“So, let’s talk about misunderstandings.”
I would say that generally in American Christian culture, there is a huge misunderstanding or misreading of the Old Testament. The Old Testament lessons for this Sunday (what we read from Nehemiah and psalm 19) illumine this misunderstanding, frankly because the lessons share an unexpected joyousness about the law. As Christians, we probably have Paul, or at least a misinterpretation of Paul’s writings, to thank for a misunderstanding that the law is a burden. The covenant of the Old Testament was not designed, as many would believe, with the idea of a mean nasty God imposing a law, but instead, the law was a gift from God that serves to restrain evil, to convict sin, and to aid our understanding of God’s will. Then, at the time of Nehemiah, at time of the psalm, at the time of Jesus, and of Paul, (and now, my goodness people are a predictable lot, aren’t we?), certain individuals embrace the concept that salvation could be humanly achieved. This makes the law/ the Torah into a moral law, imposed on us, which would mean that the Torah, which was given to Israel, was instead designed to make a person righteous. In neither Nehemiah nor the psalm was this the conclusion. When we are getting it right, we, along with many Jews both then and now, reject the notion that by following the law, salvation could be humanly achieved. Instead, the law, Torah, is a compassionate guide, a pathway, not so much a set of instructions but a vision of how life just IS, about how to live together in justice and joy.
The Law is not a set of demands, it is a pathway of justice and joy, it is a way of life. As some have said: the law is less like a rule imposing a speed limit, and more like the law of gravity. You can obey the speed law, or not; you may or may not pay a price. But if you doubt for a moment that the law of gravity is just how things are, try stepping off a roof without a ladder! God’s law is just how human flourishing IS. It is what a true life of justice and joy looks like.
And there is NO reason to think that this way of justice and joy is limited to humans as the recipients. Many have pointed out that the order, complexity, and beauty of the universe do not “prove” the existence of God. However, the psalmist is not trying to prove that God exists. The psalmist is caught up in the exultation and praise of One to whom he attributes such glory and beauty and order. God is God of all, of all creation. Particularly in the PNW, the number of people who claim to find God outdoors is huge. (I first heard the expression when I first came to Vashon—GOD—Go Out Doors). So, if God is reflected in God’s creation, it does behoove us to answer, why do we as humans abuse it so? No other animal is hell-bent on destroying earth. We might want to adjust ourselves to the law of creation, the law of God, that all, including us, may flourish.
And then we are left to wonder, what is the point of us following God, and how do we follow God? Is it enough to follow the Torah? As usual we learn a lot about where we need to put our energy by looking at the Gospel. In today’s reading from Luke, Jesus officially begins his ministry by saying why he is here. If he were a company or non-profit, then Jesus just told his mission statement. His declaration that “this has been fulfilled in your hearing” means that Jesus is declaring his purpose. – “I have been chosen to bring good news to the poor, to feed people, heal people, set the oppressed free, etc.” And it is in HIS life, and with God’s help, through a life like HIS, that we too enter this purpose.
So, if we are God-followers, like Jesus, living toward loving our neighbor, then what is our point? What is our mission? Is the point for the church to survive? That seems kind of small, I don’t think that is it. Or is our point to know God, for us and others to know God? Is our point to live full lives, full of justice for all, full of joy, away from evil and sin? That sounds right. We will BE being the church if we live into that mission, God’s mission.
What is loving our neighbor? How do we enact loving together as a community with all our parts, all of our strengths? Is loving our neighbor in verbiage only, loving only when convenient and when it does not cost too much? How do we implement that love? When we commit to serving others, what does that look like? Do we make sure that when we do commit ourselves, we don’t give too much away, too much time, or money, etc.? hmmm
The point, the law, comes from a God who is full of loving kindness and mercy. Arguably, we can’t be selfish about sharing what we know about God, that God is love, we must share with abandon, to others and to the earth.
Our point, our mission… whether as this church or wherever: we gather to give glory to God and to have God make a difference in us so that we can be sent to make a difference in God’s world. All of us, acting our parts to be love in and for world. To do THAT is to live the law of God.
Sarah Colvin
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21
Psalm 19