Gouging gladly (Mat. 5)
"Pluck out your eye..."
Oh. Ouch. A hyperbole Jesus uses to show us the drasticness of our sin. Sin is damnworthy. Eyes are temporary.
Yet, the context asks a deeper question--"unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.... You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mat. 5:20, 48). It asks us how far our righteousness extends--how far are we willing to go to not sin? Do we desire not to sin? So much so that we are willing to pluck out our eyes? If we hesitate to take such drastic measures, are we really righteous? That is the question--it hangs and hovers over our heads. And humans race in to fill that gap--with religion, irreligion, defining purity, boundaries, declaring what is clean and unclean, rules, and regulations, even seeking human approval as a means to feel "good" and "right." "Righteousness" is human-defined in many, many different ways as a salve for seeking souls.
Yet, Jesus does not let us rest. The question goes deeper: Will tearing out my eye really give me the righteousness I need to enter? Is that sufficient?
It is a scary question.
We ignore the drasticness of our sin. Or we keep cutting off appendages and gouging out others. Or we despair. Or we do all three.
I justify. I rationalize. Just this one time.
I try to reform. Measure up. Vow to do more spiritual disciplines. Put a little extra in the offering plate. Perhaps, perhaps... perhaps I can do better.
I sink. Despair. God is disappointed in me. I'm a worm.
Or I seek my rightness in personal approval, drive myself to find that feeling of "righteousness" through my boss' approbation, clientele applause, friends' pats on the back....
Or I flagellate myself in religious rules, define who is in and who is out....
Yet, Christ says, "Your sin is so horrible. So horrible, I will not only cut off my own arm for you, but I will cut off myself from my Father, I will give my entire life so that you can have the righteousness you need to enter heaven--my righteousness itself. I am perfect as my Father is perfect; you, too, can be perfect in me and call God your Father. I will cut myself off for you." Not just his eye. Not just his arm. Himself. From his Father.
Lo and behold, as a result of his work, even the desire to get rid of sin springs up in us as well. Not only because we have the Spirit of Christ in us who gives us new desires. Yet we also recognize what he has done for us. We need not stay in this world maimed, or hobble into heaven without an arm and squinting because we are missing one eye. No, we can run into heaven, run into the arms of Jesus and our Abba Father, leaping with the Spirit himself, seeing with both eyes the glory of heaven because Christ has borne the gouges in his hands.
Oh. Ouch. A hyperbole Jesus uses to show us the drasticness of our sin. Sin is damnworthy. Eyes are temporary.
Yet, the context asks a deeper question--"unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.... You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mat. 5:20, 48). It asks us how far our righteousness extends--how far are we willing to go to not sin? Do we desire not to sin? So much so that we are willing to pluck out our eyes? If we hesitate to take such drastic measures, are we really righteous? That is the question--it hangs and hovers over our heads. And humans race in to fill that gap--with religion, irreligion, defining purity, boundaries, declaring what is clean and unclean, rules, and regulations, even seeking human approval as a means to feel "good" and "right." "Righteousness" is human-defined in many, many different ways as a salve for seeking souls.
Yet, Jesus does not let us rest. The question goes deeper: Will tearing out my eye really give me the righteousness I need to enter? Is that sufficient?
It is a scary question.
We ignore the drasticness of our sin. Or we keep cutting off appendages and gouging out others. Or we despair. Or we do all three.
I justify. I rationalize. Just this one time.
I try to reform. Measure up. Vow to do more spiritual disciplines. Put a little extra in the offering plate. Perhaps, perhaps... perhaps I can do better.
I sink. Despair. God is disappointed in me. I'm a worm.
Or I seek my rightness in personal approval, drive myself to find that feeling of "righteousness" through my boss' approbation, clientele applause, friends' pats on the back....
Or I flagellate myself in religious rules, define who is in and who is out....
Yet, Christ says, "Your sin is so horrible. So horrible, I will not only cut off my own arm for you, but I will cut off myself from my Father, I will give my entire life so that you can have the righteousness you need to enter heaven--my righteousness itself. I am perfect as my Father is perfect; you, too, can be perfect in me and call God your Father. I will cut myself off for you." Not just his eye. Not just his arm. Himself. From his Father.
Lo and behold, as a result of his work, even the desire to get rid of sin springs up in us as well. Not only because we have the Spirit of Christ in us who gives us new desires. Yet we also recognize what he has done for us. We need not stay in this world maimed, or hobble into heaven without an arm and squinting because we are missing one eye. No, we can run into heaven, run into the arms of Jesus and our Abba Father, leaping with the Spirit himself, seeing with both eyes the glory of heaven because Christ has borne the gouges in his hands.
Comments
Post a Comment