Deuteronomy 30. 15-20
“Life and prosperity” isn’t a reward; it’s a gift!
As Americans, we believe in work. Long. Hard. Sweat of our brow, strength of our arm, kind of stuff. You’ve seen the billboards. Read the bumperstickers. “If you want it, work for it!” “Nobody cares. Work harder.” Dreams don’t work unless you do!” We believe in work. We’re fixated on it. Obsessed with it. Compared to other countries, we work longer. Take fewer vacations. Socialize less on the job because of it.
There, for a little while, we tried doing it differently. We unionized. At least, some of us. Enough of us to make a difference. We created the weekend. Forty hours a week. Eight hours a day. Minimum wage. Healthcare. Unemployment insurance. We even got our children out of the mills, the factories, the mines. That’s what we commemorate, this weekend. What some of us even celebrate. But the change is being undone. Chipped at. Worn away. A little at a time. We Americans believe in work. With all our heart. With all our strength. With all our being. It’s what we look to for all good. It’s what we find refuge in, in all need. Even here, in the church.
Temptations, trials come our way, as well. And our initial reaction is to buckle down. Shoulder to the wheel. Nose to the grindstone. Pick ourselves up by our bootstraps. And we clergy-types are the worst. When we find ourselves in a hole and we keep digging. Faster. Harder. And we wonder why the hole just gets deeper. It’s because work – even smart work – doesn’t solve problems. It doesn’t ease the strain. We’d like to think it does. We believe it will. But it won’t.
A work ethic, we call it. Protestant. Puritan. Calvinist. The Swiss reformer taught that all people must work. Even the rich. Work’s the will of god. It’s our duty. Our obligation. As god’s instruments here on earth. To reshape the world. To fashion it into the kingdom of god. To be part of the ongoing process of creating. Recreating. The harder the work, the holier the worker. With hard work, so it goes, you can achieve anything. Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds. Winners embrace hard work.; losers see it only as punishment. And so, we work. And we work. And we work. All the while forgetting that while we Lutherans are Protestants. We aren’t Puritans … or Calvinists …
We’re Lutherans. And we don’t believe in work. Not like everyone else. Earning. Deserving. We believe in gift! We believe in love! We believe we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves! We believe we haven’t loved god with our whole heart! We haven’t loved our neighbors as ourselves. And no amount of work can change that! No amount of work can change any part of it! We can’t try harder! We can’t do better! All we can do is sit … and wait … for someone else to come and set us free! It’s not our effort! It’s not our understanding! That makes a difference! It’s god! It’s god and god’s effort and understanding that changes us! That changes the world!
But as Americans, we’re a pretty Calvinistic lot. When I talk about popular theology, that’s what I mean. Not Calvinist-in-general, but Arminian-in-particular. You see, most American denominations are rooted in the Second Great Awakening. And Calvinism according to the Dutch reformer Jakobus Aminius was better suited to revivals. Based, as it was, on freewill. On choices. Decisions. If you take one step, God takes two. That’s what they believe. We’re the cause; god’s effected. But if we stand still, so does god. Thus, a belief … a passion … a fervor … for works. Work saves us. Work delivers us. Work sets us free. Like creeds and confessions, our pay stubs and timecards are our statements of faith.
Then, Jesus says, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ….”
“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ….”
What must we do to inherit the kingdom, we ask. Jesus says, “Nothing!” What must we do to be saved? Jesus says, “Not one thing!” But American Christianity says, “You have to come to church on Sunday morning!” American Christianity says, “You have to read the bible!” “You have to say your prayers!” “You have to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior!” “Invite him into your heart!” “Be baptized!” But that isn’t us! We believe we’re saved by gift! We believe we’re saved by charity! We believe we’re saved by grace! Bottomline, we believe we’re saved by god! By god and by god alone!
Unfortunately, it’s contagious. We catch it from the world around us. All that faith, that trust, that believing in work. God’s love isn’t the result of our actions. It’s the cause! It’s what initiates them! It’s what makes them happen!
We won’t get bigger, just because we work harder! We won’t become better, even if we work smarter! Our life – our life together – doesn’t depend on how loud we sing or how long we pray. It doesn’t depend on how well we know the bible. That’s all that popular American stuff. Calvinist. Puritan. Arminian.
For us, there’ only one way to grow the church. And that’s if – that’s when – god grows it! We believe that by our own understanding and strength, we don’t … and we won’t … and we can’t … But god does and will and can! God makes what is old young, again! What is few, many! And god does is through the gospel! Not through our blisters and our blood! But through the gospel proclaimed! Through the goodNews administered! God does it all through Christ! And you and I? We just sit … and watch … and listen … and believe! As a new world unfolds … as a new creation blossoms … right before our eyes! No asking! No searching! No knocking! It’s all a gift! It’s all charity! It’s all love! And if it wasn’t, well, there’d be no need for Jesus. There’s be no need for the cross. No need for pastors; just cheerleaders and motivational speakers. No gospel; only peptalks and pregame speeches.
As Americans, we love work. We’re fixated on it. Obsessed. The more of it, the better. Real sweat-of-our-brow, strength-of-our-arm kind of stuff. That separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls. But here, in this place, among this people, we believe in, we stake our lives on, one thing! The mercy of Almighty God! In which Jesus Christ was given to die for us! And for his sake – not for ours, but for his – god forgives us! All!