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Obedience

February 28, 2026

Deuteronomy 26:16-19| Matthew 5:43-48 | Psalm 119:1-8

Today you have obtained the Lord’s agreement: to be your God; and for you to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances, and to obey him. 

In today’s Old Testament reading, we encounter a verbal contract whereby, in exchange for obedience, we receive something from God.  It always seemed that God was annoyed with his children in those times, starting with the original sin and moving on to when he relents and sends his Son to save us.  But for this blog, I want to explore the concept of obedience.

250 years ago, this country was formed by an act of disobedience, when we had enough of the rule of a monarchy many had fled from to get here.  In doing so, the Government that was created was defined by constitutional authority.  The framers wanted a system of checks and balances to ensure the liberties they were about to fight a war for would endure and not be stripped away.  Under the government, we are obedient to laws we, as a society, establish.  Many are based on our Judeo-Christian background, while others come and go based on the needs of the times.

Our Episcopal Church also has disobedience in its history.  The Protestant movement broke away from the Roman Catholic Church after perceived abuses and established the Bible as the ultimate authority.  While I was raised Roman Catholic, when I first walked into St. Luke’s I knew there was something different here, something unique and special.  I liken it to the reading from Mathew come to life, where the importance of inclusivity in our lives is stressed: Jesus said “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

On a personal level, I grew up in a wonderful family, although we did find out early that some types of disobedience had consequences. But with Grandparents that raised families in the Great Depression, and parents that fought in WWII, what seemed to be obedience to some manifested itself more as a form of service.  The lessons I learned from my parents and grandparents were to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. 

The right thing to do – seems like St. Luke’s is the best place to figure out what that is.

Michael Sullivan