Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28
Romans 3:21-25a,28
Matthew 7:21-27

Introduction: Please stand with me. We need a little multi-cultural experience here. Let’s go to the Midwest of the United States in the late 1960’s. All together now! “The foolish man built his house upon the sand; the foolish man built his house upon the sand; the foolish man built his house upon the sand; and the rains came a-tumbling down. The rains came down and the floods came up; the rains came down and the floods came up; the rains came down and the floods came up; and the house of the man fell flat.”

Now that we’ve gotten that out of our system, it is really fascinating to hear all our readings together this morning. What’s interesting is that the readings don’t really make a lot of sense together as they are translated – the Romans passage sticks out like a sore back. Here is the command to build life on words, the words of the Law through Jesus, and then the Romans passage suggests that it’s faith in Jesus that matters – our faith, not our life. This is a case of the lectionary holding an ancient interpretation of the church before there was a thing called the United States, or even Germany or Italy. But the church was. Let’s see if we can make sense of our OT and Gospel readings in light of our reading from Romans. And it all begins with a simple affirmation:

1. The righteousness, the justice of God has appeared in the faithfulness of Jesus for those who believe.

The world surrounds us right now in the Western world with different understandings of justice. On one side, justice requires a very limited government except for a military to defend the national borders. Then democracy can provide freedom, respect for human rights, the condition for every individual person free to pursue their own self-interests. No, others might say, justice requires equal distribution of goods, overseen by the state so that all might be free to live autonomous lives. They seem very different, but in fact, they are very much the same. In each case, justice is separate from a person’s righteousness; public policy different than personal morality. Justice in both cases is all about right procedures, right processes, abstract, rationale, “fair” so that each individual might ultimately be “free” – not have to depend on anyone. God, when invoked, becomes the abstract Power, the Great Will that sets the conditions to impose justice upon those around me.

Paul in Romans has a very different sense of justice. For Paul one cannot separate justice from righteousness, policy from the type of persons who institute it, a public realm from a private realm. Justice is a virtue, the type of a character of a person to allow them to do the good. For Paul the righteousness of God is not ultimately about God’s will, but God’s character. The justice of God, the righteousness of God is nothing more than the very Revelation of God, God’s Own Life. God’s justice, God’s righteousness is what created all that really is, out of nothing. And now, Paul proclaims, amidst a world fallen into sin, a world fallen into a perversion of the justice in which it was made, God’s righteousness has appeared. We can’t see God; we can’t experience God by our own activities, for God is not creation. How then can we know justice? God has shown us God’s righteousness, God’s justice. Where? In the faithfulness of Jesus. Look at v. 22. God’s righteousness, the justice through whom all was created, did not appear through faith in Jesus. We have seen with eyes, heard with our ears, touched with our hands, the very righteousness, justice of God in Jesus Christ. For in Jesus’ faithfulness to the Father by the Spirit, God’s justice, God’s righteousness, real justice, real righteousness, the righteousness which brought all into Being, has come crashing into creation, outside the Law, a righteousness/justice yet witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. We see in Jesus’ faithfulness true Righteousness, the Justice that God is, that God also intends for God’s creation. We see Jesus’ faithfulness to Justice, to the Father, even unto the cross, the human rejection of God’s Justice for humans in the Kingdom that Jesus brought. One does not look to human rights for justice; one does not look to an open market, nor to the governance of the state for the distribution of goods. The righteousness of God has appeared in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. The Justice of God has appears through the faithfulness of Jesus!

For whom is this justice? Who gets to participate in this very Justice that is God? Paul is clear: all who are believing. But we have to get belief right here. We’ve come to make believe that belief is about mental assent, abstract agreement. For Paul belief is more, it’s personal loyalty, trust and obedience. The justice of God has appeared in the faithfulness of Jesus – but for whom has it appeared? Isn’t it just automatically apparent for all to see? No! To see that God’s justice has appeared in Jesus takes loyalty to Jesus, faith in Jesus, a gift given by the Holy Spirit. True justice doesn’t come from acting like we can step out of our skins and be pure, universal rationality. We discover that true Justice, the Justice of God, has appeared in Jesus’ faithfulness when the Spirit pulls us into loyalty, allegiance to this Jesus and the kingdom of God that He lived and proclaimed. By participating in this kingdom by loyalty to its king, to the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus, we participate in the very Justice, Righteousness of God. Paul even goes so far as to say that we become the righteousness of God.

God’s justice has appeared! We see true Justice in the faithfulness of Jesus as we live in faith, personal loyalty, to Him!

2. Now we can see how our OT and Gospel readings go with the Romans passage. To build our lives on the words of Jesus, words that fulfill the Law, is to build our lives on the very Justice that is God.

If we are going to be faithful to Jesus, we must be faithful to his words. To be faithful to his words, we must know them, read them, immerse our selves in the Word that was with God, the Word that is God. Write on our foreheads. Teach our children. Let them become embedded in the deepest resources of our lives. For in so doing God will form us into persons who can witness to real Justice, a Justice that is Peace, amidst a world of conflict. We listen to the words of Jesus because in Him, the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled. He founded a just kingdom, the kingdom of God, in calling human beings to follow him. It is no mistake that this parable comes at the end of the most powerful summary of Jesus’ teachings – the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus ends his speech to his disciples, like a new Moses on top of a mountain. The parable summarizes what type of kingdom the kingdom of God is, what Justice/Righteousness is.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall 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.

"You have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, `You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

"It was also said, `Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. "Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, `You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply `Yes' or `No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

"You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you.

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

We will never participate in Justice through a modern nation-state, whether it be the United States or Cuba. We will participate in Justice as the Spirit comes to bring you faith in Jesus, crucified and raised, and forms you as part of a citizen of a different kingdom, the kingdom of God and we learn to participate in this Justice together. Your citizenship, the one that you live now while on earth, is in heaven. We can’t separate Justice from the Kingdom of God; we can’t separate that Kingdom from Jesus. Now hear again the Words from Deuteronomy: Put these Words in your heart and soul, bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when your rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied”.

Wisdom comes, friends, in building life on what ultimately matters – the words of Jesus.

Conclusion: Maybe that’s why we need to gather in homes to start our Bible studies, time of prayer, accountability to engage in the Works of Mercy that witness to God’s kingdom in Jesus. Maybe in the Providence of God the church has assigned this reading for this Sunday, outside even our own planning, on the Sunday when we really begin calling each other into this new practice for us. If so, what will happen in those meetings, the Word of God pressed into our lives can only emerge as we participate in the Kingdom of God here at this Table, that which we can touch, smell, eat, drink – participate in so that Christ’s body and blood literally becomes our own. For here, at this Table, by faith, we participate in the Kingdom proclaimed and lived by Jesus, the kingdom for which he was killed; the Kingdom for which the Father raised him; the Kingdom in which God gathers all the Saints, past, present, and future, the Kingdom by which we participate in the Justice, the Righteousness that is God so that we might be formed into righteous, just people. Come, friends, come in repentance; come in faith; come, and above all, be thankful.