Bible Text: Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Matthew 5:21-30 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
I recently did an online survey to find out, “what hit 1980’s song I would be”. Meaning what song best represents me from that decade of synthesizers and big hair. No, it wasn’t a slow day in the office, it was just one of those late evening web surfing activities. There was a disclaimer on the survey that said “this was not a scientific study”…no kidding! It asked thirty difficult questions like, how do you feel about black eyeliner to how long does it take you to recover from a minor disappointment. They were all multiple choice with the average of three options per question. But some were tougher than others, like the question- which would you rather grow in your backyard? Flowers, fruit, vegetables, berries or a big tree- what this has to do with an 80’s song, I have yet to figure out. Something you may not know is that I actually love doing surveys- be it over the phone, online or my personal favourite: in the mail. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s that I like to bestow my wisdom, or am curious to find out more about myself in the process. Often surveys have results and sometimes I disagree with those results, but it’s always fun to find out. I also really enjoy having options- like for example, would you rather write a novel, a film, a collection of poetry, a song, a graphic novel or an important article? I like to choose, and I like to think about that choice. And I bet, you are all wondering, what kind of hit 80’s song I am. Well, the results are in, I’m Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration”.
The book of Deuteronomy is a complicated book because there is great debate on when it was written and why. The book is essentially reiterations of the law, and reminders of what to do once the people of Israel have entered the land. So, let’s presume that it was spoken to a people who were just about to enter the Promised Land. Moses decides that now would be a good time to give a lengthy speech. This part always makes me laugh for two reasons. As you might recall Moses told God that he could not lead the people because he had a stutter and because he was not a good orator. That seems to have disappeared now that Moses has spent well over 40 years leading these people. It also makes me wonder what the people must have been thinking. Here they are, ready to walk into the land that God has said is theirs! All they have to do is cross the river, and Moses decides that now is the time to give a speech that likely took hours to say. In fact he doesn’t just give a speech he delivers a speech that lasts 30 lengthy chapters! Lucky for you, instead of hearing all 30 chapters, this morning we get 6 verses that are essentially the rousing round up of the entire speech. Moses summarizes it all by ignoring nuance and saying, you have but two choices, life or death, blessing or curse, good or evil. Essentially these 6 verses are a survey to the people to say- have you been paying attention these last 40 years? Are you ready to live in this Promised Land? Are you ready to make the right choice? Will you tick off the right box? And that’s the amazing thing in all this, while Moses lays out all the realities of either choice, that choice is still left up to the people.
This is no multiple choice, nor is it a trivial survey, but it is one that will tell us a lot about the people of Israel, and perhaps a lot about ourselves. The very basis for their faith hinges on Moses stating, “God says, look at what I’ve done for you today; I’ve placed in front of you, Life and Good or Death and Evil. And I command you today, Love God, your God. Walk in God’s ways. Keep God’s commandments, so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess.” Perhaps you remember from a couple weeks ago when we talked about the beatitudes that to be blessed means to be fully satisfied regardless of situation. Moses is asking them- do you want to be blessed in this Promised Land? Perhaps they were shouting out, “Yes! Of Course!” But perhaps they were also just antsy to cross that river.
Luckily we know that the choice given to the people right at that very moment is not a completed decision, and it will come up again and again. While it sounds like the option is obvious, it is one thing to say yes and it is another to be yes. You see, the Israelites will stray from this covenant and will choose things other than life in God, over and over and over again. Moses essentially explains to them what all the rest of the prophets will touch upon in their ministry. This short section in Deuteronomy is the foundation upon which ALL the prophets build their prophecies. These six verses are at the heart of every single prophet’s words. Prophecy was not future casting, but rather looking at this statement and saying, “SEE! If you don’t change your ways the covenant curses will be upon you. Things will get bad!” Cameron Howard points out, “Centuries of prophets will stand in the tradition of Moses, helping the people see that the consequences of idolatry are deadly, but that striving to live in relationship with God yields life.” She calls it covenant fidelity and continues, “covenant fidelity is a set of lived practices, and ongoing orientation toward love of God and neighbour.”
Idolatry is a tough thing, and before you think, those foolish Israelites, how could they not see how great it is to be in the light and life of God, we should take a long hard look at what we often choose to idolize. Be it our things, our collections, our buildings, our celebrities, our goods, our teams, our time, our money. There is likely not a day that goes by that I don’t serve some form of consumption- meaning I will choose to purchase something or think about purchasing something over thinking about God. There is likely not a day that goes by that I don’t covet something that someone else has. There is likely not a day that goes by that I don’t think of myself before thinking of anyone else. And idolatry is sneaky because sometimes we can idolize being righteous or our sacrifices.
In fact, I think we even idolize our emotions, which is something that Jesus touches upon in this Matthew passage. I think we often idolize anger, meaning we choose to be angry, we like harbouring resentment, we hold on to grudges. We don’t want to reconcile with our brother and sister because we like feeling like we are more righteous. We don’t want to apologize or admit that we were wrong- especially if it wasn’t our fault. But Jesus tells us that if we enter God’s place of worship and are about to make an offering, and we remember that a friend has a grudge against us, we are to abandon our offering and make things right. Sure we can choose to hold on to that anger but then we are choosing to idolize an emotion that will only get in the way of our worship.
We come together as a community, as a people, and we do that in part because God wants us to worship together, but there is also an accountability. We are completing this survey not on our own but together. While we come as individuals that faith actually affects and matters to the individuals sitting next to you and we have the choice to live as people of God, of life, light and blessing or as people for ourselves, of death, darkness and curses. It’s up to you. Which box will you tick? Which one will you choose? But like the people of Israel this is not a done deal- throughout history we have discovered that God gives us this option not once, not twice, but every time we choose idols over God. Amen