New Testament Word & Image: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 & Gislebertus



Last Judgement by Gislebertus in the Autun Cathedral in France 

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalms Word & Image: Psalms 62 & Antoni Gaudí's La Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona Spain

La Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona Spain by Antoni Gaudí's

Psalm 62

 

Truly my soul silently waits for God;
From Him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be greatly moved.

 

 

 

How long will you attack a man?
You shall be slain, all of you,
Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
They delight in lies;
They bless with their mouth,
But they curse inwardly. Selah

 

 

My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

 

 

Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

 

 

Surely men of low degree are a vapor,
Men of high degree are a lie;
If they are weighed on the scales,
They are altogether lighter than vapor.
Do not trust in oppression,
Nor vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase,
Do not set your heart on them.

 

 

God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.
Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy;
For You render to each one according to his work.

Old Testament Word & Image: Isaiah 49:14-16 & the Great Depression Era Documentary Photography of Dorothea Lange



Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange

Isaiah 49:14-16

 

But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”
Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.

 

Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.

Above The Law

Section of U.S. Supreme Court Frieze, Adolph A. Weinman

Matthew 5:38-48

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father 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 greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

When you enter the actual courtroom of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. you will find a frieze just below the ceiling. Just like the friezes from several millennia ago the relief's picture the personification of the virtues that the particular culture values engaged in narratives and depicted in Greek godlike form. In addition these figures the frieze also adds the great lawgivers of world history and heroes of jurisprudence throughout the ages. So while the United States Supreme Court Justices are considering original intent and the spirit of the constitution while deciding contemporary legal cases they are symbolically inspired by the greats of Justice's past. This is a perfect place to continue our consideration of last week's focus on biblical intent and the spirit of the law. The Scripture reading for this week is also the second half of last week's reading. You may remember that I toyed with the notion that Jesus could be considered a lawyer, since being a Rabbi he had definite thoughts about the Law (Torah) and even was asked to hear certain cases (such as the woman caught in adultery). Interestingly enough the catalogue of the great lawgivers in the Supreme Court features several historical religious figures such as Moses (Judaism), Muhammad (Islam) and Confucius (Confucius). Jesus isn't pictured amongst these figures. Now I know what you may be thinking: as a contemporary Evangelical I'm supposed to be up in arms that a courtroom isn't honoring our country's great Judeo Christian heritage by depicting Jesus. After saying this I am supposed to kneel and do a Tim Tebow-like touchdown prayer/praise. Well, I'm actually not disturbed by this. Why? Well because I believe that the separation between Church and State is a beneficial protection to the Church...but greater than that is the fact that Jesus greatest concern wasn't the Law in itself. The Law was a means to an end. Even though Jesus was involved with "the law" the ultimate end of his concern wasn't personal justice (yes I understand the theological problems with this statement but just go with me here). It was something above the law

U.S. Supreme Court frieze detail

I jokingly referenced being up in arms about me being an Evangelical and being up in arms about not "honoring our country's great Judeo Christian heritage" because as of late we Evangelicals have made an industry of protesting Ten Commandments Monuments being removed from court houses across the nation. Interestingly enough many of them were placed there as a Hollywood publicity stunt to promote the release of Cecil B. DeMille's Ten Commandments movie. I am sure that criminals will feel condemned enough even without a reminder of God's law there. We shouldn't fret over religious monuments being removed from the courts because Jesus' work with the law happens outside of the court. It doesn't even reach the courtroom. When Jesus referenced the Ten Commandments and other parts of the Law in last week's reading he did it with the intention to expand our thinking of fulfilling the Law/Torah. The justice system of any culture is there to punish those who break the law (transgressors and aggressors) and protect/provide justice for their victims. This is where Jesus differs from the classic justice paradigm of law: specifically in Matthew 5:38-48. Jesus makes demands not only of the aggressor but also of the victim. Jesus' focus on the Law was not only how to punish or prevent aggressors but also how to live holy as a victim. It is obvious that those who transgress the Law and act aggressively to their brothers are breaking God's Law but Jesus reveals that the victim himself can also be falling short of living like God. For God is the victim of all of our sins. We don't just sin against our neighbor, community or the law. We sin against God Himself. Reread Matthew 5:38-48 and this time think to yourself, "How does God behave as a victim?"

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father 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 greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

The answer is that God behaves perfectly. He is perfect in His love, forgiveness and peace. Therefore we are asked to be His children and emulate love, forgiveness and pacifism. That is the perfection that a Christian can practice. This is Jesus' notion of living like God and beyond the law. Being a Christian is about resolving conflicts peacefully as much as possible. And where seemingly impossible is when we remember that we worship a God of miracles.

U.S. Supreme Court frieze detail

When you really think about it, these may be Jesus' most controversial teachings. If we were to seriously implement them they would be revolutionary. What if we befriended and worked for the betterment of those who hate us? What if we forgave those who did us grievous err? What if we refused to answer violence with violence? What if we abstained from lawsuits? Crazy stuff, eh? Your initial thought may be, "If Jesus said that we should do it then let's enact some laws that force people to do/not do these things!" That is an option. But the forced following of holiness doesn't always yield a holy heart. Jesus' law isn't fully enacted in legislatures or courtrooms but rather in individuals' hearts. We cannot always force our wills and norms upon our neighbors but we can peacefully show them what a life full of God's love and forgiveness looks like. Our efforts shouldn't be dedicated to erecting monuments of God's judgment on public display but publicly displaying God's mercy in monumental ways.
 

Justice statue outside of the U.S. Supreme Court

Romans 13 1-7 

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Just out side of the U.S. Supreme Court building you will find a statue of the personification of Justice. Actually you will find a statue of the same theme outside of most courts around the U.S. and the world. Some call her Lady Justice while some refer to her as Justitia. She is usually pictured holding the scales of Justice, a sword (of Justice) and occasionally blindfolded (to show impartiality...the whole "Justice is blind" thing). Much like a few of the images in the interior frieze, Lady Justice has her roots in Greek Mythology. Yes the Courts with pre-Christian imagery for you to become irate about! While I am an advocate for Christianity, I understand the representation varied representation of non-Judeo-Christian images in our courts...because our laws and government aren't just based on a Western religious view. There's a lot of Greek, some Roman a few pinches of France from its non-theistic years, etc. We also live amongst citizens of every belief and none at all. We shouldn't try to triumphantly cram our religious culture down their throat. That doesn't make converts, it makes slaves. So how does a believer live in the secular, pluralistic society that American government has always tried to be? We can find our answer in the Bible. Some of the earlier Christians found themselves in predicaments similar to ours. St. Paul was a citizen of the Roman Empire (a civilization that obviously didn't have a Judeo-Christian base to its legal system). In Romans 13 St. Paul writes about how Christians should respond to a government/justice system that isn't made up of believers. The gist of his argument is that we obey the law and not be trouble makers. The government authorities that are over us are out their to maintain the peace. Are their situations when we should disobey the government to obey God? Yes! But whenever possible we should live in peace with our government and neighbors because they are our brothers and God's creation. We minister to them by our holy, peaceful and helpful behavior. We obey the civil law and go beyond it by living out the Law of Love the Christ commands us to live.

Supreme Court frieze detail, Moses

So there is Moses standing above the Supreme Court Justices. He is holding the law of God while standing amongst the worlds other law givers. Yet somehow his stands above the rest. His Law is somehow above the other laws...even the American law that the contemporary justices decide upon. Why is this? I believe that the Old Testament and New Testament do not conflict...or at least very often. I believe that a thorough understanding of the intentions of the spirit of God's Law in the Old Testament can be found from the lips of Jesus and writings of the Apostles. That spirit of the Law does not call for us to flaunt the greatness of it like some great idol of cultural superiority. It calls for us to have a heart that is humble and open to living beyond any law. To be truly above the law (of the land and of scripture) we must go beyond it in our love and compassion. We must be willing to give to our brother, neighbor and enemy in a way that is selfless and self-denying. We must live in a way that goes beyond always searching for personal justice and retribution in our lives. Sometimes we should answer being wronged with loving our enemy even deeper. We do this because that is what God does...every time. God's ultimate concern goes beyond punishing evildoers. It is forgives them. It loves them. It seeks to know them in the most meaningful relationship of all: family. That is what God does for us when we break His law and victimize Him. That is what we should do.

Psalms Word & Image: Psalm 103 & Ansel Adams

 



Church, Taos Pueblo (1942), Ansel Adams



Psalm 103

A Psalm of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.


 

The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.


 

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.


 

As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more.^[a]
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

 

The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.

 

Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.


 

Bless the Lord, O my soul!

 

Old Testament Word & Image: Leviticus 19:1-2 & 17-18 & Michelangelo

Moses, by Michelangelo at San Pietro in Vincoli (Saint Peter In Chains), Rome

Leviticus 19:1-2 & 17-18 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy...

‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Law & Order: Biblical Intent

Jane Rosenberg, Courtroom Artists at Martha Stewart Trial

Matthew 5:20-37

 

²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

New York artist Jane Rosenberg is careful about describing what she does for a job when speaking to others. Sure she tells them that she's an artist but being more specific than that is where it gets complicated. Chances are you've probably unknowingly seen her work. Jane is somewhat known for her plein air paintings of Central Park, Manhattan and other outdoor New York scenes, however, her bread and butter comes from her fame as a painter of New York interiors... court rooms. Jane Rosenberg is the go-to court room artist for New York city's most high profile court cases. We live in an age of Court TV but not all trials are given televised coverage. Some don't even allow photographers, so the tradition of the court room artist is the public's primary means of imagining the daily happenings of the trial. The court room artist's task is not an easy one due to a few challenges: the artist cannot take photographs and take them home to create an illustration so the pictures must be created live. The key to being a quality court room artist is picking points in the trial's daily action that capture the spirit of what you are trying to communicate. By "spirit" I mean the essence and overall direction of the message that one tries to communicate. Capturing the spirit of a message of any type (art, literature, laws, etc.) begins with communicating the intent of the creator.



This isn't the first time when a description of the legal process and this notion of spirit cross paths. It's actually Jesus' take on the legal process. What am I talking about? Well everyone knows that Jesus was a first century Jewish prophet. You are probably know that his disciples followed him as a rabbi. You are also probably familiar with him being a carpenter like his father Joseph. But what if I told you that Jesus was a lawyer? Say what? Well the first five books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (the Torah) are actually a legal document. Yes they are used for religious law but there were various points in history when they were used as the only law of the land. So when Jesus or the latter New Testament writers (or even the Old Testament) refer to "The Law" they are referencing the Torah and later writings that explain and comment on it. The primary role of a rabbi was to study the Law and other scriptures and teach their disciples how to follow them: the scribes of the Law did it with their followers, the Pharisees did it with their disciples and Jesus did it with his own. So as Jesus' current day disciples is is critical that we understand his take on scripture: what did he understand as the Spirit of the Law? When Christians think about the Law aspect of Scripture they usually think of the 10 Commandments, however, when our Jewish brethren think of the 613 Mitzvot. In actuality both are correct. The 613 Mitzvot are every mention of a command/law in the Torah enumerated while the 10 Commandments are more of are a gist of what God's law in general is about. Both are delivered from Moses but the 10 commandments appear to be an attempt to capture the spirit of the Law as a whole. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by something large with a lot of intricate moving parts. This leads us to focusing on certain particular laws and missing the overall message of the Law. It's a classic case of "missing the forest for the trees." This appears to be the case with the Pharisees and their followers. Their focus on following the Law "down to the letter" caused them to miss the whole intent of the Law and simultaneously opened up major loopholes that defeated the original intent of the Laws that they professed to follow. Since they were a major religious faction in first century Judaism it made Jesus and his disciples' approach to the Law appear as if they were trying defy the Law and destroy it altogether. Jesus' answer to this was that he was not trying to destroy the Law but to fulfill it...and fulfill it in a way that went past the efforts of the Pharisees and other Jewish schools of thought. Jesus' teaching was focused on not only following the letter of the Law but the spirit of the Law... the original biblical intent. This being the case let's do an exercise in investigating Jesus' take on certain points of the law and how to honor the spirit of them fully.

Murder

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,^[a] and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause^[b] shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. ²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:13

Spirit of the Law: It is not enough to abstain from murdering your brother but rather one must address that which leads to murder. The original root of the sin lies at disrespect, hatred and revenge. Therefore one must treat these three things as sin to truly honor the Law.

Biblical Intent: The intention of the Law is not to have hatred in your heart or react in anger but to react to an offence in love.



Adultery

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said to those of old,^[c] ‘You shall not commit adultery.’^{[d] 28} But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:14

Spirit of the Law: Adultery (and various types of sexual sin) is the end result of a chain of events. The evil does not start with the breaking of the marriage bond but rather with an unrighteous desire for that which is not yours... a.k.a. lust. The prevention of this sin is to remove those things within you that cause you to trip up. Jesus says the hand and the eye for hyperbole's sake but the true culprits are usually the mind and the heart.  

Biblical Intent: The intention is to abstain from unrighteous lust on any level by embracing self control. By no means is Jesus saying that sexual desire is evil but rather unrestrained sexual desire not put to its proper purpose (in love, commitment and marriage) can lead to destructive ends.



Marriage

³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality^[e] causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Biblical Reference: Deuteronomy 24:1-4

Spirit of the Law: This is a tricky one and there are divergent opinions between various Christians over the permissibility and parameters of divorce. many of them seem to earnestly be using their interpretation of Scripture's guidance despite their varied outcomes. Jesus is shown speaking on this subject a second time in Matthew. His later response directly references the permission of divorce granted by Moses. He states that Moses allowed divorce due to the "hardness of your hearts." Divorce is not preferable but in some cases it is permissible, understandable and in some cases the best option at hand. Jesus appears to be commenting on our motivation and considerations for divorce... specifically considering the good of the other person and not leading them into sin. Disclaimer: If you are being abused by your please consider it your duty to prevent them from committing the act of murder or further harming you by removing yourself from hat dangerous situation. Sometimes you ca still show Godly love for someone by removing your presence from them and praying for them at a safe distance.

Biblical Intent: The intention of this Law is to be considerate of others in every situation and not lead them into sin. This even carries through with instances of separation from others such as divorce. You can still show love in hard circumstances.

Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Biblical Reference: Exodus 20:7 and Leviticus 19: 12

Spirit of the Law: Despite what your parents taught you the third of the 10 Commandments has nothing to do with using profane language. That's the common mistake of confusing the two uses of the word "swearing." Of course profanity is not a good thing, especially when used to insult others, but this commandment deals with the swearing definition that means to take an oath... specifically one that entails using God's name or the promise of God's assistance to perform it. Yeah, like the thing that you do when you go to court and put your hand on the bible. Honestly the only Christian group that I know that takes a overall stance against this practice are the Quakers. Jesus' objection to this is based on people promising things that they cannot perform. Sure it may seem like a noble and even religious thing to say "Lord willing" or "with God's help" but if God has other plans than you on how the rest of history will shape out it seems to make Him appear to be a liar doesn't it? We shouldn't use any inflated terms or divine cosigning to authorize our credit. As Jesus says our ‘Yes’ should be ‘Yes,’ and our ‘No’ should be ‘No.’ If we are honest, reliable and dutiful to our service then that should be good enough.

Biblical Intent: The intention is to be honest and reliable in your dealings



Conclusion

So if Jesus' teachings about biblical intent help us discover the Spirit of the Law, what then is the overall intent of Jesus' message? The four major pillars of his message in Matthew 5:20-37 seem to boil down to Forgiveness, Abstinence from Sin/Personal Holiness, Concern for Other's Spiritual Well Being and Honesty/Reliability. Isn't it interesting that the things that God is interested in getting out of us the most has to deal with our treatment of other people? That's because all of these four pillars can be categorized into pieces of one thing: Love. It is what St. Paul in Galatians 6:2 would call the Law of Christ: bearing the burdens of your brethren. It is what Christ and Moses would phrase as loving your neighbor as yourself. Why? Well because God is Love. So in the end when we stand before God as our judge his basement will be based on how we loved. To those who showed love He will show even more love and accept them as His dear children.

Church Tour: Abbey of Kells in County Meath, Ireland

To wrap up a week that started off with the illustrations of the Book of Kells, let's take a tour of the monastery that produced it. Located in Kells, County Meath, Ireland, the Abbey of Kells is no longer functioning but once it housed the monks that created this illuminated manuscript and saved much of the literature of Western civilization from destruction. It was founded by St. Columba and reestablished by Columban monks fleeing a Viking invasion of Scotland. The church pictured, St. Columba's Church, is an active Church of Ireland (the autonomous Irish branch of the Anglican/Episcopalian Communion) parish.