The passages
we read today tell us about two of the most important moments in salvation
history, moments of decision when God’s people had to decide which way to go.
The first is the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. We tend to think of it as a
key point in the life of Moses, but he is only the Cheshire Cat in the story,
if you like, the person who can tell the people which direction they should
take.
And Moses is
unequivocal about it. He doesn’t sit on the fence like the Cheshire Cat did, at
least metaphorically anyway. he gives the people a clear set of instructions
because he relays to them what he considers to be the direct word of God.
They are to
have only one guiding principle in their lives, not a pantheon of different
options and creeds. They are not to pretend - to themselves or to others - that
they are going in one direction while taking another that leads somewhere else.
They are to show an example of just stewardship of all their resources,
including the people who work for them or are dependent on them. They are to
care for the weak and the marginalised, show proper respect for the elderly,
respect family values and the sanctity of life, and avoid an acquisitive
lifestyle.
It’s not an
easy path that’s offered to them here. No wonder that they were afraid and
trembled. They recognised that they were not being offered an easy choice,
wherein it didn’t much matter which way they took.
Paul
similarly spells out stark choices to the Christians in Corinth. They can
follow the way of the cross, the way of Jesus, which seems foolish to people
who base their reasoning on cold, hard logic. They can, in faith, stick to this
way even though there is no positive proof that it is the right way. They can
choose a path which others will despise and ridicule. Or, they can take the wrong
path - the path dictated by wisdom, cleverness and power. The right way,
the way of Jesus, is full of stumbling blocks that trip up those who can’t
suspend their disbelief in the redemptive power of self-sacrifice and
suffering, or who fall by the wayside.
We live in a
culture that finds the way of the cross hard to accept. It’s a culture which
believes in self-fulfilment, not self-sacrifice; in reward not loss; in healing
rather than suffering; in happiness rather than joy. Christianity, therefore,
remains just as counter-cultural as it was when Paul first dictated his letter.
The Gospel seems to be pointing down a dead-end, a cul-de-sac, whereas we
believe that it has surprising twists and turns which will bring us out at the end
in the presence of God.
Comments