Decisions, Decisions

“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.  ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.  ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,  ¹⁸ I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.  ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,  ²⁰ loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” – Deuteronomy 30:15-20  

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“Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD.  ² Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart,  ³ who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways.  ⁴ You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.  ⁵ O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!  ⁶ Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.  ⁷ I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances.  ⁸ I will observe your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.  ⁹ How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” – Psalm 119:1-9  

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“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’  ²² But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.  ²³ So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.  ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.  ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹ “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’  ³² But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’  ³⁴ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,  ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.  ³⁷ Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one. – Matthew 5:21-37

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Decisions, decisions. Life is full of choices we are constantly being called on to make.  What’s for dinner? How are we going to get there? What should I wear? There are so many possibilities, so many options.

Just out of curiosity I googled the phrase “decisions decisions” just to see what the computer would come up with. The results presented me with all kinds of advice on things like choosing who to marry, what career to choose (those ships have sailed), what car to buy, how to decide on getting help making decisions… all in all, 3.3 billion websites offering advice on how to make decisions.

Our scripture readings today address the issue of making decisions. Each passage puts us in the position of having to make a choice. In Deuteronomy, the choice is between life or death; in the Psalm it’s a choice between blessings or shame; and in Matthew it’s a choice between peace and integrity on one hand, or violence and brokenness on the other.

I think for me, the real bottom line of all these questions comes down to: who or what do we love best? Who or what are we most committed to in our heart of hearts? Which is an interesting question on the weekend before Valentine’s Day! What I would suggest today is: If we haven’t already done so, it’s time to fall head over heels in love with Jesus!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a look at the scripture readings for today:

In our reading from the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy, the choice is clear: life or death – which do you prefer?

In the book of Deuteronomy – whose name literally means “the second book of the law” (as opposed to the first book, which is Leviticus) God starts out by saying very clearly, “I have set before you today life and prosperity vs. death and adversity” – or as a more modern translation puts it, “life and what’s good, vs. death and what’s wrong”.

God is asking every person to make a choice: no matter if we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, young or old, everyone is being asked to make a choice. Back when this scripture was written, God was speaking to the Israelites; but God also included the Gentiles: God said “…and any foreigner who lives among you.” So God is speaking to everyone and putting this question to everyone. Which would you rather have: “life and what’s good, or death and what’s wrong”?

This is not a ‘to be or not to be’ question in the way that Hamlet meant it. It’s a question of covenant. Being in a relationship with God is, in a sense, like being married: as God’s people we made promises – or in some cases our parents made promises for us – in baptism and/or in confirmation; and the people of ancient Israel did the same thing by having their male babies circumcised. So as God’s people we live in covenant with God.

This isn’t a covenant we’re forced into. We have the right to choose – which is a really important point that’s easily overlooked. I found a quote from a British rabbi that I wanted to share with you, because I think it really makes clear the difference between a life with God and a life without God. Rabbi Sacks, retired member of the House of Lords, writes:

“No religion, no civilisation, has insisted so strenuously and consistently that we can choose… [Ancient civilizations] – with their belief in fate, fortune… the influence of the stars or the arbitrariness of nature – did not fully believe in human freedom. For them true freedom meant… accepting fate… [In today’s world] Choice is [often considered] an illusion of the conscious mind. It is the fiction we tell ourselves. [But] Judaism says no… We are not an inconsequential life-form lost in the vastness of the universe. [Since we are given] the freedom to choose [we have] the great responsibility to walk in God’s ways…”

Does that make sense? So there’s God’s way of thinking – which gives freedom to choose – and the world’s wisdom, which ultimately boils down to fatalism and the belief that any choices we make are ultimately irrelevant. Rabbi Sachs, in that quote, was speaking to fellow Jewish believers; but what he says applies to Christians as well. We do not believe in fate or fortune – we believe in a living God, who is active in our lives, and therefore we respond to God and we allow God to lead us.

Of course, since we have free will, we also have the ability to say ‘no’ to God. The thing is: saying ‘no’ to God leads ultimately to death, because God is the source of life. Scripture says in God is life. Or to put it another way: Scripture says “God is light” and “in him there is no darkness at all”. If God is light, then anything that is not from God – anything that is not light – by definition will cease to exist when the light is turned on.

So if there is anything in us that is not of God, that is not of the light, when the light comes, anything not-light will vanish; it will be no more, simply because of the nature of light. This is the meaning of the teaching that sin is incompatible with God, and that we must be without sin in order to be with God: because when God is present, sin vanishes – it is no more.

Of course the problem is that no human being is perfect. This is why Jesus came to earth, to live a perfect life on our behalf, to die a perfect death in our place, and to rise again to open the door to the restoration of the human race – so that we could live.

This the Gospel Message in a nutshell. So right here in the Old Testament we are hearing the ‘good news’ of the kingdom of God. (Anyone who says the Old Testament is passe has missed its message.)

Deuteronomy tells us like it is: we can choose to love God and obey his commands, and live – or we can choose to turn away from God, do our own thing, and perish. Life and blessings vs death and curses.

Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Why would anyone choose anything other than life, or anything other than God?

But many people do choose against God. Some are deceived into thinking we could do better on our own without God’s help. Some would rather have everything they want in this life and don’t want to think about the next life. Some people hear God say “don’t do that” about something they really want to do, and they think God is some kind of celestial killjoy.

What many people don’t catch on to – until it’s too late – is that everything good in this life comes from God. God created this world. God created sunsets and oceans and trees and cats (and dogs) and food, and children, and our families… all good things come from God. So when God gives us this rule in Deuteronomy, God is not trying to make things hard for us; God is telling us how things work in the universe that God created. We can almost read the Bible like a users’ manual for life. Do what the manual says, and the engine of life works perfectly. Ignore what the manual says, and the engine seizes up and we need repairs.

So this first reading leaves us with a choice between life and death, and asks us: Will we choose life?

In Psalm 119 we are presented with a similar choice: in this case, between happiness and blessing on one hand, or shame and lack of blessing on the other.

Again, this seems like a no-brainer. How many of us would choose shame over happiness? Or give up blessings for nothing at all?

I don’t want to imply God is sitting up there in heaven threatening to hold back blessings from us.  That sounds like the old “soup nazi” from Seinfeld:  He had the best soup in town, but if you came in to the shop the wrong way, or didn’t line up right, or didn’t ask politely, he would yell “no soup for you!!”

God is not a “blessing nazi”. God is not up there, waiting for someone to make a mistake so he can shout “no blessings for you!” God wants to bless us! God wants the very best for each one of us.

Again what we’re looking at in Psalm 119 is simply the way God’s creation works. Those who keep God’s commands are blessed, not because “the rules are the rules and we must follow the rules” but because God’s commands are good and they lead to good things. In verse 103 of the same Psalm, the writer says to God: “How sweet are your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey in my mouth.” Doing what God commands, results in blessing and happiness and satisfaction.

Finally we come to our reading in Matthew. We are still in the Sermon on the Mount, which we have been reading for the past few weeks.

Jesus also presents us with a choice, thought it’s not immediately obvious. In Matthew, we hear a series of teachings in which Jesus says “you have heard it said…” followed by “but I tell you…”. What Jesus tells us is more like an amplification of the law, not a replacement of the law.

So the choice we have here is: will we, or will we not, love and trust Jesus?

The law says “you shall not kill/murder” but anger can lead to murder, so Jesus tells us not to be angry with each other. The law says “you shall not commit adultery” but lust can lead to adultery, so Jesus tells us not to look at each other lustfully; and so on.

This just makes common sense: If Jesus is going to form a community of God-loving people – which is what he’s doing – he cannot form a community in which it is OK to hate each other, insult each other, bad-mouth each other, slander each other, but stop short of murdering each other. He cannot form a community of people in which it is OK to treat other people as sex objects, to let our fantasy lives run away with us, to involve ourselves in pornography, or play touchy-feely games with children, but stop short of committing adultery. Jesus frames the conversations by pointing out how some people want to use other people – and that is what the law of God stands against. You and I, and everybody else in the world, we all belong to God. And anyone who wants to use us is essentially playing god in our lives, and that’s off-limits in God’s kingdom.

Side-note: A word on Jesus’ teaching about divorce. This particular passage in Matthew has been used and misused to keep people married who should not be together. I have personally known more than one couple who have been told by their pastors that even though there was physical abuse going on in the marriage, or financial abuse, or threats being made, they were told by their pastor “you were married in the eyes of God so you need to stay together and get into counseling and try to work things out.” NO. If there is physical violence, if there is verbal abuse and belittling, if there is forced sex, if one partner is refusing to share money or property – anything of a violent or dehumanizing nature – the two need to be physically separated first, and then maybe start looking for counseling for each individual.

Jesus never said people need to stay stuck in dangerous or unhealthy relationships. What Jesus is addressing is that the law of Moses permitted a man to divorce his wife in the case of unfaithfulness; but by the time Jesus walked the earth, the law had been expanded to the point that a man could divorce his wife for any reason just by handing her a certificate of divorce.

The thing was, the law of Moses was meant to protect women and children in a society where the men ran everything. It meant that a man could not just walk away from his responsibilities… which was exactly what was happening in Jesus’ day. To interpret Jesus’ teaching to mean that divorce is always un-Christian unless someone has been cheating, is to turn a law that was meant for liberty and protection into something that binds victims in helpless situations. End of side note.

Finally, lastly, Jesus says, if we come to church and we are making our gifts – either giving money or receiving communion – and we remember that someone has something against us – we are to leave our gifts where they are and go and be reconciled to that person, and then come back and make our gifts. If we come to church holding a grudge against someone, we need to make peace right away.

I should add to this: sometimes it’s not possible to reconcile with another person. Sometimes it’s not in our hands. Sometimes the other person has been violent toward us, and it’s not safe. Sometimes the other person isn’t ready to forgive, in which case we shouldn’t try to force it. Bottom line is, we do our best to live at peace with others, apologize if and when we need to, and in every case bring the situation to God in prayer. And then we can bring our gifts to God with a clear conscience.

The bottom line of Jesus’ teaching is not that he’s ‘raising the bar’ and making entry into heaven more difficult, but rather that the Law is tougher to keep than we thought – which is why we need Jesus. We need Jesus’ help to do better; we need Jesus’ help to learn and grow in healthy, life-giving ways; and above all we need Jesus’ help to be forgiven.

Lastly, and most importantly, we need to know Jesus better. With that in mind let me leave us with two things we can do:

(1) Choose life!  God puts this choice in front of us, every minute of every day. To choose to do things God’s way, and bring life into the world, or to do things our way and bring death into the world. To choose life means:

• We will live our “best life” as God wants us to
• We will listen to God’s word and to God’s Holy Spirit for guidance
• We will, as commandment #1 says, “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength”
• We will never go back to Egypt, metaphorically speaking – we will never go back to a life of captivity to sin or anything that causes harm
• We will choose friendship, kindness, and humility; respect, responsibility, and integrity

(2) Fall in love with Jesus! Think about it for a moment:

• Jesus is God
• Jesus took part in creation when God created all we see around us
• Jesus had a hand in all the major events of the Old Testament
• Jesus is the Messiah the Old Testament promised – there is no other
• Jesus set all of that aside to come here to earth and be born just like one of us
• Jesus – lived here on earth with all the smells and dirt and lousy politics – and the joys and friendships – he shared it all
• Jesus gave his life so that we could live
• Jesus came back to life to demonstrate that God and love cannot be killed – and to open the door to eternity for us

How can we not love someone like this?

Something else to consider: when we fall in love with Jesus, people notice. You can’t be in love without people noticing. For those of us who have fallen in love at some point in your life: when you met your special someone, didn’t people notice? Didn’t they say “you are just glowing.” Or “What’s going on in your life?” They started asking all kinds of nebby questions, right?

And when we’re in love, we drive our friends and family crazy talking about the person we’re in love with. We just cannot shut up about this wonderful person!

Why is it, then, we so rarely talk about Jesus?

Falling in love with Jesus brings a touch of heaven into this world. And the more we love Jesus, the more we will be able to love others.

Jesus said:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…”

How can we not fall in love with someone who says things like this and makes them happen?

So we have choices to make. Choose life. Choose love. AMEN.

Preached at Fairhaven UMC and Spencer UMC, February 12, 2023

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