A Fork in the Road

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Moses said:  See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Matthew 5:21-37

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then 6come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

The great Yogi Berra once gave directions to fellow baseball player Joe Garagiola saying, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” It turns out, that in that one unique circumstance, the choice didn’t matter because both roads led to Yogi’s house.

There are some choices in this life like that, where the choice we make doesn’t really matter... where one way is just as good as the other. But sometimes in life, the choices we are asked to make really do matter. Those kinds of choices are like the ones Moses asked the people of Israel to make as they were on the threshold of moving into the Promised Land. When they finally ended their journey across the wilderness and were about to settle into this new, non-wandering way of life, Moses told them they needed to choose. They needed to choose between living toward life and prosperity or living instead toward death and adversity.

If they lived in this new land by following the commandments of the Lord, which boiled down to loving God, walking through life in God’s ways, and going by God’s rules, they would be choosing to have a blessed life. If however they chose to turn away from God… to bow down to other gods and live their lives by the rules those other gods set down, they would perish.

This wasn’t God on a power trip setting up booby traps to trip up the people of Israel or giving them pointless hoops to jump through for God’s perverse entertainment. This was God telling the people, “HEY! I know how you all are put together! I know what makes you tick because I’m the one that made all your tickers!” God was letting them know that if they chose to live in a way that was in harmony with the way they had been put together, they would have life. If, however, they lived in a way that went against their manufacturer’s recommendations, they would inevitably tear themselves apart. God was sharing some Divine inside-information about how humans work.  God was sharing that out of God’s unconditional and unlimited love, so they might choose to live and live to the fullest!

Jesus was doing that same thing with the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus reminded the people on that hillside that the choices they made about how they lived together really DID matter. Following God’s commandments, ordinances and decrees, not just by the technical letter of the law but by the even deeper spirit of the law as well, would lead them and all of humanity toward abundant life. Walking down another road would lead to death. Jesus wasn’t sharing what we needed to do to make God love us.  God loves us.  Period.  It’s actually BECAUSE God loves us unconditionally that God wants to let us in on how to follow our Manufacturer’s recommended settings and experience abundant life! Jesus was reminding them that when those recommended settings are followed they allow us to get the most out of life!

And now here WE are. We are at a spot like the people of Israel who were camped outside the Promised Land listening to Moses.  We are at a place in history like the thousands sitting on a hillside in Galilee listening to Jesus. Here we are, sitting down once more and being reminded once again of the choices we are facing. Like the people of Israel… like the people on that hillside in Galilee… we too are facing our moment to make our choice. Today, you and I sit at a fork in the road but this one isn’t like the road to Yoggi Berra’s house where either choice will bring us home.  This choice absolutely matters and is a matter of life or death. 

One way will lead us toward life and blessing. The other will lead us toward death and curses. One way leads us to welcome the stranger, the other way asks us to place the stranger in cages. One way shares our food with the hungry. The other way cuts programs and demonizes the poor and tells them to get a job. One way seeks to heal the sick simply because they are sick. The other way leads to providing healing only for those who can afford it. One way leads us to confront the causes of climate change. The other way denies this thing called “climate change” even exists. One way deals with others with honesty and integrity.  The other way insists that the ends of power justify any kind of means.  One way seeks to be reconciled with brother and sister. The other way seeks revenge on entire families. One way walks toward the higher calling of loving our enemies. The other way just doesn’t know if they agree with that idea of loving enemies.  

You and I… we are at a fork in the road and we have a choice to make. One way, we are told in these lessons, leads toward life and the other way... well, it just doesn’t. Like Moses and Jesus, I want for you to choose the way that leads to life.  I know how difficult that is these days but it is the only way toward life!  So that you might have the abundant life you were created to have I call you to stand up, speak out, advocate, write, march and vote for the way that leads our community, state, country and world toward life and away from death. We are at a fork in the road my friends and unlike the road that led to Yoggi’s house, the way we now choose, at this fork in the road, will make the difference between death and life. Amen.