Choose Life

Choose Life

Rev. Dr. Tom Sorenson, Pastor

September 4, 2016

Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

So we just heard a brief passage from the book of Deuteronomy, and I have to be honest here. I have a big disagreement with the basic theology of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah, which makes it one of the most important Bible books for Judaism. It has some great stuff in it. It has what is called the Shema, the creedal statement of the Jewish faith. It’s at Deuteronomy 6:4. It reads in the NRSV translation that I prefer: “Hear, O Israel. [In Hebrew that’s Shema Yisroel, hence the name of this passage as the Shema.] The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Jesus took the Shema as part of what we call the Great Commandment. It’s really good, really profound, really foundational stuff for both Judaism and Christianity.

So what’s my disagreement with Deuteronomy? Deuteronomy has a central ethical perspective that I think is just wrong. Deuteronomy is set at the end of the Exodus as the people are about to cross the Jordan River into Canaan. It is written as words of Moses to the people before they do. It says again and again that if the people obey God’s laws and commandments they will live long and prosper in their new home. If they do not obey God’s laws and commandments they will suffer and perish. Deuteronomy has it that God rewards faithful living with long life and prosperity in this life and punishes unfaithful living with suffering in this life and early death. That theology gave the Hebrew priests substantial power over the people, so I understand why priestly writers like the author of Deuteronomy taught it. Problem is, it’s just wrong. Life doesn’t work that way. Good, faithful people suffer and die young all the time. Wicked, unfaithful people often live long and prosper, perhaps even because of their wickedness. The foundational theology of Deuteronomy just isn’t true. It flies in the face of the realities of human life. Yes, it’s in the Bible, but it’s still wrong because it is denied by human experience. That’s my big problem with Deuteronomy.

That being said and truly meant, I quite love our passage from Deuteronomy this morning. Yes, it reflects that central teaching of Deuteronomy that I reject, but here’s what I love about it. It says that God (or at least Moses speaking for God) has set before the people the ways of both life and death, and it exhorts them to “choose life.” Choose life, it says, and it gives us what it thinks choosing life entails: “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” I hear this text saying that life, true life, whole life, comes from loving and listening to God. I don’t think that means that loving and obeying God guarantees good health, long life, and material prosperity the way Deuteronomy does. I do believe that loving God and seeking to walk in God’s ways is the path to true life. It is the path to wholeness of life. It is the way of life that gets us through  despite what comes our way in life. I hear this passage saying that God wants us and all of God’s people to have such a life, a full, meaningful life lived in the love of God, trusting God more than we trust ourselves or the world. God’s goal for every person is wholeness of life. This passage from Deuteronomy speaks a truly profound truth.

God sets before us life and death. God calls us to choose life, but so often we don’t. At least, we don’t choose that full, whole life that God sets before us. First of all we don’t choose it for ourselves. We reject it in the way we pay insufficient attention to our own spiritual lives. We don’t spend nearly enough time connecting with God, and that’s as true of me as I suspect that it may be of some of you. We choose to live ordinary lives, lives of routine and rote, lives of duty and compliance. It’s not like things like duty are necessarily bad, but concepts like that can trap us in the ordinary and keep us from extraordinary lives. When God calls us to choose life it is a call to extraordinary lives filled with the joys and challenges of the Holy Spirit. That’s the life we so often deny for ourselves.

We also deny fullness of life for others. We deny it for them when we think in terms of stereotypes and cultural prejudices. When we won’t take each person as she is, as she comes to us, faults and all. When we deny the God-given goodness of some human characteristics that we don’t like.  When we expect others to live up to our expectations and standards rather than letting them discern, discover, and grow into what is fullness of life for them even if we don’t approve of it. Choose life means choosing life not just for ourselves but for everyone.

So this morning I join with Moses from the book of Deuteronomy and call myself and each of you to choose life. Choose life in the Spirit of God. Choose a life of prayer, meditation, peace, and challenge. Choose the kind of life we see in Jesus, life that is for ourselves by being life for others. Choose life free from fear and from the constraints that culture imposes on us.  Choose a life that doesn’t tolerate differences but celebrates them. Choose a life of creative expression, whatever that is for you. Choose a life of joy, a life of love, a life of service. That’s the kind of life God calls each one of us to.

Sure, choosing that kind of life can seem intimidating. Sure, some people won’t like it that you’ve chosen that kind of life because that life is so different from the lives most of us live. But always remember this. God is with us every moment when we choose life. God is there holding us, encouraging us, cheering us on. God sets before us today and every day life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life. Choose life with God. That’ what God created us for. So let’s do it, okay? Amen.