Sermon from 2/12/23 First UMC Prairie Campus Matthew 5:21-37
Last week a group I am part of called Neighbors for
Education sponsored an event that featured a lecture on the topic of Social and
Emotional learning in schools. Through my involvement with my kids’ school and
my involvement with this group, I am spent a lot of time listening to people
talk about education. I have attended workshops and many meetings on the topic.
But the vast majority of them center around achievement numbers. As the chair
of the School Accountability Committee at my kids’ school, I try to keep on top
of these things, especially since this year their school became what’s called a
“priority improvement school” meaning the average test scores were low and so
now there is a whole lot of assessments and resources and analysis and
interrogation all with the goal of raising the test scores. And all with the
effect of increasing pressure on administration and teachers. At School
Accountability meetings we hold our breath and cross our fingers as the
principal posts the latest assessment scores for us to discuss. We use words
like “benchmarks” and “meeting grade level” “state standards” “performance” and
“achievement.” And I understand that schools need to meet certain standards and
that some type of evaluation is necessary to ensure that schools are addressing
the needs of the students. At the same time, what I have always loved about my
kids’ school and the reason we are not only loyal to it but love it, trust it
and invest in it with our time and energy is because it is a warm place where
my kids are respected, cared for and valued. And my perspective as a parent is
heard and the principal wears silly costumes and the teachers like each other
and I know that my kids are being cared for.
So I went to the event on Social and Emotional learning
prepared for data, facts and arguments, but what I heard turned out to be far
more relevant and far more moving. Dr. Avi Lessing introduced himself, gave
some information and then turned to a slide with these words at the top, “Is
school good for the soul?” And then he invited us to find a couple of other
people and share with one another about a time when school was good for our
soul. The stories of the people around me were moving. One talked about a
teacher he had that took the time to get to know him and encourage him and
stayed in contact with him and his family for decades until his death. Another
talked about finding the “theater kids” and feeling a sense of belonging
through their acceptance. I too had stories about teachers who took the time to
see me, listen to me and show me I mattered. Not one person talked about test
scores. The speaker talked about how schools can be places of learning, not
just achieving. And at a time when teachers are resigning every day I can’t
help but think that many schools are in need of that kind of shift. A place of
learning sounds to me like a place where curiosity is stirred from within a
child, where experiences are valued and there is not just time but a priority
on relationships. Things you can’t always see from an outside score.
I thought about this as I read the Gospel reading for
today. Jesus covers a lot of ground in this passage. He is talking to his
disciples and he isn’t watering anything down. This speech is direct,
challenging and hard to hear. I mean, maybe you were ok with the stuff about
not murdering or breaking an oath- but I am going to guess the whole “throw
away your eye and cut off your hand” part woke you up a bit. It sounds intense.
Jesus starts with “you have heard it said” and then takes
it up a notch. You have heard it said “don’t murder” but I say “don’t be
angry.” You have heard it said “do not commit adultery” but I say “don’t have
lust.” You have heard it said “don’t break a vow” but I say “don’t even make a
vow.” He takes it to the next level.
If you think about it, what Jesus is saying in all of these
instances is that it isn’t so much about your achievements and performances,
your right actions and avoidance of things like murder- it’s about what’s
happening inside. He doesn’t just want your test scores- he wants your heart.
It isn’t about a checklist or a performance evaluation, it’s about whether or
not your heart is oriented to love. In his commentary on this passage, Daniel
Harrington says, “[Jesus is] moving into the realm of internal dispositions
from which evil actions proceed.”[1]
And so when he starts by talking about murder, he brings it
to anger, recognizing the root of the action. And so he talks about making it
right with one another, making peace with each other. He then talks about
adultery but makes it about “committing adultery in one’s heart.” It is about
working on the lust from within that dishonors the relationship. It’s about
getting to the root of it, the internal causes, before the action takes place.
And that’s why we have that weird stuff about throwing away your eye and
cutting off your hand. Jesus is making a point about finding the source,
getting to the root … and whether or not we are fixating our hearts on love or
other things.
I also find it interesting what this does to our
inclination to judge others. It kind of shifts that for us. For example, if one
is feeling righteous because they have not cheated or murdered, they might want
to rethink that after hearing this. Before you point at and shame others you might
want to take a minute and look inside- do you find anger … lust … mixed up
priorities … broken promises? Perhaps then compassion rather than judgment is
the best response. Perhaps then looking inside at how one can better orient
themselves toward love rather than comparison is the best response.
So many of the problems we see in the world could be made
better by all of us looking within ourselves, by working to reorient our hearts
toward love. In her book Abuelita Faith, Kat
Armas writes, “As Christians, we all must seek to live holistic lives. This
means that we must constantly evaluate how we might be participating- both
personally and systemically- in practices that plague others. I know I am
always having to look internally at my ways of being and understanding the
world that might perpetuate injustice- from evaluating my prejudices to my
spending habits, and from whom I learn from to how I care for creation. It’s an
ongoing effort that I must commit to until I meet my ancestors in el cielo, in
heaven.”
What Kat Armas is talking about might sound like a lot as
it goes beyond a checklist of avoidance, “did you murder anyone today? No?
check!” and looks deeper into oneself and how our actions align with our
Christian values and beliefs. For example, looking at the ways our beliefs and
actions are informed by racism and working to change that instead of just
patting ourselves on the back for not using a racial slur.
Like Jesus and his “cut off the hand” talk, it does take it
up a notch, it doesn’t let anyone off the hook and it calls us to a higher
standard. But this calling is not a burden, it is an act of love. We are loved
so deeply by our Creator, that we can go and live out that love ourselves. We
can live in God’s love by shifting our heart toward that love and offering it
to others. You see it isn’t about rules or standards or check lists or tests or
comparisons … it’s about love. Being loved by God and offering love to others.
My oldest son is in fifth grade and as he nears his end of
elementary school I find myself reflecting back on his elementary experience.
What I remember, and what will stay with me is not the test scores or
assessment data, but rather the ways the people in that building embraced him.
Like when the teacher got tears in her eyes talking about his love of learning,
or when another teacher took extra time to help him pursue his curiosity even
with an overcrowded classroom full of students with various needs, or when
another teacher lined up the students outside the classroom to cheer him on
when he was doing online school and walked by on his way to complete an
assessment, or when the school counselor did one on one virtual chats with him
during covid school closures just to make sure he was doing ok, or when friends
accepted and encouraged him, when Band-Aids were placed on boo boos with love
and treats were shared with generosity. All of the times when he was shown and
taught love … when school was good for the soul. Those are the things that will
stay with him and will enable him to demonstrate that same love to others in
his life.
The thing is … we are never going to get it right all the
time. Our hearts stray, our intentions blur and our actions cause pain. But we
keep trying because this is our calling as God’s beloved children and God gives
us grace so that we can keep trying, we can keep leaning into that love,
realigning ourselves and reorienting our hearts. And as we make this journey
through life and eventually find ourselves leaving this life, it is those
experiences of giving and receiving love, those memories of care, kindness and
warmth that will guide us back into the loving arms of our eternal source of
love.
