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Morning Devotion for the Season of Lent

March 3, 2023

The Invitatory

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading: Matthew 5:20-26

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Tread very carefully here. My advice is do not even try to take this on. These words are much like Jesus’ warning in Mark’s Gospel, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Take a deep breath and try to enjoy the irony. We and the disciples often struggle to parse these words to see how our righteousness measures up or to identify among our possessions those which we own and those which are God’s. These are pointless exercises. How does one locate within one’s self one’s righteousness? It does not seem possible for any human being to lay claim to such a quality. Does one keep an up to date inventory of the possessions that properly belong to the emperor, or read here, President Biden and those that belong to the individual?

How do we understand righteousness? In Scripture righteousness is conduct or activity appropriate to a relationship rather than an inherent quality, an attribute or an absolute moral norm. Consider all the relationships a person finds himself in. How could one possibly calculate how that person’s righteousness exceeds anyone’s! It is impossible! Then consider the righteousness of God, that is God’s own saving power or activity which is a gift to all. It would be impossible to meet this challenge that Jesus puts to his disciples. Similarly, when completed can you be confident how many of your possessions are truly yours or even the emperor’s/Biden’s? Take, for example, the air one breathes, or the water one drinks, the sunshine in which one basks or the rain that waters one’s garden or crops. At the end of the day, think of all that is made a gift to you among your possessions by God. The whole creation is God’s and it is hubris to attempt to create an inventory of our possessions and the emperor’s.

Jesus’ warnings are daunting — refuse to harbor anger, honor promises whether in marriage or to your neighbors, desire justice so much that you would rather suffer a wrong than impose one on another, love your enemies and pray to God on their behalf. These teachings indicate that what a person does is only part of the problem.

Wednesday morning I was struck by these words in the Jubilate: “Be ye sure that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” (These words made such an impression that I resolved to print them and mount them on my bathroom mirror so that every morning I might remind myself of the order of things in life. We have not made ourselves. God has. That is the direction and reminder that I need.) The righteousness for which we strive or the possessions we feel we must account for or sort out are not our doing. We must allow the room for God to give us direction and strength to honor our neighbors so that his righteousness might prevail.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

   hallowed be thy Name,

   thy kingdom come,

   thy will be done,

       on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

   as we forgive those

       who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

   but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

   and the power, and the glory,

   for ever and ever. Amen.