The Israelites are at a hinge point. A pivot point. A watershed moment. A moment in their collective life where everything is about to change.
We’re familiar with such moments ourselves. In our personal lives, choices about jobs or spouses or divorces or living arrangements or medical care or many other things can be hinge points. We know of similar turning points in our national life. Wars. Milestone legislation. Monumental court cases. Pandemics. Social movements. New technologies. And any organization, including Skyridge, can point to similar pivot points in its life. Personnel changes. Changes in organizational frameworks. Memorable celebrations.
Any hinge point is a while in the making. But once it happens, there’s no turning back.
And that’s where the Israelites are in today’s scripture, approaching a moment when everything changes. For forty or more years, Moses has been leading them out of Egypt and through wilderness toward their ancestral home. They’re almost there. But he won’t be going with them. Moses is about to leave the people he has led so long. Together, they have been through a wilderness time: a time of transformation, of leaving behind old idols and habits, a time of struggle and redemption, a time of radical change and a time of becoming a people of covenant with God and each other.
Before he dies, Moses reminds them of all this. The entire book of Deuteronomy is framed as a series of long teachings by Moses. It all boils down to reminding them of who they truly are. They are beloved ones of God, living in covenant. And Moses reminds them that the words and ways of God are right in front of them, with them in their mouths and hearts.
It’s not hard to learn what to do and how to be in the world. But Moses knows it might be hard to live by what they know. So he urges them to choose life; choose life so that you and those who follow you may thrive. Love God and live in covenant relationship.
It sounds simple enough, but things don’t always go so well. Or seem so clear. And none of us, collectively, over the centuries, have done a very good job of consistently choosing the ways of life, the ways of loving God and following a path of justice, covenant, and deep community. But in a world of grace and forgiveness, love and creativity, moments of choice are always in front of us. We cannot know the long-term implications of any given moment, we can only hope to choose well. To choose life. Life with a capital ‘L.’ Life that extends beyond the realm of our individual concerns and needs and egos. The Divine beckons and points always to Capital ‘L’ Life. Christ invites us to capital ‘L’ Life in this time and place.
So how do we begin, again and always, to accept that invitation?
We’re in a world in crisis.
We’re in a town that has endless needs.
We’re in a congregation that struggles.
We’re in a cultural context that can feel like unfamiliar wilderness.
We may be approaching a pivot point, a hinge point, a watershed moment. What to do?
In some ways, the question of how to choose Life steered my reading and reflection throughout sabbatical. And it seems to have emerged among the congregation in various forms while I was gone. Based on looking at notes, it seems to me that some vital thoughts about choosing Life came up among you:
- David Radcliffe mentioned, among other things, the need to build bridges, according to the notes compiled. I would add that Life never emerges in isolation; relationships and interconnections are essential. To choose Life, we need to recognize relationships, strengthen them, maybe even reach out to build new connections.
- When Anita was among you during sabbatical she offered reminders that “beautiful things arrive at the edge of chaos and disorder” and that “divine creativity is close to turbulence.” To choose Life, then, means that we must have a willingness to loosen an attachment to order and control, and trust that God is working somewhere in the mess.
- Randall Westphall reminded you all of the importance of listening and wonder and awe at the universe around us, and the importance of looking at the world through fresh eyes and open ears. I find it worth adding that Randall’s message seems implicitly attached to a particular physical location. Existence as we know it occurs in physical places inhabited by physical bodies in the moment. So consider the possibility that focusing attention and energy and love on a particular place is part of choosing Life.
- Christine Parks called to mind the importance of remembering we are part of a web of creation…and so, be humble. That means that we can’t do everything. And that we act rightly simply because it is the right thing to do. Choosing Life means that we must have a clear sense of who we are—co-creators with God—as Sr Christine mentioned. But also simply a part of a much greater whole.
- David Moffett-Moore also reminded you about the deep interconnectivity of the world, and pointed to the promise of an inclusive spirituality, a spirituality that embraces all people and all creatures rather than responding in fear and defensiveness. From that perspective, it seems to me that choosing Life asks us to be open and vulnerable.
- Rabbi Schicker reminded you of the gifts of communal action and concrete steps within a community and the need to cease destroying nature. That indicates to me that choosing Life is not something we do really well all by ourselves, and that Life sometimes needs fierce defenders.
- Cybelle Shattuck held up the need to begin small, to support one another, to learn about what other organizations and houses of worship are doing, and to act out of faith rather than an expectation of success. Cybelle pointed in the direction of hope and knowing what our motivations are for what we do in the service of Life.
A willingness to learn really appeared among you during sabbatical. Integrating new information is one of the key conditions for a living, thriving system. And, of course, many among us asked key questions and shared words of wisdom and insight, hope and imagination.
As Moses said, the word is very near to you; you don’t need to go looking for it someplace else. Words to help us all choose life with a capital ‘L’ abound in this place, as they did among the ancient Israelites. That is all well and good.
I have suggested over the last few weeks that the image of refugia can be helpful to us in this time and place and congregation as we continue, I hope, to choose Life. With a capital ‘L’. Much of what you heard others talk about while I was gone relates to the creation and nurture of refugia. None of us knows what that looks like here, yet. But we certainly can intentionally create the conditions for a few small pockets of Life to thrive in the world and among us.
The word we need is here. May we learn to embody it, that the world may thrive and know blessings.
Scripture: Deuteronomy 30: 11-20
-Rev. Ruth Moerdyk