OBAMA’S GREEN STRATEGY ATTACKED BY TEA PARTY AND BIG BUSINESS

Thou shalt not destroy creation: I am the Lord.

DEUTERONOMY 5: 28-33

28 The Lord heard your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you; they are right in all that they have spoken. 29If only they had such a mind as this, to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, so that it might go well with them and with their children for ever! 30Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, the statutes and the ordinances, that you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32You must therefore be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left. 33You must follow exactly the path that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you are to possess.

Matthew 7:22-29

22On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?” 23Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

24 ‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’

28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

With these passages the Episcopal lectionary concludes its look at the Sermon on the Mount. Both emphasise that respect for the teaching is not enough: only obedience will do. But note! In both cases the commands are for the good of those commanded. Obedience will lead to long life in the Promised Land, or the survival of the house in time of storm. Obedience will lead to human well-being.

What is the relationship between the commandments and the love of God/ Jesus? They are identical. The love of God is not some vague emotion but God’s utter goodwill towards human beings which can be expressed in the form, “This is my way/not my way.”

Just as Leviticus makes God say, “love your neighbour; I am the Lord” so Jesus says “love your enemies so you will children of your father in heaven.” The identity of God is expressed is his gracious way/kingdom/ Son and must be imitated by human beings. In Christ there is no opposition between law and gospel, there is only the one holy love which we receive and transmit.

This is an important understanding as the evangelical commandments of Jesus have had a secondary place in the mainstream reformed churches, because of the reformers one-sided reliance on what they thought was Paul’s teaching about the Law of God. We need to recover Paul’s distinction between the “Law without Christ” (which condemns evil) and the “Law of Christ,” (which builds up in love), so that we can make full use of the commandments of the Old Testament and of Jesus.