This command of Jesus can and should be supportive of the earlier commands of seeking first the Kingdom of God, the command to not judge others critically, and to depend upon God, wholly. Consider for a while how they support one another, like the four legs of a stool. Together the four support a life of cooperation, connectedness and peace.

In college I was troubled by an agnostic professor who declared that to provide for another what you might want for yourself might be totally inappropriate. This was his critical analysis of the Golden Rule. But as I have thought about this over the years, I have come to realize that he missed the point. Jesus is not talking about stuff provided for another, but rather a sensitive to another. Martin Buber dealt with this many years ago when he contrast “I-IT” with “I-THOU” relationships.

The point Jesus is making is that just as we do not want to be treated as a thing, we must not treat others as an object that we can manipulate. As I think about the Golden Rule, it appears to me that the expression of it would do much to provide for a peaceful community. We need to try it.

This past Thursday several persons gathered for a candlelight vigil at the Galilee Baptist Church in Panola, Alabama. The common bond was remembering about the tragedy of two years ago when four rural churches here in West Alabama were set on fire. Two burned to the ground and a third was badly damaged. We talked about what we had learned from God during the past two years.

Pastor Hawkins of Dancy Baptist Church was there and so was Pastor Foy of Spring Valley. Pastor Little of Galilee led the service. Morning Star which will host a dedication of its new building on February 24th, was not represented.

We spoke about our anger, our fear, our hurt, and our bewilderment on the 7th of February, 2006. We also spoke of the affirmation of the teaching of Jesus about forgiving enemies, even in that very difficult time.

The churches have repaired or new and larger facilities in three cases. New pastors serve two churches. New friendships have been forged. Help has come from all around. Many Christian friends have come and helped with the rebuilding. The arsonists are now in prison. The churches pray for them and rejoice about spiritual victories in the lives of the boys. All look forward to a time when the arsonists can come to the churches, worship, be publicly forgiven and express their sorrow.

The churches have been affirmed. Old racial barriers have been bridged. Vision and hopes for the future fuel the congregations. A repeated insight that God has brought good from evil is roundly affirmed. Much work lays before each of the congregations. But they are confident that the God who brought them through this tragedy will be with them in the years to come, whatever comes.

Having been a teacher much of my adult life, I have found that holding a critical spirit has been a great problem for me, personally. I seldom take things at “face value”. I look for deception and evil motives. I find some vindication of this in Mt. 7:15. But, I have missed out on a lot of joy by having such a critical spirit. I seem quite at home in this season of presidential primaries.

Perhaps there is a balance to be struck here. Perhaps, the teaching of Jesus for us to be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves” has an application here. Enjoy all that you can. But do not let the crooks have a free reign.

I realize that a critical spirit can, and often is, a cover for putting someone else down in order to put ourselves up as dominant in a relationship. Often, the message is that we are wiser, better, and could do things in a fine fashion. This is true in the classroom. It can be true in the family, and even in the church.

It is not difficult to hear (look at me judging again) someone misusing this passage as a proof text for foolishly not standing against any wrong. Often I hear persons glibly declare that we are not to judge others. It very quickly results in an affirmation of the “relativism” that dominates our popular culture. In his treatment of the law back in the fifth chapter of Matthew, Jesus clearly declares that God has some absolute demands that inform his laws for our lives.

Certainally, Jesus is reflecting here another basic principle of the Christian life. We are to seek what is best for others, even our enemies. We are not to be critical of others to tear them down, or to gain advantage. Rather, we are to be honest assessors of ourselves and of others as a means of moving and of encourage development in righteousness.

Judging should have a redemptive purpose. When it fails to have, it is evil.

Here is one of the most basic principles of life. It is the summary of the point made in the teachings dealt with in the previous blog. God put us here to glorify Him. He is a God who is worthy of glory. So, we can and should glorify him, no question about it.

Rather than seek stuff, or status, or position, or my own desires, I need to be focused on being a good citizen of the Kingdom of God, one who relies on the King, the father, to provide. This certainly includes me doing my share and working for the Kingdom. I need to be responsible and pull my weight. It is important, and appropriate, to review the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:2-12) in order to be reminded of the benefits for those who seek the Kingdom first.

We must admit that this is not easy. Our American culture seems to be built on seeking stuff for ourselves, seeking status, seeking power, seeking fame. It is so easy to forget about what Jesus teaches here.

Really, I need to treasure Jesus. Peacemaking must be my goal in relationships. My actions must spring from a pure heart. I need to be merciful and forgiving. I need to expect to be persecuted. I need to know the joy of being righteous like my heavenly Father. I must confess that all too often I get deflected from doing this.

Jesus was a carpenter. I can imagine that on rainy days some of the local craftspeople in the village of Nazareth gathered in the shop and shared stories. And I imagine that the accounts concerning both wise and foolish builders were included in the stories.

Jesus draws upon these to conclude the Sermon on the Mount. Earlier he had pictured the Christian life as a journey, then as a living product, and now he round the set of illustrations out with a picture of a set of builders.

The wise builder uses a solid rock for his foundation. I believe that he returned to this picture in the famous conversion between himself and Peter found in Matthew 16:13-20. Here Jesus declares that his church will be built on the solid rock of the acknowledgment that Jesus in the very son of God.

We might continue that the foolish builder uses Satanic sand for his foundation. It seems that almost every year we are reminded of he foolish builders when rains cause mud slides and multi-million dollar homes slide down hills in California and are crushed.

Jesus continues to teach that God must be our focus in life. Culture teaches to focus on stuff–either on getting our needs met or on getting stuff and the attendant status, so that we can declare that we are more important than our neighbors. Here and on several other occasions Jesus devalued stuff. Certainly, he promises rewards, and he teaches that we can depend on God to provide for our needs. Stuff is nice and it is needed, to some extent. But it must not be allowed to become our god.

Like many Americans I have way to much stuff. I worry about what I will do with it all when I retire and move to a retirement home. I worry about how our children will dispose of it when we die. I really can’t make use of, or enjoy, most of my stuff.

Increasingly, I am learning about the joy of share, or giving away some of the stuff that I do not need, or do not use to others. This is good, but am I running the risk of turning others into stuff “junkies” like myself.

The comments by Jesus about nature here are powerful ones. God has truly made a beautiful world. The beauty and the bounty of nature is inspiring.

Honestly, I wonder about those who do starve and do not have enough. Does this disprove what Jesus teaches here? I think not. The sins of mankind are the root cause of those times when there is not adequate amounts of food and clothing for everyone. The shortfalls that might seem to raise a question about what Jesus says here cannot be blamed on God.

So, back to the main point, Madison Ave. not withstanding, we need to get over focusing on stuff and just trust in a faithful God.

Another of the classic “spiritual disciplines” is fasting. It involves a person focusing on getting in touch with God by neglecting to eat and drink for a period of time. I know some Christians who find this to be an important practice in their lives. Jesus engaged in this practice.

Jesus notes in our text, however, that one should not allow himself/herself to be deflected from the purpose of fasting. We are tempted to turn aside from getting in touch with God and seeking his will for our lives toward being a show-off in our pious activities in order to get the attention of men. There is irony here. An act that should be directed toward God becomes directed toward man.

Knowing and enjoying God should be the driving force behind our disciplines. Being noticed of others can take over, and we can fail to connect with God.

This is to say that fasting is to be a means to an end, not an end in itself. The primary goal is to have a focused relationship with God. Blogging or journaling has this function for me and for many others. I think that that I will elect to use these, not fasting, as my means to that end.

I appreciate the way that Eugene Peterson in The Message gives us the model prayer

“Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best
as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes, Yes, Yes.

I am reading this against the background of the Beatitudes.
Recall how the 5th thru 7th of them speak of the fact that as born again Christians we live out of the characteristics of mercy, a pure heart, and peacemaking in our relationships. I see these reflected in the model prayer.

Also present is an affirmation the greatness of God, our submission to and dependence upon Him, the realization that the Devil still works on us, and the awareness of the goodness of God. One finds also a desire to know God better and a hope for a better world to come.

I so wish that I could live everyday with these truths on my mind, in my heart, motivating my actions. Certainly, this is a matter for regular prayer.

Many fine guides for prayer have been published in recent years regarding prayer. Generally, they follow the points found in this passage and build upon them. Pray is to God, not to others. It is to be honest conversation with God. The topics dealt with in the Model Prayer, which follows, should be addressed. Simplicity in prayer is a virtue.

This past Sunday I worshiped with an African American and with an Hispanic congregation. The first is a church which was burned by arsonists in February of 2006. In August of 2007 a new building, one that many volunteers contributed to and on which many other donated work, was dedicated by the congregation.

This morning’s prayer centered on thanksgiving to God for life, for care, for comfort and for blessings. Often, the content was very personal. Lines that expressed thanks for awakening that morning clothed in one’s right mind were uttered. The serice concluded with an altar call prayer in which the worshipers expressed their needs and their petitions to God.

I did not understand much of the content of the prayers in the Hispanic worship. But I sense that they were heartfelt and directed to God.

Public prayers may be the point of most difficulty in complying with the teachings of Jesus in this passage. Sometimes, I find myself preaching to the audience more than having a conversation with God. Sometimes, I find myself tempted to use the traditional prayer phrases of my people. But in my better moments, I see myself as uttering the prayers on the hearts of myself and my fellow worshipers. I see myself as an advocate for us all.

During the period that a friend was the interim pastor in a nearby church, I enjoyed Wednesday night prayer meetings very much. He would lead us in “directed prayer.” That is, he would speak out topics for prayer and give each of us time to pray about that matter silently. This insured that we talked with God about many, appropriate things.

Richard Foster and Dallas Willard, among others, have reintroduced the spiritual disciples to many Protestant and lay Christians. In the next portion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus looks at three of the classic discipines–alms, prayer, and fasting. Peterson identifies the basic, underlying position regarding these three disciplines, do not make a performance of them when you practice them.

In this passage, Jesus tells us to not help other folk in such a way that we call attention to ourselves, and I assume so as to not embarrass the person for whom we are providing assistance. Many of us struggle with this. I suppose our sinful nature is reflected in the desire to be praised.

The ways of giving alms in our society are varied. There are massive plans such as United Way, the Red Cross, and UNICEF. There are denominational appeals. My denomination calls for World Hunger funds on the Second Sunday of October each year. There and the needs of friends and neighbors. The massive efforts provide an easier way to comply with the teaching of Jesus here. Helping a neighbor often get known by others. Yet many of us feel a special pull toward helping those we know and whose situation we understand.

Often there are more needs than one has resources to give. This brings guilt. I have noted that often poor people are more ready to share their resources than those of us who have more than enough.

Jesus does not say anything here about the “deserving poor” and yet this has become something of a criteria for many of us when needs arise. Another point at which guilt and issues can come into our hearts.