This is the Gospel according to...

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.

This is the Gospel according to whom? …

We heard the Word read a few moments ago from the Book of Romans, from Paul’s lips, via Flemming’s lips. This Word did not originate with Paul; it was written in the Book of Deuteronomy – from the Torah- the reiteration of the five books of the Law:

Surely, this commandment [that’s all the Law recorded in Deuteronomy] that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?”

No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe. Deut 30: 11

This is the Word spoken, passed down from generation to generation, from lips to hearts, observed, through to Paul, through to us.

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.  Love God, and love your neighbour as yourself.

This is the Gospel according to whom? …

We have heard this Word on the lips of Jesus. This Word did not originate with Jesus; it was written in Deuteronomy, and Leviticus, as the summation of the Law.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Deut.6: 4-7

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Lev. 19: 18

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart.

This morning we encounter Jesus in the desert confronted by the devil who tempts him. Jesus response is to speak the Word:  One does not live by bread alone; Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him; Do not put the Lord your God to the test.

This is the Gospel according to whom? …

Once again, the Word on Jesus’ lips is the Word that resides in his heart; it is the Word he has observed since the time of his birth. The Word is from Deuteronomy, passed down from generation to generation:

God humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.  Deut. 8:3

The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. Deut. 13: 4

Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You must diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his decrees, and his statutes that he has commanded you. Deut. 6: 16-17

Jesus resists temptation with words that he has read, memorized, prayed aloud, and lived his whole life. In the encounter with the devil, Jesus only uses the Word from Deuteronomy.  The Word of Deuteronomy is Gospel; it brings life. Throughout Jesus’ ministry it is recorded that he quotes Deuteronomy 10x, Exodus 7x, Isaiah 8x, and the Psalms 11x.  Deuteronomy was an important Word in the formation of who Jesus was and what Jesus was about.  The book was sacred text that described relational living and shared abundance.

Full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led into the wilderness for forty days. This passage is read on the first Sunday of Lent to turn our thoughts to the task of our forty day journey to Holy Week and Easter.  The Word we hear is to cleanse our lips, adjust our hearts, activate our observance. We are to turn our attention to God’s way of relational living and shared abundance.

The Gospel according to Paul, the Gospel of Jesus, reiterate the Word as articulated in Deuteronomy.  Again and again the scripture speaks of God’s word being near, present. It is the Word that is to be spoken and taken to heart.  It is a code of rules to learn, to teach, to shape one’s life by. Love the Lord your God and your neighbour as yourself.

But, it is also more than that.

The word is near you, … on your lips …  and in your heart. The specific scripture that we heard from Deuteronomy via Romans reveals the interconnection of the three parts.

The word is near you.

A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

In the recitation of family story the words are a recognition of the historic relationship of the people with God and recognition of God as the Source of life. The Word is near because it has been passed down from the time of Moses. God has walked in covenant with the people, from wandering times – times of being lost, times of getting stuck, being all over the map; in times of slavery, affliction, toil; times of exodus and settling down.

And because of the Word being near, because God has continued to keep covenant with the people,

On your lips… are the words:

Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.

This is a statement of thanksgiving. This is a statement of the fulfilled promises of God. This is a statement of being in relationship with God. And it is not empty words. Accompanying the words is an offering:

When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.

The offering is one of observance. It has been commanded in the Law, yet is to be practiced from the heart. The offering was given not to support the temple, rather, the offering of first fruits was to go to support those who were landless, or lacked-self sufficiency like widows, orphans, alien residents, and Levites. Practising the offering was a ritualized and practical way to love God and love neighbour.

What is interesting is that, the word is near you, on your lips and in your heart, is not about one person.

It is about a people on a communal faith journey, from generation to generation, who continue to testify to God’s faithfulness, deliverance, and provision.  The offering is not offered in silence.  It is offered with words that sound like a confession of faith.  The prescribed words spoken on the lips, remind the speaker and hearer who they are and whose they are, and because of this how it is they are to live. And it is an inclusive confession. The wandering Aramean confession was to be recited in Hebrew; those who did not know Hebrew or were unable to learn the words in Hebrew, repeated the words after the priest; eventually to avoid putting anyone to shame everyone repeated the words following the priests lead.

Once the thank offering was collected, faith confessed, it was time to live from the heart.

You shall set it down [the offering of first fruits] before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

Brian Jones, a retired Biblical studies professor wrote that the, “Presentation of offering, liturgical recitation of sacred history, celebratory meal – Christians will recognize this sequence.  Sharing the fruits of our labour with those on the margins is obedient, perhaps even sacramental.”

Giving to the landless and those lacking-self sufficiency is how the faithful give to God. When we live from the heart, giving is part of every day life. We speak and confess it in public spaces. We tell our children.  Together we continue to turn our hearts to loving God and loving neighbour by remembering who we are and whose we are, and because of this how it is we live. In being obedient to the Law – the Gospel- we are participating in sacrament; an event where Christ is present, through Word and action.

For the next 40 days of Lent the Spirit takes us to the wilderness.  In the deserts of our days we are confronted by the devil; tempted to live contrary to the Law and the Gospel according to Deuteronomy.

For the next 40 days, return to the Lord, return to the Word, live obedient to the Law – the Gospel- that Christ may be sacramentally present through you.

May the Word of Deuteronomy be near you, on your lips and in your heart.