Podcast of "Divine Priorities" (MP3)
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heart
be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
In 2003, the British Broadcasting
Corporation created a project called “The Big Read” to find the most popular
novels among British readers.[1]
You may have seen a version of this on the internet or on facebook.[2] Currently,
I’m reading #25 on the list, J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”[3] Written
in the mid 1930’s for his children, “The Hobbit” is the story of the adventures
of Bilbo Baggins. In one of his many adventures, Bilbo finds the ring which
becomes the center of “The Lord of the Rings.” “The Lord of the Rings” by the
way sits in the top spot on the Big Read.[4]
Bilbo finds the ring in a goblin
cave where he has been taken prisoner. Eluding the goblins by the ring’s power
of invisibility, Bilbo finds a scary character named Gollum while trying to
find his way out. They meet at cross purposes. Bilbo wants Gollum to help him
escape while Gollum wants to eat Bilbo where he stands. They decide to settle
the matter with a game of riddles.[5]
The one who asks the stumping riddle gets what he wants.
Gollum goes first asking:
What has roots as nobody sees,
Is taller than the trees,
Up and up it goes,
And yet never grows?
Bilbo gets that one quickly, a mountain.
After several rounds of riddles Bilbo asks:
A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
Gollum gets that one, an egg. Bilbo
finally catches Gollum asking “What have I got in my pocket?” Not a proper
riddle, Bilbo gives Gollum three guesses, all of which are unsuccessful. This
displeases Gollum of course, since he loses his meal at the expense of what is
not a proper riddle he feels inclined to neither show Bilbo out of the caves
nor take him from the lunch menu. As I’m sure you know by now, if for no other
reason than he appears in “The Lord of the Rings,” Bilbo escapes and with him
the ring.
Riddles have long been a test of
wits, knowledge, reason, and wisdom. The Sadducees and Pharisees tried and
failed to trip up Jesus with little tests, tests shaped like the riddles Bilbo
and Gollum exchanged with one another.
The Pharisees riddled Jesus with
questions about taxes. Jesus tells them to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s
and render unto God what is God’s.[6]
Jesus neither betrays the government nor the faith, a show of great wisdom.
Then the Sadducees asked Jesus a question
about levirate marriage (which came straight out of Deuteronomy 25) and the
resurrection (which didn’t) in an effort to trip him up on his knowledge of the
law. Jesus tells them their riddle is ridiculous because they know neither the
scriptures nor the power of God.[7] In
addition, the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection in the first place,
so their question is a fool’s errand, an errand Jesus doesn’t go on.
So the Pharisees take another shot,
this is what we hear today in our gospel reading. They ask, “Teacher, which is
the greatest commandment in the Law?” Like I said a couple of weeks ago, we
don’t know if the question is being asked as a trap or by a sincere follower of
the faith seeking wisdom. Since I have called this a riddle you can see that I
lean toward the trap, but in truth we don’t know.
What we do know is that he gives
them more answer than they expected. “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” This is
the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments.”
As I said, this is more than the
legal expert expected. The lawyer expected to hear what is known by Israelites
since the days of Deuteronomy as “Shema.” The confession of Deuteronomy 6:4 is
a prayer that goes, “Shema Israel ,
Adonai Eluhinu, Adonai echad.” In English we say, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is
your God, the Lord is one.” What immediately follows in 6:5 is what Jesus says
to the Pharisees, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and
with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
What a lovely prayer! This is the
sort of prayer we need in our lives everyday. “The Lord is our God, the Lord is
one. We shall love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul,
and with all our might.” This is as Jesus tells the Pharisees “the first and greatest
commandment.”
Now for the bonus, Jesus tells the
Pharisees “And a second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” This is
Jesus quoting Leviticus 19:18. This is a scathing indictment against his
inquisitors. We talk of the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them
do unto you.” While not the intention, the Golden Rule can be met with benign
indifference. “I’ll ignore you if you’ll ignore me.” Well, Jesus’ answer tells
us differently, we are to love one another, never treating one another
indifferently.
Something else that comes up
missing in our English reading is that when Jesus says the second is like the
first he is saying that they are equally important. Israel
knew the Shema, and they knew how they were to love the Lord their God. But
Jesus indicts them saying they have not fulfilled the requirements of the greatest
commandment. They may know the first part, but they lack in the second.
These confrontations between Jesus
and the temple leaders are called controversy stories. The controversy stories are
the words of God that turned the world on its ear. These are the words where
the Lord challenged the conventional wisdom of the temple and of the day and
made the world take notice that God was doing something new in the person of
Jesus the Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is no wonder that they
are called controversies.
There is controversy in the
Presbyterian Church USA too; the denomination I mean. One of these bru-ha-ha’s
is whether we are a denomination that shares the word of God with the world
making new disciples or whether we are a denomination that seeks to do God’s
justice in the world. If you want to speak in the jargon of our denomination’s
talking heads, they will say it’s the difference between being a missional
church and being a social justice church. It is a serious question and one that
has occupied the church for years and may for decades more. The people who ask
these questions are quite serious about these questions and more serious seeking
their answers.
It is the church seeking divine
priorities.
Well, here’s my take based on what
we have just read. There is no difference between loving God and doing God’s
good works. There is no difference between loving the Lord our God and loving
our neighbor as ourselves. One is as important as the other. To do one and not
the other fails to carry the Word and work of God into the world. They must be
done together.
Jesus has said that one is as
important as the other. When one or the other is missing something very
important is missing. The Epistle of James says faith without works is dead. I
follow that saying good works without faith is rudderless. If we do as God desires
without faith, it is by sheer luck. Neither is dependable. Neither helps
fulfill the Great Ends of the Church.
According to the commentary,
“Leviticus 19,” the source of the call to love our neighbors, “offers an
extensive vision of a world marked by just human relations and practical care.
Jesus has demonstrated this vision in his ministry and has criticized the
leaders for failing to do so.”[8]
Jesus finishes saying “On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Jesus tells them that not only
these two sayings together is the greatest commandment, he tells them that
their entire faith is rooted here. Loving God and your neighbor; the essence of
the written Word and the call of the Living Word, is the greatest commandment
of all.
Riddles, riddles, riddles. To end
our reading, Jesus asks his own riddle. He begins like a good baseball pitcher
setting up the pitch. He asks, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son
is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” This is right, so far so good,
but this is the set up, not the pitch.
Jesus reminds them David was
speaking, singing filled with the Holy Spirit and the temple leaders nod. He asks
them, “How is it then that David calls [the Messiah] ‘Lord’? For he says,
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit
at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
Jesus focuses the question. Based
on this Psalm, Jesus asks, “If then David calls [the Messiah] Lord, how can he
be his son?”
Now, this isn’t a difficult
question for Christians. With two-thousand years of scripture and
interpretation and worship and theology and education; we say with great
confidence that Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph, son of David, son of Judah
Jesus challenges the Pharisees to say
what we know, that Jesus is Lord. This son of David is the Son of God and the
Son of Man. Lo, they cannot. It may be hidden from them, or perhaps it is
revealed but denied. Maybe some want to sing Jesus is the Messiah while others
would rather keep things as they were. It wasn’t perfect, but their situation
in Roman controlled Palestine
Riddles are a test of wits,
knowledge, reason, and wisdom. Guided by a wisdom that surpasses all
understanding, Jesus wins this riddle game. The Light of the World answers the
riddles in the dark. The Pharisees don’t have the imagination or the gumption
or the wherewithal to follow Christ. We are called by God to use our
imagination, our gumption, our wherewithal as well as our obedience to follow
Christ in the power of the Spirit.
Jesus teaches us that we must love
the Lord our God and our neighbor as ourselves. He teaches that loving God we
are called to share the Word of God, the word written, living, and proclaimed,
with all the world. He also teaches us this love is for the benefit of the
community and the benefit of the kingdom.
We are called to proclaim that
Jesus is the Son who sits at the right hand of the Lord. We are to proclaim
that he is the Son of David from the line of Judah
We don’t have to wait. Our call is
to make sure that nobody else has to wait for the Messiah either. We are to
take Christ into the world in Word and deed. One without the other is not
enough, we must do both. It is our choice, it is our call. We must decide not
to follow one of these divine priorities; we are to follow the one divine
priority.
As I said, I am reading “The
Hobbit.” I’m about half-way though right now, but there are some things I know.
For one, I now know how Bilbo came across the ring that plays such a central
role in “The Lord of the Rings.” I also know that whatever adventures befall
Bilbo he will survive. I know this simply because I know he has to get back to
the Shire and his Hobbit hole one way or another.
As for what I know about the faith,
I don’t know how the Triune God will use these words this morning, but I do
know this: By the power of the Holy Spirit, they will be useful. I don’t know
how Bilbo will make it home, but I know he does. I don’t know how God’s work
will be done, but I know it will be. This I am sure.
To find out about Bilbo I have to
read the book, one page at a time. To find out what God has in store for me, in
store for us, I have to follow, one day, one moment at a time. In the book of
life, may all glory be to the Lord our God. The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.
[1] BBC.com,
“The Big Read.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml, retrieved
October 22, 2011.
[2] On a
side note, the facebook version does not match the true 2003 BBC list. The
facebook list includes some things that are collections or groups of books and
do not meet the “book” criteria. The BBC list considered only individual
titles. The facebook version includes “The Chronicles of Narnia” which is a
collection of seven titles and not a single book; hence, it did not make the
true BBC list. "The Works of Shakespeare" was also on the list, but it is not a novel but a collection of plays and poetry. Follow the link above to see the original list. I don’t know how
this rates, but I’ve read 15 out of the top 100 and six out of the top ten.
[3]
Purchased at Sow’s Ear Antiques and Books in Berryville , Arkansas
[4] While
published as a trilogy, LOTR was conceived and meant to be published as a
single book. Narnia was always a seven volume series of individual books.
[5] From
Tolkien, J.R.R., “The Hobbit.” Chapter 5 “Riddles in the Dark.” New York
[6] Matthew
22:15-22
[7] Matthew
22:23-33
[8] New
Interpreter’s Study Bible note for Matthew 22:39
Atta boy!
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