Less of the blah blah blah

Text: Matthew 7:21-29

Blah blah blah.

We are none of us short of words. We are generous to a fault with the words that come from our mouths. We are rich to overflowing with the abundance of words that come to our ears and eyes. Everybody has something to say and there are lots of ways they can tell us about it. We are a wordy culture. Words are the primary output of our economy. Words, more often than things, are what we work with.

Not all words are reliable. We have words for meaningless words: Words are cheap. It is easy for you to say. Do as I say, not as I do. Words are untrustworthy. I misspoke, the man said.

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will get what he or she expects, Jesus says. We can say, “Lord, Lord,” until the cows come home, Jesus says. It is just so many words. You’ll say: Didn’t I quote you on this or that, didn’t I invoke your name for this or that. “Jesus says such and such.” And Jesus will say, “I never knew you.” He’ll say, “Go away.” In our Bible Jesus calls them evildoers, but what he really calls them is “people who know the law, the rules, but don’t follow them.” All words, no action, would be a good way to say it. Talk the talk but can’t walk the walk.

Christianity has come to the sorry state that we are known more for what we say than what we do. We are not the light to the nations that we might be, serving by our example—by our actions—to show the benefits of a godly life. We favor proclamation to action. We are easily, and often rightly, called hypocrites. We have come to interpret the motto “faith, not works” as meaning “say stuff, don’t do stuff.” That is not, especially in this passage of Matthew, that is not what Jesus told us.

Jesus talks here about two kinds of people. People who hear these words of his and put them into practice. And people who hear these words of his and do not put them into practice. Both of these kinds of people could claim to be followers of Jesus. Following Jesus is not what separates these two kinds of people. Both could listen intently, seriously, and honestly to what Jesus said. The distinction is not about belief, or praise, or reverence. It is putting words—“these words of mine”—into practice.

What are “these words of mine,” that Jesus mentions? This passage in Matthew contains the closing words of the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon, these words, are the great ethical teachings of Jesus. “Lord, Lord,” is how students in Jesus time called on their teachers. Jesus has taught his followers how to behave. These are the words to which he refers.

It is not surprising that we give lip service to these teachings. They are really hard. Don’t kill. Don’t even get angry. Stay true to your word. Can you do that? Don’t grandstand: pray and give and fast in secret; it’s between you and God. Tough, but they get tougher. When someone begs from you, give them what they ask for. Can you do that? When someone demands something of you, give twice what they demand. Don’t amass wealth. Tougher still: don’t resist evildoers. If someone attacks you, don’t fight back. Can you do that? Love your enemies. And the toughest of all: don’t judge others. Can you do that? These words are easy to admire—or sometimes not even—but these words are hard to obey. Hard to put into practice.

Jesus must have known that. He talks about two kinds of people, but he does not condemn them. He does not say that one is better than the other. What he does say is that one is foolish and the other is wise. That’s a practical distinction, not a moral one. Something that is foolish is something that is dumb (the Greek word that Jesus uses is the root of the English word “moron”)—it is dumb and will probably get you in trouble. Something wise is smart and will probably bring you to success in your endeavors. If you want to build a nice house that will last a while, start with a foundation. If you want a house that will fall down in a couple of weeks, skip the foundation. That’s not moral advice, not spiritual advice, not idealistic advice. It is practical advice.

As hard as it is for us to believe, it must be wiser to do what Jesus says than to not. It must be wiser to put Jesus’ words into practice than not to. Jesus words are instructions to the world: if you want to build a good world, follow these instructions. Do what I say. Read the manual. Then do what it says. Not because that will make us better Christians, whatever that means. But because it is wise, practical, and effective to do so. We should try it, see if we get better results than we have so far.

Sand and rock are two ends of a continuum. Two extremes. No one would really build a house on sand. Everyone wants to build a house on rock (or at least concrete: which is modern rock). No one wants to be stupid. Everyone wants to act wisely.

But there are not two kinds of people in the world. None of us is just one kind or another. Sometimes we are foolish and other times we are wise. Sometimes we do what Jesus asks of us (more or less). Sometimes we do not. Sometimes we follow our best urgings and sometimes our worst. Sometimes we are compassionate and generous and humble. Sometimes we nasty and greedy and arrogant.

The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount are commandments. The story in Matthew is much like the story of Moses and the giving of the law to God’s people at Sinai. This is no doubt intentional. Matthew wants to show us how the Sermon on the Mount is like the Hebrew law. For Christians, the words of Jesus carry as much authority as the law, as much as the Ten Commandments.

Like the law, the words of Jesus are words to live by. Not words to quote. They are our legacy. Our inheritance. We have been given these rules—these instructions—that tell us in practical terms the wisest things to do.

In the season of Pentecost we will read a lot about the teachings of Jesus and the things he did day to day. There are plenty of other times to talk about belief and theology and doctrine. There are plenty of times to proclaim our faith and our hopes. But now, especially at this beginning of the mundane season of the church, it might be wise for us to throttle back on the blah blah blah. And to practice what Jesus preaches.