Law and Order

Matthew 5:1-13

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled under foot.”

Sermon

We’re going to start off with one great big question: was Jesus a “law and order” kind of guy?

Was Jesus a “law and order” kind of guy?

For some of us, the answer to this question leads us to believe Jesus was some kind of spiritual, apolitical teacher — we think Jesus might be some kind of radical centrist. You might be in this camp if you’re already bristling in your pew, and starting to brainstorm a strongly-worded email to the pastor. For others of us, the answer to this question leads us to believe Jesus was a rabble-rouser, living a life of radical opposition to Rome and religious leaders. You might be in this camp if you want the pastor to throw unapologetic punches at hot-button issues.

But let’s explore this question as to whether Jesus was a law-and-order kind of guy, and let’s start here in the beatitudes.

The very first word Jesus uses—the one we translate as “blessed”—often feels like some kind of spiritual mumbo jumbo. We might be tempted to think it is some sort of guarantee that good things will happen, or that we’ll get some bonus points with God. But this word “blessed” is none of those things. 

This Greek word we sometimes translate as “blessed” was partly a claim in secular Roman society about one’s relationship to the divine. It’s translated as everything from “fortunate,” to “lucky.” We might paraphrase it as, “The merciful are fortunate to be in a right relationship with God, for they will receive mercy!” One commentator translated it as “Congratulations to the poor in spirit!” [Hare]

But this blessedness—this right relationship with God—is Jesus’ overriding priority. It is a desire for mercy, purity, compassion, comfort, and cooperation. Jesus desires for a world in which swords are beaten into plowshares, people bear one another’s burdens, and a society which rejects the impulse to fearmonger. It is a world where there’s food on the table, welcome parties for strangers, truthfulness in the mouths of rulers, and compassion for the foreigner.

In short, when we hear Jesus saying, “blessed,” again and again, we recognize that he is constantly describing these right relationships with God. These right relationships culminate in Jesus’ desire for shalom. Scholar Douglas Hare defines shalom as “harmonious cooperation aimed at the welfare of all.”

So even though we haven’t fully answered whether Jesus was a law and order guy, we know that above anything else, Jesus was a shalom guy. And we must be clear — shalom is not the same as law and order.

“In short, when we hear Jesus saying, ‘blessed,’ again and again, we recognize that he is constantly describing these right relationships with God. These right relationships culminate in Jesus’ desire for shalom.”

To try and answer this question a little better, let’s turn toward  the third-to-last beatitude: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

A few decades prior to Jesus’ birth, the Roman Empire entered into a period called the Pax Romana, or “Roman Peace.” As a result of their militaristic force, the Roman Empire eliminated a great deal of war, piracy, and other threats. This was supposedly a golden age of peace — this was a golden age of law and order.

So why on earth would Jesus say, “Blessed are the peacemakers?!” There’s no war. There’s a clear hierarchy of power. There are Roman courts and legal systems. And there’s stability across society. Yet Jesus says, “blessed are the peacemakers.”

We must conclude then, that Jesus isn’t telling the crowds to become soldiers who supposedly keep the peace, and Jesus isn’t telling the crowds to become magistrates and determine who is innocent and guilty. No, Jesus is telling his listeners to be people who labor toward shalom. Jesus is a shalom guy, and shalom is a rambunctious, holy troublemaker. Jesus knows that shalom doesn’t ignore responsibility, but instead, redefines our moral life.

…

Let’s flesh out the the difference between shalom and order. We turn back the clock to February 1956 and head into the deep south.

A woman by the name of Autherine Lucy had enrolled at the University of Alabama with her friend Pollie. Autherine was committed to getting a strong education, and wasn’t going to let anyone deny her.

There was an obstacle to that education though: she was Black, as was her friend.

The university was determined to remain segregated and prevent these women from enrolling. They successfully removed her friend Pollie by hiring private investigators to dig up dirt. Pollie had a child out of wedlock, which they used to revoke her admission.

The university, however, couldn’t find a reason to disqualify Autherine. She enrolled and started class in February 1956, and the blowback was swift.

There was violence. White citizens of Alabama flexed their power, dehumanizing their Black neighbors, and making a last-ditch power play to prevent desegregation. The KKK was burning crosses on the university campus. This wasn’t a fringe, vocal minority; it was ordinary, polite people who thought they were keeping their neighborhoods safe.

Of course, the university wanted the turmoil to end. And so, they suspended Autherine. Everything was fine now. Everything was quiet now. Finally, law and order.

But Martin Luther King, Jr. had a different take and preached this on a Sunday morning: “Yes things were quiet in Tuscaloosa. Yes there was peace on the campus, but it was peace at a great price… It was peace that had been purchased at the price of capitulating to the forces of darkness… It is the type of peace that stinks in the nostrils of the almighty God.”

“Jesus is a shalom guy, and shalom is a rambunctious, holy troublemaker. Jesus knows that shalom doesn’t ignore responsibility, but instead, redefines our moral life.”

The university wanted superficial peace, much like the Roman Empire. And the price of law and order stripped away the rights of a Black woman. But Jesus didn’t want that; Jesus demands true peace — shalom in its greatest expression.

So we see that peace is not passive, or some sort of quiet void; and Jesus doesn’t command us to some sort of law-and-order “peacekeeping,” but commands us to peace-making. Peacemaking is an active, self-sacrificing struggle for what is righteous, and a nonviolent battle for wholeness for every single person, regardless of their race, nationality, or creed. Regardless if they are white and English-speaking. Peace-making must be fixated on the welfare of every single person, not just those who are “right” or in command.

“Blessed are the peacemakers” Jesus says. Because peacemaking—shalom-making—is what brings us into that right relationship with God. Congratulations to the peacemakers, because peacemakers live in the heart of God

What we must consider is that peacemaking isn’t going to make our lives easier. If Jesus is our model for peacemaking, there’s good reason to be a little nervous, because Jesus wasn’t a law-and-order guy. He was a shalom guy.

After Jesus is born, Herod commands his military to kill all the children in Bethlehem under two years old. The reason? Law and order — Herod wanted to ensure there was not a “king of the Jews” to stir up trouble. So Jesus’ family is forced to flee to Egypt – crossing that political border, trying to escape the violence in their country.

At the end of his life, Jesus protests moneychangers in the temple, drives them away, and cries out against the wrongdoing of authorities. Why? Not because of law and order; because of shalom! Because Jesus desires humanity’s wholeness and right relationship with God.

As we know, later, Jesus is arrested for refusing to tow the party line. He is convicted — deemed to be a criminal, deemed to be a threat to the state. Then, this criminal Jesus is humiliated and abused by soldiers who maintained “law and order.” Finally, this dangerous, criminal Jesus is crucified with others as guilty as Jesus under the eyes of the law.

From Jesus’ day to ours, rulers will sooner tear-gas children, incarcerate 5-year olds, and brutalize its own subjects than compromise the facade of "law and order." And that is a deeply ironic and putrid stench to the Almighty.

This is not true peace. Because there is no peace without justice and righteousness. There is no blessing for those who place order above wholeness, or the law above what is truly right. But there is a blessedness beyond reason to those who place wholeness and righteousness above human whims.

“From Jesus’ day to ours, rulers will sooner tear-gas children, incarcerate 5-year olds, and brutalize its own subjects than compromise the facade of ‘law and order.’ And that is a deeply ironic and putrid stench to the Almighty.”

A life of peace-making doesn’t end in despair. It ends in a blessing and a celebration beyond comprehension and reason and logic. It ends in a joyful victory that breaks every law of nature. The story of peace-makers—of shalom-makers—ends in that resurrection of Jesus. It ends in wholeness. In love. The story of peace-making ends in the depths of shalom and true peace forevermore.

Sources

Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press 1993.

Martin Luther King, Jr., “When Peace Becomes Obnoxious,” March 18, 1956, https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/when-peace-becomes-obnoxious