Meditation on Deut.
30, select verses
***
When all these things have
happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if
you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your
God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey him
with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you
today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have
compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your
God has scattered you. Even if you are exiled to the ends of the
world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from
there he will bring you back….
Moreover, the Lord your
God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you
will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul, in order that you may live. … Then you shall again obey the Lord, observing all his commandments that I am
commanding you today… and the Lord will again take delight in prospering
you … because you turn to the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Surely,
this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is
it too far away. It is not in
heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for
us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither
is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of
the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it
is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
***
Someone asked me once if Pastor Jim and
I compare notes before we write our sermons each week for our congregations. They
wondered if we took turns writing—and used the same sermon at both churches.
No, we don’t take turns writing sermons
for each other. That would never work for us! But we do discuss the scriptures sometimes—and
we usually come up with completely different messages.
But early this week, when Jim and I looked
over the readings, especially the gospel, we had a similar response.
I said, “Again? Didn’t we have this
scripture just a little while ago?”
Jim
had already come up with his sermon title, “Once more—with feeling.”
It’s
the part in Matthew when the Pharisees ask Jesus, “What is the greatest
commandment?” And the Lord answers,‘ “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And
a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’
As
we talked about the passage—and our similar response, it occurred to us that
Jesus often repeated himself. Many of his teachings and parables had the same
or similar message—love the Lord your God and love your neighbor, too.
Sounds straightforward enough, right? Love
God and neighbor? Then why did Jesus have to say it over and over again—and so many different
ways?
Because people weren’t doing it! They weren’t listening! They didn’t
want to love God the way Jesus told them to love—with all heart, soul, mind and
might! And they definitely didn’t want to love all of their neighbors—whether their
neighbor was a fellow Jew or someone of a different faith.
Then Jim and I
asked, “What about us? Do we love God the way the Lord wants us to? Do we love our
neighbors, too?”
It didn’t take us long to come up with an
answer. “No.” No one loves the way Christ commands us to love. Human beings are
conditional in their love. We love someone until that person hurts us; then we
don’t want to love them anymore. Our love for God also waxes and wanes. Love with
all heart, soul, mind, and might would mean that nothing would ever draw us
away from our gathering for worship—not work, family, school or recreational
activities; we would never take a vacation from church and our prayers truly
would be without ceasing. Our calendars would be filled with ministry activities, instead
of the many other things we enjoy. We would give more money to the poor and
help more people in need. We would do as Jesus tells Peter, “If you love me,
feed my sheep. Tend my lambs.”
Everyone knows the greatest
commandment—and the second one, too. We have all heard “love God and neighbor.”
But Christ’s commands are just too hard to do.
Frankly,
some people have heard “love God and neighbor” so many times, they don’t want
to hear it anymore. They may be thinking
right now, “Please change the subject. Tell us what we want to hear! Tell us
God loves and forgives us for all our sins. Assure us of our eternal life. Don’t
tell us we actually have to do what
Christ tells us to do, if we want to be followers of Him.
Love
God with all heart, soul, mind and might? Love neighbors, too? No, it’s just
too hard to do.”
But brothers and sisters, we live in a
world plagued with hatred and violence, where children kill other children with
guns in school.
We have to try to love more!
For if believers don’t model Christ’s
loving ways to this broken world—who will?
***
Have you ever noticed that Moses sometimes
sounds like Jesus? Moses, too, had to repeat himself. But it didn’t do much
good. In today’s reading in Deuteronomy, Moses appeals to his people to be
faithful to the covenant of God—to return to the Lord with all their hearts. To
listen. To obey. To choose the path of blessing—to love and serve only God.
But those whom Moses led out of
captivity in Egypt argued and complained. They were hungry and afraid, tired of
their nomadic wanderings in the wilderness. When God fed them manna, they wanted
meat. They were sorry they had ever listened to Moses in the first place.
Wasn’t it better when they were slaves in
Egypt? At least they had homes and a predictable routine. Though their lives
were consumed with back-breaking labor to build cities for the pharaoh,
suffering under cruel overseers, at least they knew who they were and what
tomorrow would be. In the wilderness, every step of the journey took a leap of
faith. Every day, they wondered if they would survive the next.
They didn’t trust Moses or the God he spoke
with, face to face. They didn’t expect to ever reach the land of the promise—if
it even existed.
Here in chapter 30, Moses offers
encouragement for those who are lost and afraid. He shares the blessings for
the faithful, for those who listen and obey. The Lord will bring back all the
exiles to the land that their fathers had possessed. God will “make it go well”
for them and make them more numerous than their ancestors! God will restore
their fortunes. They would have prosperity “in all their undertakings,” success
in the raising of animals and crops.
And what is this talk about circumcision
of their hearts? In Deut. 10:16, when Moses talks about the “circumcision of
the heart,” he is urging the people to obedience. But something is different
here in chapter 30 verse 6; God is the actor, the one who does the circumcising
of their hearts. This is a new covenant with the Lord, a covenant of grace,
though it would still require obedience—listening
to God’s voice. In a beautiful, poetic way, Moses reassures the people that
this new covenant is not out of their reach; though they may have failed
before, this time, they will be able to do what the Lord wants them to do.
Because God, who will delight in prospering them, will also operate on their
hearts—permanently alter them. With circumcision, there’s no going back to the
way they were before!
Moses says, “Surely, this commandment that
I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should
say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it
and observe it?’ Neither is it
beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the
sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it
is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”
Moses tells the Israelites that they must
make a choice; they can choose life
and obey God’s commands, love the Lord God with all their hearts, and walk in
his loving ways. Or they can turn away.
“Choose life,” Moses urges, “so that you
and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him and
holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days.”
***
Like the Israelites long ago, we have a choice to make. We can choose
the path of righteousness and blessing. We can listen to God’s voice and obey. Or we can allow our hearts to
lead us astray.
Friends!
Choose life!
Yes, it is the more difficult path. We have
a lot of work to do in this world plagued by hatred and violence. But God’s
Spirit will guide us to the higher ground! And with God’s infinite love, mercy
and grace, we can stumble, yes, we can stumble. But we cannot fall!
And one day, this violent world will pass
away. God will make all things new! When Christ’s Kingdom comes to fruition, there
will be no more doubts, no more fear, no more struggle, no more pain. We will
know in full what today we only know in part. We will see our Lord clearly—as
Moses did, face to face. We will finally understand what Moses tried to tell his
people long ago, though, like us, they didn’t want to hear. That God’s Word is in our mouths and in our hearts. His commands are within
our reach. They are not too hard, not too far away!
Let us pray.
Loving and merciful God, thank
you for your grace that covers all of our failures, all of sins. Thank you that
you didn’t wait for us to see the error of our ways and decide we wanted to
change, but instead you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to lead us back to you. Forgive
us, Lord, when we haven’t wanted to listen for your voice, when we haven’t
wanted to love you more than anything and anyone, when we haven’t cared enough
about our neighbors, particularly those who are lost and walking in darkness.
Change our hearts, Lord, as you promised to circumcise the hearts of the
Israelites. Mold and shape us to be your faithful servants, obedient to your
commands. Remind us each day that your commands are not too hard or too far
away as your Spirit dwells inside us. Stir us to compassion for those who may
be hard to love; lead us to forgive those who have hurt us and let us down. Help
us to be courageous models of Christ’s loving ways. Lead us all to the higher
ground. In His name we pray. Amen.
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