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The Amish Voice 4

sayings and Bible verses that have

already been said by the first preacher

and the deacon, he begins to expound on

the Scripture that has been chosen by

Amish tradition to be his subject.

Today’s Scripture readings are out of

Christ’s

Sermon on the Mount

. The

deacon has read one chapter, and now the

bishop is expounding on his portion of

Scripture.

Matthew 5:17

Ihr sollt nicht wähnen,

daß ich gekommen bin, das Gesetz

oder die Propheten aufzulösen; ich

bin nicht gekommen, aufzulösen,

sondern zu erfüllen.

18

Denn ich sage euch wahrlich: Bis

daß Himmel und Erde zergehe,

wird nicht zergehen der kleinste

Buchstabe noch ein Tüttel vom

Gesetz, bis daß es alles geschehe.

19

Wer nun eines von diesen kleinsten

Geboten auflöst und lehrt die Leute

also, der wird der Kleinste heißen

im Himmelreich; wer es aber tut

und lehrt, der wird groß heißen im

Himmelreich.

20

Denn ich sage euch: Es sei denn

eure Gerechtigkeit besser als der

Schriftgelehrten und Pharisäer, so

werdet

ihr

nicht

in

das

Himmelreich kommen.

Interpreted in English:

Matthew 5:17

Think not that I am

come to destroy the law, or the

prophets: I am not come to destroy,

but to fulfil.

18

For verily I say unto you, Till

heaven and earth pass, one jot or

one tittle shall in no wise pass from

the law, till all be fulfilled.

19

Whosoever therefore shall break

one of these least commandments,

and shall teach men so, he shall be

called the least in the kingdom of

heaven: but whosoever shall do

and teach them, the same shall be

called great in the kingdom of

heaven.

20

For I say unto you, That except your

righteousness shall exceed the

righteousness of the scribes and

Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter

into the kingdom of heaven.

The words pressed down on me, and I

squirmed with discomfort on the hard

bench.

Not a single letter will pass from

the law till all will be fulfilled.

I

wondered what Jesus meant when He

said that. Who would be the one fulfilling

the law? Was I supposed to be the one

responsible for fulfilling the law to the

letter? This looked like a mountain of

impossibility. No one I knew was able to

keep the law, especially not to the letter.

No one I knew even claimed to keep the

law. In fact, everyone, including the

bishop, readily confessed that they fell far

short of keeping it. If even the preachers

were sinners and didn’t keep the law,

what hope was there for me? The

seriousness of where I would spend

eternity was so real, I wanted desperately

to do something—anything—to make

sure I ended up in the right place.

Except your righteousness is better than

the scribes and the Pharisees, you will

not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

These words added to my feeling of

hopelessness. I knew I wasn’t better than

the Pharisees, and how would I know

when I was? What could I do to make

sure that I was better than they were? I

didn’t know, except to keep trying. Once

again, I promised myself that I would do

better, that this time I would really get

serious about living a better life.

The bishop continued, quoting the words

from memory:

Matthew 7:13

Gehet ein durch die

enge Pforte. Denn die Pforte ist

weit, und der Weg ist breit, der zur

Verdammnis abführt; und ihrer sind

viele, die darauf wandeln.

14

Und die Pforte ist eng, und der Weg

ist schmal, der zum Leben führt; und

wenige sind ihrer, die ihn finden.

Interpreted in English:

Matthew 7:13

Enter ye in at the strait

gate: for wide is the gate, and broad

is the way, that leadeth to

destruction, and many there be

which go in thereat:

14

Because strait is the gate, and

narrow is the way, which leadeth

unto life, and few there be that find

it.

The question of my life was whether I

was on the narrow road that leads to life

or on the broad one that leads to

damnation. The problem was, I didn’t

know. Certain days I was satisfied

enough with my life that I thought maybe

I was on the right road, but then I would

do, say, or think something that would

cause me to question whether I was.

Sometimes I wished that I would at least

know that I was on the broad road. That

way I would know where I was headed

and could do something about it. This

uncertainty and constant wondering if I

was headed for heaven or hell was

miserable and hopeless, and I longed for

a way to know for certain.

I was told that the Amish way is the

narrow way that leads to life. Sometimes

I believed it, but most of the time I

questioned it. If it really was, then why is

there no Amish person who knows

whether he is going to heaven or hell?

More personally, since I was Amish, why

didn’t I have confidence that I was on the

right road? I guessed maybe I just wasn’t

a good enough Amish person, or that

maybe it was because I hadn’t yet joined

the church. Yet, when I saw my Amish

friends and neighbors, I got the feeling

they didn’t know where they were

headed, either. I hoped the Amish way

was not what Jesus meant, because I was

Amish and I wasn’t convinced that I was

on it, and I didn’t want my entire life to