"Poster::Love" by marcelsan on Flickr

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Matthew 5:21-37
"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
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When Charisse and Jon would bid farewell to their teenage sons as they left to hang out with friends on a Saturday night, they would send their sons off with a five-fingered goodbye: no drinking, no drugs, no smoking, no sex, and no operating heavy machinery.

In other words, "make good choices."

In some ways, our very existence can be defined as an ongoing series of choices that we make, from which cereal we eat for breakfast to which discipline we major in in college, to our choice of boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse. We make choices about where we life and who we spend time with, what we eat and what we do for fun. We make choices about what products we use and what business we want to support...or boycott. We make choices about how to raise our children and we make choices about whether to stay in our homes or move into assisted living communities.

Some of us make choices based on convenience, or on what takes the least effort. Some of us make choices based on what makes us feel good or what makes us happy. Some of us make choices based on whether or not we will get into trouble.

It might not surprise you to find out that I was a total goody-two-shoes in elementary school. Always the one with hands folded on my desk, responsible, respectful, keenly aware of right and wrong.

And I'll never forget the day that I was sitting in line outside of math class, waiting for the teacher to be ready for us, and realizing that I had completely forgotten to do my long division homework. I couldn't stand the thought of getting in trouble for not having my homework, and having a "late note" sent home to my parents, and missing recess, so I thought I was doing the better thing by turing to my friend Kris and asking him if I could copy his answers. I might have gotten away with it if Kristin, the closest thing to an arch-enemy you can have in fifth grade, hadn't overheard me and immediately ratted me out to Mrs. Wenzloff. This earned me a late note, a missed recess, and a special note to my parents, which then also earned me the opportunity to sit at the dining room table with my mom and write an apology letter. I had made a choice that I thought was going to save me from getting in trouble, and ended up in even more trouble because of it.

It doesn't always work to make choices based on our happiness or convenience or self-preservation. There has to be a better way to make good choices.

God, in Deuteronomy, says "Choose life, that you and your descendants may live."

This passage from Deuteronomy comes from Moses's farewell discourse. God, through Moses, has led his people out of slavery, liberating them from oppression. They have spent forty years wandering in the wilderness, trusting God for their survival. And now, God has brought them to the edge of the promised land. The whole of their promised abundant life sits before them. All they have to do is remember the God who saved them and then choose to step forward into his promise. Staring at the edge of abundance, they have a choice: life or death, prosperity or adversity, blessings or curses. Stepping forward with God, or turning along their own paths in the wilderness.

Choose life, that you and your descendants may live.

This is how we, as redeemed and liberated people of faith, are called by God to make good choices. Good choices are life-giving, not only for us, but for others and for the whole created order. Good choices do not merely turn away from the wilderness, but they step forward into abundance and goodness.

Our gospel today is explicit about this idea that God asks us not only to reject evil, but to choose good.

We are still reading from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and he is still teaching the people about God's values. We've already learned that God values things like meekness and peacemaking and compassion, and we've already learned that God calls us to be salt and light in the world. Now, Jesus is going back through the law and reinterpreting it for his listeners. Jesus says "You have heard it said...but I say..." This means that he is taking what the people think they know of the law, and giving them more to chew on.

For each law, Jesus intensifies the law, broadens it. It's not enough to reject the bad, he says. You also have to choose the good. It's not about the letter of the law, it's about the spirit.

The letter of the law might say that you shouldn't murder. But the spirit of the law says that you should seek to be life-giving in your words and deeds toward others.

The letter of the law might say that you shouldn't be unfaithful in your relationships. But the spirit of the law says that you should seek to view others as human beings and not as objects.

The letter of the law might say that you can dissolve relationships legally. But the spirit of the law says that you shouldn't view others as disposable, and that you should seek to protect the most vulnerable.

The letter of the law might say that you should be truthful, and not swear falsely. The spirit of the law says that you should live a life of integrity, so that others never have to doubt your word.

Jesus reinterprets the law so that it is other-focused instead of self-focused.

There are five hundred some laws in the Old Testament, and later in his teaching, Jesus will boil them down to two laws: love God and love neighbor. These are the guiding principles for all of our choices, and the criteria by which we live out God's law. Do our actions in the world first of all honor God? And then, do they care for the neighbor?

Too often, the temptation is to reduce our faith to a set of rules and moral codes. To believe that if we don't murder and don't steal and don't lie, then we are living up to God's expectations and living out our faith. Sort of like when your professor assigns a paper that is a minimum of five pages, and figure out that you can take a three page paper, increase the font by a little bit, increase the margins of the page by just a tiny smidge, and up that double-space between lines to a two-and-a-quarter space, and end up with a paper that is technically five pages.

But our God is not a God of technicalities, or a God of bare minimums.

God gave us the maximum in love for us, sending Jesus to die for us, deciding to save us long before we even were born. Like those wandering Israelites, God has already brought us out of slavery, liberated us from the oppression of sin and death, and has placed us now in view of the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. He has placed in front of us the promise of life and blessing.

Jesus, the one who has come to fulfill and reinterpret God's law, shows us that the life of faith is a life of transformation. Christ is always transforming our hearts to live by the law of generosity and compassion, changing our instincts, orienting us around God and other, so that we can reject evil and choose good.

Today we baptize Emmett, and welcome into our midst as a beautiful and beloved child of God. During the baptism, we will do exactly what Jesus asks us to do: reject evil and choose good. Together, we will renounce the devil, sin, and all the forces that draw us from God. And then we will profess our faith, actively choosing God and God's will over the wilderness paths of this world. Anne and Brett will actively choose good for Emmett, promising to help him grow in faith, learn about God, serve Jesus, share God's good news, and strive to live a life of justice and peace.

In baptism, God has chosen each and every one of us, and given us the power - and inclination - to make that double move. To reject the bad and to seek the good. To turn from evil and to honor both God and our neighbor.

So friends, we are standing at the edge of God's promise land. And we have a choice. God has set before us wilderness, death, adversity. And God has set before us blessings, abundance, and life.

This day, let us choose life, that we may truly live.