Covenant

One of the lectionary readings during Lent is Jeremiah 31:31-34.  I don't usually include a whole scripture passage in a post, but this one is beautiful, so take a moment to read it:

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34, NRSV)

As I read this, and think about covenant, a list of what is promised and described in the scripture formed in my mind:

• "The days are surely coming" - This covenant, while it is a hope for the future, isn't a wish.  It is surely coming.
• It is a new covenant - not an old one, not something remade - something new is spring forth.
• It is a different covenant - we're leaving the old behind.
• This covenant isn't something external - it is placed in our hearts by God.
• God will be our God, and we will be God's people. 
• When this covenant is fulfilled, we will ALL know God.  We won't have to tell each other about God, because all of us will be part of this covenant.
• Part of this covenant is that God will forgive our sins - and will remember them no more.

Devotional - Covenant

On March 1, I started a journey with other lay people across the Annual Conference.  I'm leading a Conference Certified Lay Ministry Course.  It's a new thing - for me, for the students, and for the Conference.  I am spending  a whole lot of time planning, reading and coordinating.  I'm sure over the next few months  you'll see the course mentioned here, and you'll see posts about it (including book reviews - I already have three of those written).

We began our time together with a Zoom meeting.  I opened the meeting with the following devotional.

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

As I was thinking about the beginning of our journey together, and planning what the devotional would be, I was drawn to this particular lectionary reading from last week because of the word covenant in it.

 

We will talk about covenant in our time together.  We will talk about ministry covenants, but we will also – even if not directly – talk about God’s covenant with each of us.  So I thought literally beginning our journey with thoughts about covenant would be appropriate.

 

One of the things I hope you notice from this passage is that it is God who establishes the covenant.  This is not a contract where each side states what it will do for the other – God is declaring through this covenant that God will be “God to you and to your offspring after you.”  Abram and Sarai will be blessed to become the ancestors of the multitudes – of nations and kings.  This is all God’s action.  It has not been earned by Abram and Sarai – it is a covenant of Grace.

 

We should also notice that this covenant is based on relationship, God is not establishing a covenant with a people – God is establishing a covenant with Abram and Sarai.  The covenant extends to all who will follow – but it is established out of a relationship between God and these two particular people.  It’s amazing to think, isn’t it, that the creator of the universe knows these two people, promises steadfast loyalty to them, and that personal relationship will literally reconcile humanity.

 

Abram and Sarai receive new names in this passage – Abraham and Sarah.  What I did not know before I started planning this devotional is that God, too, is called by a new word.  This  passage is the first time in the Bible that the word El Shaddai is used to describe God.  We translate that as God Almighty, but it can also be translated as God of the Mountains. 

 

As we begin this journey together, I hope you will remember that while the covenant in Genesis 17 was with Abraham and Sarah, it was an everlasting covenant.  We to, the People of these Mountains are in relationship with God – we are recipients of God grace because of the restoration begun by God so many years ago.  We too have new names, beloved of God. 

 

Prayer:

El Shaddai, God Almighty, God the mountains, God of grace and love, walk among us tonight.  Gather with us in homes, at our desk, around our computers, and inhabit our work tonight and throughout this year.  Make your will known to each of us, and grant us the grace to move forward in your call.  I give you thanksgiving for each of those here tonight.  May we all live into the new names you have given to us.  In your son’s name we pray, Amen.

 

Genesis 15: Part 3

Thinking about Genesis 15 (see Monday's post)

 

Role of ritual in the story

And then there is that really nasty passage about splitting animals in half and walking between them. It’s important to set this passage in its place in history – know the context. (another great hint for understanding God’s message through the word we read). The slaughter and splitting of animals was a Near Eastern covenant ritual in which the covenanting parties walk between the pieces of animals, thus taking upon themselves the fate of those animals should they violate the covenant. They signed contracts differently then than we do now.

If you read it carefully, you’ll see that a fire pot and buring torch pass between the animals – symbols of God, but that Abram does not. God is taking on the responsibility for fulfilling the covenant alone.

Seeing it, Abram would have known what was happening, and would have understood, through this ritual.

Are there rituals or ordinary experiences that God uses to reveal himself to us?

Trust

The stated purpose of the lesson is “to have the courage to question and to trust in the Word of God.” In this passage, Abram moves from doubt to faith: Verse 6 says, “Abram trusted the Lord, and the Lord recognized Aram’s high moral character.” 

Psalm 8 has been called the first Psalm of praise in the Psalter.  Read Psalm 8 and consider the idea of Trust.

Prayer: Awaken in us, God, the possibility of dreams. Teach us to see in the images common to our lives your very presence. Calm our fears as we walk deeper and deeper into the darkness as we encounter the fame of your spirit; it Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Genesis 15: Part 2

Thinking about Genesis 15 (see yesterday's post)

Doubt

What is your initial impression of the story?  What do you think Abram’s responses say about his faith?  Verse 2 says, “But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damacus?” Does Abram’s response indicate faith or doubt?

• What do you think about doubt? Is it a sin? Is it a natural part of faith? (I think doubt is evidence that we are exploring our faith deeply – I think doubt is the growing pain of sanctifying grace – in order to mature in our faith, we have to ask God and our faith questions. I think we can trust God enough to bring God our doubts.)
• When have you experienced doubt? Do you doubt your ability to answer God’s call? Do you find doubt in your faith? Does Abram’s doubt help you relate to him?
• How does God respond to Abram’s doubt? with patience or impatience? How will God respond to your own doubts? How should we respond to other people’s doubts?

Role of Nature in the story

God takes Abram outside to look at the stars. Imagine what the night sky looked like the desert with no light pollution or buildings to block the starshine. It must have been a beautiful site that easily illustrated God’s point about descendants. What would this have told Abham? It would have been a reminder that God created the stars – this is God. It reminds me of the scenes in Job when God says things like, “Were you there when I set the foundation of the earth?” God’s not just saying, “Count the stars.” God is saying, “Remember who I am.”

Does God ever open your eyes to God’s presence through nature?

Genesis 15: Part 1

I taught a lesson in Sunday school based on Genesis 15. The next few posts are from the notes I made for the lesson: 

In Genesis, we meet Abram in chapter 12. God calls him to “go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”   And so he and Sarai go – God said so, so they go. Abram was 75 years old.

There are two accounts of God’s covenant with Abram in Genesis. One of them is the one that is the basis of this lesson – it’s the Yahwist’s account in chapter 15. The other one is in chapter 17 – the priestly account. In between (chapter 16, Hagar has Ishmael; Abram is 86). In Chapter 17 – the second account of the covenant, Abram is 99.  I just think it’s interesting that from the first call to the second account of the covenant is 24 years.

So, from “I will make you a great nation” until the birth of his son was 25 years.

Three times before this encounter, God has promised Abram descendants: we see them in Genesis 12:2, 12:7 and 13:16. I imagine that Abram is getting frustrated with the lack of a promised fulfilled. And so we come to the encounter we are going to read today.

It’s mainly a dialogue between God and Abram. Parts of it a little icky.

There is a literary pattern that can be seen in the dialogue:

- God’s promise

- Abram’s protest

- God’s response and reassurance

And in what we’ll read today, we’ll see that cycle twice. It’s a pattern that can be seen in other encounters with God in other parts of the Bible – in the conversation with Moses at the burning bush, for example.

Seeing literary patterns can give you clues as to what is about to happen – and when those patterns are switched around – it’s a clue of something else that is important. We should never forget that the Bible is literature, and knowing that can help us to understand God’s message through the words.

Please read Genesis 15.

Genesis 15: The script

Over the next few days, I will share three posts relating to scripture from Genesis 15. As part of the lesson, I asked several members of the class to read the scripture as if it were a "play."  Here is teh script.

God’s covenant with Abram

Narrator:  After these events, the Lord’s word came to Abram in a vision

God: Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your protector. Your reward will be very great.

Abram: Lord God, what can you possibly give me, since I still have no children? The head of my household is Eliezer, a man from Damascus. Since you haven’t given me any children, the head of my household will be my heir.

God: This man will not be your heir. Your heir will definitely be your very own biological child.”

Narrator: Then God brought Abram outside

God: Look up at the sky and count the stars if you think you can count them. This is how many children you will have.”

Narrator: Abram trusted the Lord, and the Lord recognized Abram’s high moral character.

God: I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.

Abram: Lord God, how do I know that I will actually possess it?”

God: Bring me a three-year-old female calf, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.

Narrator: He took all of these animals, split them in half, and laid the halves facing each other, but he didn’t split the birds. When vultures swooped down on the carcasses, Abram waved them off.  After the sun set, Abram slept deeply. A terrifying and deep darkness settled over him.

God: Have no doubt that your descendants will live as immigrants in a land that isn’t their own, where they will be oppressed slaves for four hundred years. But after I punish the nation they serve, they will leave it with great wealth. As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace and be buried after a good long life. The fourth generation will return here since the Amorites’ wrong doing won’t have reached its peak until then.”

Narrator: After the sun had set and darkness had deepened, a smoking vessel with a fiery flame passed between the split-open animals. That day the Lord cut a covenant with Abram

God: To your descendants I give this land, from Egypt’s river to the great Euphrates, together with the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Wesley Covenant Prayer

The Wesley Covenant Prayer, as I hear it:

I no longer belong to myself, God. I belong to you.

Use me as you want to; place me where you need me to go.

Let me work in your kingdom, even if it means suffering.

Keep me busy, or set me aside.

Let others see you through me; let others not see me at all.

Let me be full; let me be empty.

Let me have all things; let me have nothing.

I freely give of everything I have been given

to your pleasure and use.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Creator, Son and Holy Spirit,

You are mine, and I am yours. So be it.

Let this covenant I make here today

be completed in heaven. Amen.

Son of David, Part 4

The final of the scripture triplet in this Sunday school lesson is in Matthew, chapter 1.  The first chapter of the book of Matthew explains in great detail the connections between Jesus and David - “a record of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.” (1:1). Matthew is very careful to make sure we (and the Jewish readers of the book at the time following Jesus) don't miss the point.  Jesus is descended form David.

This was important to the Jews of the time, who were waiting in expectation – remember, they knew the promises that had been made, so they were anticipating salvation from the line of David.  Matthew takes special care to show them this connection.

Read Matthew 1:18-21:   Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

Years ago I was a student in Chuck Echol's Bethel Teachers’ class.  One of the things I learned, that I had never seen before, was the “big picture” of the bible.  The student book author reminds us that to see God’s divine plan for the world, we have to zoom out – years, generations, time and space.  Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan, begun perhaps outside the garden, when sin first arrived on the scene.  I think that might be one of the reasons why the genealogy is important for us – it helps us to see the big picture – God at work in the world.

So what does all of this mean to us?  We are gentiles, grafted into the tree of the family.  The lineage of Jesus is not just a biological one, but is also a spiritual one, and we have been adopted. Think about family stories – do you know the stories of your family?  Do they link you back to people who came before? Do you tell them to your children to continue that link?  "Every time the church gathers and tells the stories – of Abraham, of Moses, of Elijah, of David and Bathsheba – we are telling family stories.  These are our great grandparents in the faith.  We need to know the stories well enough to tell them to our children and their children so that the stories become their stories as well as ours.

"We have the same mission as did the family of Abraham and the descendants of David – to be a blessing and a sign of God’s grace and love to the people of the world."

Son of David, Part 3

The second scripture in this triplet of passages relating to the idea of Jesus as the Son of David is in Isaiah 9.

In Christian tradition, these verses are commonly regarded as a description of the messianic King.  In its original context, however, it celebrated the coronation of King Hezekiah.  The author is very pro-kingship, and saw the descendant of the Davidic line to be eternally chosen by God (from the New Interpreter's Study Bible).  I just mention this because we always need to remember that what we see as purely prophecy of the coming of Christ in the Old Testament has context that we can’t overlook.

Early in the chapter we have verse 2:  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light: those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined.

I can imagine those who read this passage later – those in exile – would have felt as if they were living in darkness.  It’s easy to say “Keep the faith,” but much harder to actually cling to promises that seem to be unattainable or under threat.

But then there are these words of promise for those who have eyes to see and faith to pay attention:

Isaiah 9:6-7:  For a child has been born for us,
   a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
   and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
   and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
   He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
   from this time onwards and for evermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. 

Have you experienced a time when you doubted God’s presence and promises?  Look at the names listed in that passage.  Which ones speak to you of who God is to you?  Which ones describe best your experience of God?

We need to remember that even in our darkest time, even when God seems absent, God is not gone.  It's hard to hold on to, but that is the promise.

Son of David, Part 2

This lesson for Sunday school uses three scripture to illustrate the idea that Jesus is the descendant of David and to emphasize why that was important to the Jews.

Psalm 89 is a prayer to God to uphold and protect David’s kingship.  Some of it might have been written during the period of kingship in Israel, but it reached its present form during the Babylonian exile.  So picture that for a moment – the people are in exile, feeling separated from God, lost and abandoned.  The author of this Psalm is praying that God remember his promises to David.

The Psalm starts out with praises to God – verse one says, “I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; and with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.”  The word for steadfast love is hesed and it can also be translated as covenant loyalty.  So right at the beginning, the psalmist is reminding God “you are loyal, remember?”  These first verses recall God’s promises to David.

As we move through the Psalm, we hear the Psalmist declaring God’s long term faithfulness, even when God’s people are unfaithful.  I can imagine, as the people were in exile, feeling punished by God for their unfaithfulness, that they were trying to remind God  that God is faithful, even when they are not.

As we enter verse 19, the Psalmist is reflecting words of God, as heard in a vision to “your faithful one.”  Verses 34 says, "I (God) will not violate my covenant, or alter the word that went forth from my lips."  Then we get to verses 35-37:

Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.  His line shall continue forever, and his throne endure before me like the sun.  It shall be established forever like the moon, an enduring witness in the skies.

In these verses, the Psalmist recounts God’s promise to David, and the metaphor is an agrarian one:   David’s seed (his line, in our translation) will last forever.  This word is zera, and it is found in other places that will enhance our understanding of this verse:

1. In Genesis 1:29:  I now give to you all the plants on the earth that yield seeds (zera) and all the trees whose fruit produces its seeds (zera) within it.
2. In a later chapter of Genesis, the same word to describe plants that can reproduce is used to describe human reproduction and offspring:  Chapter 12:7:  The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘I give this land to your decedents (zera),’ so Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him.  It is through Abraham’s family that all the world would be blessed (blessed to be a blessing – blessing through service).

The promise that is recounted in Psalm 89 is not just that David’s family will live on, but that that promise of blessing will live on.  “God was up to something more grand than exalting one family over all other families.”  Perhaps the Psalmist is asking God to remember this expectation he has given to them.

If we fast forward just a moment into the New Testament, we see the idea of seed carried on again – when Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth says, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”  (Luke 1:42).  The seed of the promise is bearing fruit.

In Psalm 89, those in exile are asking God to remember them and to remember his promise to them, even during a time when they feel abandoned and alone.  It is a lesson to us - to remember that God has promised to stay with us.

Son of David, Part 1

Last Sunday I taught Sunday school.  While we don't use it every Sunday, our normal curriculum is the International Bible Series, and that is what I used as a resource last Sunday.

The lesson was about Jesus as a descendant of David.  I thought it might make a few good blog posts, so the next few days will be focused on that topic.

Have you noticed on Facebook the current "habit" of posting older pictures on Thursday - it's called Throw Back Thursday, or TBT.  I wonder why that has become so popular to do (although I do enjoy the pictures).  Why are there so many people who are fascinated by genealogy? What do we learn by learning more about our ancestors?

My grandmother's grandmother (or maybe great-grandmother) was a Cherokee.  If you saw a picture of my grandmother, you would see it, right away.  She had the dark dark hair and high cheekbones of a Native American.

In 1924, Virginia passed the Racial Integrity Act, which (according to Wikipedia, "required that a racial description of every person be recorded at birth and divided society into only two classifications: white and colored (essentially all other, which included numerous American Indians). It defined race by the "one-drop rule", defining as "colored" persons with any African or Native American ancestry. It also expanded the scope of Virginia's ban on interracial marriage (anti-miscegenation law) by criminalizing all marriages between white persons and non-white persons."  By definition, anyone with more than 1/16 Native American ancestry could not be considered "white."

Of course, that law was overturned by the court case of Loving vs Virginia, but for me, it made something that was in the past much more personal - if my grandparents had lived in Virginia, it would have been illegal for them to be married.

That's one reason we look back to see where we come from.  It helps us to connect with where we came from and what part of what has created us to be who we are today.

The Israelites remembered who they were.  They knew they were descendants of Abraham and that God had made particular promises to the line of Abraham.

Signs of the Covenant

(Published also as a Lenten Devotional in our church's Lenten Devotional Ministry)

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,…When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature in all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”  (Genesis 9:8, 16-17)

Imagine Noah standing on dry ground with his sons, having experienced the flood, hearing the Word of God spoken, and being told that God has made an everlasting covenant with him and all who will follow him.  Noah is shown what will be a sign – a reminder – of the promise God has made to his creation.  For all the days of his life, and his sons after him, the sign of that covenant must have allayed their fears and brought them comfort.  I imagine without the promise, they would have cringed at every raindrop.

Through the scriptures, we hear over and over again God’s words of steadfast loyalty, and we see signs of his covenant.  We find it in God’s conversations with Abraham, in God’s delivery of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, in his leadership of Moses, and in their arrival in the promised land.  Signs of the covenant are found as judges are raised and kings are anointed.  Believers sing about it in the psalms, and Jonah fights it as he descends to the belly of a fish.  Jesus is born, lives, dies and lives again, becoming the ultimate sign of the covenant.

My challenge to you during this period of lent is to open your hearts to the signs of the covenant around you every day.  Do you see God in the rising of the sun?  In the sight of hungry men and women eating a meal?  In the nods of understanding as you teach Sunday school? Then open your eyes and watch for God.  Do you hear God in the giggles of children?  In the hymns of praise sung on Sundays?  In the sound of righteous indignation voiced against injustice?  Then tune your listening ears for God.  Do you know God because of the strength God provides to you during times of distress?  Are you certain of God’s presence when you taste communion or touch the baptismal water?  Then remember to recognize God.

And then, when you are steeped in the certain hope of the presence of God, become a sign of the covenant.  Work to convince others of what you know – that we are all beloved children of God, precious in God’s sight.

Shine, like the light you have been created to be, a sign of the covenant.

Contract or Covenant

In Sunday school this past Sunday, we talked about the difference between a contract and a covenant. The example JtM gave of a contract is one we might make with a kid to cut the grass -- a lawn-b0y. In exchange for grass mowing, the owner of the yard will pay $20 - maybe extra if he throws in trimming, but not at all if there is no work done. No real relationship needs to exist between the two parties of the contract.

God's covenant with his people (and with us) is very different that a contract.

It got me thinking. What would a covenant between a yard owner and a lawn-boy be like if it compared to God's Covenant with his people?

It would be like making a covenant with a teenager to cut your grass. He will be your lawnboy. Even if he never cuts the grass, or does any trimming, or shows up at all, he is still your lawnboy. You pay him the $20, and then you add to it, for no reason. You hope he will cut the grass because he is your lawnboy, and you are trying to love him into relationship with you. You want to show him the right way to be a lawnboy and in fact you will show up at his house, and cut his grass, just so he'll see how great the yard looks when it is properly taken care of. Sometimes he even comes over and dumps grass clippings and trash in your yard, but you forgive him, because he is your lawnboy, and you really love him. When he runs over your neighbor's petunias with his lawn mower (that you bought him), you pay for the mistake yourself. Everyone else says you are radically out of sync with what is supposed to be happening, but you ignore them. Grace upon grace you lavish on this young person, hoping that he will respond to your kindness and love. In fact, what he does is to judge the shoddy work of the neighbor's lawn service because they miss a few weeds when they are caring for the yard.

God's love is not a contract. It's a radically different covenant that we would say is unfair -- and it is, that God.

Axis Mundi

Today my readings for Disciple were from Exodus 24-27 which includes the instructions for the building of the tabernacle.

I was intrigued by my the note in my Bible regarding the function of the tabernacle. It called the tabernacle axis mundi, meaning the central point of creation where heaven and earth link. Wow. It was also described as the place where the Lord can descend to the earth.

We no longer have a tabernacle with an ark -- perhaps it is because we no longer need one. Christ became the axis mundi -- the place where the Lord can descend to the earth. He is the central point of creation where heaven and earth link. Because of that, and because of God's presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit, we are linked to heaven.

We can meet with God. We can come to discern his will. When we pay attention, we will know that we are in the presence of God.

On the Emmaus Walk I just returned from, there was a communion service at the end of which the song Amazing Grace was sung -- it was the version that includes the added lyrics: My chains are gone; I've been set free. As the song started, one pilgrim stood, then another, then another, until the whole group was standing, some with hands raised. God's song drifted across them -- Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.

I was convinced at that moment of the reason I serve on Emmaus teams. Surely the presence of the Lord was in that place -- axis mundi.

(Excuse my misuse of Latin, please. I was just intrigued by the concept.)