Saturday, September 22, 2012

Distractions

It is raining.  It wasn’t when I sat down here to work.  But now it is.  Plus an hour or so has passed.  And now I’m wondering what is for lunch.  And I like this song that is playing right now.  Wait, did I hear Maddie finally awake and stumbling around in the kitchen?  I wonder if she is going to come in and say hello or not? 

Probably not.  Better get to work.  Our passage for this week... Wait, it wasn’t Maddie after all.  It was La Donna.  No wonder Maddie didn’t come to say hello.  Or at least flop down in my chair and turn on the TV.  Because it wasn’t Maddie.

It’s raining harder.  OK, got to focus.  Where was I?  Passage.  Sermon.  OK, got it now.  Right, well, what does Deuteronomy have to do with Love Languages?  You know, picking themes and worship series a year out sounds like a good idea, but then it was so long ago that I forgot what I was thinking when I chose these words.  I’m not sure how it connects with our theme, or with Gary Chapman’s “5 Love Languages” series that I’ve been using.  Sorry, Dr. Chapman.  Not just any old Chapman.  Wow, rain really coming down now. Was it supposed to rain this hard?

Maybe this week I should just start with the passage and see if I can comment on it later.  Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.  Oh, look, the rain stopped.  Amazing.  What’s that I smell?  Lunch?  Already.  Better finish this up.

No, better get this started.  Take a look at this, would ya?  And I’ll try to figure out where I’m going with this.

Deuteronomy 4:23-31  So be careful not to forget the covenant that the LORD your God made with you, and not to make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you.  24 For the LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.  25 When you have had children and children's children, and become complacent in the land, if you act corruptly by making an idol in the form of anything, thus doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, and provoking him to anger,  26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to occupy; you will not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed.  27 The LORD will scatter you among the peoples; only a few of you will be left among the nations where the LORD will lead you.  28 There you will serve other gods made by human hands, objects of wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.  29 From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.  30 In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the LORD your God and heed him.  31 Because the LORD your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.

“Be careful not to forget the covenant.”  Be careful.  I know as we read on it seems to get much more serious.  It talks about anger and judgement, about destruction and exile.  So, maybe be careful doesn’t really convey the seriousness of the issue here.  Be careful is something you would say to someone carrying eggs from the fridge to the counter, something you would say to someone walking in a room where you’ve broken something made of glass and you want to warn them not to step on it.  Maybe a louder warning, maybe more of a threat might work. 

On the other hand, the tone of Moses’ speech seems about right.  The people of God are standing on the threshold of a new life, a new land.  They’ve come through forty years of wandering in the wilderness, trying to find their way to being the nation God called them to be.  And now they are about to launch into it.  So, Moses says “be careful.” 

Take care, he says, there are things that are worth caring for.  Things that need to be valued above other things.  It is a matter of priorities, he is arguing.  And when you let this covenant slip down the list, there will be trouble.  He says “when you have had children and children's children, and become complacent in the land...”  Did you notice that?  When you become complacent.  It is as if it is almost inevitable.  When you have children, and they have children.  When you are distracted by life, then you are in danger.  And just what is the danger?  “If you act corruptly by making an idol in the form of anything.”

Wait.  That’s the danger?  That we will make idols?  Not likely.  I mean the carving of totems or the shaping of statues doesn’t fit into my long range or even short range plans.  I’m too busy anyway.  I’ve got responsibilities, I’ve got jobs to do.  A house to maintain and kids to raise, and then there are various hobbies and interests.  You know all work and no play and all of that.  Gotta keep up with the world, gotta take my share of opportunities when they come, gotta ...

In the form of anything.  Kind of startling, isn’t it.  Anything.  Almost as though Moses knows how distracting this world is.  How many things, good things many of them, but they can still be distractions from the important things.  And Moses is pretty clear about what is important - the Covenant.  With God first of all, but also, I would suggest, with those were are in relationship with.  When we married - if we did - we made a covenant to love.  When we joined a church - if we did - we made a covenant to support with our prayers and presence and gifts and service and witness.  When we joined a small group - if we did - we made a covenant of support and caring and mutual accountability.  Sure, we’ve got lots of responsibilities and important things to be doing with our time and our resources, but those covenants need our attention, need our care.  “Be careful not to forget the covenant” says Moses.

The thesis of the Love Languages series is that all of our most important relationships need attention.  That we can improve our loving by paying attention to those with whom we are in relationship and learning to speak the love language that they speak, to meet them where they are instead of always expecting them to speak our language.  Sure, we need to be filled up too, we need those we love to speak to us in a language we can understand.  But if we focus outwardly first we are more likely to find fulfillment within.

The truth is there are distractions aplenty in our world today.  It takes some focus, it takes commitment, it takes a choice to lift our relationships to a higher level of importance in our busy schedules.  “Be careful not to forget the covenant.”

I wonder if the rain has stopped.

Shalom,
Derek

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