February 12, 2023 – Epiphany 6A

[“Jesus said to the disciples:] “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:21-37)

I was listening to NPR the other morning, and I heard them tell the story of Hugh Montgomery. Hugh was a 17^th century Irishman who fell from his horse onto a fence, opening a hole in his chest. Although expected to die, he got better, but he still had this hole in his chest that exposed his inner workings.  His father fashioned a metal plate that he could use to cover the hole in his chest. He toured Europe selling out theaters to people who paid money to see him remove the metal plate, and expose his insides, which they initially thought was his lung. Then a famous cardiologist, Sir William Harvey took a look inside his chest and he realized it wasn’t his lung, but his heart he could see. This was the first time anyone had actually seen an actual working heart.  Mr. Montgomery would let people reach in and touch his heart – and the fascinating thing was, he couldn’t feel them touch it. The heart, as it turns out, has no feeling – and if you have had a heart catheterization, you know this to be true. 

What is the point we should take away from this text from Matthew 5 today?  It appears Jesus wants his disciples, which includes you and me, Jesus wants us to consider whether we hear the hearts of our neighbors beating in our ears?  The law is important, vitally important to our Christian teachings, including “You Shall Not Murder”, “You Shall Not Commit Adultery”, and “You Shall not Bear False Witness”, among the more well-known commands like “You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me”, and “Remember the Sabbath”.  But the Gospel of Jesus Christ compels us to consider more than the law, we must consider what is at the “Heart” of the matter. Yes most of us have not murdered anyone, but if our heart is filled with anger, how can we serve the other in our lives? If our heart is filled with “porneia”, or being untruthful, or unfaithful, how can we truly love our spouses with our whole heart?

Although the experience of Hugh Montgomery taught us that the heart has no feeling, we know just the opposite is true – at the heart of being human is every feeling from anger, to hate, to love, and lust and everything in between.  And if we are truthful with ourselves, we will admit that there is a pounding in our ears that will drive us to confess that most of the time we fall short of this kind of living Jesus calls us to – to love without limits. We confess that we fall short, that we fail most of the time in living according to the heart of Jesus’ message. But that is why we come to hear the Gospel of Jesus. We fill our ears with gospel medicine that fills us with grace upon grace. And then we meet Jesus at the table, where forgiven and fed we go out into the heartless world – seeking reconciliation, letting go of our anger, and loving with a pure heart.

Pastor Dave