Most clergy have a few sermons they preach over and over. One of mine says this: the Christian life is not about being good; it is about being loved into goodness. It is about entering into relationship with the One who made us and loves us too much to suffer estrangement from us.
And that message – which I believe is supported in the whole of our salvation story – is pretty directly contradicted by the following words of Jesus: "Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Wait just a minute. What happened to, “Unless you become as a child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven?” and “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit?” Didn’t Jesus say those things too? If it all comes down to commandments and righteous behavior… why do we need a savior? If it’s a matter of just gritting our teeth and trying harder, we’re pretty much sunk.
Thankfully, this isn’t the only thing Jesus says on the subject. Another time, after setting what his disciples think is an impossible standard, he says, “With humankind this is impossible; but with God, all things are possible.” Phew.
Still, I am caught by this remark, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees…” The scribes and Pharisees, the religious elite of Jesus’ time, were known for their uprightness and fidelity to the Law. They appear to have been arrogant and legalistic, but certainly righteous. What could it mean to exceed their righteousness?
Here’s my guess: it means to go beyond the mere observance of the Law to the intention at its heart. It means to go beyond rules and rituals to relationship, relationship with the living God made possible through His Son. It means to invite the power of the Holy Spirit to be manifest through us for healing and restoration of all things. It means to truly believe that Jesus is who he said he was and to follow his way of living God-life in the world. That is truly going beyond the legalistic righteousness of the scribes.
Yesterday I invited you to reflect on where you might be caught in “rule-following” rather than Jesus-following. If an area occurred to you, ask Jesus to transform that part of your life, or transform you in it.
And if the idea of having a “relationship with Jesus” or “relationship with God” seems abstract or odd to you, there’s something to explore. For me, it developed as I opened myself to prayer that included silence, imagination and listening. The Holy Spirit brings us into the presence of God – and then Jesus often becomes marvelously specific.
Repeatedly in the psalms and prophets we hear God saying, “I don’t want your rituals and your sacrifices – I want your heart. And don’t worry if your heart is hard – I will break your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put a new heart and a new spirit within you.” We just need to say yes – and then we become God's "good person."
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