Living Humbly

Living in Covenant

A Heart-felt Covenant

Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

Jesus Teaches about Fulfilling the Law

Matthew 23:1-12 The Message (MSG)

Religious Fashion Shows

23 1-3 Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer.
4-7 “Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called ‘Doctor’ and ‘Reverend.’
8-10 “Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven. And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ.
11-12 “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.

For Reflection

All Show and no Go.  The Jewish religion, as practiced by God's people, had evolved into a substance less legalistic mishmash of rules and enforcement.  It gave little freedom to love compassionately and to serve the needs of the people of God.  Adherence to the law was paramount and applied without regard to God's will for justice and peace. The practice became institutionalized hypocrisy.


And yet, in spite of all the dysfunction, many of the people of God lived fully compassionate lives. They loved as God loves, served as God serves.  They did this because they responded to the point in their hearts where the Holy Spirit lived.  It is also the reason that many could turn away from the dysfunction of their religious practice and follow the way of Jesus. They were freed at last to respond to their Christ

Pray

Pray so that you will return to the yearning in your soul to be free to love as God loves and serve as God serves.

Note: Dyed silk banner by students at the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, Montreat, NC, 2019
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