The Most Holy Trinity 2018 (Cycle B)
May 27, 2018
Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 34-40
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20
You will often hear that if you want to understand the New Testament, then you must understand the Old Testament first, In the New Testament there are over 200 references to just Deuteronomy alone, so we need to understand what is so important in this ancient text.
In addition to being influential of the New Testament writings, Deuteronomy has provided the theological perspectives that dominated the Former Prophets; Joshua, Judges; Samuel and Kings. It also has influenced some of the Prophetic writings of Hosea and Jeremiah and indirectly has influenced Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
Scholars have described this text as a covenant, a charter of religious revival, a response to the culture shock of foreign domination, an attempt to humanizing ancient laws. It has also been called morally simplistic while at the same time praised for its call for Israel to love God. The authors have been called harsh and unsympathetic as well as the greatest liberal theologians of the time. So how
can one book of scripture be so confusing, complicated and praised all at the same time.
In reality, the authors wanted to make ancient tradition speak again in a time of great crisis. They wanted Israel to survive the crisis and to regain what it had lost. The monarchy, prophecy, temple and the priesthood all failed to keep Israel from the brink of disappearing as a nation. Both internal and external forces brought the country to the brink of destruction. They wanted the nation to relearn the lessons from the formative years under Moses: obedience to the law of the Lord was the only way for them to survive. In short, obey and live or disobey and die.
Of all of the possible authors for this book, what comes out to be the most logical are the ones who were the keepers of the law, the ones who knew the traditions and could explain them to the people, the ones who were the administrators of the law. They were the elders. Deuteronomy came to light during the Exile when the elders saw that the old institutions had failed to maintain Israel as a nation. They took the old traditions, altered them, developed them, enlarged them and drew theological conclusions from them, all of the sake of providing Israel with a new pattern for life.
One of the ancient literary forms was to present the written word in an ancient treaty formula that followed the pattern of title that identified the King offering the treaty, a historical prologue in which the King offers his beneficial acts toward the people, stipulations or demands made by the King, a list of witnesses and lastly a list of curses and blessings that would follow upon violation and observance of the treaty.
While this book is not a treaty itself, it uses that form to present a series of four addresses given to Israel by Moses in an attempt to exhort them to follow the law. Israel was chosen by God to possesses the land of Canaan and that they would maintain their control of the land if they followed God’s commands. The exhortation to obedience is the core of this text, and the very first test they had to pass was in the inter-societal relationships within their own nation. If they really knew and loved God, then they would know and love their neighbor and to do them justice.
Todays reading is toward the end of Moses first address to the people. Moses, by asking a series of questions, is recalling God’s greatness starting with the creation story when God created the earth and place man in the garden. He then moves on retelling the history of Israel, his voice coming out of the burning bush, the exodus out of Egypt and His protection over the people. Now they must fix in their hearts that he Lord is God and there is no other. By keeping His laws and commands the people will prosper on the land that the Lord has given them.
Paul’s letter to the Romans this week leaves us with a very powerful message and answers a very important question. The question comes from Rom 7:24 when Paul asks “who can set me free from this body under the power of death?’
That answer is quite simple, it is the Spirit. The Spirit is the force, the power behind the saving actions of the Lord. It is our spirits encountering the Holy Spirit given to His disciples at Pentecost, that enables us to reach out and do mighty deeds in His name, to reach out and heal those who are sick, to reach out and touch the hearts of those who need to turn their lives around and come back to Jesus, come back to the Lord.
Up to this point in the chapter, Paul only mentions the Spirit 5 times, but from here to the end of the chapter, 29 times. Paul understands that the Spirit brings a vitality in one’s heart that t was not there before. We come in contact with this Spirit staring with our baptism and continuing with our confirmation. It is by living a life in the Spirit that we come to grow and change who we are and what we do.
As Paul states, we did not receive the spirit to fall back in fear, Sin, but to live as sons and Daughters of God who has adopted us as heirs of God and Jesus.
The Gospel today is from the conclusion of Matthew. His disciples have gathered together as He requested and He gives them His final instructions to go out into the world and to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This passage has been called the Great Commissioning because Jesus gives them these last instructions. We know the disciples were not ready to take on His work of preaching and teaching, you only have to look to see how they ran away at the first signs of trouble, of denying Him 3 times after He was arrested. Theses don’t sound like men ready to take on His ministry to the people and make them believers. He has one last task before He ascends to be with the Father, and that is to send the Spirit to be upon them so that they can carry on with His commands to teach and to love all of God’s creation.
Were they perfect after this, by no means, but they knew they had the boldness to step forward and begin to do what Jesus asked of them. They still had much to learn, especially when it cane to the Gentiles, but we know God was there to continue to guide and teach them what they were to do for Him.
This has always been a very important passage for me in my ministry to the Lord and it was a real breakthrough moment when I had to stand up before our class and read this passage out loud. I knew the Spirit had touched me in ways that are hard to describe, but it is what has allowed me to minster to all of God’s creation.