It has long been said that you cannot
legislate morality, but many people have tried.
We certainly see that in our gospel reading today. Over and over again Jesus gets into conflict
with the Pharisees about what he or his disciples do on the sabbath, and about
whom Jesus spends time with – most notably the tax collectors and sinners. The religious leaders thought it was
necessary for people to behave in a pure and righteous way in order for God to
love them. The thought that if pure and
righteous behavior was part of the legal code then it was more likely to be
observed. The problem is that
legislating morality can take some bizarre turns. We see that in the examples Jesus gives. But let’s not just stay in the first century
and Palestine with this. Let’s also
realize this in something closer to home.
Recently when I was waiting in the
barber shop I looked at the pictorial history book Canandaigua published as
part of the celebration of being designated a city for 100 years. Puzzling to me has always been why a hundred
years ago Canandaigua wanted to change its government form from that of a
village to that of a city. I always
thought cities were big and villages were small, but New York State doesn’t
determine whether a municipality is a city or village based on population. It is an act of the legislature. So, why do it? There must have been some benefit.
Apparently there is no clear as to
why, but the book raises the reason most cited by historians. It was early in the 20th Century
and women didn’t have the right to vote… yet.
But the handwriting was on the wall that women would soon have that
power. It is important to remember that
the biggest opponents of the women being given the right to vote was not men,
but other women. The New York State
Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage was a women’s group with a branch in
nearby Geneva. The National Association
Opposed to Women’s Suffrage was also a women’s group with hundreds of thousands
of members.
However, in the sweet little village
of Canandaigua it was the men who had an issue rather important to them on
their minds. It was the hot button issue
of the time. It was a key moral issue
that many were pushing to have to become law.
For, of course, many felt the laws of the United States must enforce the
morality that God expects.
The issue, and this issue was being
strongly pushed by the women of the nation, was the abolition of alcohol. The Eighteenth Amendment, which outlawed
alcohol, wasn’t ratified until 1919. So
in 1913 when Canandaigua becomes a city, alcohol was still allowed nationwide,
but many women were hoping to make the village of Canandaigua dry. The men didn’t want that to happen and they
feared that when women got the right to vote they could make the village
dry. But if Canandaigua was a city, not
a village, that decision wouldn’t be made at the local level.
So, what is the real reason
Canandaigua become a city? In order keep
the bars open! It’s all very silly. I bring it up to remind us of a nearby
example of how legislating morality can quickly turn into a huge mess with many
spin-offs.
Judaism in Jesus’ day was in just such
a mess. Many Jewish religious leaders
firmly believed that proper adherence to the law would make God happier with
the nation and God would then be more likely to rescue them from Roman occupation. For the religious leaders this was not about
everybody being prim and proper. This
was about national morality that would save them. It was deadly serious, and a famous traveling
preacher like Jesus who ignored all those expectations was a big problem.
But let’s not go so far as to say that
Jesus’ attitude was that anything goes.
Not so. Jesus does not attack
good morals, in fact he upholds them, but he is rooted in the heart of
relationship with God and not technical following of rules.
Notice what Jesus does when he meets
Levi the tax collector. Although perhaps
we’d be better not to call Levi a tax collector but a toll collector. Critics of the gospels note that the biblical
authors do not make the distinction that existed. Direct taxes were collected by tax collectors
employed by the Romans. While tolls,
tariffs, and customs fees were collected at toll houses by toll
collectors. This is the group we often
encounter in the Bible described as “tax collectors”. Toll collectors paid in advance for the right
to collect tolls, so the system was open to abuse and corruption. The toll collectors were often not natives of
the area where they worked, and their wealth and collusion with the Roman
oppressors make them targets of scorn.
Levi was certainly one of these toll
collectors, and Jesus meets him while he is at his tax (or toll) booth.
Again, notice that Jesus does not
support what Levi is doing. He does not
say, “Levi, what you’re doing is okay so keep up the good work.” Instead he says, “Follow me.” He invites Levi to leave the line of corrupt
work and start a new life. In response
Levi gives a great banquet and invited Jesus.
Later when the Pharisees were
complaining about Jesus being at the banquet Jesus says, “Those who are well
have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not
the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
There’s the key piece – sinners to
repentance.
We make a mistake if we think of Jesus
as a hippie flower child who said silly stuff like, “Why can’t we all just get
along?” That’s not who he was. There was real power, real corruption, real
enslavement, real hurt going on all over the place in those days. Just like it goes on in the world today. Tell someone who is the victim of a crime,
“Why can’t you just get along” with their attacker and you’ve just insulted
their pain.
Jesus calls people to repentance. But not repentance from technical breaking of
the law, like healing on the sabbath.
He’s calling for repentance from participating in corruption, like Levi
was probably doing. Jesus called for
people’s hearts to truly be in line with God’s will. There’s no way to legislate that, or turn it
into a series of rules. Levi the toll
collector got it, and he changed. Jesus
gave the same call to the Pharisees, but they did not get it. Convinced of their righteousness before God
by their own will power they rejected him.
When Jesus talks about patching an old
garment with new cloth, or putting new wine into old wineskins, or old wine
being better than new, these are all sayings to affirm that you can’t just
patch a little new morality into an old system and call it good. Jesus’ teachings require a whole orientation
of life.
Are you really honoring God if you’ve
technically followed the law but neglected human need? We need to take initiative to restore those
who are hungry or sick to wholeness and health.
The life of a disciple is never one where you look at something and say,
“I’m righteous according to the law.
I’ve done my part. Now it’s up to
somebody else.” No. Faith is demonstrated with works of goodness.
Our gospel today ends with the list of
the twelve apostles. Luke likes to give
people’s names and credentials. He talks
about Caesar and Herod and Quirinius and Pilate and all sorts of high-power
people. But no such person is among the
list of the twelve. These hand-picked
closest followers of Jesus are not the brightest and best in the world. They are a mix of misfits and nobodies. But they are the ones who have responded to
Jesus call to repentance. And though they
will not get it for quite a while, through their struggles they do grow to
understand the righteousness God calls us to.
It is not the righteousness that gets lots of praise and
recognition. It is the righteousness of
those take up a task, albeit imperfectly, and move it forward.
May we all have the same
righteousness; not seeking God’s favor through the following of a moral
code. But the living out of the
importance of others in our every day lives.
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