“Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” – Deuteronomy 27:26

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 26, 2012): Deuteronomy 27

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending a religious ceremony. It was a ceremony of a religion for which I am not an adherent, so the service was something that I had never experienced before. There were many things that I had read about; things that I had a bit of head knowledge about, but none of it were things that I had actually witnessed. From an experiential point of view, this was all very new stuff.

So I observed. I watched the way that the holy books were handled. I listened to the words that were spoken – or sung. I heard the instructions and the exhortations, and in everything there was great pomp and circumstance. It was a great experience.

But I am also a student of human behavior. Deep down I knew that there were a number of people for whom the ritual was all that they would ever know. Religion, for them, would never go deeper than the things that they did in that holy place. They could seamlessly move through the motions of the religious service, and then leave the service and forget everything that we had just been exhorted to do. It is the same in every Christian service that I attend. As I look out at the congregation that has gathered, I know that some are only going through the motions. They have no intention of allowing the commitments of the ritual to ever make an impact on their lives. In the modern Christian church, I am convinced that sometimes we come just so that we can feel emotionally beaten up. Then we think that God has moved and that things in our life have changed. But nothing really changes when we walk out of the service.

One of the key concepts taught by Gregory the Great (Pope at end of the sixth century) was what he called consideratio. Gregory defined consideratio as the balance achieved between inward motives and outward action. That was something that, for Gregory, was essential to Christian life. Or, as the curse rained down from Mount Ebal, cursed are those who say with their mouths that they will abide by the law of God but do not carry it out with their actions. Cursed are those who do not achieve consideratio – the balance between intention and action.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 28