July 13 | Pentecost 5, Year C
Amos 7:7-17 or Deuteronomy 30:9-14
Psalm 82 or Psalm 25:1-9
Colossians 1:1-14
Luke 10:25-37
Because what we do is tangible evidence of our worth to society, we find security in describing ourselves in that manner. In addition, if we define ourselves by what we do, then we have some control over who we present ourselves to be. To say “I am an engineer” risks far less likelihood of a challenge than to say “I am a good person.”
If that is the case for our daily lives, no wonder we tend to approach our relationship with God in the same manner. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). There is a security in knowing exactly what we need to do to please the deity—regardless of what deity we are addressing.
For the pagans and their idols, the motive was to find the right formula that would make the gods happy and therefore provide rain and fertile soil, which would result in a good harvest. For the Jews, the drive was to obey the rituals and adhere to the letter of the law so they might be blessed by prosperity and a long life. Throughout the history of the Church, Christians have sought the right prayers in the correct language, being sure to append Jesus’ name at the end so that those prayers would be answered and we would be right with God. The problem with such thinking is that it results in a human-centered religion. If we do something that pleases the deity, then we will receive whatever we want. What this quid pro quo approach to blessing means is that experiencing a good outcome from our petition is predicated on what we do, and so gives us a feeling of control. Our dependence is not based on the deity, but on our making the right petition.
That, however, is not biblical religion. Biblical religion is not meant to be a matter of logistics, but of love. Love cannot be tamed into a list of dos and do nots. Love is untidy, wild, and often inconvenient. Love is needing to do what needs to be done when the opportunity presents itself. Love is seeing a man bleeding and unconscious in a ditch and making a self-sacrificial detour to help him and a costly investment in his well-being. Love is the basis of true religion—a religion that releases us to respond to need, rather than restricts us to specific actions.
Obedience does have something to do with worship and religion. We must not, however, confuse obedience-for-favor with obedience as a response to what God has already done. The goal of the obedience Jesus teaches about is not to obtain something from God, but rather an expression of our love for God. Our obedience to God is to have as its focus Jesus and not our salvation. Jesus gives us our salvation freely by grace and not as a reward for our obedience. Therefore, our love—even that demonstrated through obedience—does not earn God’s love, because he already loves us even in our disobedience. Our love emanates from our gratitude to God for his love—unearned, beyond our control, and costly.
What we do is important. But what we do does not define who we are. Rather, we do what we do because of who we are. We are grateful sinners who have been forgiven through the love of God in Jesus Christ. We announce and demonstrate that in our lives through loving obedience to the will of the One who has forgiven us.
Look It Up: Colossians 1:3-6
Think About It: Our faith and our love are the result of our hope in heaven rather than the reverse.
The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, teaches anatomy at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School.
