Texts:
Psalm 111
Deuteronomy 12:28-32
Revelation 2:12-17
"Be careful to obey all these words that I command to you today, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God. When the LORD your God has cut off before you the nations whom you are about to enter to dispossess them, when you have dispossessed them and live in their land, take care that you are not snared into imitating them, after they have been destroyed before you: do not inquire concerning their gods, saying, "How did these nations worship their gods? I also want to do the same."
While Moses' farewell sermon is widely considered to be the very end of Deuteronomy (ch 31-32), it seems he barely takes a breath throughout the book. Strangely (or perhaps not so strangely), much of it continues pointing back to the commandments (Deut. 5).Somehow, it comes back to the 1st commandment. Of all the Israelites should remember, they should remember the words of the Shema, "Hear, oh Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone," reverberating and reiterating the first commandment.
It is not simply us keeping the commandment, it is God who is keeping us. And yet, despite all of the warnings, despite all of the exhortations, we see Israel bowing down to Baal in Judges 2:11, then demanding a king - like the other nations - in 1 Samuel 8, and eventually, they lived not as conquerors but as conquered. All along, however, God was there, with Joshua as they conquered the lands which they were to inhabit, with the prophets as they exhorted kings and priests and the people to be righteous, and all along the path in which they began fancying they themselves had fashioned their strength, their success, and their fate. When we point to ourselves, we curve inward, unable to see God, unable to see the other, unable to see even our true selves.
A confession:
Lord, I value what I hold in my hands so greatly
I forget the infinite value of being held.
I turn to the edificies of clay and stone
Choosing to leave the shelter of your wings.
Empty me so that I may be filled
Dismantle my walls of self-protection
that I may find true refuge
Instill in me an imagination
That is big enough for you.
God has promised to hear us.
God has promised to forgive us.
"The Lord is merficul and gracoius, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according ot our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD whas compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust," (Psalm 103:8-14).
This is what it is to be dust: it is to recognize we are easily shaken. This is what it is to be broken: it is to recognize we cannot put ourselves back together. This is what it is to be a sinner: it is to recognize we love ourselves more than we love God or each other.
This is what it is to be human: it is to recognize the One who breathes life into dust. This is what it is to be holy: it is to recognize the One who knit us together. This is what it is to be a saint: it is to recognize that it is not our love for God, but God's love for us, that brings our salvation.
While Moses' farewell sermon is widely considered to be the very end of Deuteronomy (ch 31-32), it seems he barely takes a breath throughout the book. Strangely (or perhaps not so strangely), much of it continues pointing back to the commandments (Deut. 5).Somehow, it comes back to the 1st commandment. Of all the Israelites should remember, they should remember the words of the Shema, "Hear, oh Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone," reverberating and reiterating the first commandment.
It is not simply us keeping the commandment, it is God who is keeping us. And yet, despite all of the warnings, despite all of the exhortations, we see Israel bowing down to Baal in Judges 2:11, then demanding a king - like the other nations - in 1 Samuel 8, and eventually, they lived not as conquerors but as conquered. All along, however, God was there, with Joshua as they conquered the lands which they were to inhabit, with the prophets as they exhorted kings and priests and the people to be righteous, and all along the path in which they began fancying they themselves had fashioned their strength, their success, and their fate. When we point to ourselves, we curve inward, unable to see God, unable to see the other, unable to see even our true selves.
A confession:
Lord, I value what I hold in my hands so greatly
I forget the infinite value of being held.
I turn to the edificies of clay and stone
Choosing to leave the shelter of your wings.
Empty me so that I may be filled
Dismantle my walls of self-protection
that I may find true refuge
Instill in me an imagination
That is big enough for you.
God has promised to hear us.
God has promised to forgive us.
"The Lord is merficul and gracoius, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according ot our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD whas compassion for those who fear him. For he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust," (Psalm 103:8-14).
This is what it is to be dust: it is to recognize we are easily shaken. This is what it is to be broken: it is to recognize we cannot put ourselves back together. This is what it is to be a sinner: it is to recognize we love ourselves more than we love God or each other.
This is what it is to be human: it is to recognize the One who breathes life into dust. This is what it is to be holy: it is to recognize the One who knit us together. This is what it is to be a saint: it is to recognize that it is not our love for God, but God's love for us, that brings our salvation.
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