Saturday, July 06, 2024

The right sort of righteousness



Sermon for the sixth Sunday after Trinity 

Does your righteousness
exceed that of 
the scribes and Pharisees?

What does this mean?

Are we talking about 
righteousness 
in what we think, 
or say, 
or do?

Of is it something we are?

We think of Abraham
being a righteous man
whose faith in God
was accounted to him
as righteousness.

There are two understandings
of righteousness in the Bible.

One is a broad sense
which is related to perfection.

A righteous man is one
whom he is meant to be.

And already we see God
present in this understanding 
of righteousness 
because God is responsible 
for giving us meaning
and showing us 
who we are meant to be.

The other sense
is a narrow, legal sense
of passing the right judgement 
on others.

And now we begin to see
how we must exceed
the righteousness 
of the Scribes 
and Pharisees.

[PAUSE]

The Scribes and Pharisees 
adhere to the narrow form 
of righteousness.

Things are righteous 
because the Pharisees 
say that they are righteous 
according to the Law of Moses.

In many ways,
they are trying to ensure
that God's law is kept 
in due order 
so that God may be worshipped.

That's actually a fine thing.

The Pharisee regards 
God's Law with respect 
and seeks to apply it 
as in compliance with God.

So what's gone wrong?

[PAUSE]

Our Lord Jesus
shows us 
that this view of righteousness 
is too narrow
and needs to be broadened.

It is against God's Law
to commit murder.

But Jesus broadens out
what the Law says.

It is not what God wants
for us to harbour anger
against our brother 
in our hearts.

To be angry with your brother
without a good reason
(if there is such a reason)
is to damage
our righteousness 
which puts us back into 
narrow sense of righteousness 
and puts us in danger of
judgement, council and hellfire.

To be angry with your brother
means that there is something wrong
which needs to be put right
before you can proceed.

[PAUSE]

Righteousness is related to being perfect
and this means that 
the Law is not enough
to call us righteous.

We need to be made righteous.

This means cultivating 
righteousness 
in our lives
as something to grow.

God imparts righteousness 
at our baptism 
and when we confess our sins
and when we receive the Eucharist.

And then we must grow it
so that it exceeds 
the narrow view of righteousness 
that the Scribes and Pharisees 
possess

Just as our justification 
is not a one-off event
but something that we must
work at in faith 
so our righteousness is 
something that we must work at
and cultivate
in order to enter the kingdom of God.

We need the right sort of righteousness,
nice and broad 
that grows beyond the confines 
of the law court
and into our hearts and minds.


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