Trinity 18 2019
Deuteronomy 10:12-21; Matthew 22:34-46
October 20, 2019
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
Our Old Testament reading begins and ends with the command to fear the Lord your God. To most people today fear is not a positive emotion. Yet when reading the Bible, it is often seen in a positive light. So which is it? Well, it’s really not as complicated as it may seem. The nature of fear depends on the object of that fear. When we fear something that is evil and powerful, our reaction is all too familiar. Adrenaline spikes, fight of flight response kicks in. But when you fear someone who you know has your best interest at heart, someone who loves you, that kind of fear becomes altogether different. It becomes reverence and awe, it makes you want to follow that thing.
And so it is with the first commandment to have no other God’s can be summarized that we are to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. This fear, awe, and reverence arises out of an awareness of our sin and guilt, our own unholiness in the presence of the holy God but which is relieved by the good news of forgiveness. The fear of God is to be united with the love of God; for love without fear makes men remiss, and fear without love makes them servile and desperate (Johann Gerhard). This fear of God awakens love, the fruit of which is revealed in serving God with all the heart and soul.
The people of Israel are about to enter the promised land, and God gives them two instructions through Moses. They are to circumcise their hearts. Circumcision was a physical act, performed as a sign of the Savior’s covenant on every Jewish boy when he was 8 days old. But Moses explained that beyond the physical, to what it actual means. An uncircumcised heart was one that was hardened against God’s grace. And so the Lord breaks through such hardness. St. Paul says in Romans 2 that true circumcision is not one of the flesh, but that of heart. God’s people are made, covenant established, fear, love and trust implanted.
Second, they are to love the sojourner, your neighbor. God wants His people to love the weak, the powerless, and the stranger as evidence of a circumcised heart. The people of God are to love others because they have been loved by God. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). In order to love others, you must first know what true love actually is. What we hear in Deuteronomy is that a vital relationship with God which is worked out in terms of responsibilities toward our neighbors. Without the true circumcision of the heart, which is to say, Baptism, true fear of God and love for God and for the neighbor is impossible.
These two things point to the summary of the whole 10 commandments: to love for God and love for one’s neighbor. Together, these two are what God’s requires of us, as Jesus clearly saw in His response to the Pharisee who asked Him which is the greatest commandment.
But how is it that the Pharisee was so hung up on keeping the law perfectly and yet missed the whole point? Luther once remarked that the Law can show you the way to go, but can’t give your legs the strength to get there. Only the Gospel can do that. The law way of thinking hangs on in every person’s heart. It prefers deeds over creeds, works over faith, and leads us to try to take at some credit for our salvation. By nature we find it more reasonable to believe that we must do something to be saved rather than to believe the good news that God in Christ has already done everything that needed to be done to save us. The Pharisee asks a Law question and gets a Law answer. But Jesus does not leave us with the Law, but with His Gospel. He leaves us with what He does, with Himself.
And that is why we are here. We don’t comes to church because He commands it, we hear His words as Gospel words, not as if God is putting a whip to our back. Not because God will be angry with us if we don’t. But He will be disappointed if He can’t be giving out His gifts. That’s what He loves to do most of all. And if you won’t be dealt with in that way, then He will deal with you in the other way, the way you actually deserve. If you reject the Gospel way, then the Lord will give you the Law way.
What is required of you is to be served by Christ. For He is the one who loves the Lord with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength and who loves His neighbor as Himself. What is required is to receive the benefits of Christ fulfilling the Law, of His circumcision of your heart in the waters of Baptism, and of His perfect love for you. God does not ask of you what He Himself does not do in Christ. Christ comes not to make the Law easier or doable or to get rid of the requirements. He comes to fulfill the Law, to meet the requirements of a perfect fear, love, and trust. He meets the requirements of a perfect life and He takes the punishment of your failure upon Himself at the cross. He rises again so that you might receive Him . You do not have to justify yourself, your works, or your lack thereof, for God declares you righteous for Christ’s sake by grace. As all that we are and have is a gracious gift of God, all that we have to offer Him is the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
What is the message that we want to get out to the world? “What must I do to be saved?” You have to do all these things, work hard, try hard, and God will appreciate your effort. Is it “be afraid! God will send you to hell if don’t do these works, be this good, act this way. Is it come with me, we have the best coffee around? The best youth group? Your kids will have the best time playing with others. But let me ask you this? What do all these things have in common? Or better yet, who do all these things have in common? ME! And this is the point of the matter. It’s not about you, it’s about Jesus. What is required is Jesus. What about come with me, we don’t have all the gimmicks and programs and productions and distractions. Here is the Lord God, kneeling down from heaven to give you His victory over sin, death, and the devil. Come with me. Here is Christ Himself, baptizing you in His crucifixion and eternal life. Here is Christ Himself feeding you with His body and His blood.
Fear the Lord, you His saints. Hold fast to Him, for He is your God, and by His name He has given to you, you will swear, you will live, and you will love, even the name of Jesus, who with the Father and Holy Spirit, are one God now and forever. Amen.