scribes and Pharisees were known to SAY AND NOT DO, “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matthew 23:1-4).
They were HYPOCRITES! Even though there were times that they taught the truth, they did not often practice what they preached!
This is where we get the saying "Do as I say, not as I do"
Second, they were known to do things SO THAT THEY MIGHT BE SEEN AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY MEN, “But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi” (Matthew 23:5-7).
They enjoyed wearing religious garments, not because it was representative of their faith and brought honor to God, but because it separated them from and made them feel better than others. In that spirit they delighted in places and titles of honor.
In our world today, it seems that the general consensus is that you’re not anybody unless you’re somebody, and you’re not somebody unless you have the latest fashion trends, cell phones, cars etc. We have reduced life and happiness to a popularity contest of who has the best clothes or the newest gadgets. I’ve even seen a bumper sticker that read, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”
In 2006 Two of today’s most popular young ladies, Hillary and Haley Duff made a movie called material girls, and they also recorded a cover of pop star Madonna’s 1985 hit ‘Material Girl’ which emphatically proclaims; “We are living in a material world and I am a material girl.” We are material girls and boys aren’t we? It would seem as if the sins of the Scribes and Pharisees of the past have become a way of life for the trendy, modern persons of today.
The Scribes and Pharisees were also known to NEGLECT PARTS OF GOD'S LAW, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:23-24).
They emphasized whatever fit their situation, or whatever they thought would serve their purposes. In this case they emphasized the “lighter” matters of the law, while neglecting the “weightier” commands. Today we call this “majoring on the minors and minoring on the majors.” In other words, the Church is too busy worrying about Praise and Worship bands and PowerPoint sermons than on preaching the truth of God’s word and standing up for the preservation of the true faith.
Lastly, they were known to be LOVERS OF MONEY, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:13-15).
Though they would be quick to deny it, and though they would try and justify it before men; "Mammon" or money was their god. Unfortunately there is much of this going on today. The Prosperity Gospel has overtaken the Church with its ministers proclaiming that “Jesus was a rich man who wore designer clothes,” and that poverty is a sin.
The prosperity gospel builds up the wrong things. In it receiving takes the place of giving, ‘I’ takes the place of ‘we’, telling or commanding God (deliver me from financial distress, bless my finances, Give me more Lord, etc.) takes the place of asking, seeking, knocking, obeying and doing. Being served takes the place of serving and self-indulgence replaces the discipline of self-control.
The prosperity gospel also attracts the wrong sort of leaders: the totally corrupt and those deceived by other prosperity preachers. It brings out the worst in church leaders, because they're vigorously encouraged to think of wealth before anything else.
In a prosperity gospel, “I” am what it's all about: my needs, my wants, my wealth, my success. I, me, mine. My suffering is not because of sin or from my behavior, but simply because I have not made a withdrawal from the unlimited bank account that God has given me. I need only to Push the Give me Button and expect it to come.
The desperate and the gullible get sucked into this. The most desperate and the most selfish alike will even borrow money to give to the preacher, using their homes and possessions as collateral. (True devotion is so hard that even some of the poor find it easier to give money instead.) But when prosperity still does not come, and it won't, eventually they walk away in bitterness, believing that Christianity is a con job. This undermines the witness and credibility of those whose faith is anything but a con job, those who really do love and care, and who don't promise what's unlikely to be delivered.
Promises of prosperity have a great attraction to those in poverty, especially those who see no hope for a change in their status. That's why prosperity preachers are so often found in poor and developing countries in Latin America and Africa, notably Nigeria and Kenya (where it plays into aspects of existing political and cultural values).
The impact of prosperity gospel preachers is obvious and undeniable, is found all over society, and is very highly visible to the public. It's also damaging, as the number of people it embitters towards God keeps rising.
So, why must our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees?
Simply because the righteousness of the kingdom demands more!
When we read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we see that as Christians we can’t "say and not do" (Matthew 7:21), we can’t "do things to be seen of men" (Matthew 6:1), we can’t "neglect ANY commandments of God's law” (Matthew 5:19), and we cannot be "lovers of money" (Matthew 6:24).
This should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks that they can be faithful Christians without combining their profession of faith with suitable deeds (James 2:14-17; 1 John 2:4-6); 3:18).
We must strive to keep our personal and private lives consistent with our profession of faith (Mark 4:22), and make a diligent effort to observe ALL that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:20; John 8:31-32; 2 John 9).Furthermore, we must remain free from the enticement of materialism (1 Timothy 6:9-10; 1 John 2:15-17).
Without question, our righteousness as citizens of the kingdom must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. But how can our righteousness be consistent with that demanded by our Heavenly Father?
It is possible only by the grace of God... Whereby His mercy provides forgiveness to those in Christ Jesus His only begotten Son (1 John 1:9; John 3:16; Titus 3:5), and where His strength makes it possible to live according to the “righteousness of the kingdom of heaven” (Philippians 4:13)!
Friends, let me admonish you this morning with a few more of Christ’s words… “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself” (Luke 10:27; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30).
God's blessings to you all!
Your faithful servant,
+Ernest A. Ross
