Sermon Preached at The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia Sunday February 16th 2 1!

, The Re"erend #lan $eale, %Really&'

Today(s )ospel propels us once a*ain into the e+otic and, for the stereotypical ,piscopalian, stran*e land of hyperbole.e tend to /ant literally a spade to mean a spade, /e tend to be /0e1ary of e+cessi"e passion, /e tend 0in the /ords of 2ishop 2utler to 3ohn .esley1 to consider enthusiasm to be a %horrid thin*, a "ery horrid thin* indeed'#nd to us sedate, stable and solid souls the use of hyperbole may sometimes seem to e+press all that is /ron* /ith /anton e+cess and la"ish self4indul*ence.e 5no/ that hyperbole is the use of e+a**eration as a rhetorical de"ice or fi*ure of speech- .e 5no/ hyperbole may be used to e"o5e stron* feelin*s or to create a stron* impression and is not meant to be ta5en literally- 2ut its use is some/hat disturbin* 6 /e /ant to as5 %really&' or %do 7 understand you correctly' /ithout seemin* prosaic, dull and pedestrian8aybe President Carter should ha"e thou*ht a little more about hyperbole before he *a"e his famous response in a Playboy 7nter"ie/, 7 ha"e 9loo5ed on a lot of /omen /ith lust9 and ha"e 9committed adultery in my heart many times'8aybe the early church father :ri*en should ha"e thou*ht a little more about hyperbole before he castrated himself in response to 8atthe/ ;<2=4> Today(s )ospel 08atthe/ ;<214261 opens /ith an*er- 7s it to be read as hyperbole or ta5en as literal truth& .hat /ould /e happen if /e too5 these "erses literally, if before recei"in* communion /e left the church to see5 reconciliation and peace& #t least, than5 )od, the )ospel directi"e is to lea"e *ifts at the altar? than5 )od church finances /ould not be affected, ho/ reasonable of 3esus@ Aou see, before /e /end our /ay do/n salacious a"enues of lust, di"orce, castration and physical dismemberment for spiritual *ood? ho/ about /e spend a little time thin5in* about an*er and reluctance to pursue peace /ith our nei*hbor 0and don(t dare as5, %#nd /ho is my nei*hbor&'1- $ote /ith me that in today(s )ospel 3esus spends fi"e "erses on an*er, t/o on adultery, t/o on dismemberment and t/o on di"orce- .hy is it 0rhetorical question of course1, /hy is that /e ne*lect to notice /here 3esus ma5es his emphasis&

7 really don(t /ant to deter spiritual 5eenness and radical discipleship but /e(re a*reed, aren(t /e, that the /hole %lea"e your *ift at the altar' thin* is hyperbole& Aes& .hat do you thin5& 3esus /ants to e"o5e stron* feelin*s, to create a stron* impressionB he /ants us to stop and pay attention- Friends, this an*er thin* really, really matters#n*er ris5s personal dama*e 08atthe/ ;<22 6 the an*ry person is liable to Cud*ment1, #n*er ris5s social alienation 08atthe/ ;<22 6 the an*ry person ris5s punishment by the council1 and #n*er ris5s alienation from )od 08atthe/ ;<2> 6 the an*ry person needs to separate themsel"es from the community and /orship of )od(s people and, maybe, this happens /ith or /ithout
21-22 Youre familiar with the command to the ancients, Do not murder. Im telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. arelessly call a brother idiot! and you "ust might find yourself hauled into court. #houghtlessly yell stu$id! at a sister and you are on the brin% of hellfire. #he sim$le moral fact is that words %ill. 2&-2' #his is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your $lace of worshi$ and, about to ma%e an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, lea(e immediately, go to this friend and ma%e things right. #hen and only then, come bac% and wor% things out with )od* + ,essage #ranslation.

7n these "erses from the Sermon on the 8ount, 3esus is describin* the altar, the place of community /orship, as the site for authentic transformationHere /e dare to be authentic, honest, true- Here /e dare to let drop faDade, pretense, "eneer#nd /e do this because /e *ro/ in faith that )od has made us, 5no/s us, lo"es us and accepts us- This is primal, mythic life4chan*in* stuff- Here /e need not spea5 the lan*ua*e of denial but the lan*ua*e of honesty and inte*rity, hesitant but insistent2ut, than5 )od, this is not only the place for honest self4appraisal but also for transformationB perfection maybe rarely but pro*ress al/ays 6 this is our pro*ram /ith the Eord7f you, if 7, this mornin* feel some ni**lin* inner "oice promptin* us to see5 peace, to be*in a mo"ement to/ards reconciliation 6 listen to it, be honest and 5no/ that the po/er of the Holy Spirit is there to effect radical and authentic transformation 6 and this is no hyperbole@

:n pa*e 66 of #lcoholics #nonymous 2ill .ilson /rites, %7f /e /ere to li"e, /e had to be free of an*er- --- 07t1 is the dubious lu+ury of normal 0people1, but for 0us1 these thin*s are poison',"en if you are happy to be called Fnormal( 0a dubious compliment1, dare you, dare 7, ris5 bein* an*ry 6 a %dubious lu+ury'& 7t is a poison to the soul and this is no hyperbole@ #men@