The Church of the Ascension
September 9, 2007
Proper 18

In the name of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  AMEN.

“Choose life 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.”

Moses’ words recall an account early in Hebrew scripture, the events told and retold around campfires and in family gatherings for many generations long before they were written.  He has brought the Israelites through years of missteps, whining, and calamities to the brink of the Promised Land.  Now poised at the border of Canaan, he, though he has walked with God in ways not common among humans before or since, will not make the final journey into the land which flows with milk and honey.  As he prepares to die, he worries that his people, who have been prone to attraction to gods more immediately available and more widely regarded than their own, will become ensnared by the religion of the Canaanites.

As he gathers them to say goodbye, he says, “You have a choice between life and death, goodness and evil, blessings and curses.  Choose life; obey God, follow his commandments and all shall be well.”

I have some recollection from a number of years ago of having written a sermon on this powerful passage from the fifth book of the Torah.  As I recall it, I had a great deal to say about choosing life rather than death, choosing to live in the abundance and freedom that God wants for us rather than in the drudgery of self-imposed misery, unhappiness that comes from seeking things and affections that in the end do not really matter.  I still believe every bit of that:  we do, I think, make fundamental choices again and again either for that which is truly life-giving or for that which substitutes for life.  Part of this passage is clearly about that: choosing to live.

But this week as I regarded these words, I heard them in a slightly different light and found myself somewhat surprisingly focusing on the emphasis upon obeying God, following the commandments that God puts out for us.  I say surprisingly because I am not known as a “Law and Order” kind of guy theologically, opting always to hear the grace and mercy in God’s message to us over and against the law and judgment.  I do so without apology and with no more discomfort than that which comes with the inevitable imprecision and open-endedness of all theology. 

Still…I am interested in why it is that I have been drawn this week to thinking and praying about the conditional part of this passage: that life and goodness and blessing flow from following God’s commandments, not simply as an automatic gift of life.  It is not difficult to understand that reading this scripture could lead someone to the conclusion that when things are going well for us, for our family, for our country, we can assume that we must be following the commandments of God.  And the converse, of course, is equally derivable:  when calamity befalls us, it is because we are not following the laws of God.  Tsunamis in Sri Lanka and Indonesia result from the preponderance of Muslims in the population; storms in New Orleans result from loose morals among its residents; a gathering of gay people anywhere marks a special target.

Scary, scary business – commandments are.  Deciding when they come from God, when they come from us, determining the difference between divine commandments and cultural expectations, discerning how to enforce them and what the consequences are in not following them – none of it is easy.  And, yet, part of the religious consciousness, ours and that of other major world religions, has always provided a framework for conversation at least about morality. 

Looking at a passage like this helps us to understand why religion can be so divisive.  It seems so straightforward.  Follow God’s commandments and everything will be okay.  If only it were so simple, but we know it is not.  One of the things that some people find troubling (even while many others find hopeful and encouraging) is that our particular way of being religious, the Episcopal way, claims to have very few absolutes about the faith.  We – neither clergy nor lay – determine moral positions that are then translated as litmus tests for membership.  That is troubling to some people – the fact that there is not uniformity in our thinking about what the moral choices always are.  We say we cannot do that because even the most basic ones are nuanced differently.  Take “thou shalt not kill” for example.  Simple, easy.  Right?  Well, no.  For example, I am a pacifist (a conflicted and confused one but generally a pacifist); equally moral (and often much more moral) Episcopalians emphatically are not pacifists and vehemently disagree me.  Even thornier is the issue of abortion.  Is it killing; is it not?  When is it killing; when is it not?  The answer, of course, depends upon the person you ask.   Who is following the commandment?  In our tradition, we essentially say “seek clarity in prayer, discussion, and liturgy and then follow your own conscience.”

Does that mean that as modern Episcopalians we adhere to no commandments?  Does it mean that we believe there are no consequences to breaking them?  Regarding the first, we cherish the Ten Commandments as the basis for our morality.  (A side note of interest though is that even Jesus nuanced the commandment to honor our mother and father.  In today’s gospel he says that if following him requires that we hate our mother and father, we must do so.  Hmmm.)  Beyond the Ten Commandments, we – as other Christians do, take great heart in Jesus’ summary of the law – “love God with heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself.”  So…yes, of course, commandments remain important to us.

But what of the consequences of our failure to follow them?  Do we suffer from our failure to obey?  Yes, I believe we do – not as punishment from God but as the natural consequences of living in ways that do not promote life and wholeness.  For example, unchecked ambition and achievement has resulted in a very high level of angst and anxiety in our culture.  We believe – or we act as if we believe – that our lives and certainly our happiness depend upon getting and having the latest and the best in everything.  That affect of Madison Avenue (not the street but the philosophy it suggests) has made us unsatisfied people who can never get enough.  Did God “do” that to us because we did not follow God’s commandment to be free of idols, in this case the idols of consumerism?  No, I don’t think so, but I can understand an ancient, less evolved people who would have drawn that conclusion.     

Consumption of the worlds resources, whether you believe that global warming is real and present or you believe it is something the “liberals” like me made up, is and must be a growing concern.  When wetlands are “reclaimed,” an odd word for the process as though we are getting back what we should always have had, when flood plains are filled in with dirt and rocks, when huge high rises are built along naturally changing coast lines, the natural protection of the land is lost.  Storms rage, floods come, death follows.  God’s judgment upon us?  I suppose one could look at it that way, but for me it seems that it is our judgment upon ourselves.  Our desire to grab more and more, whether its land and oil or air and water, comes back to haunt us.

Among the more personal commandments, anyone who has ever lived through the pain of infidelity – as victim or perpetrator – knows the consequences of that sin.  The sting lasts forever.  Life goes on, but the scar is always there.   Similar claims can also be made for the other commandments. People who live with no kind of Sabbath pay a price; the anxiety that comes from trying to keep a bunch lies straight is exhausting.

Moses said “living this way is choosing life.”  He was right; righteous living pays off.  It doesn’t mean that God loves us more when we follow the commandments; God loves us regardless.  It means that we are made in such a way that wholeness and balance depend upon our adherence to some basic commandments.  Modern folks?  Absolutely…and obeying God’s still matter!

In the name of God: AMEN.