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A Spirit of Righteousness
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Righteous scribes
and Pharisees studied and immersed themselves in and lived according to the
letter of the Law. That’s not evil in and of itself, for it shows great respect
for our Lord and His Word. It shows a desire to live not as you prefer, but as
the Lord requires. That’s the righteousness of the scribe and Pharisees—and we
wish we could attain even that! But today our Lord tells you that, by His
Spirit, you reach for a greater righteousness: a righteousness that desires not
simply to learn the letters and words of God, but also to inquire after the
Spirit. This is a righteousness that does what is right not only because God
said so, but also because it is the way of Life, because there’s no other way
for Christians to live. This is a righteousness that lives not from the fear of
missing the goal, but from a Spirit-given love for God and a desire to live
like His redeemed children. This righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees because it lives not just by the words of God, but in
Christ Jesus, who is the Word of God in the flesh, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Our holy Lord
gives you a glimpse of the Way that He is when He describes some of the
commandments. He says, “You have heard that is was said to those of old…”
But our Lord is not denigrating or setting aside or negating or abolishing what
was said. Instead, Our Lord wishes you to look through the letters to hear the
Spirit. And in each instance, the Spirit shows you that the Way of the Lord
ought to be your way—not just then, when you reach the goal, but now as you
strive and struggle—for the Way of the Lord is not just the way to the kingdom,
but also the way our Lord desires to live in you and through you, now and
forever.
So what stands in
your way? What blocks your path? What gets you off track so that you turn away
from Christ and choose your own path? You are turned from the narrow way by love
of self; love of getting even; love of having your rights met; love of revenge;
love of holding grudges; love of hiding; love of material pleasures; love of
being in control; and ultimately, love of what you deem worthy of your love and
attention.
Yet by His Spirit,
our Lord keeps calling you away from your self-chosen loves, calling you to
Himself, the beloved Son of the Father. By His Spirit, our Lord persists in
calling you away from your love of holding something over someone, and to the
love of growing and maturing in intimate union with Him and with all men. By
His Spirit, our Lord determinedly calls you away from your false loves which
drive you into the darkness. And by His Spirit, our Lord gives you the courage
to embrace Him as your true Love, to live only for Him.
So this is the
righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees? It is not
resisting, but submitting in trust and confidence to the Lord Jesus whose love
for you knows no limits, whose love for you transforms and transfigures your
whole way of life, whose love for you brings you the superabundant mercy of
God, whose love for you allows you to bury your meanness and pettiness, and
whose love for you teaches you to fear nothing except the fear of losing Him.
Such love has been
poured into you by the Holy Spirit. He has, in a wondrous and miraculous
mystery, bound you to our Lord Jesus. And just as wondrously, He has bound you to
each other and to all Christians living and departed. By this Holy Spirit you have
the Righteous One as your righteousness. And by the Spirit you get to live as
one who is loved by God and to live as one who shares the love of God. May that
Spirit strengthen, feed, and grow this love of exceeding righteousness within
you. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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