The Center of the Story
(Free Version)- Proper 25, Year A- Deuteronomy 34:1-12; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Matthew 22:34-46
This week’s readings can be found here. Looking for the podcast? Find it here. Looking to go deeper? Check out our paid subscriptions (now half-off for a limited time!).
If Jesus is Lord, not just the Son of David, but the Son of God, this means that he has final authority over everything. It means that He is our hope, not only in the struggles of our world in the present moment, but for the very core brokenness of our lives and of the world.
In our Old Testament reading (Deuteronomy 34:1-12), Moses has reached the end of his life, and God shows him the Promised Land, into which his people are about to step. This is the same land which was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the beginning. Though Moses will not lead them into it, God gives him the grace to see his faithfulness. With this, Moses dies. And, we see the continuity of God’s people. Even as the great Moses takes his rest, God raises up new leaders.
In our New Testament reading (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8), Paul reminds the church that his visit to them was not without results. But the results which he looks for are different from the results that might be drummed up by errant preachers who are trying to trick them. The real fruit of the good news: that it is preached in the midst of suffering and opposition, and that it is not preached in an attempt to please people. Paul is clear that the apostolic teaching never begins from a desire to get praise from others. And the apostles never exert their power for the sake of domination or manipulation. Instead, the apostolic posture is characterized by humility and nurturing, a true sharing of our lives.
In our gospel reading (Matthew 22:34-46), Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment in the Law. He gives them what would have been a pretty traditional answer. “‘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.” Jesus’ great challenge addressed to them was not in spinning new words, but in reminding God’s people of their vocation. We then see that he lived out the greatest commandments in the midst of his arrest, trial, and crucifixion. His teachings, miracles, passion, and resurrection are characterized by love.
When we choose faithfulness to the way of Jesus we are saying: First, This story is not primarily about me or any other person. God is the hero of the story. And second, God’s new world is here because the hero has come. My everyday faithfulness: forgiveness, service, empathy and compassion, a life of prayer, etc. are simply a participation in that reality.
May we be a faithful people, a people who have been shown God’s Promised Land even though we do not yet experience it; a people who proclaim and live out the gospel even when everything seems stacked against it; a people who love God with all that we are and love our neighbors as ourselves.