Test Driving Theology

Here at church, almost every afternoon, we see student drivers practicing their driving skills under the watchful eye of their instructors in the church parking lot.  They will practice winding through the rows, parallel parking and angle parking.  It makes sense to me; It’s a big lot with plenty of room.   I did the same thing when we were teaching Nathan and Sam how to drive.  

Except for one difference.  When I first took each of the boys out practice-driving, I took them over to the parking lot at St. John Lutheran Church, just down the road.  When they asked me why we were there instead of here, I told them “Because if you’re going to hit a parked car, it’s not going to be a Trinity parked car.”

We learn by doing.  We learn by practicing.  Whether it’s driving, or sports, or music, or math, or science, or theater, or anything…we learn by following instructions and by being guided until we can do it by ourselves.

That was the case with people in Biblical times as well.  God had hopes and expectations for how he wanted them to live, and get along. So God gave them guidance.  He gave them instructions.  We call those instructions “the law.”  The law…the commandments, take up a healthy chunk of our Old Testament.

Our reading from the book of Hebrews describes how this all came to be.  The author writes: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”

You see, it all starts at the beginning…God created the world, and what did he say?  He said that it was “good.”  

• God created the earth and the sky, and it was good.  
• God created all that was in the world, the plants and the animals…and it was “good.”  
• God created humans…and they were “good.” 
  

Good, that is, until sin entered the world, and creation was broken.  Because of the human desire to be in control…because humans didn’t acknowledge God, we stepped away from God’s will.  We became less than “good.”

So, God decided that there needed to be a “course correction…” guardrails that would protect us from wandering too far.  So, God created the law. 

We’re most familiar with the 10 commandments, those laws that God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  But there were more.  Many more, actually…There are 613 laws in what is called the “Mitzvot,” the Jewish law. 

And with those laws…well that should do it then, right?  We’d follow the law.  And our relationship with God would be restored, and all would be good again. Except that it didn’t happen that way.

Humans…well, let’s just say that we don’t always react well to law…to being told what to do…and what not to do.  (“Nobody’s the boss of me!) And so, humanity…we… resisted the law.  We continued to wander.

So, God moved to step 2.  The prophets.  The prophets were faithful…righteous…and brave.  They needed to be brave, because their job was to verbalize the law.  Their job was to point to the way.  And they’d have to stand up to teachers, rabbis, and even kings.  Prophets were people like Ezekial, Elijah, Miriam, Deborah, Amos and Micah.  Their job was to bring the hard word…the word that people…people with power…didn’t want to hear.  “You’re wandering…come back.”

So that then, should do it.  Right?  Except that it didn’t.  Throughout history, humans have never liked prophets.  These Old Testament ones…the disciples in the New Testament, and of course, our modern-day prophets, people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer…Oscar Romero…Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  They all lost their lives for speaking a prophetic truth.

So, the law didn’t work.  The prophets didn’t work. Then came step 3.  Hebrews tells us, “In these most recent days, God sent us his Son.”  

Step 3 is Jesus.  God said “ok, I gave you the law…I sent you the prophets…and if you can’t figure this out, then I guess I’m going to have to come down there myself.”  And God did.  God took on human form.  We call it the incarnation.  God made flesh…Jesus.

And so, Jesus came…he came to lead, and to teach, and to heal, and to restore.  And he came to bring grace and salvation…so that when we do wander…we are called back, and we are forgiven.

• The law.
• The prophets.
• And Jesus…the resolution.

Now, I admit that I am making this sound simple…really too simple.  But it’s not.  It is actually a challenge, because now we need to figure out how to live…not as people who are under threat of the law, but as people who have received Jesus, and this gift of grace and love.

There are those who would like to live in the law.  They are focused on the “do’s” and “don’ts” of the Christian faith, and they can come across as a bit  rigid.   You probably know some of these people.  (Don’t be pointing at each other!).  They don’t acknowledge that there is a lot of gray in the world where we have to figure out what God wants for us, for each other and for our community.  The find security in tight boundaries…and even though in their hearts, they want what’s best for people, they can come across as judgmental.

At the same time, there are those who would argue that because of grace, because of forgiveness…we can do whatever we want…that grace is a giant permission slip.  There are no rules, because for whatever we do, there is forgiveness.  But this isn’t the answer either.  

The theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer has taught us that when we live this way, we cheapen God’s grace.  It is still there…grace never goes away, but when we take advantage of it, we diminish its power within us…its power to transform our hearts.  Grace is not intended simply as a “get out of jail free card.”  It is intended as a gift, and a way of life.

Jesus flat out says it in Matthew, chapter 5: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.”  That’s grace.  The law has not gone away…God still has hopes for the world and expectations for all of us to follow.  But it is simplified.  “What is the greatest commandment?”  Jeus says it is to “love God with all your heart, soul and mind…and love your neighbor as yourself.”  The greatest commandment…it is love.  

So, there is this place…this middle place…where we live out our lives.  It is not the rigidity of the law, but it is not permission to do whatever we want, regardless of the cost, or the consequences.  This middle place is not easy…but it is where we live.

So how do we live in this middle place?  How do we navigate life and avoid the traps of either extreme?

First, we need to recognize who Jesus is.  We need to acknowledge that he is Lord and God of all.  The author of Hebrews says it in this beautiful way when he writes in chapter 1, verse 3 that: Jesus “is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.”  Jesus is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.  

Second, we are called to live lives of gratitude. Our salvation is a gift, not something we have earned. The author of the Book of Hebrews is reminding us that Jesus came, suffered, and died to bring us into relationship with God. When we fully grasp the magnitude of this, our lives should be marked by thanksgiving. Every day, we can wake up and say, “Thank you, God, for this new day, for the breath in my lungs, for the grace that sees me through.”

Third, we are called to live lives of purpose. Hebrews reminds us that we have been crowned with glory and honor, and we have been created for a life that reflects God’s image in the world. This isn’t just about achieving success by worldly standards; money, or power, or status, but it is about living lives of service, compassion, and love. In whatever vocation or calling God has placed you, you are invited to reflect Christ, and to embody His love to those around you.

And finally, we are called to live lives of community. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. In the same way, we are called to embrace one another as family. The church is more than just a gathering of individuals; it’s a community of people bound together by Christ’s love. In a world that too often feels fragmented and divided, we are called to be a vibrant example of how God’s people live together. We are called to love one another deeply, to support each other in our struggles, and to work together for the sake of God’s mission in the world.  That is what it is to be church.

Once upon a time, the law was the message.  It was a reminder of how we are to live and thrive together. When humans turned their backs on the law, the prophets were sent to remind us and to call us back.  

But when we chose to ignore the prophets…God sent a new message…one that doesn’t replace, but that completes the law.  It is a message that restores your hearts…it restores your relationship with God, and that restores our very world.

Jesus is the message.  He is God incarnate.  He is the Word made flesh.  

And Jesus is using us to clean up the mess, to set things right again, and to make his Kingdom a reality…right here…right now.  

What is it for us to be the church?  To be people of God?  What is it for us to “be Trinity?”  It is to believe these things, deep in our hearts.

And it is to act…to love and to care…it is to reflect God’s love.  

We still listen to and follow the law.  But now, we live in grace…we live as disciples, not because the law requires us to…but because we get to.

Thanks be to God for that!

Amen.