“We didn’t start the fire, it was always burning since the world’s been turning!” In the spirit of Billy Joel, I composed a little poem for you this week. I call it “Anxiety.”

Missing persons, troubled teens, many conflicts in between
Daddy’s drunk, kids are tense, mommies taking self-defense
Restraining orders, parent rights, leads to more family fights.
Aging parents, children gone, how have I done it so long?

Chest pains, short breath, reminds me of the coming death.
Spot on skin, lump in breast, we’ll all hope for the best.
Chemo makes you lose your hair, what about Obamacare?
Diagnosis makes me cry, I wonder why I even try!

Hypertension, blood-cell count, you should eat more sauerkraut!
No more Medicare, how about town meeting prayer?
Over-stressed, overworked, my boss is such a jerk!
Popping pills to kill the pain, it all feels so insane

Wiki-leaks makes me blink, I don’t know what to think
CIA had some fun, gridlock down in Washington,
FBI on the trail, company too big to fail
Politicians, despise, no one wants to compromise

16 trillion, national debt, go ahead and place a bet!
Stocks are down, time to shift, dancing on the fiscal cliff
Jobs are shipping overseas, can’t you feel Sandy’s breeze?
Dollar’s weak, blame is strong, what have we been doing wrong?

Civil War in Syria, Libyan hysteria, United Nations forms a plan, fighting in Afghanistan
Kim Jong Ill asserts his will, while we rack up another bill.
Uranium in Iran, don’t forget the Taliban.
Terrorism give us fright, how can we sleep at night?

Grain is high, milk is low, farmers take another blow
Gas pump, Donald Trump, Red Sox in another slump
Wild fires, no one hires, will I ever get to retire?
I wish that I was worry free, but I have so much anxiety!

This poem is a collection of things that cause anxiety. Do you feel more anxious now? Do you ever find yourself worrying about your parents, or your kids, or your health? Do you worry about money and the economy? Do you worry about national security or world affairs? If so, Matthew 6:25-34 is for you!

The Worries of Life (25-32)

Jesus begins this section of his Sermon on the Mount with the simple and straightforward command: “Do not worry about your life!” He tells his followers not to worry about physical necessities like food, drink, and clothing. He reminds us that God is the one who has given us our lives and our bodies; he will certainly provide what we need to take care of them.

He gives two examples from nature to support this: the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Have you ever noticed that birds are not farmers? They have no means of producing food for themselves: they don’t sow seeds or reap crops. They have no mechanism for storing food away: no barns, no silos, no bunkers, no cupboards, no pantries, no refrigerators or freezers; yet God provides food for them every day.

Now don’t misunderstand what Jesus is saying. He is not saying that we don’t have to work or that it is OK to be lazy. Birds don’t simply wait for God to drop food into their beaks, they have to go out and gather the food that God has provided. We cannot be lazy and then complain that God doesn’t provide!

Worrying doesn’t add any time to a person’s life, but it does take time away from it. If people used the time doing something productive instead of worrying, they would actually have less things to worry about!

Like the bird of the air, Jesus points to the flowers of the field as evidence of God’s care for his creation. Just as God provides beautiful wildflowers to clothe the grass, he will provide clothing for the people in his kingdom. Not even King Solomon, who was the wealthiest king in Israel’s history, was clothed as luxuriously as the grass. If God clothes the grass, which is of little worth, won’t he take care of his people who are worth a lot?

He ends this point with the gentle rebuke “you of little faith” and compares them to the pagans who don’t believe in the one true God. Worrying shows a lack of faith in God. When Christians worry, they act as if God doesn’t exist.

Dr. E. Stanley Jones, in his book Transformed by Thorns says:

I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt, and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath–these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely–these are my native air. A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non- worriers, but that is a fact.” But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.

Do you live against reality? Are you more inclined toward fear or faith? If we really trusted God to take care of all of our daily needs, we would never worry. I don’t know what you are worrying about today, but I do know that if God takes care of the birds of the air and the grass of the field, he will take care of you. Stop wasting your time worrying! Spend you time worshipping!

The Priorities of Life (33-34)

After Jesus expounds upon the futility of worrying, he tells his followers that they need to rearrange their priorities according to God’s kingdom. Instead of focusing on the trivial and temporal things of life, Jesus’ disciples are to seek first his kingdom and righteousness. A contemporary translation of this verse may go something like this: “Put God first in everything, and he will give you what you need! Make God your life’s top priority and he will take care of everything.”

George Muller Massena, one of Napoleon’s generals, suddenly appeared with 18,000 soldiers before an Austrian town which had no means of defending itself. The town council met, certain that surrender was the only answer. But the old pastor of the church reminded the council that it was Easter, and begged them to hold services as usual and to leave the trouble in God’s hands. They followed his advice. The pastor went to the church and rang the bells to announce the service. When the French soldiers heard the church bells, they concluded that the Austrian army had come to rescue the town. They broke camp, and before the bells had ceased ringing, vanished.

It really is true, if we always put God first in our lives, he will take care of us! If we make him our top priority, he will give us everything we need! What is your top priority in your life?

I would like to share with you what my high school football coach taught me about priorities. He always preached to us that our priorities should go like this: faith, family, school, football, and last, girls. For a high school kid, that is pretty good. For an adult, I would slightly change it and suggest: faith, family, vocation (work), health, and then hobbies and recreation. If these priorities get misplaced, your life gets out of whack. For instance, if you put your family before your faith, you are guilty of the sin of idolatry and you will not be the kind of father or mother God wants to be. If you put your job before your family, you will lose your family. If your hobbies or having fun come before your job, you are irresponsible and probably won’t get very far in life.

It all starts with God though. If your relationship with God is right and strong, everything else in your life will fall into place. If your relationship with God is not right, it is only a matter of time until your life begins to fall apart. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.

Jesus concludes his teaching about worrying with a proverb: Worry over tomorrow’s misfortunes is nonsensical, because they may never come to pass. Today has enough problems already.

Remember God’s sovereignty! Pursue him above all else! Take care of today’s problems! And tomorrow will be fine!

My grandmother loves perfume, but my grandfather would never buy it for her because he considers it an unnecessary and wasteful extravagance. I can remember when I was a kid, every time we went into a department store with her, she would stop by the perfume counter, smell the various fragrances, and spray a dab on her wrists from one of the tester bottles.

One year when I was about twelve years old, my sister and I wanted to get her a bottle of perfume for Christmas. But we didn’t want to get her just any old perfume; we wanted to get her favorite, White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor. So, a few weeks before Christmas, my sister and I scraped our money together and snuck away to the perfume counter.

When I asked the clerk how much for a bottle of White Diamonds, she replied, “Fifty dollars.” My eyes almost popped out of my head! I wanted to ask her if there were real diamonds in the bottle, but instead, I just asked if she had a smaller bottle. She said, “I’m sorry but this is the smallest bottle I have.” Fifty dollars was all we had, but in a moment of surprising sibling agreement, we decided to buy it.

When Christmas morning arrived, we were just as excited for her to open her gift as we were to open our own gifts. As she tore open the wrapping paper, a look of amazement came over her face and tears of gratitude flooded her eyes.

I will never forget that look on my grandmother’s face. I will never forget the scent of White Diamonds! That Christmas, not only did I learn something about the cost of perfume, I learned something about the value of extravagance.

An Extravagant Anointing (1-3)

Well, it was a couple of days before the Passover and Jesus and his disciples had gathered for a meal at the home of Simon the Leper in the village of Bethany, three miles outside Jerusalem. Neither the identity of Simon the Leper nor the purpose of this meal is given. Simon was probably one of the lepers that Jesus had healed and the meal was perhaps given as an expression of thanksgiving.

After the meal was finished, everyone was relaxing around the table, a woman anoints Jesus with a bottle of perfume. Mark does share the woman’s identity, but we know from John’s gospel that it was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who were also from the village of Bethany. We don’t know how Mary acquired this white alabaster jar of pure nard, but we know that it was imported from India and was very expensive.

Mary takes what was likely her most precious earthly possession, breaks the jar, and anoints Jesus by pouring a year’s worth of wages over his head. The beautiful aroma filled the room. This anointing was an act of extravagance; an extraordinary expression of love, adoration, and sacrifice for Jesus.

When we see Mary’s extravagant act, it forces us to think about how we show our love and adoration for Jesus. What is your most precious earthly possession? Would you be willing to sacrifice it for the Lord?

Wasteful Spending (4-5)

Well, not everyone was impressed with this act of extravagance. Mark does not name those who reacted negatively to the “waste” of perfume, but Matthew tells us that it was the disciples and John tells us that Judas Iscariot led the charge. They protested by asking, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” His indignant objection seemed pious, but he didn’t really care about the poor; he was the treasurer of the Twelve and had a habit of dipping into the money bag for his own selfish purposes.

It is also interesting that these disciples railed on Mary for her wastefulness when they were often the beneficiaries of her hospitality. I guess they never learned the proverb: “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

People always like to complain about other people’s wasteful spending. For instance, how many of you have family members or neighbors who waste money? How many of you believe that our government wastes money? Accusations of wasteful spending are always comes down to differences in values. What you think is a waste, someone else thinks is important; what you think is important; someone else thinks is a waste. Our spending always shows what we value!

What do you think? Was Mary’s act of extravagance a waste? Mary certainly didn’t think so! Did Mary not value the poor? I’m sure she did; but she valued Jesus more. What do you value?

The Beautiful Rebuke (6-9)

What did Jesus think about this act of extravagance? We would expect him to react the same way as the disciples, but he doesn’t. He immediately comes to Mary’s defense. Instead of condemning her, they should have commended her. Her action of anointing Jesus was a beautiful expression of her love and gratitude toward him, and she should not be berated for it.

In addition to being an expression of love and devotion, Jesus interpreted Mary’s act as an anointing of his body beforehand in preparation for his burial (This is somewhat like making funeral prearrangements). Typically, bodies were anointed with perfume after death, not before. Time for such an expression of love and devotion while Jesus was with them was running out. On the contrary, opportunities for helping the poor would continue. And indeed, Jesus’ prophecy is still being fulfilled: we are still talking about Mary’s act of devotion 2000 years later.

Does Jesus’ rebuke show a lack of concern for the poor? Absolutely not! Jesus constantly showed his compassion for “the least of these” throughout his ministry, but he was not going to take this expression of love away from Mary.

Some people have posed the questions—how, as Christians, are we able to feast or celebrate in a world with so much poverty and suffering? How do we reconcile our lavish Thanksgiving celebrations with all the need that exist in our world? Are we ever justified in giving Christmas gifts to one another? Is there ever a place for extravagance in the Christian life?

Here is the way I believe Jesus would answer these questions: balance! If we constantly neglect the poor to support extravagant living, we are guilty of selfishness. On the other hand, occasional extravagance can be a beautiful thing and have a profound and lasting impact. So, enjoy your Thanksgiving feast next week; just don’t do it every day!

A Costly Betrayal (10-11)

Immediately, after the anointing, we learn of Judas’ duplicity as he offers to betray Jesus to the chief priests. Mary’s extravagant act of devotion stands in stark contrast to Judas’ act of betrayal. Isn’t it ironic that right after Judas complains about Mary’s extravagant waste, we find him betraying Jesus to the chief priests for a few silver coins? He is willing to sacrifice Jesus to obtain material gain for himself; on the other hand, Mary sacrifices her most precious material possession for Jesus. Mary will always be remembered for her act of devotion; Judas will always be remembered for his act of betrayal.

These verses ought to make us ask the question: How will you be remembered when you are gone? Will you be remembered for your greed or your generosity? Will you be remembered for your duplicity or your devotion? Will you be remembered for your selfishness or your sacrifice? Will you be remembered for your betrayal or your faithfulness to Jesus?

Some of you may have seen the Danish film “Babette’s Feast” which won the Academy Award for “Best Foreign Film” in 1987. It is my second favorite movie of all time and I watch it every year around Thanksgiving time. It is the perfect illustration of the value of extravagance.

The story is set in 19th century Denmark and centers around two sisters who live in an isolated village with their father, who is the honored pastor of a small Protestant church. Although they each are presented with a real opportunity to leave the village, the sisters choose to stay serve their father and their church. They always ate a meager meal of bland fish soup so that they could use their modest resources to help people in need.

After some years, Babette, a refugee from the French Civil War, arrives at their door, begs them to take her in, and commits herself to work for them as maid/housekeeper/cook. Sometime after their father dies, the sisters decide to hold a dinner to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Meanwhile, Babette unexpectedly wins the lottery and implores the sisters to allow her to prepare the meal. Although they are secretly concerned about what Babette, a Catholic and a foreigner, might do, the sisters allow her to go ahead, but the church members all agree in advance not to enjoy the meal.

Babette purchases the finest china, crystal, and linen with which to set the table and imports the most luxurious ingredients from France. Then she prepares the feast of a lifetime, with the perfect wine to complement each of the six courses. The church members simply cannot resist enjoying the meal and the whole experience transforms their lives—old conflicts are healed, old prejudices pass away, old memories are celebrated, and new relationships begin. After the feast they discover that Babette was the famous former Chef of the Café Anglais the most prestigious restaurant in France. They also discovered that the meal cost 10,000 francs, the full amount of her lottery winnings. Babette sacrificed everything she to show her love and devotion to her friends. She, like Mary of long ago, knew the value of extravagance!

Do you know the value of extravagance?

Since I did not grow up going to church, the term “prayer meeting” was not a part of my vocabulary. Now I had heard of prayer before, but the idea intimidated me. I was pretty sure I knew what a meeting was, but generally, I was opposed to them. But when I was seventeen years old and a brand new Christian, I saw an announcement in the bulletin for a prayer meeting at the little country church that I was attending, and I felt like God wanted me to go to it!

I will never forget my first prayer meeting! It felt a little strange going to church on a Wednesday night, and as I reluctantly entered the sanctuary, I asked myself, “What am I getting myself into?” I was rather relieved to see only five or six people there. They were all sitting in the front pew discussing prayer requests while one man was recording them in a notebook.

I just sat there and listened as they talked about their concerns for health, family, community, and country. After a while, they asked me if I had any prayer requests. The question caught me off guard a bit and I struggled to come up with a good prayer request. Everyone in my family was healthy; my grades (at that time) were decent; and I already had a girlfriend. I wasn’t sure what else to pray for, so I said, “You could pray that my football team wins our game on Friday night.” Their somewhat perplexed and slightly irritated faces told me that this prayer request was unacceptable, but no one said anything.

After this, they all knelt down at the altar and began praying out loud one at a time. The man on the far end started and they went right down the line, praying between five and ten minutes apiece. I was next to last in line and was getting more nervous with every prayer. When it was finally my turn, I was frozen with fear. I didn’t know what to say. Thankfully, the person at the end of the line realized the situation, and he finished the prayer meeting.

My first prayer meeting taught me that I didn’t really know how to pray. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever wanted to pray, but you just weren’t sure what to say or how to do it? Do you want to know how to pray or pray better?

Well, when the prayer meeting was over, the group encouraged me and thanked me for coming. Even though I felt ashamed that I didn’t know how to pray out loud, I began to attend the prayer meeting regularly. At one point, I asked one of the men how he learned how to pray so well. He opened up his Bible to Matthew 6 and showed me what Jesus taught his disciples about prayer. He told me that the Lord’s Prayer isn’t just a prayer to recite; rather, it is a model for how we should pray all the time. He said, “When you understand the Lord’s Prayer, then you will know how to pray well.”

This morning, I would like to do for you what that man did for me. I want to show you what Jesus taught his disciples about prayer. In verses 5-8, he shows us the wrong way to pray and in verses 9-15 he shows us the right way to pray. As we heed Jesus’ warnings and follow his model for prayer, I hope that it will increase your knowledge of prayer, improve your practice of prayer, and boost your confidence in prayer. Let’s see what Jesus teaches us about prayer!

The Wrong Ways to Pray (5-8)

Hypocritical Prayer (5-6)

Jesus warns his disciples not to pray like the hypocrites, who loved to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Neither the posture nor the place of prayer was the problem. Throughout the Bible there are many examples of people praying while standing up, sitting, kneeling, or laying prostrate on the ground. Likewise, there are examples of people praying in the temple, the synagogue, on the streets, and in the countryside. The problem is their motivation for prayer: “to be seen by men.” They position themselves where they can be most noticed. When Jesus says that they have received their reward, he means that if their goal was to get the praise of men, they have received it.

On the contrary, Jesus tells his disciples to go into their room, close the door, and pray to the Father. Then, the Father, who is unseen, will see what is done in secret, and reward them accordingly. Jesus is not forbidding all public prayer; he prayed publically throughout his own ministry and corporate prayer was a high priority in the early church. But the person who prays more in public than in private is more interested in human approval than divine approval.

As with most of the topics Jesus covers in the Sermon on the Mount, he moves beyond outward behavior and gets to the heart of the issue. Here, the real issue is not whether we pray in public or private or whether we pray standing up, sitting down, or kneeling at an altar; the issue is our motivation for prayer. And if the motivation of your prayer is to impress other people, it is hypocritical and you will not be rewarded by God.

Offering public prayer requests can be a way of seeking human praise or approval. If the same person has a prayer request every week or they go overboard in explaining the request, they may be attempting to say, “Hey! Look at me! See how spiritual minded I am!” Another way that people try to impress others in prayer is by using big words or flowery language. I know some people, who when they speak, they use normal modern English, but when they pray, they use some heightened seventeenth century Shakespearian English, as if God only hears prayers that sound like the King James Bible. We would all do well to check our motivation for prayer!

Pagan Prayer (7-8)

Jesus also warns his disciples not to pray like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many babbling words. His point is that his disciples should avoid meaningless, repetitive prayers that are offered under the misconception that they will be answered on the basis of their length. In the ancient world, the pagan gods allegedly thrived on incantation and repetition. But again, he is getting to the real heart of the issue: trying to manipulate God. The real God, to whom Christians pray, does not need information about our needs; he already knows them.

If we think, “If I just use the right words or if I repeat my prayer enough times, God will give me what I want,” we are sadly mistaken and we are guilty of praying like unbelievers. God cannot and will not be manipulated in prayer. He is our heavenly Father, and he wants us to simply come before him in confidence and trust.

Jesus is not condemning long prayers, liturgical form prayers, or spontaneous prayers; for he himself did all of these things. Some people accuse liturgical form as being pagan while others accuse spontaneous prayers as being pagan. The reality is that either one of these can be pagan if they become thoughtless babble!

The Right Way to Pray (9-13)

Once Jesus shows his disciples some wrong ways to pray, he then focuses on teaching them the right way to pray. Notice how he introduces what now call “The Lord’s Prayer.” He says this then is “how” you should pray. If he just wanted his disciples recite the prayer, he would have said this then is “what” you should pray. Jesus presents this short prayer as a model or pattern for all prayers. Therefore, let us consider the five components of this model prayer.

First, the invocation “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name” recognizes and praises God for whom he is. “Our Father” refers to his personhood and authority and his fatherly care and concern for his children. “In heaven” refers to his transcendence and sovereignty. “Hallowed” literally means “holy” or “set apart.” It simply refers to God’s holiness.

So, the first thing that we should do when we pray is to reflect upon and praise God for his character. It doesn’t have to be limited to just the aspects of his character mentioned here, but our prayers can also include praise for his creation and creativity, his justice and mercy, his protection and faithfulness, and the list could go on and on. If we really gave God the praise that he deserves, our prayers may go on for quite a while!

Second, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is a petition asking God to finish the work he started. Jesus inaugurated God’s kingdom on earth when he was here in human flesh, but the kingdom has not been consummated yet. This request is asking for the all the future events that are recorded in the Book of Revelation to take place: Christ’s return, the overturning of the present evil order, and the restoration of earth to its heavenly state.

Don’t you long for a place where evil doesn’t exist? Don’t you want to live in a place where there is no more disease, destruction, or death? Well, how often do you pray “thy kingdom come?”

Third, after focusing on the future kingdom, Jesus tells his disciples to pray for their daily needs on earth to be met. “Give us this day our daily bread” acknowledges God as the provider of every physical need, as the Israelites learned when God provided daily manna for forty years. They were always one day away from starvation, and yet they always had enough for that day.

This is the part of the Lord’s Prayer in which we are most familiar—asking God for things. God wants us to ask him because he wants us rely on him instead of ourselves. If we humbly lay our needs and desires before him, we will have plenty to pray about.

Fourth, asking for forgiveness and forgiving others should be a regular part of our prayer life. Jesus uses the words “debts” and “debtors” because all sins place us in debt to God. The point is made in verses 14-15 that someone who refuses to forgive others neither understands nor has received Christ’s forgiveness.

Again, if we think about all the sinful deeds we do, the sinful words we say, and the sinful attitudes we harbor in our hearts, we will have plenty to pray about. Likewise, if we think about all of the people who sin against us, it ought to drive us to prayer so that we might forgive.

Fifth, if the preceding request for forgiveness is curative spiritual medicine, “and leads us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” is preventive medicine. Satan and his demonic minions are constantly trying to tempt people to commit acts of sin and evil, so Jesus tells his disciples to constantly pray for deliverance from the evil one.

If we stop and think about all of the ways that we are tempted to sin, we realize our deep need for deliverance. This reality ought to drive us to prayer all of the time!

Finally, although the doxology “for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen” is found in a few ancient manuscripts of the Lord’s Prayer, the overwhelming majority do not contain it. It was probably not a part of the original prayer that Jesus gave, and that is why it is not included in the text.

So, why do we include the doxology when we say the Lord’s Prayer together in church? There are two primary reasons: first, it is theologically true and profound; the kingdom, the power, and the glory do indeed belong to God forever, and it is good to remember this. Second, the doxology was added for liturgical purposes very early in the church’s history. It is an appropriate way to end the prayer, especially when recited together corporately. It is rather ironic that most Protestant churches include it for tradition’s sake, while most Roman Catholic churches do not include it.

Well, now that you know the wrong way to pray and the right way to pray, I hope you will pray! I hope that you will not just recite the Lord’s Prayer on Sunday mornings; but use it as a model for your prayer life every day! And as I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon, I hope that it will increase your knowledge of prayer, improve your practice of prayer, and boost your confidence in prayer!

After church was finished last Sunday, all I wanted to do was go home, eat lunch, and enjoy a peaceful afternoon watching the New England Patriots beat up on the New York Jets. And that was exactly what happened; until I turned on my computer to check the status of my fantasy team. When my computer turns on, it automatically goes to my homepage, where I can read the day’s news headlines. I wasn’t planning on reading any non-related sports news, but when I saw the breaking story about a massacre at a day spa outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I immediately thought to myself, “Not another shooting spree!” but I felt compelled to read on. As I pondered and prayed for the victims and their families, my peaceful afternoon was ruined.

Murder has become epidemic in America! We saw it last Sunday at a salon in Wisconsin. We saw it a few months ago at a movie theater in Colorado. And it was only last March when St. Johnsbury Academy teacher Melissa Jenkins was brutally murdered right here in Vermont.

When we hear stories like these, I think that most of us ask the question “why.” It is hard for us to understand why anyone would do something like this. What would possess someone to kill another person? What goes on in the mind and heart of a murderer?

Some of you have seen the 1959 Jimmy Stewart film Anatomy of a Murder, which critics have called one of the best courtroom dramas of all time. In the film, a United States Army Lieutenant is arrested for the murder of an innkeeper. As the defense attorney tries to get his client off the hook with a temporary insanity plea, the audience is forced to examine its merits and make a judgment on the motive of the murder—thus, viewing the anatomy of a murder.

This morning’s Bible reading is similar to that old Jimmy Stewart film. As Jesus was teaching his disciples about the ethical demands of God’s kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount, he deals decisively with the issue of murder. But he doesn’t just reaffirm the Sixth Commandment, when it simply says, “Thou shalt not murder.” Jesus gets to the real heart of the issue. Let’s take a look at Jesus’ lesson on the anatomy of a murder!

Anger: The Heart of Murder (21-22)

Jesus begins this section with the first of his “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you” statements. Each of these refers back to a section of the law and the rabbinical tradition that came along with it. Unfortunately, over the generations, the rabbis limited their interpretation of the law to its most literal meaning; that is, they emphasized the letter of the law and completely missed the spirit and purpose of the law.

This is exactly what had happened to the Sixth Commandment—“Thou shalt not murder.” The tradition emphasized the mere prohibition of wrongly taking human life and the judgment that would result from such a crime (the Old Testament law called for murderers to receive the death penalty). But Jesus exposes the heart of the original law—the root of murder is anger, and anger is murderous in principle. A person has not obeyed God’s law by simply refraining from homicide, but the angry person is guilty of murder of the heart and will be subject to judgment too. For Jesus, the outward action and the inward attitude are both important.

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her class of five and six-year-olds. After explaining the commandment to honor thy father and thy mother, she asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat, one little boy answered, “Thou shall not kill.”

Most people are proud of the fact that they have never killed anyone. If you ask someone if they are a good person, most people say, “Yes, I am a good person.” Then if you ask, “What makes you a good person?” their first response is, “Well, I’ve never killed anyone.” So, for those of you who have never killed anyone, I would just like to say, “Good job! Way to go! You have technically kept the Sixth Commandment!”

But I would also like to ask you: “Have you ever been angry with someone? Are you angry with someone right now? Do you harbor any bitterness in your heart? Are you holding on to a grudge against anyone? If so, you have the heart of a murderer and you are in danger of the same judgment!

Insults and Name-Calling are Forms of Murder (22b)

Jesus goes on to give a couple of examples of the ways people outwardly express the anger that is in their hearts. When he says, “anyone who says to his brother ‘Raca’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin”, he is asserting that insults are a form of murder—a murder of the spirit rather than the body. “Raca” is an Aramaic term of contempt which literally means “empty-handed.” The term’s modern equivalent would be calling someone a blockhead, an idiot, or accusing someone of “not having much upstairs.” Insults and abusive words were considered much worse in Ancient Jewish culture than they are today. Name calling was a big deal because of the cultural importance placed on public shaming. Verbal offenses could be punished by the Sanhedrin, the local Jewish court.

But Jesus points to a much more serious punishment using abusive words. When he says “anyone who says ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” he is saying that anyone who lashes out in anger by resorting to name calling is not only in danger of human judgment, but they are also in danger of divine judgment. The Greek word translated here as “You fool” is “moros” from which we get our English word “moron.” Saying “Raca” or calling someone a fool was essentially the same thing. All of Jesus’ listeners knew that murder was wrong and they also knew that they could be judged by the local court for insulting someone, but they did not know that anger was a form of murder or that verbal insults and abuse would put them in danger of the fires of hell.

This ought to make all of us stop and think about the words we use and the way we use them. Verbal abuse is so common in American culture that we don’t even realize it. We have become desensitized to it. It is bad enough that it happens in our schools, workplaces, and sports fields, but it is even worse when it happens in our living rooms and bedrooms.

Insults, threats, and name-calling all stem from the anger within us and they murder other people’s souls. So, before you call someone the F-word, the A-word, the B-word, the C-word, the N-word, the R-word, or the X, Y, or Z-word, realize that you are putting yourself in danger of the fires of hell. Before you unleash your anger on someone, think about what you are doing!

Quick Reconciliation: The Cure for Anger (24-26)

Now that we have seen the seriousness of anger, what should we do about it? In verses 24-26, Jesus presents two illustrations which answer this question. The first is in the context of worship and the second is in a judicial setting. The first concerns a brother and the second an adversary.

Remarkably, neither illustration deals with “your” anger but with “your” offense that has prompted your brother’s or adversary’s anger. Why would Jesus do this? We are more likely to remember when we have something against others than when we have done something to offend others. And if we are truly concerned about our anger and hate, we will be no less concerned when we hurt others. This shows a reciprocal principle. Whether it is your anger or someone else’s anger, the cure is quick reconciliation.

First, Jesus says “if you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” So important is the issue of anger toward another member of the Christian community and so urgent is the need for reconciliation that the act of worship should be interrupted until the relationship is reconciled. Our relationships with other people affect our relationship with God. Only then is formal worship acceptable to God.

Second, Jesus urges his disciples to be quickly reconciled to their adversaries. He says, “Settle matters quickly with you adversary who is taking you to court.” It is better to reconcile before it gets to the court because you can’t trust how the court is going to decide. If it goes to the court, it may turn out badly.

Jesus is telling us that the cure for anger is quick reconciliation. Whether you are angry with someone or if you know that someone is angry with you, it is your responsibility to seek reconciliation. For most of us, seeking reconciliation is difficult. Most of us would rather ignore it, brush over it, or just say, “Well, that’s their problem! Let them deal with it!” Some of us would rather pout and play head games saying, “Well, they should be the one to take the first step, not me!” According to Jesus, this is not true. Regardless of who is at fault, it is always our responsibility to seek reconciliation, and to do it quickly before it festers and grows worse!

Are you angry with someone? Is someone angry with you about something? Are you in the midst of a conflict with someone right now? If so, I urge you to stop what you are doing, even if that means leaving church early today, and go be reconciled to your brother or sister, your father or mother, your co-worker or classmate, or whoever it is! Do it as quickly as possible before it gets worse! Then your worship will be acceptable!

During the days of the “desert fathers” (a 4th century Christian movement that tried to renew the church), a young man came to his spiritual mentor and father-figure named Sisoes. The young man blurted out, “I was hurt by my brother in Christ, and now I’m angry and I want to avenge myself.” The older man tried to comfort him, but he also gave him a gentle warning: “Don’t do that, my child. Rather, leave vengeance to God.” But the young Christian refused to listen to Sisoes. Instead, he became even angrier and loudly said, “I will not quit until I get even.”

When Sisoes saw that reason alone wouldn’t change the young man’s heart, he quietly said, “Let us pray, brother.” After a pause, Sisoes offered the following prayer: “O God, apparently we no longer need you to take care of us since we can now avenge ourselves. From now on we can manage our own lives without your help.” When the young man heard this prayer, he immediately repented. Falling at Sisoes feet, he cried out, “Have mercy on me. I am not going to fight my brother anymore.”

Jesus died on the cross to reconcile our broken relationship with God! He also died to reconcile our broken relationships with one another! Now that we have seen the anatomy of a murder, let us let go of our anger! Let us stop murdering each other! Let us fall before the feet of Jesus and say, “Have mercy on me. I am not going to fight my brother anymore!”