First Congregational United Church of Christ – Eugene, Oregon
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Walking in the Ways of God
Rev. Jonathan Morgan
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
February 16, 2014
Sometimes my lovely loving children accuse me of being a bit of a worrywart. I must admit I am guilty of such
a charge. Honestly, it is hard for me to just watch my dear ones fend for themselves in this world without
offering a little (or sometimes a lot) of fatherly advice.
“Did you buy your books online? Have you changed the oil in your cars yet? Are you paying your rent on
time? Are you eating anything else besides Hamburger Helper?” These days I have even been known to keep
a close eye on the weather back in Boston, and I am rather proud to say I haven’t called once to see if they are
wearing their boots and hats. (But maybe I should. It has been really cold there, and they are having another
blizzard this weekend! Excuse me . . . I just need to make a quick note to call them!)
In reading this morning’s text from Deuteronomy, I think you will now understand why I identify with Moses at
least on one level. You see, he truly loves the Israelites. They have come a long way together, and he has come
to love them as his children.
Now as he nears the end of his journey on this earth, he knows all too well that his ability to guide them is also
coming to a close, and so he worries a little – well, actually he worries a lot! He knows that too often they
choose to wander away from God’s love and seek a way back to the past and suffer the consequences. And so
he offers them some parental advice in the form of a sermon that makes up no less than 30 chapters of the book
of Deuteronomy!
Thirty chapters! Man, I thought I was bad! My kids really don’t know how easy they have it!
Well, for Moses it all comes down to a matter of making the right choice: “Today I set before you life and
death, blessings and curses. Choose life…”
This is the climax of the book, which presents itself as Moses’ farewell speech as the Hebrew people prepare to
enter the promise land without him.
Now I’m not about to preach a 30-point sermon here. (Can I get an “Amen”?) But I think it is important that
we get a sense of Moses’ entire sermon, not just this part of it. Otherwise the call to “choose life” ends up
floating free of its original context, and we may lose the full measure of its meaning in the process.
The fundamental choice laid out in Deuteronomy is between living into the love of God as opposed to giving an
allegiance to the rule of Pharaoh. For context, it is good to remember the Hebrew people had been slaves in
Egypt, and God worked through Moses to bring them out of bondage and into freedom. Yet over and over,
whenever they had to face threat or hardship in the wilderness, the people grumbled against Moses and wished
they were back in Egypt, even if that meant being slaves again. So early on in his sermon, Moses reminds them
of this – for human nature seems frequently tempted to exchange freedom for a false sense of safety and
security. We’re no different today in our Orange Alert world.
First Congregational United Church of Christ – Eugene, Oregon
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And throughout the sermon Moses continually reminds the people of the vast difference between the love of
God and the rule of Pharaoh. What they had endured in Egypt was a cut-throat, winner-take-all system where
those in power did all they could to benefit themselves at every opportunity on the backs of the less fortunate.
Sounds familiar doesn’t it!
In fact, during time of famine, Pharaoh sold food from his storehouses to exploit the people, gathering to him all
their money, their means of production, and their land. There is no room for a safety net when the rich choose
to keep everything they can for themselves.
And who is God in contrast to Pharaoh? It could not be clearer to Moses. “I am the Lord your God who
brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Dt. 5:6) God frees; Pharaoh enslaves.
“The Lord your God . . . is not partial and takes no bribe . . . executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and
loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing.” (10:17-18)
Moses is reminding the people that under Pharaoh, widows and orphans are unproductive parasites on the
system and strangers and immigrants are a threat to it (even if their labor and their very lives are required to
feed it). Remember, says Moses, what it was like when you were immigrants and strangers in Egypt, slaves
being worked to death by Pharaoh’s taskmasters. And remember how Yahweh provided manna in the
wilderness, giving you food to satisfy your hunger (food that you couldn’t store up and then use to take
advantage of others), as against Pharaoh, who profited by monopolizing food and selling it to you from his vast
storehouses until you willingly became his slaves.
Now it’s all there before you, says Moses—life or death, blessings or curses. You have the freedom to
decide. But you’re going to have to choose.
So how does one choose such a life? Moses tries to help by offering a list. A wide variety of “decrees and
statutes and ordinances” fill the bulk of this 30-chapter sermon. Some of them offer detailed instructions for
religious ceremonies, but then there are a great many that specify aspects of community life that will reflect the
light and love of God. As I list some of these, we might ask ourselves which of these we choose to make part of
our common life together as citizens of a nation that claims to value freedom as a primary virtue or which we
choose to put aside or reject.
Moses preaches that human life and freedom in civil society entails such things as: sharing food with the
hungry and giving liberally to the poor (15:10-11); not charging interest on loans (23:19-20); providing for the
forgiveness of debts (as a parent who will be paying for education debt until I am 80, I like those two!) (15:1);
pushing those who govern to refrain from building up vast war machines (17:16) and a call to guard against
excessive wealth (17:17); offering hospitality to runaway slaves (23:15-16) and welcoming immigrants and
strangers that they may become lasting friends (10:19); paying workers fairly and promptly (24:14-15) and
giving them regular time off from their labors (5:14); being truthful in all things (5:20); limiting punishments to
protect human dignity (19:21); leaving a portion of the harvest for those in need (24:19-22); and not being ruled
by personal desire for more and more (5:21 & 12:9).
These are God’s alternatives to a life of bondage in Pharaoh’s system. I think some still stand in contrast to
today’s values in society . . . don’t you think?
First Congregational United Church of Christ – Eugene, Oregon
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Again and again, like a drumbeat in the sermon, Moses reminds the people – you were slaves in Egypt, you
were immigrants and strangers in a land of oppression, but then the Lord heard your cries and brought you out
of Pharaoh’s grasp. Before, there was no choice. Pharaoh owned you. But now God has freed you, and you
can make choices. So make the right choice. Walk in the light of God’s ways!
What about us?
There’s no question that modern-day Pharaohs hold sway over much of our lives today. And I dare say few of
those instructions of Moses are embodied in our public life and those that are seem increasingly under attack.
We’re slaves to rampant envy and greed, slaves to our stuff, slaves to our hunger for safety and security, slaves
to the high costs of health care and education, slaves to crushing debt, slaves to manifold addictions (drugs,
alcohol, whatever we turn to trying to dull the pain and fill empty lives), slaves to fear and anxiety, slaves to our
sources of information and misinformation, slaves to lies and to our ignorance, slaves to discrimination, slaves
to tradition, and (ironically) to the next new thing, slaves to guns and to violence and to war.
There are so many ways the Pharaohs of our world seek to keep control, and they are so very powerful. But
there’s good news here in Deuteronomy. For we still have those choices set before us, both individually and as
a people—life or death, blessings or curses. And by God’s power and grace we have the ability to choose life in
the face of all the powers arrayed against us and to give our allegiance to the God of love and justice and grace.
But I know it is hard to make that choice alone. That is why we have each other. That is why we gather every
Sunday: for encouragement, for guidance, for the strength that we need to stand up and make a difference.
Friends, this church has a long history of walking in the light of God’s ways.
From our earliest days, 125 years ago, our first Bylaws included a mandate that at least one of our three
Trustees shall be a woman – no small victory considering it was the 1880s! I know of some UCC churches in
New England who didn’t allow women leaders until the 1980s!
We made courageous, and not always popular, stands against the war in Vietnam and for Civil Rights in the 60s
and 70s.
And in 1994, we declared ourselves to be an Open and Affirming Church. And we have been blessed with
living 20 years into the promise of being a community of faith open and embracing of all of God’s children . . .
NO exceptions! A blessing that is particularly noteworthy when one considers the fact that even today, in the
year 2014, outstanding football players put their NFL careers on the line when they come out as a gay men and
when we bear in mind that a little less than 20% (only one in five) of UCC churches are Open and Affirming. I
bet many of you didn’t know that statistic! Walking in the light of God’s ways, we blazed a trail then and we
will blaze a trail now.
And I am so grateful to be with you on this journey – there is still so much to do!
First Congregational United Church of Christ – Eugene, Oregon
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As you know, this past week was a challenging one! I really don’t like cancelling worship! It goes against my
very nature. I have only done it three times… three out of over 1500 services I have offered during my career.
Wow! No wonder I am little tired! Knowing that seven families were not able to move into our facility because
we lacked heat and electricity was frustrating to say the least . . . for all involved. But as upsetting as that might
have been, knowing that we have over 1500 people trying to live on our streets night after night – well, that is
real heartache! It is time to make more inspired choices to address this issue of life and death as a community
without giving in to the temptation to just look away.
Honestly, I don’t know the way forward just yet. I am still too new. But I am convinced that we have the
resources if we can summon the resolve to find solutions together that are more just, safer, and just plain better
for everyone.
Now this is but one of the ways that we can choose to walk in the light of God’s ways. As I mentioned a few
weeks ago, our efforts for the freedom to marry act and meaningful public education reforms are priorities also.
Together, as a community of faith, we have choices to make, and I know that with God’s strength and guidance
we will make a difference.
So in the coming days, as a church that is doing its best to follow Jesus, let us dare to imagine a world where all
of the Pharaohs are brought low and all people are raised up to live in freedom, justice, and love.
May it be so . . . and may we do our part. Amen and amen.