Matthew Pt2

17 "Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
19 Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

If I understand this correctly, what he's actually saying is that in order to be really holy you have to do both. One of the biggest conflicts between the Big Three faiths and all their various sub sects is the debate over which is more important- works, rules or faith. But the fact is, they're all tangled up together and interdependent on each other. Christians say they don't need all those minute and picky rules that Judaism and Islam have, yet they just end up creating their own set of rules and trying to push them on people. So far, nobody seems to have done what they should be doing, whether Jew or Christian or Muslim.


21 "You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones,'You shall not murder;' and'Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.'
22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother,' Raca!' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say,'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.


The most important thing of all is how people treat each other. We all have a tendency to spend our time coming up with convoluted ways of justifying which rules we do and do not follow. We expend so much effort doing this that we often don't have time to include things like love and compassion.

An American missionary wanted to go into New York City and preach to the homeless. He decided that he was going to rely totally on God to take care of him. So he didn't bring much money, didn't even rent a hotel room. His only contact in the city was the Jews for Jesus headquarters. When he finally arrived at the building-lost, starving, exhausted and broke, they invited him in. They have him some coffee,let him use their bathroom and sent him on his way.

There were no offers to let him stay at one of their homes. There was no effort to find him a place, or a job, they didn't even feed him. No one offered to drive him to the YMCA! They let a kid from the Midwest wander around NYC in the 1970s, *alone* with *no money* and *nowhere to stay*. This was a group of people trying desperately to convince everyone that Judaism and Christianity can be compatible, and yet they failed at one of the cardinal requirements of both faiths!

When I was searching for a new church last year I went to one I really liked. It was big enough for me without being too scarily huge. The people seemed nice, and it was close to home. The doctrines didn't conflict with anything I believe (it was UCC) as far as I knew. So I went to their information table and signed up to be contacted.

I was never contacted. They were all so busy with their lifegroups, and plays and rock band and building projects and two dvd enhanced worship services on Sunday mornings and coordinated parking and murals on the Sunday School classroom walls and sterling silver coffee pots and charity toy drives that they forgot to- you know- call someone who wanted to be reached out to.

6:9
9 "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. F47 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us to the time of trial, F48 but rescue us from the evil one. F49 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

That's from the New Revised Standard Version. It's supposed to be much better, but the rhythm and the poetry is off. Much as I hate to say this, the King James version sounds so much prettier.

Our Father which art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.

The "power and glory" line is not included by many people. But basically this is one of the most famous prayers in Christianity and it's even acquired a deeply magical significance. It was used as a protection ritual in many Christianity based magical systems, as well as a test for witch hunters to discover witches. If a person couldn't say the whole thing, they were a witch, or if they could say it backwards, they were a witch.

I don't think Jesus meant for it to become a formal liturgy, but post Jesus Christians didn't have much in the way of a liturgy, especially not for common folk who might not be able to read, so it worked well as a universal prayer. More people can recite this than can say the Beatitudes, the Ten Commandments or the Nicean Creed.
6:21-24
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Huh? I admit it, I don't understand this one. I'll work on figuring it out.


24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Mammon is commonly thought to mean "money". Usually a demon or Dark deity associated with greed. For lots of people, money becomes their master, their religion.
7:7
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

The words and location of this verse gave me an idea, but I won't elaborate on it here in case it disappears on me.
8:5-10

5 And Jesus having entered into Capernaum, there came to him a centurion calling upon him,
6 and saying, 'Sir, my young man hath been laid in the house a paralytic, fearfully afflicted,'
7 and Jesus saith to him, 'I, having come, will heal him.'

A lot of people think the soldier is referring to his lover. It was a notorious practice among wealthy Roman men, owning male slaves reserved just for sex, or simply taking up with a young man. It's something Paul seems to get really upset about, which makes people wonder. Anyway, Jesus doesn't react with disgust (although he doesn't go and visit the boy either).

8:14
And Jesus having come into the house of Peter, saw his mother-in-law laid, and fevered,

So, we meet Peter's mother in law. Peter is apparently married, and indeed in another Gospel Peter mentions he's got a son, Mark. But where is Peter's wife? Who is she? Is she perhaps dead? Or did she travel with them? I know women weren't thought of as important enough to mention, yet that only means that when one is mentioned, she's really, really important.

8:18-28
and lo, a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves, but he was sleeping,
25 and his disciples having come to him, awoke him, saying, 'Sir, save us; we are perishing.'
26 And he saith to them, 'Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?' Then having risen, he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm;
27 and the men wondered, saying, 'What kind -- is this, that even the wind and the sea do obey him?'

I think this is funny. Jesus is shown both being very human (he's cranky about being woken up from his nap) and possessing divine powers. It's much harder to control the weather than it is to heal people. Healing is a rare gift, but hundreds of people throughout history have possessed it. Controlling the weather? Even more rare. But if you pray hard enough, perhaps it could be accomplished. There's a lot a person with considerable magical power who also has deep faith in God can manage to do. You laugh, because I sound like some wacko Pentecostal, but it's true.

10:28

28 And be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul, but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna.

That's from Young's Literal Translation. The King James uses the word "hell", which of course, these people did not believe human souls could be sentenced to. Gehenna would make such a pretty name for a girl. If you wanted her to you know, hate you for the rest of her life.

11:15
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

This verse reminds me of a perfect example of "having ears to hear". A piece of art changes when you understand the backstory and the little codes artists include in their work. I rented the movie "Greencard" last year. It wasn't my first time seeing the movie, but this time I understood it better. Throughout the entire movie, there are constant baffling references to Africa. Since the story takes place in Manhatten, and ninety nine percent of the main characters are white Americans, what on earth does this story about an American botanist and her fake French husband have to do with Africa? Why is the closing song a rousing rendition of "Eyes on the Prize", the anthem of the black civil rights movement?

It's a movie about cultural harmony, two people who fall in love even though they shouldn't be together. And the story takes place in the late 1980s, at the height of…. the movement to end Apartied in South Africa. The whole movie is a not so subtle protest in favor of the rights of black Africans.

"Napoleon Dynamite" is a satire of "Donnie Darko", but you might not figure this out if you've never seen "Donnie Darko". And if you didn't get "Donnie Darko" you won't get "Napoleon Dynamite".