The Law and the Prophets

Deuteronomy 30:15-20, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Matthew 5:17-26

For many years in Israel there were people who's life's work was dedicated to nothing other than preserving the writings and teachings of the Law of Moses and the writings and the teachings of the Prophets. Indeed, for the religious Jew, these teachings of law and prophecy were the very backbone of their religion. It was this tradition that gave them their theology and even governed their way of life. In many ways, the teachings of the Law and Prophets were considered, not only by the people of Israel, but also by Jesus, himself, as being a gift from God necessary to follow to have salvation.

And it was concerning the Law and the Prophets that Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."

In other words, Jesus was telling the people of his day that the traditions of their faith were very important; and that even though the things Jesus seemed to be saying and teaching seemed very new, they were actually based upon the ancient teachings of the faith.

Sometimes in their search for freshness and spontaneity, in their dissatisfaction with the status quo, in their boredom, religiously minded people have forsaken their faith traditions in order to go after things they have thought were better or things they thought made more sense or seemed to offer more liveliness. I can think of a number of examples of this. The recent Charismatic movement is one example of how people left the traditions of their mainline churches to go after something that seemed to be very exciting and wonderful at the time. And, indeed, Charismatic churches grew like mad through the 70's and 80's. But, now, in many of these churches and among many of the leaders of these churches there is an awakening thirst for the traditions of the church, again; traditions that go back to the ancient church; traditions that reflect scripture; traditions that give meaning and color and stability to life within the church.

Or, take another example, the other day I met a United Methodist minister at a meeting who in conversation with me told me, bluntly, that he didn't believe in the devil. He told me that people needed to be encouraged to find the roots of evil in their own actions, rather than in some mythological person. To me, this minister was an example of a person who has turned his back upon the traditions of the church that hold to the stories of the Bible that assume the existence of Satan. And in turning his back upon these traditions he has given the message to his colleagues and to his congregation that the stories in the Bible are not important. And, as a result of this, I would venture to guess that the members of his church probably don't read the bible as much as they ought to. And I would venture to predict that the day is coming that his members will begin to hunger for those stories again and may even leave his church to get those stories told. Our hearts long for the stories of the Bible. For, indeed, those stories form us and nurture us.

I believe that as Christians we have sometimes been all too ready to chase after everything that is new and different, rather than seek those things that are based upon the traditions of the church. For the traditions of the church have been tested by God's Spirit. And it is from these traditions that the church gets its authority, its theology, and its stability.

I would like to suggest that over the past few years there have been many United Methodist pastors who have been seeking a greater appreciation for and an awareness of the orthodox teachings of the church. And, in fact, the changes that have be made in our new hymnal, which we will be receiving within the next few weeks, reflect this turning away from what was once considered avant garde and new and a turning toward the traditional values of the Christian faith which has a history going back 20 centuries and more. Nevertheless, as we encounter some of these changes many of us will think that we are encountering something new when what we are actually experiencing is something as old as the Church, itself. We will see this as we sing some of the antiphons in the Psalter, or as we read the so called "new" worship materials in the hymnal. We may think that some of these things are very new when they really may be forms of worship used by the ancient church and, therefore, orthodox church.

Jesus told the people of his day, "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Further, he told them, "Unless their righteousness surpassed the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, they would not have eternal life." This is how important Jesus considered the teachings of tradition to be.

Nevertheless, Jesus was concerned that many of the people of his day were misusing traditions; that they were selectively following only certain traditions of their religious faith in what ever ways seemed to be convenient for them. For instance, Jesus noticed that it seemed that everyone knew the Law that said, "Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment." So, people figured that as long as they followed this law then they would be doing pretty good. But, Jesus told them that this wasn't enough, for he noticed that even though most people didn't kill each other, there were, yet, many people who had such hatred for one another that they wished they could kill. Yet, for Jesus, this was as serious a sin as committing murder. And, so, he reminded the people of his day to follow, not just the traditions of their faith that seemed convenient, but also those traditions that encouraged community, caring for one another, forgiveness, and reconciliation. He told them that it wasn't enough that the people offer their gifts to God, but that it was even more important to people to be reconciled with each other before they made their offering. And, indeed, this scripture from Matthew 5:24 is one of the main reasons I usually will not take an offering without a passing of the peace. For the act of passing the peace reminds us that it is God's intention that we should be reconciled with one another before we do anything for him.

Tradition is not something that we should fear, unless it is a selective type of following. For God speaks to our age and to our church, just as he has spoken powerfully to Christians throughout the ages. Indeed, sometimes the traditional teachings of the church may seem meaningless, or pointless. Nevertheless, God calls upon us to be obedient for God knows what is best for us.

Let me give you an example: There is the story of how a loving father went into a room where his little girl was, bright-eyed and happy as could be. Somebody had just given her a box of beautiful beads. The little girl ran to her daddy immediately to show this little gift.

"They are very beautiful, my child," he said, "but now my dear, throw them into the fire."

The little girl looked for a moment. It was a great trial. And the father told her, "Now I shall not compel you to do it; but I leave it to you. Yet you never knew your daddy to ask you to do a thing that was not kind to you -- I cannot tell you why: but if you can trust me, do so."

It cost a great effort, but the little child began in her own way to think -- "father has always been kind to me, I suppose it is right," and she took the box and with a great effort threw it into the fire. The father said no more for several minutes, but then, calling his daughter to him, he took a box out of his desk drawer and gave her something far more beautiful, something that she had long desired. "Now," said he, "my child, I did this to teach you to trust in that greater Father in Heaven. Many a time in your life He will require you to give up and avoid what you cannot see the reasons for avoiding, but if you trust that Father as you have trusted me, you will always find it best."

God has given the teachings of the church as a gift to us. How important it is for us to use that gift and trust what God has given. Amen.