Deuteronomy 30:15-20 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Matthew 5:21-37 Psalm 119:1-8

            This morning’s lesson from the 30^th chapter of Deuteronomy brings us to the end of one of the most significant and fascinating sagas in our history as God’s people.  These words in our first lesson are from the farewell address of Moses, given on the plains of Moab – the last of the words of God delivered by Moses to the Israelites.

This final address, the third of three addresses, is delivered as the people of Israel are encamped in Moab, east of the Jordan River, anticipating their arrival into the Promised Land of Canaan after their long sojourn in the wilderness.   The scripture tells us that Moses dies here at the age of 120 after having climbed to the top of Mount Nebo to view the Promised Land from afar while being disallowed from entering it – the land for which he had led his people out of Egypt to Mount Sinai and northward to the banks of the Jordan overlooking Canaan.  In Deuteronomy chapter 34 we learn that Moses was buried here in the land of Moab, “but no one knows his burial place [even] until this day.” [NRSV]

In previous addresses, Moses has recounted the struggles of the Israelites through the wilderness and has warned them of the potential temptations that could befall them once they gain successful inhabitance of the Promised Land.  In this address from which we read this morning, Moses exhorts the people of Israel to remain faithful to the law of God handed down to them from Mount Sinai.

Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Pentateuch, is defined as “second law” or “repetition of the law.” And, though the Jewish encyclopedia labels this translation of the term “Deuteronomy” erroneous, it is admittedly an appropriate description.  For, the book of Deuteronomy reformulates much of the law previously laid down in the book of Exodus.

Thus, as the life of Moses is drawing to a close, he is seeking to interpret the law more correctly or to define it more clearly – to guide the people to move beyond a primitive interpretation of their covenant with God as they had viewed it throughout their sojourn in the wilderness.  From this primitive view, God was defined by His demand for obedience and His seemingly unrelenting punishment – follow the law and you are blessed, violate the law and you are punished.  “Obey…then you shall live and become numerous…and God will bless you…But if your heart turns away…you shall perish.”

The covenant from the time of Noah and Abraham between God and His people had been broken and renewed and broken and renewed.  But, once established in a centralized location, which the Israelites now anticipated, the covenant would become non-breakable and eternal.  Law that was feared in terms of the strict obedience it required and the emphasis on the threat of punishment for sin is seen in a different light.

From now on the law would be better understood as the need for trust in God.  It would encompass the inward desire to follow God’s will as the manifestation of love for God and neighbor.

It is helpful for us to recognize that our English translation of the “law” is a distortion of the Hebrew understanding of the Torah.  In a more correct interpretation, the Torah is a revelation of God’s will that the people of Israel were privileged and chosen to receive.

Thus, Moses is seeking to describe a renewed sense of spirit in which the people of God should obey the law sent down from Mount Sinai.  He exhorts the people to live into God’s commandments as a channel toward fullness of life rather than in fear of punishment – to see God’s commandments as a gift – a gift of instruction to guide them in their relationship to God and their neighbor.

Isn’t that our own sojourn – our own faith journey? A faith journey that is that of coming to an understanding of God’s law, not in terms of our fear of punishment; but, as guidance toward trust in God; guidance toward the manifestation of that trust that is exhibited in our love of God and love of our neighbor.  It is here that we cross over the Jordan in our own spiritual journey into a deeper relationship with God’s Kingdom. Trusting that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more than He loves us now – and nothing we can do to make Him love us less – God’s love has no characteristic of quantity.  It is love through His grace – unearned, unconditional.  And, as hard as we might try, we cannot shake ourselves loose of it.  God does not break His covenant with us.

This becomes even clearer when, centuries after the Israelites settled into Canaan, Jesus would come to live among them.  For the past two Sundays and today, we visit another mountain, as our Gospel lessons are from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  And, the very Jewish Matthew would want us to make the connection between the law given at Mount Sinai and the law being fulfilled on this unnamed mountain in Galilee.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is making known His goal and purpose of fulfilling the law and dispelling the misconception that He had come to abolish the law.   The people of God had instituted hundreds of laws of religious ritual – what to eat, how to worship, how to observe the Sabbath, what to wear and when to wear it, and their was often harsh punishment for those who did not abide by these laws.  The threat of abolishing the laws was a source of great consternation for community leaders who sought to enforce them.  But Jesus is speaking of earthly laws only as they relate to God’s will for his people, God’s gift of guidance in human relationships.

Our visit these last two weeks to the Land of the Holy One offered many eye-opening experiences with religious law.  We were confronted with many ironies concerning God’s Law and the impact of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in relation to God’s intentions regarding the law.  I will forever be processing many of these experiences, but one particular experience that comes to mind is our visit to Hebron – the burial place of the patriarchs Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah.  Jews and Muslims share this holy site; Abraham and Sarah’s tombs are located in the common shared space; Isaac (interestingly) and Rebecca’s tombs are located in the Mosque; Jacob and Leah’s tombs are located in the Synagogue.  We visited both sites, seeking to respect the religious expectations of both traditions – all of us removing our shoes, and the women donning floor-length hooded garments as we were guided through the mosque where there was a sense of welcome from the Muslims who led us in.

Visiting the synagogue had a distinctly different feel.  Passing through the large area where the young men were gathered who studied the prophecy and debated the many laws laid down for them in Leviticus, we women were alerted that we had violated their space.  On our return trip through the synagogue area, we were to pass behind the screen that separated us from the men – the men who were working so diligently to learn God’s law as defined in the Torah.  Of course, we sought to respect their religious practice, but I couldn’t help but feel a sense of Jesus’ frustration.  Of course, we honor the same God, but Jesus continues to cry out for our understanding of the essence of relationship and hospitality.

Our thoughts are rightly fixed on God’s ever-present judgment of our actions; but, we focus on God’s judgment, not because we fear the wrath of God’s punishment; we know that His Son Jesus Christ took all of our punishment upon Him when He died for us.  Our thoughts are fixed on God’s ever-present judgment of our actions because, with great intention, we seek His will in our relationship with those closest to us and those unknown to us.  Our relationship to God is expressed in that relationship with others – the revelation of God’s will that we, His people, are privileged and chosen to receive.

God delights in our worship of Him, but more than religious ritual he desires that we trust and seek His will in mending broken relationships.   In seeking God’s guidance to follow His commandments we receive His gift and we are enlightened in the understanding of His laws.  Just as Moses instructed the Israelites as they prepared to take possession of the Promised Land, “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him.”  [NRSV Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a]