Message by Ronnie McBrayer
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CHANGE FOR CHAINS ”“ MATTHEW 5:17-20 (February 17)
If you had been living in the 1700s or 1800s, and you, unfortunately were suffering from a mental illness, alcoholism, autism, bipolar disorder, a simple depletion of the serotonin in your brain, you might have found yourself committed to a madhouse. These so-called treatment centers were about as barbaric and inhumane locales as could be humanly conceived. Patients were chained to walls, beaten with whips, and kept in dungeons left naked, starving, and without sanitation or light. They were subjected to shock therapy, exorcisms, bloodlettings, ice baths, and gyration wheels. It was torture, and not much else.
But in the 19th century, things did begin to change with the rise of the asylum: The sanctuary or the retreat for the mentally ill. Dr. Samuel Tuke, a Quaker physician and minister building on the work of his grandfather, created the York Retreat ”“ a quiet country house ”“ where patients could come and be treated, not as wild animals, but as human beings. Dr. Tuke introduced something he called “moral treatment,” and it became the foundation of mental health care for a century. Here”™s how it worked: Patients were taught how to dress nice, how to behave at church and in social settings, how to be good Victorian-era citizens. Patients were expected to watch their table manners, make polite conversation over tea, keep their living space clean and work the retreat”™s grounds. Those who behaved well were rewarded, and those who behaved poorly were punished.
On the outside these patients looked perfectly healthy, their behavior was right because they followed the rules the good doctor had trained them in; it was a marked improvement. But inside they remained the same, just as ill as the day their training began. Put them in situations they had no rules for, and everything collapsed. Let their monitors leave them alone for an extended period, and it was a disaster. They could do the right things when forced, but they had no concept of the right motivation. “Moral treatment” did not change a person”™s morals. It was a failure. It highlighted a limitation as old as the human species: People are not changed by chains ”“ whether they be made of iron and steel, or made from rules and coercion. When people are put in chains, they don”™t get well. They either choke and suffocate in the bondage or they rebel and destroy what is around them. If people are going to change, it is because something happens internally, not because their external behavior has been modified.
Here is how Jesus said it in the Sermon on the Mount, and we will explore these words today (The Message): “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures (the rules or the Law)”¦I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, and pull it all together”¦You must do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, or you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.” ”“ Matthew 5
Followers of Jesus do not need better rules, because rules are “moral treatments,” powerless to actually change the human heart. Rather, followers of Jesus need a better way to live, what Jesus called a “better righteousness.” We need a way of life that transcends the religious rules altogether. We need to be changed from the inside.
I. HERE ARE JESUS”™ WORDS: “I”™M NOT HERE TO DEMOLISH, BUT TO COMPLETE.”
I”™m not here to critique the rule book. I”™m not here to throw everything that has come before me away. I”™m not here with a new treatment program for the human race. I”™m here to fulfill what has been written. I”™m here to draw out its actual meaning, and to bring it to its proper completion, not to break it. There are a few ways we can begin to think about Jesus words here. In the spring of the year there are blooms on the blackberry vines in the woods that run along my house. When the blooms become berries, the flower isn”™t destroyed. It is fulfilled for it has matured. When a baby is born into the world, he or she begins to grow immediately. Twenty years later, the child has not been destroyed. He or she has been fulfilled. He or she has come to maturity. When a farmer goes out to harvest his crop in the fall of the year with the combine, he is not destroying the seed. He is reaping what has come to completion. The law, at its core, was only a shadow of what was to come.
Jesus is the real thing, and he has revolutionized the way we live, relate to others, relate to ourselves and relate to God. Yes, the rules were all we had once upon a time, but now we have something better ”“ we have Jesus himself ”“ showing us the way. Once the faithful followed religious codes to please or pursue God; that was their understanding of faith. But religious rules could not give life. It was instructive and useful, but ultimately, it could only constrict and confine. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “The letter (the rules) kills.” We must let go of the rules and live the way of Christ, that “better” way that no written law or religious rulebook can duplicate.
ILLUS: Leo Tolstoy once compared religious rules to the light given off by a lamp post. It is a healthy bright light that dispels the darkness. And as long as a man or woman stood in that light, he or she could see. Yet, the lamp post had limitations, Tolstoy said. To remain in the light meant going nowhere; one had to stay put to remain in the light. But following Jesus, Tolstoy continued, was like a light or lantern fixed to a pole. A person could carry that pole out in front of his path and travel anywhere he liked. To remain a mere rule-keeper is to remain under a street light. To follow Christ is to take a flashlight in hand and to get on with it; to explore, pierce the dark, and to enjoy a faith that is dynamic, not static. Much of the church is locked into keeping the rules, therefore, its stands in a little circle of light, unmovable and fixed like a stone, cursing the darkness and barking at the street traffic as it moves along. It has light, but the light does not serve it or others very well. The church might as soon be chained to a post, for it is imprisoned, not growing or going anywhere.
Now, to think of spirituality “without rules” is a radical departure for many of us. Because we have based our entire connection to God on rule-keeping, “being good,” measuring up, and following the jot and tittle of every bit of religious instruction; we have been patients that would make Dr. Tuke proud! Of course, when we got out of ear or eye shot of our monitors, or when we were put into situations for which there was no exact rule, we failed to live up to these demands, and failure swamped us with guilt, fear, and shame.
Still, shouldn”™t we cling to what is black and white, the sure and certain rule of the law? In a word, no. Now that Christ has come, there is no point in holding to the illusion of security that comes from clutching to the law. Christianity is not a heavy obligation to stagnant, inanimate rules, handed down from the mountain and engraved in stone. Faith is not being tied down with legal or behavioral chains. Our faith is a dynamic, loving relationship with a living, life-giving person.
II. BUT THE TRUTH IS, SOME OF US HAVE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO OUR CHAINS
We like them. They comfort us. We are called Pharisees ”“ the ones Jesus mentioned in the text. Do you remember these guys? During the public ministry of Jesus the Pharisees were the largest, most influential, and the most vocal religious party in Palestine, referred to about hundred times in the New Testament. The Pharisees, literally the “pious ones,” ran the schools and the academies; the priests and scribes were often members of their order; and their ambition was to achieve a perfect righteousness by meticulously keeping all of God”™s laws through an intricate system of rule-keeping. If the rules were kept perfectly, then the kingdom of God would come!!! This rule-keeping extended beyond the written Law of Moses, to their oral interpretations and traditions. This oral tradition, collected on paper was massive. It easily filled thousands of pages, swelling the shelves of any home or personal library. Act right. Behave. Keep the rules. This was their moral treatment solution.
Meanwhile, the commoners were kept in the madhouse. Righteousness, as defined by the Pharisees, was simply unattainable by the farmer, carpenter, peasant or fisherman. The average person did not have access to all the rules. They did not have the time to keep all the rules, not with livings to be made, children to raise, and oppressive taxes to be paid. They were unable to meet the high and holy standards of the Pharisees”™ righteousness. So to this, Jesus has the most earth-shattering thing to say, and not at all what one would expect. He says that unless our righteousness “is better” than the righteousness of the Pharisees, then the Kingdom of God is beyond our grasp. Wait! How can my righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees, the acclaimed champions of religious rule-keeping? How can I be righteous at all, being only a common man or woman, having missed the cut to play for the holy A-team? How can I reach a higher place than those who already infinitely exceed my ability?
Here is the answer: Knowing and keeping the rules is not a better righteousness; it”™s not a better way to live. Jesus does not demand of us higher standards, he offers us himself. Jesus does not require of us super-human ability or commitments. He gives us his ability and grace. By bringing the laws of religion to their fulfillment, Jesus strikes literally at the heart of the issue ”“ our hearts ”“ transforming us from the inside out, so that more rules and steeper requirements are no longer necessary. Jesus didn”™t arrive ”“ and thanks be to God for this ”“ with more and better rules. He arrived with a transformative way to live that sets us free from the heavy burden of religion, and moves us to right thinking, right feeling, right actions, and right living. Jesus came to actually change our hearts.
ILLUS: Again, here are a couple of examples to guide us further. Imagine that you go to the doctor with a collection of symptoms signaling a sickness. You are examined thoroughly by your physician: CAT scans, MRIs, X-rays, nuclear medicine, blood work, labs ”“ everything. And in the end you get a diagnosis. The doctor calls you in and says, “We”™ve found it. This is what you have. You have a cancerous tumor. This is the cause of all your problems.” And then he props his feet up on his desk, leans back in his chair, and smiles the smile of a contented man, so pleased with his diagnostic abilities. Has that doctor really done anything for you? No. He told you what was wrong, but he has done nothing towards a cure. What you need is more than a diagnosis. You need a surgeon who will remove what is killing you. The law, even the Ten Commandments, can only diagnosis our problem. These laws cannot cure us or change the pathology on the inside, but Jesus can, as we submit to him and his ways. He is the surgeon who does more than diagnose and treat symptoms. He strikes with his scalpel at the root cause of the disease.
Clarence Jordan explained it like this: The law is like chaining a vicious dog to a tree. With the dog chained in such a way the owner could report, “You know, my dog has never bitten anyone. He must be a good dog.” But that is wrong. The goodness of the dog is based solely upon the strength of the chain. If that dog ever got loose, he would bite everyone within the reach of his jaws. The law is like a leash or a chain. Make it heavy and strong enough, like interpreters and practitioners of the law could do, and it was adequate to keep the wayward human heart from hurting others and hurting itself. But Jesus”™ intention is to change the nature of the dog, not to manufacture a more robust chain. Jesus, transforming the human heart, means chains are no longer needed.
III. SO HOW DO WE “GET IN ON THIS?” HOW DO WE GET FREE AND TRADE CHANGE FOR OUR CHAINS?
There is only one way, because there is only one certain, spiritual discipline. It”™s not reading your Bible more, keeping the Ten Commandments, praying harder, or attending church more often. It is not giving more, volunteering more often, feeling more unworthy, or accepting religious-induced shame as the norm for how we should feel. No ”“ it is surrendering and emptying ourselves so that God, through his Son Jesus, might fill us. That is the only spiritual discipline, the only act that leads to chain-breaking freedom.
Rule-keeping will never work. Moral strivings are a failure, and religiosity is a chain for our souls. “Moral treatment” and behavioral modification bombs out. These things fill up our hearts and lives with ourselves. The focus is always on what we can do, must do, or should do, and the more we fill ourselves with these, as noble as our intentions might be, the less space God has to operate, until he is finally pushed out altogether and all we are left with is ourselves and our own attempts at righteousness. We become pious, self-righteous Pharisees or hopeless, demoralized failures, because our attempts at righteousness are simply inadequate.
The only obstacle standing in the way of our transformation is we ourselves. We must give up all we have, all we have been, all we are, and all we ever hope to be, all we are trying to do to grow, change, control, get well ”“ all of it ”“ so that we are empty before Christ who wishes to fill us with himself. William Law gets to the heart of it: “All failures of the Christian life are due to one thing: We seek to do with our own strength and ego what only God can do”¦God must do all, or all is nothing. But He cannot do all until we have no hope, trust, or longing for anything but a patient”¦humble, total resignation to God.”
And when such resignation takes root, we are transformed. We have to quit trying so hard at trying so hard, and let Christ do it for us and through us. There is no other way.
ILLUS: I”™ll give you a final picture of what this looks like. Five hundred years ago there was a group of Christians living in Europe known as the Anabaptists. These are not to be confused with today”™s Baptists, though the groups do share points of common history. The more direct descendants of the Anabaptists today are the Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and the Amish. The name Anabaptist was not so much a description as it was a condemnation. The Anabaptists were “anti-baptizers” or “re-baptizers,” scorning infant baptism and a heap of other cherished church doctrines. Because they refused to baptize babies and thus refused to accept the sacraments (and civil power) of the Roman, Lutheran, or Calvinistic churches, they were violently persecuted by governments, Catholics, and Protestants alike.
One such persecution broke out in 1569 against Anabaptists in Holland. Yes, there were some genuine fanatics in the Anabaptist tribe, but the simple, compassionate, and innocent Jesus-followers were gobbled up as well, as is always the case. One such innocent was a young man named Dirk Willems. On a cold winter day, a bailiff was sent to arrest Dirk on the charge that he had been re-baptized, had been holding secret religious meetings in his home, and had allowed others to be re-baptized there. Dirk ran for his life with the bailiff right on his heels. Knowing that he would be imprisoned, tortured, interrogated, burned at the stake, or drowned (“If they insist on being re-baptized, then give them the full treatment” was the terrible logic) if he were caught, Dirk threw himself across a small lake covered with thin ice. It held his weight as he ran, and he crossed safely to the other side. But the ice did not hold for his pursuer. The bailiff chasing after Dirk crashed through the ice into the freezing water. Dirk Willems immediately turned back and rescued the struggling man from the ice. For his kindness This did not save Dirk, and for his kindness he was arrested, put in prison, tortured, and after refusing to renounce his faith, was burned at the stake May 16, 1569.
CONCLUSION: Now, here is the question asked by Mennonites, the Amish, the Brethren and others for nearly five centuries: “Why did Dirk Willems turn back?” Put yourself in his shoes. You are running for your life, and while the air is so cold it can freeze rivers and lakes, the sweat is running down the small of your back. Your pursuer is so close to snatching you, you can feel his hot breath on your neck. Your heart pounds in your chest and your pulse is deafening in your ears, but from behind you still hear a crack and a splash. There in the icy water is the man who came to take you to your death. What do you do? Stop, and like the Israelites of old, thank God for the Red Sea that swallowed Pharaoh”™s army? Do you raise your praise to heaven as God has triumphed over injustice? Do you continue running into the wilderness where eventually your hands will stop shaking and you pray you will see your family again?
Dirk Willems did none of these things. He instinctively, reflexively turned and rescued his enemy, though he knew death would be the price he would pay. In the words of Joseph Liechty, “It was not a rational choice. It was not an ethical decision. It was an intuitive response”¦The only force strong enough to take Dirk back across the ice was an extraordinary outpouring of love, and the only love I know [like that] is the love taught and lived by Jesus.”
Dirk Willems acted as he did because he had been so spiritually shaped and formed by the words, way, and life of Jesus, that his response was the only response he was capable of making. Dirk was dead long before he reached for the bailiff in the water, but not from an executioner”™s sentence. Dirk”™s life and identity had been swallowed up in the person of Jesus, and it was Christ who now lived through him. That is the transformational change of heart that no law or rule or chain can ever produce. May that change be ours.
PRAYER: Our Father and our God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we become wholly yours; and then use us as you will to your glory; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.