· Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18
· Psalm 1 (2)
· 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
· Matthew 22:34-46
This lectionary reminds us of something important which many forget and which was previously stated in Matthew 5:17-18: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished."
Jesus did not preach new laws. He did not come up with "love the Lord your God" or with "love thy neighbour as thyself." Those were written down, as given by God, a thousand years or more before Christ. Neither did Jesus excuse us from any of the old commandments. Remember Matthew 19:17-19, when a rich young man asked "what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" and Jesus replies "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments: you shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honour your father and mother; also, you shall love your neighbour as yourself."
So if Jesus did not abolish the Law, or teach any new laws, and if he told us to follow the commandments in order to be saved, then why are we saved by faith and not by works, and why does Paul go on and on about not being under the law?
Three reasons. For one thing, Paul was writing to the Romans, who were Gentiles and who loved laws and legalistic matters. The elders of the early church were Jews before they were Christians, so they followed the Law, which means they were circumcised, ate kosher, and had been studying the ancient laws since they were little. So initially, they figured that anyone who wanted to follow Christ had to become not only a Christian, but a Jew. Naturally this cast a damper on many believers' enthusiasm. But since Christ had clearly sent Apostles to the Gentiles, and since the Holy Spirit was coming down on Gentiles, the elders came to the conclusion that Gentiles did not have to go to the full extent of the Jewish laws, but only "abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood." (Acts 15:20)
Second and more importantly, because the Law is neither sufficient nor necessary for salvation. There are today, as there were in Jesus' time and before, saintly people who are not believers, and Pharisees who follow the letter of the Law in every detail, but are snakes in the grass nonetheless. There are probably Pharisees in this room right now. I had a cat once who was a Pharisee. His name was Banshee. One time I put a plant beside the TV; Banshee jumped up on the TV stand and started eating the plant. I told him "don't do that." So next time he didn't jump on the TV stand: he stood up, pulled the plant down, and ate it on the floor. I told him "don't do that." So the next time he went around the back of the TV stand, pushed the plant down, and ate it on the floor. Perfect Pharisee: never broke the law as I gave it to him, never respected the spirit of the law. So the Law isn't enough to be saved, because you can be a Pharisee. And the Law is not altogether necessary to be saved, because you could be Gandhi or Cyrus and be an anointed one without believing in the Law.
And third and much more importantly, because if we are judged by the Law, we all fail. Gandhi, Cyrus, Pharisees, even Jesus himself didn't follow every detail of the Law. If nothing else, he healed on the Sabbath, which caused a big fuss with the teachers of the law. Jesus was God himself but he was also utterly human; otherwise his sacrifice is meaningless to us. And as a human and a construction worker, no doubt he broke the Law a fair few times. No one can be 100% obedient to the Law every minute of their entire life, unless they have a very, very short life. But realistically, we're not even close to 100%. I'm not sure many of us are even within the Law 10% of the time. Do I love my neighbour 10% of the time? My neighbour smokes weed and the stench and allergens get into my apartment. I'm really not fond of my neighbour at all. I'm not sure I'm within the Law even 1% of the time. As far as the Law goes, we're all doomed. Maybe even Jesus himself.
And therein is the Good News: we're saved by faith, even though we fail under the Law. Hence Paul writes "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) We still suck at the Law. We will always suck at the Law. But the Good News is this: God is a forgiving God, and we are a forgiven people. If only we have faith. Because of the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ, because we tortured him and killed him in revenge for all our failures under the Law, all our transgressions against the Law, past, present and future, are redeemed already. That is the Good News. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel doesn't do away with the Law! On the contrary, the gospel fulfills the law. On the one hand, the sacrifice of Christ atones under the Law. On the other hand, Christ himself upholds the law, encouraging us to obey it, not as we ought, but as we are able; from the smallest stroke of a letter, to the two greatest commandments: "' You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'" And as we strive to follow the Law, we know that when we inevitably fail, there is no longer any condemnation for us, thanks to Jesus who died for all our sins.
Praise be to God, the Granter and Accepter of repentance, the Avenger, the Pardoner, the Most Kind.
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