Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones but Words Kill

 “Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones but Words Kill” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on February 12, 2023. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 35:26.

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Scripture Text:
Matthew 5:21-26; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

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Today in Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount in our Gospel reading for today. 

In this sermon, Jesus starting by sharing with his followers the Beatitudes, or all the ways in which the people are blessed. He continued by telling them that they are the salt of the earth and light of the world, roles that they must commit to in order for the world and the very community the disciples are part of to be a better place. And he ends with what is now referred to as the Antitheses. 

In his same sermon that talks of blessings and community, Jesus also teaches the disciples on several topics that uphold the Law, which Jesus also held in the highest regard. The Sermon on the Mount continues with several teachings: on murder and judgment, adultery, divorce, and vow-making. While we just read from the section on murder and judgement today, we are to understand that in each of these teachings, Jesus is saying to commit any of these infractions: murder or adultery, you sever the trust within a community. He is encouraging his followers to uphold this trust by intentionally upholding the laws given to them as God’s chosen people to their highest standard.

The passage begins with the most outrageous example of severed trust: the ending of another human’s life with murder. By starting with an example at which most members of his audience would not likely take offense, Jesus paves the way for his audience to follow him through a progression of increasingly smaller infractions against others within one’s community. 

In other words, Jesus’ rhetorical technique here is to create agreement with his audience on the easiest points first before moving to those points where it is less likely that there will be widespread agreement.

In each example that Jesus provides, Jesus notes the minimal requirement of the law before articulating an ethic that exceeds that most basic obligation. In each case, this ethic appears to be informed by the values of trust and compassion within community.

As we heard today, Jesus tells us “You shall not murder,” which reminds us and Jesus’ Jewish followers on the mount of the ten commandments. I believe that all of us, like the majority of Jesus original followers, hear Jesus’ words of “You shall not murder” and wholeheartedly agree that our community is so much better without murder in it. 

But that’s the minimal requirement of us. 

Jesus says murder violates trust and compassion within a community, to which we all agree, but when we agree, Jesus pushes the teaching to a deeper, more complex level. 

Jesus boldly states, “But I say to you…” Anger. Judgement. Name-calling. Gossip. All of that is equal to murder. 

Anger. Judgement. Name-calling, and Gossip also violate trust and compassion within a community. Do we still agree? I bet we do. But do we agree that name-calling is the same as murder? I bet we struggle a bit with that teaching. 

Especially if we are fully honest about our own moments of anger, judgement, name-calling, or gossip. We don’t need a show of hands to reveal most of us would be found guilty of at least one of those four at times throughout our lives, or perhaps even just in this last year. I am. I admit I have been guilty of anger and its consequences. 

You know the short children’s rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We teach it to children as a defense against name-calling and bullying. 

Well Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, would say “Sticks and stones may break your bones… ‘But I say to you’ words kill.”

“But I say to you!” Words kill.

When Jesus is preaching his sermon on his mount, he is asking his disciples to recall and reinvest in their community through their ancient, trustworthy laws and traditions. He is asking them to remember their faith in God, their values in life, and their vision as a community. 

And when he does, he is asking them to follow something they already value, such as the ten commandments, or the Law. He is not replacing any of their values, but rather, Jesus is emphasizing them. He is intensifying them. He is expecting his followers to be better than the bare minimum.

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’”? 

Yes! We don’t murder! We don’t kill! We’ve never ended another’s life! 

“But I say to you… The simple moral fact is that words kill.” 

Oh… well I may have called my sibling stupid… and well I did call neighbor an idiot… oh, I also called that person evil because I disagreed with them. You’re saying I can’t do that anymore? Oh boy… 

Jesus is expecting his followers to be better than the bare minimum because he knows we can better. The community Jesus calls us to be is better than the bare minimum. Wouldn’t you agree that is true about First Presbyterian? We are better than the bare minimum. Would you even join a community that only does the bare minimum? I mean, I want to surround myself with like-minded people of faith who are also trying to better their lives and the world we are a part of. It’s why I accepted this call in the first-place, because our community values our community and the people in and around it. 

Jesus is always challenging us to dig deeper into our call to righteousness, to align our lives with divine values, and to commit ourselves to the transformative power of God’s law and commandments.

So here, Jesus teaches, it is insufficient to avoid murdering someone. Certain kinds of anger and insult are a bad enough form of violence. If any of us commit this infraction, we collectively have broken the Law. And when God’s law is broken, God calls for reconciliation.

Jesus’ sermon continues by saying reconciliation is a prerequisite before we even come to church and honor God in worship. Broken relationships within a community are not just social obstacles among us but also hurt our relationship with God. So if any of us have committed murder to one’s Spirit with our hurtful words, we must repair that relationship first before we try to continue our relationship with God. Hear that again. It’s that important. We must repair any broken relationship firsts before we try to continue our relationship with God.

The command give to us “not to murder” extends even beyond the taking of life. It is also the command to reject the deterioration of someone’s character. Jesus’ words tell us that name-calling or insulting holds the same abusive power as murder. And with this in mind, what is the opposite of murder? If Jesus tells us to “Do Not Murder” and that “Words Kills”, what must we do as the opposite to not only follow the law but to embrace it? 

If hurting someone’s spirit through insults or gossip is equivalent to murder, raising someone up through genuine affirmations and support is equivalent to life-giving. 

There is love, compassion, and trust within a community when the relationships are life-giving.

And communities will be divided and fall apart when the relationships within them are not. 

Local church division is a recurring theme in the Corinthian correspondence. The Corinthian believers were splitting into factions along the lines of their favorite leaders or preachers. Specifically, the Corinthians tried to place Apollos and Paul in competition with one another, giving preference to their styles of teaching or display of human wisdom.

In opposition to this, Paul corrects their misplaced loyalties for himself and Apollos by reminding them they were both mere servants of the Lord fulfilling their call. Nothing marked either Paul or Apollos as extra special for who they were or what they did. Paul goes on to explain this succinctly by employing a farming metaphor: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth”

With this agricultural insight, Paul diffuses all talk of giving greater prominence to any of the Lord’s servants. Since neither planting nor watering on its own could bring forth fruit, it follows that Paul or Apollos’ continued preaching or teaching is of greater value than the either. Instead, since ultimately God is the one who produces the growth, God is the only one worthy of all admiration, glory, and praise.

And to criticize one leader over another simply only stunts the growth of the individual, because it hurts the relationship between the individual and that leader, therefore it hurts the relationship between the community and God. 

Alternatively, Paul gives the Corinthian church a vision for how leadership should work together in the cultivation of God’s field. As co-laborers, both “the one who plants and the one who waters” participate in the common task of building up God’s church. Instead of quarreling over who is the better leader or who preaches better, Paul invites us to rethink the nature of church ministry as a collaborative effort by all those who are called to be God’s servants. This is the beauty of the farming motif closely followed by Paul in this passage: laboring in the church is a group effort and, in the end, God gets all the credit. But we get all the reward.

Let us reap the reward of our community by emphasizing the very relationships we are gifted within this community. Every leader, every member. Our life-giving relationships draw us nearer to the God we worship.   

In our community, what obligations are Jesus’ sermon calling us to embrace? 

In short, Jesus centers the construction of a particular kind of community, one organized around love and not power. It is also a community that values trust and the deep commitments God’s children make to one another. 

In the end, why did God give us the commandments and why did Jesus intensify them? They are not a checklist of morality but rather a guide to flourishing in life. They are not a baseline to human decency but rather instructions to embodied, relational, transformative encounters with all whom we meet. They are not hurdles to righteousness but rather a path of wholeness for all of us. These are the values for God’s community, and these are the values of our community. 

Sticks and stones may break our bones… or COVID and transitions may tear us down to death, but words and our relationships with one another bring us up; they give us life. And in this Christian community, we know: life always triumphs over death. 

Thanks be to God. Amen. 

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James, Laura. Sermon on the Mount, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57891 [retrieved February 13, 2023]. Original source: Laura James, https://www.laurajamesart.com/collections/religious/.

Be the Light

 “Be the Light” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on January 8, 2023. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 36:34.

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Scripture Text:
Matthew 2:1-12, Matthew 3:13-17

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Today in worship, we celebrate Epiphany, a day for revelation and direction. We celebrate this day to commemorate the Magis’ visit to Jesus by following the star. When they arrived on the scene with Mary and Joseph and that child in their arms, the Magi make an epiphany of who is before them. With great joy, they recognize this child as the King of the Jews, the ruler that had been promised to them. Today we celebrate that revelation; that moment of divine introduction of Christ to the World. 

Today we also celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. With the story of John the Baptism baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River, we remember our own baptisms. We remember the claim that God has over each of us with a seal of ultimate love and grace. We get to witness this sign and seal as we celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Today we celebrate new life in Christ. 

And today is one of the first Sundays in 2023. This is the New Year! Today is a day of revelation, direction, newness, celebration – all the good things! Happy New Year, my friends. Today is a good day. 

The word “Epiphany” means “showing” or “shining forth” – which is fitting because on Christmas we celebrated the light of the world being born. Today we recognize that divine light shining forth from the Christ Child. This is the light of all life. It is the Light in which all things come to be and find their purpose. It is the Light at the heart of everything, the heart of me and the heart of you. And as scripture reminds us, “The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.” 

The Magi came to study this Light, although at first, they did not know this Light was human, let alone a child. 

But first I need to correct something. The New Revised Standard Version translation of Scripture is the translation I use most. It’s the translation we just heard for Matthew 2 & 3; it’s the translation we use in our pew Bibles. The New Revised Standard Version is accessible for people of all ages, accurate to the original text, and inclusive for most people in the modern world. However, the NRSV translation of Matthew chapter 2, uses an inaccurate translation of the Magi, because today you heard “wise men”. The new updated version of the New Revised Standard Version replaces “wise men” with “Magi” but we don’t have the updated version. 

Here's why this is important. 

The Greek words used, Magoi and Magous, translates to Magi, an indefinite number of astrological-priests. While I’m sure they were wise, I don’t think this is their best descriptor because it’s not precise enough about their identity in the story. And although I like the hymn we will sing in later in this service, the Magi were also not kings nor any high political leaders. These identities miss the mark of the identity of the Magi, so I, and maybe you too, need to know the Magi as Magi, as magicians, as sorcerers, as astronomers. This is who they were.

The Magi were priests who studied the light and stars, but not for the sake of science, but for the sake of prophecy. The Magi studied the stars to interpret the present and to forecast the future. They were ancient horoscope writers. And although actual Kings, such as Herod, occasionally utilized their services—their predictions of what is and what is to come—they weren’t exactly seen in the highest regard, especially in the eyes of a Jewish audience, in which the Gospel of Matthew was written.

But this isn’t too surprising; that they wouldn’t be seen in the highest regard. Jesus, who would one day spend most of his ministry hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes, was known to spend his time with what was considered the wrong sort of people. And it starts here, at his young age, God choosing to fill important, essential role with the wrong sort of people. It was to the Magi, through a moment of great joy that Christ was revealed as the Son of God and as God incarnate, the Word made flesh. And then through this revelation, the identity of Christ is not revealed only to the Magi, but to all for the first time; the Jews and the Gentiles. Which is why we still celebrate Epiphany today.

See, the reason it’s important to note that the Magi were astronomers and magicians is because they discovered Jesus for the first time by doing what they do. It was God who first came to them. They were practicing magic and studying the stars. Jesus was made known to them when his star rose into the sky, a star that led the Magi to him, a star that was created and guided by God.

By doing what they do—by studying the stars, God made the Christ-child known to them. And when God did this, the Magi could now choose how they would respond. They could now continue to study the stars near their homes or they could follow that rising star to Jesus. The miracle here is they chose to leave what they were doing to follow that star.

Of course, it was also King Herod, after the Magi respond to the rising star, who sends them to Bethlehem, saying that when they find the child, they must return to him with the child’s location. But then it happens again, when the star stops overhead of Christ, after they see the child and are overwhelmed with joy, after they present Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; God comes to the Magi again. This time, through a dream, the Magi are warned not to return to the king that sent them. Once again, they had options of how they could respond; they could return to the king that had sent them, probably with the guarantee of rewards and riches, or they could return to their homes by another road. The miracle here is the Magi chose to disobey the king and instead they returned to their homes, changed for good by the Light found in the Christ Child.

God reveals Godself to the Magi; twice, once in the rising of a star and once in a dream; and both times the Magi respond with faithfulness to do the right thing.

And I think that each time the Magi chose to act with faith, they did so despite their fear; their fear of leaving their homes and their fear of disobeying the king. 

We can relate to that. It’s always a beautiful thing for Epiphany to occur about the start of the New Year. Perhaps for some it’s a time where we turn our own revelations into resolutions for this upcoming year. To do this, many take the New Year as a time to reflect on all that occurred over the past year. 

One of my reflections that I had, not only as clergy but as a disciple of Christ, was the fear that I carried with me nearly every single week. Fear with what happened the in the week prior, fear of what might happen next, even the fear of what to say to those who were hurting. Perhaps you at one point over this past year have carried this fear as well. Perhaps you carry it now.

I saw a post on social media earlier this week; it was life advice from a group of 90 year olds that they would give to their 32 year old selves. It included things like dance until your feet are sore, travel more; laugh loudly, smile and say good morning, spread love, etc etc. 

One of the pieces of advice said, “Don’t fear sadness, as it tends to sit right next to love.” 

And maybe that is why I’ve carried fear with me every week, as I also carry so much love. As I know all of you too. I know where your fear comes from, even if any of us don’t always like to admit that we are afraid. 

There is so much love in this community; love for each other, love for the world, and love for God. So much love in fact that fear can only come naturally with it. 

So how will we approach our fear this year? Fear and whatever else we may be feeling or experiencing. 

There’s a pretty well-known Epiphany discipline that many churches practice including our own. It’s called “Star Words.” As part of the worship service, each person is given a star with a single word written on it. They then use this word to navigate the new year, to serve as a tool for discernment and prayer, to guide them closer to Christ.  

These Words “shine forth” as a guide to the Light that is Christ. 

Think about it. The Magi were doing what they do, living their lives, when one night, they saw something different—a star that shone so brightly, they were compelled to follow it. 

Just as the Christmas star once shined for all people to see, the light of Christ still shines for all people. For us, we can see this Light even in a Word the Spirit chooses for us. 

May we use these star words as reminders of the Christmas star we invite into our lives so that we might be led toward Jesus Christ.

Whatever Star Word is chosen for you, embrace it. Don’t linger too much on your initial reaction, good or bad. Don’t expect to be instantly changed. Don’t ask for a different word. Sit with whatever you are given. And believe God wants to have that word, whatever it may be, as your guide this year. 

Amanda Gorman, our nation’s first ever youth poet laureate, in her poem The Hill We Climb, concludes with these words: 

     “When day comes we step out of the shade,
     aflame and unafraid
     The new dawn blooms as we free it
     For there is always light,
     if only we’re brave enough to see it
     If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

Be a light! Use your Word to be more Christ-like. Walk like Jesus this year. Be a light for yourself and others. 

Jesus himself used his light to make this world a better place. And that is what we will do. Jesus spent his entire life surrounding himself with the “wrong” sort of people – the Magi, tax collectors, prostitutes – the “sinners” – and yet with every person Jesus encountered, he offered forgiveness and he extended mercy. He sought out a ministry in which he served those who were considered “the least of these,” or those on the margins of society: the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the blind. He would look at them and remember them for who they are: children of God. Christ lifted up their light, so it could shine forth and be brighter for others. Today we are called to shine forth our lights and be a light of Christ in this world. We are called to go out and spread this light of Christ with everyone we encounter; there is enough grace to share. 

Be who God made you to be this year. Live honestly and authentically. But let the Christ light shine forth through you. Make the light of Christ brighter by doing what you do. Somewhere along the way, you might just find yourself heading down a different road, changed and transformed, sharing the light of Christ with those who also need it.  

The Magi modeled themselves after the same Christ-child they went to visit. They took his light and made it brighter. They were Christ-like in their courage. And I trust that is how God will lead me and how God will lead you—lead all of us—into 2023. That’s our revelation; this is our Epiphany.

God will reveal Godself to us. Perhaps as a star or in a dream, perhaps through movements or stories made known, or perhaps here in this church or as we go out in the community, God is present and God is doing something. God is revealing Godself. And you are there in the midst of it, and God is giving you the opportunity to do something. 

Consider the areas of darkness in your own life or in the lives of others, the areas of fear. And then look for that revelation of Christ. A star of light arises; go forth, my friends, and follow. Be transformed. Shine forth. Be a light. Blaze a trail. 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God. Amen.

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