Right Life

 

Right Life

 

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

The parable of the weeds 

 

13:24 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field,

 

13:25 but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away.

 

13:26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.

 

13:27 And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?'

 

13:28 He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'

 

13:29 But he replied, 'No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.

 

13:30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

 

13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."

 

13:37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

 

13:38 the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one,

 

13:39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

 

13:40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

 

13:41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,

 

13:42 and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!

 

“Shining righteousness” is a wonderful summary of what this message is about. Don’t we all think we are living a “right life,” particularly those of us who profess to be people of faith? Yes, I realize that we of the Christian sect believe that “Christ died for the unrighteous,” forgiving all of our “not right life” in an act of self-sacrificing love, and that we are “going ON to perfection,” nowhere near it yet. Still, we aim to live “rightly” more than “wrongly.” Some of us, even in our attempts at right living, feel we must stand up for stuff like social justice, and dismantle stuff like racism, which will anger some folk, and cause disagreement with others, but stand we must, which may make us seem less than “nice” at times. 

 

Living “rightly” means different things to different people. For the Muslim, it may mean being attentive to the required daily prayers, while to Buddhists, it could mean treating others kindly while remaining centered in meditation and a respect for all life. For Jews and Christians, living according to some understanding of “God’s law” is seen as right life, or “righteousness.” Obviously, the picture that begins to emerge is one of differing definitions and interpretations of the things that measure “right life” for each of us, and these differences also emerge on the receiving end, among those who witness our efforts—our neighbors, friends, and even adversaries. As alluded to in the earlier statements about social justice, conflict can arise when one person’s attempts at right living counter with the perception of another who is either just an observer OR the object of some action. This stuff is never easy, even when we think it is, or HOPE it is. The late Rodney King’s “Why can’t we all just get along?” statement is still a coveted plea, and a rallying cry for most of us, but we do remember that he was badly beaten by “peace officers” while saying it. It is NOT easy to live with others when our definitions of “right living” bump into each other. And they will. 

 

I guess that part of right living is getting over our preoccupation with expectations, especially of others. I personally struggle with this, friends. Big Time. When I’m in a long line of cars waiting at the light that lets us exit our plan here in Adams Township, my thoughts are on getting as many of us through the light as we can, and being ready to carefully accelerate to keep the line moving, as I believe is my part in the traffic drama. However, it is clear that not everybody has this as an aim, and even that some seem oblivious to the 25 cars in line behind them. I have a tendency to be judgmental here, expecting that the offending party is “scrolling on their phone,” or even being intentional about making the rest of us wait until they are good and ready to lead the pack. In reality, I know that neither of these things may be true. It could be a person who is dealing with depression, or who has just had some bad news. Maybe they are on their way to work at a job they need but really don’t like, and procrastination is not a selfish thing, but self-preserving, in their mind. We just don’t know, do we? One of my goals is to be less judgmental in these situations. Actually, it is to simply be less judgmental, period. It’s a hard one, friends, believe me! 

 

I believe it was Ben Franklin who picked a different vice to conquer each day, but while doing so, sort of let the others slip a bit. Isn’t it true that when we’ve “conquered” one bad trait, we sort of champion that—even crusade for others to join us—and without meaning to, become less tolerant of someone else’s yet-to-be-conquered bad trait? My Adams Ridge traffic light test of morality and ethics notwithstanding, I DO hope I am trying to be a bit more “well rounded” in my quest for “right living.” (I’d tell you more about some of my “bad traits,” but I know the battery on my laptop would not hold out, nor would your indulgence in reading the list. Just ask Dara, if you want to know them. She has almost fifty years of observations and irritations.)

 

As I have chosen to focus my thoughts in this week’s sermon on the final verse of this pericope, don’t think I’ve forgotten the rest of the parable. My heinously judgmental thoughts of the Adams Ridge traffic light sluggards would be one illustration of blaming the resulting “weeds” on someone. Blaming, while possibly a “normal” human trait, is rarely productive. When something bad happens, nailing some “culprit” rarely fixes the problem; in fact, it rarely does, and may even cause an unnecessary expenditure of energy in precisely the wrong direction. While indicting someone or something for the crisis may “feel good,” it is not a Godly thing, in light of our Judeo-Christian understanding of forgiveness and grace. The parable goes through some of these “human” machinations before finally coming to a workable solution, and as is often the case, one that is somewhat “natural” in origin—sort of like God the Creator planned it to pan out, in the end. The question I see here is: Is “right living” for me more about solving problems and making life better for all (not just ME)? Or is it a well-placed indictment so the one who germinated the “weeds” can get their comeuppance? Rodney King’s “Why can’t we all just get along?” casts a vision of the former. Unfortunately, he was almost beaten to death for the latter.

 

As is often the case in the Gospel of Matthew, the disciples don’t understand the illustrative story Jesus has just told, so they ask him to “interpret.” Then Jesus does what no self-respecting rabbi would EVER do, namely explain it. Parabolic stories tell a “truth,” and must be pondered by the listener. The rabbi expects the audience to do so until the “light goes on” and they deduce the truth, even if it takes a while. It is highly unlikely that Jesus would give an “interpretation” of any of his parables. Besides, in Matthew’s frequent tellings of them, the interpretation he puts in the mouth of Jesus is generally wrong, and we doubt that would happen. In this case, what Matthew’s interpretation gets at least partly right is that GOD is the one who “sows the good seed.” I hope we can agree that this is true, but in doing so, we must also see that we can’t take much credit for what “grows” rightly. Of course, in typical, reckless Matthean fashion, he goes postal about “the devil” and likes the kind of judgment on “evildoers” that is complete with “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Again, neither is productive regarding the issue at hand, but “The devil made me do it,” or “TAKE THAT, you lousy sinner!” can make a body feel “good” in a vindictive sort of way.

 

Back to our final sentence: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! Right living is a “shining” witness to our life with God. If we are “going on to perfection” in a fairly balanced, holistic way, people notice, especially in a world that can be frustrating, when the first person at the green light needs to hear horns honk to drive on. While I purpose to be a caring, considerate person, I have known so many others who do it so VERY well, and it puts me to shame. Maybe they have the “gift” of hospitality? Or perhaps they had the proverbial “good upbringing”? What if they are just taking seriously that old chestnut, “Love thy neighbor as thyself”? Or “Do unto others as you would have the do unto you.” Jesus kept it simple; we would do well to do likewise.

 

I once had a parishioner who, when I thanked him for doing a kindness to my benefit, would often answer, “It’s easy to be nice to nice people.” While he certainly meant it as a complement, it made me realize that it IS easy to be nice to nice people, but Jesus asks so much more of us than that. Being “nice” or helpful, or standing up for the rights of people who may NOT be so “nice” (possibly because of their troubles and/or being DENIED forms of justice that the rest of us don’t have to “fight” for?) people, is about acknowledging that we are ALL children of the living God. One of the earlier tenets of United Methodism was: “God has endowed each and every person with a sense of dignity and moral responsibility.” We are not to judge what is in someone’s heart, nor are we to “plant weed seeds” (be the devil?) by treating them less than others. Our own “right living” may well be measured by how we treat the “least of these,” as Jesus himself has said. My justice “spider sense” vibrates when I think about the current state of how we are treating immigrants and refugees in the United States right now. Even if you believe in tighter controls on immigration, it is not “righteous” to view all immigrants as “criminal” or as “undesirables,” for we do not know their story, nor are many Americans willing to listen, right now. How sad.

 

Ronald Reagan described a “proper” America as a “shining city on a hill,” which is actually a biblical metaphor, one in which Jesus reminded us to not “light our lamps” and hide them under a basket. This passage of scripture tells us that true “kingdom living”—right living—is when our actions DO speak louder than our words, and the result is a shining witness, not a smirch on humanity’s history. May each of our lives BECOME part of that “shining city,” or at least a bright light shining out the window of our existence. OK, the light is green, lets MOVE! Amen.

Lamp

Lamp

 

Psalm 119:105-112

Your word is a lamp to my feet 

 

119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 

119:106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances.

 

119:107 I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word.

 

119:108 Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your ordinances.

 

119:109 I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.

 

119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts.

 

119:111 Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.

 

119:112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.

 

It’s now hard to read this snippet of Psalm 119 without hearing Amy Grant’s “Thy Word” running through your head. I say “snippet” because Psalm 119 is an epic psalm, set up as an acrostic, in Hebrew, with each stanza beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are rare (none other?) biblical texts that have three-digit verse numberings in their citations! Amy Grant hijacked Psalm 119:105 to stick in our heads. 

 

Light is not really an issue in our day. Everything lights up or glows. The days of Abraham Lincoln studying law by the flickering flame of a single candlestick are long gone, aren’t they? Now, phones give us a handy “torch.” LED light fixtures and bulbs are EVERYWHERE. Our cars glow on the inside and out, our homes are ablaze with light. Modern kitchen and bathroom designs turn both into veritable “stadiums” of light. Both of my cars—a 2017 MINI Cooper convertible and a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV—have variable “mood lighting” that can be set to indicate a number of functions and situations, just to entertain or “soothe” those inside the car. There was a time when the absence of light proved to be a restriction on more than law lessons. Surgeries were delayed until daylight, travel likewise, and crime loved the darkness. Streetlights tamed the night, and those “warm” sodium vapor ones were said by psychologists to “soothe” the savage breast, compared with the “cold” light of the mercury ones. (Isn’t it interesting how we ascribe emotions to the quality of light?) Why, when we travel, I pack a tiny LED flashlight, to guide me to the bathroom in the middle of the night, so I don’t wake up Dara. When I forget to pack it, I find the furniture with my little toe. There is screaming involved, as there was back in the day before artificial lighting. It has been said that Thomas Edison did as much to change the entire nature of society with his electric light as anyone else in all of history. Even sports have been revolutionized by artificial lighting. I personally attended the first night game in the history of the World Series in the Fall of 1971, when the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles at Three Rivers Stadium. Even Wrigley Field, baseball’s historic park in Chicago—where it was said that artificially lighting would never happen—has seen baseball played under the lights.

 

The “magic” of artificial lighting wasn’t a “thing” in Jesus’ day. Is it any wonder that he talked much of the “light of the world”? Light drives out darkness, and as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, it is the only thing that can overcome hate, when it is in the form of Divine love. While Jesus spoke of “light” metaphorically, he did understand that one must either “make hay” while the actual sun shined, or keep your lamps trimmed to see and work by night. Interestingly, in our day, in a time when all kinds of “darkness” threaten to tear our human communities apart at the seams, we have an abundance of light—even a surplus of light. Here are a few interesting facts about the “light of the world” in our time:

 

·      Cheap LED lighting is also much cheaper in terms of its lower cost to operate. LED lights of all shapes, sizes, and colors are everywhere. Even in most developing nations, cheap LED lighting has proliferated. A battery-operated LED light can last for months, and the “bulbs” themselves last for many years. This has opened up the night for all kinds of activity, and has made formerly dark places safer.

 

·      The “explosion” of artificial light may be behind the earlier onset of puberty among the human species. Some studies have suggested that the near constant light we now live in stimulates the pineal gland in the brain via the optic nerve, hastening puberty.

 

·      Not all of this prolific, artificial light is beneficial. There is much science warning us that all of those little “power lights” on our devices around the room in which we sleep may be robbing us of quality rest. Everything glows, and we have become rather oblivious to it, but our bodies and their circadian cycles are not.

 

·      The night sky is SO polluted with streetlights, LED signs, and shopping center and stadium lighting, that we can hardly see the stars, anymore. Those of us who are amateur astronomers hate this. It’s called “light pollution,” and there is even a tool called the “Bortle Scale” to measure it. Cranberry Township is rated as a Bortle 7, meaning we have a very bright suburban/city sky. (By comparison, a rural area quite away from the city or suburbia may come in at a Bortle 2 or 3.)

 

I share all of this information about “light” because of the Bible’s emphasis on it as being something “good,” and for the most part, it is. Where humanity be without our natural sources of light, and where would contemporary culture, business, and general human activity be without artificial lighting? However, the Bible—and Jesus, during his preaching/teaching ministry—often talked about “light” or the “lamp” as not just illumination, but divine guidance. God doesn’t just “light our paths” to keep us from stumbling, but to lead us in a better direction that we may choose ourselves. God’s “word” as a lamp makes a lot of sense when we read that Jesus announces himself as the “light of the world,” and then later tells us that believers/disciples are the “light of the world.” In both cases, Jesus makes it clear that the world needs a different kind of light—a light that leads AND illuminates. God’s commands, likewise, are meant to “light our paths” in life, keeping our behavior focused on being more Christlike, or as I mentioned last week, “going on to perfection,” in the words of Mr. Wesley. God’s word, God’s law, God’s love, and God’s grace are all powerful sources of “illumination,” not just for the soul, but for every moment of life here on planet earth. 

 

None of us can say that we have lived “exclusively” in the beam of God’s light, but as diligent and committed Christian believers, we have certainly tried. In my ministry, I did all I could to call upon God, listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and look to my Christian siblings to not “miss” the light God was shining in my direction. Overall, I am thankful that few of the paths my life and ministry took over those years were in the wrong direction, or sent me down any “dark alleys.” Not that I didn’t “hear” God’s “still, small voice,” from time to time, or didn’t discern the leading of the Spirit of God, for I have a few good testimonies of when I did, but I can say that much if not most of God’s direction and “light” came through all of the people nearest and dearest to me: my incredible partner, Dara; my “wise before their time” children; a few good and trusted friends; and so often the discerning and dedicated laity and church leaders I was privileged to serve in all six of my churches. (Please note that I’m not discounting the essential “light” God sent me through the wonderful District Superintendents who supervised my ministry, and the Bishops who discerned my gifts and appointed me places to best use them, but they are expected to be such vessels of guidance, and they did so, admirably.)

 

Now, in retirement, a new path has been discerned, and Dara and I are embarking on it next week. We are becoming residents of Thoburn Village, the independent living “neighborhood” of the Wesbury United Methodist Retirement Community in Meadville, PA. With our adult children not living near us (currently in Alaska and Hawaii!), and busy with their own lives, we put ourselves on the waiting list for a Villa at Wesbury over three years ago, and “the call” came just a few weeks ago that shined God’s latest light on our journey. Dara likes to joke that, for over 36 years, we “waited for a call” to come from the Cabinet to let us know that we would be moving, and here we are, at ages 71 and 75, getting a call to tell us it’s time to move again!) So, next week it is off to “Villa Sterling”!) Just as each new, illuminated pathway has been a blessing beyond measure—even when they were also challenging—so we expect this new chapter will be one, as well. We look forward to meeting new friends, finding new places to serve, grow, contribute, and enjoy life’s abundance, all courtesy of the One who has “kept the light on” for us (with apologies to Motel 6 and Tom Bodett). 

 

Friends, I can’t emphasize enough how important this principle of seeking and following God’s “light” is in choosing your paths and traveling your personal journey. If you were taught that “rugged individualism” of the American culture, and that YOU had to be the one to make those important decisions, may you find a “better way.” While it is our constitutional right as American citizens to make our own choices, for those of us who want to be sincere Christ-followers, we are called to yield this right, at least in part, to our “Higher Power,” or in this case, “Better Lamp,” and not just to keep ourselves from stumbling in the dark. God’s direction for our lives necessarily interfaces with other believers, and a wider faith community, both to fulfil the ministry that God is building, AND to activate and use the spiritual gifts of all of God’s people to assure that “none should perish” but find the life that truly IS life. And that life is one with Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. May OUR lives reflect this loving, forgiving, saving, and inclusive beam that chases out the darkness and “cleanses us from all unrighteousness,” to the glory of God. Keep your lamps trimmed, Dear Ones! Amen.

 

 

Numbed

Numbed

 

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

The yoke of discipleship 

 

11:16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

 

11:17 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.'

 

11:18 "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon';

 

11:19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

 

11:25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;

 

11:26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

 

11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

 

11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

 

11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

 

11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

 

 

'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn,' is one of my favorite passages of the whole Bible. I’m guessing it was part of a kiddie game, or something, in Jesus’ day? Doesn’t matter. The audience is clearly NUMB to both warnings and invitations. If this was written for any generation, it would certainly apply to the current one.

 

My daughter (and now granddaughter) plays the flute. It’s a beautiful instrument that doesn’t honk or squeak, when a tone is successfully produced by the flutist. When our daughter, Shelah, first decided to try the flute, as a student at Ben Fairless Elementary School in Braddock, PA (yes, THAT Braddock, that gave rise to PA Senator John Fetterman), we signed her up for the school instrument program, and retrieved a shiny, Yamaha flute for her to learn on. Now, I did the same thing many moons ago, but with a trumpet, and I’m guessing I drove my parents crazy during the early, “honking” phase. I did eventually learn to play it pretty well, rising to first chair in our high school band. Brass instruments honk, when first played, even as clarinets and saxophones squeak, either of which grinds at the nerves of unsuspecting ears like a diamond-based, industrial abrasive can grind down steel like it is made of cheddar cheese. The flute, though, either makes NO noise, when first played, or tends to offer an early “free sample” of the inherent “tone” the flutist might carry through her or his flute “career.” I’ll never forget that first day, when after her very first lesson, our little Shelah took out her flute to play it at home. She was in living room of our Turtle Creek parsonage, and my wife and I were in the kitchen. She had figured out how to make her flute play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and that is what she played, while we eavesdropped from the adjoining room. What I heard loudly and clearly was a deep, rich, “woody” tone—the kind any flutist would covet. I said to Dara, “Oh, my! She’s got a GREAT tone!” (a brilliant observation, I know, but then I’m certainly no Leonard Bernstein). I walked into the living room where our precious little girl was proudly holding her flute. I asked her a couple of introductory questions about what she had “learned” during her first school flute lesson that day—especially how she had “figured out” Twinkle, Twinkle--and then I said something like this: “Shelah, we were listening as you played a few minutes ago. Even as a beginner, you have such BEAUTIFUL tone on this instrument. We would like to encourage you to work at it, stay with it, and perfect your ability with it, for you may have a wonderful gift.” She responded, “I WILL, Daddy!” 

 

And she did. Not only did she go on, years later, to have a flute performance minor in college (she majored in literature, which was always her first love), but she has played in churches, in the Tallahassee Winds (when she and her husband lived there), and has been a part of the incredible Christmas orchestra at Christ Church, United Methodist, in Louisville, KY. Her tone has only improved, and we have been oh so proud of her, in this. We both love to hear her play.

 

So, when I read, “We played the flute for you and you did not dance…” it invokes much sadness in me. I just can’t imagine anyone—anyone—listening to flute music and not wanting to dance, or to at least revel in the music and keep time with a tapping foot. In this expression coined by Jesus, the flute represents all that is worth celebrating and resonating rejoicingly in life. Only the most numb of folk would miss the joyous prompt. Still, all around us, I see and hear people who only know how to bitch and not praise, deprecate rather than appreciate, and reject rather than embrace. Through the best of the human expression, God is trying tirelessly to play “flute music” for us, in an effort to get us to dance a little. WAY too many sit silently, numbly, as the music plays, acting like they are tone deaf, while there are others who complain about it being “too loud.” It is my conviction that God wants less “praise” aimed at Godself, and more praise-worthy response to the music all around us. Me thinks the animal kingdom does a better job of hearing and jiving to the music than the “smartest” of us human creatures. How very sad. We even have a terribly negative phrase applied to calling someone to accountability: “Face the music.” Music should never be used as a vehicle for judgment or retribution. Music is a unique gift offered by our Creator that lights up a totally different part of the brain. Don’t denigrate it—CELEBRATE it! Jesus is imploring us to do so.

 

Then, the second half of the lyric says, “we wailed, and you did not mourn.” Life also brings things our way that should be heeded and mourned. The obvious ones are the deaths of loved ones or friends, or the loss of necessary, sustaining employment. Note something important here: we all fail, from time to time. These “failures” are NOT what Jesus is talking about here. Failure is a passage to improvement and “new beginnings,” as countless “heroes” have demonstrated. When we fail at something, and then regroup and begin again, we grow, and when the resulting success happens, we should hear the flute playing, and do a little dance. No, wailing and mourning are about the things in life that happen that we will never see again. People, for sure, but also things like the “eras” of our lives. Even when a divorce is a necessary step in a couples’ life, the proper response should be mourning. To not mourn is to be numb to the moments of shared richness that pretty much every relationship offers (exempting ones that may have degenerated into abuse). Even in marriages that go sadly sour, there were ecstatic, uplifting, and most likely exultant moments that should never be forgotten, and that will never come again. These should be mourned. 

 

Another of my “never forgets” happened when we took our “little girl” off to college. For two solid weeks after we got her situated with a remarkable roommate, I would go up to her room, sit on her now vacant bed, and just simply cry. I can never forget these important moments of mourning. I was obviously thrilled that she was now an honors student at a fine school, and situated with a wonderful roommate who would become a life-long friend (and Maid of Honor at her wedding, years later). But an “era” had passed that would never come again. No more story time before an evening prayer at bedside, no more precious little voice saying, “Goodnight, Daddy,” and no more calls from school asking me to bring her the Social Studies book she left behind while hastily exiting our home that morning. Believe me, neither was it easy to duplicate this experience when we dropped our son off at college, but at least he had chosen the SAME school as did our daughter, so parents’ weekends could be a bit of a “twofer,” but there really is nothing like that first one who “leaves the nest.” The important mourning moments of life do not have to be over “bad” experiences like a death or an unexpected diagnosis. We are numb if we have been rendered incapable of experiencing the mourning moments of stuff that has permanently changed, or an era that has passed. When we have grown numb to these moments, how will we ever find the compassion necessary to mourn alongside the larger human community—or church—when some calamity strikes?

 

The “preacher” in Ecclesiastes had it right: 

 

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

 

When we become numb to these “seasons” of life, we render ourselves incapable of things like empathy, compassion, or even companionship. The numbness is truly numbing! AND it is debilitating. Even the animals get this, and we are so the lesser when we become so desensitized. 

 

Jesus ends this discourse with the promise: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He’s saying that God doesn’t expect much of us, really, but to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” And to dance and mourn like we are human beings, when the music plays, or the wailing begins. Being numb to these prompts is truly a “deadening” thing. Don’t die, LIVE, Beloved! Drink in the best of what life offers, even when it is a “passage” that may bring you to tears, for a time. Some like to say “Life is too short to…” (you complete the phrase). Jesus is telling us that life is just too precious to be numb to all of the experiences it offers as its greatest gift to our humanity. Don’t you think there is a REASON that God sent God’s “only begotten Son” into the world as a human being? First, to experience that which is uniquely human, and THEN to light our pathways so we wouldn’t miss the dancing and the mourning along our way. Pay attention, Beloved. The best is ALWAYS yet to come! Amen.

Staying with the Donkey

 

Staying with the Donkey

 

Genesis 22:1-14

The testing of Abraham 

 

22:1 After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

 

22:2 He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you."

 

22:3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him.

 

22:4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away.

 

22:5 Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you."

 

22:6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. And the two of them walked on together.

 

22:7 Isaac said to his father Abraham, "Father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

 

22:8 Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." And the two of them walked on together.

 

22:9 When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

 

22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

 

22:11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

 

22:12 He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

 

22:13 And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

 

22:14 So Abraham called that place "The LORD will provide," as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."

 

This week’s lectionary passages are full of possibility. This text from Genesis is the famous one where Abraham takes his “only” son, Isaac, to the mountains to “obey” God and sacrifice him to God. One can only imagine what might have been going through Abraham’s head. There was, of course, a tremendous backstory. Abraham and Sarah believed God’s promise that they would be the progenitors of a great nation dedicated to Yahweh—Israel. But they were advancing in age, and nothing was happening with the human “baby factory” within their bodies. Sarah gets the idea to have the old boy sleep with her young handmaiden, Hagar, and then they could claim the resulting child as their own. Thus, Ishmael was brought into the world. This story is a kind of parable, explaining how two “competing” factions for human and divine acceptance, and power, of course. The Arab and Jewish realms are thus charted in biblical history. Of course, God does eventually deliver on God’s promise to give two very old people a child of their own—Isaac. Perhaps the quirky history of Israel, including blessings, pograms, a rich heritage, blended with a latter penchant for military dominance, is due to the aged engrams of Isaac’s aged parentage, and whatever biological and psychological factors they introduced? But that is not what this sermon is about.

 

As usual, in my retirement, without a specific congregation to focus on, different kinds of things have been catching my attention when I peruse the New Common Lectionary of weekly readings from the Bible. I should not be surprised that texts from the Hebrew Bible have been more interesting to me than those of the New Testament, which became such fodder for church ecclesiology and doctrine! The Hebrew Bible is much more about the “wrestling match” between us humans and the Divine, and its history, stories, prophecy, and wisdom touch more profoundly on the machinations of the human condition, the mind, and the ethereal “soul.” The tension of the Abraham/Isaac/God “sacrificial” triangle is one such story, provoking the reader to deal with her/his own “feelings” of what it might have been like to choose between child and obedience to the Divine. Preachers down through the centuries have surely soothed their congregations with some historical or psychological rationalization over God’s telling Abraham to sacrifice his only “official” son, while turning his back on the tainted “son of manipulation,” Ishmael. All this aside, what caught my attention in this passage is found in verse 5: "Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship…”

 

The “young men” who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on this journey were told to “stay here with the donkey…” They were to be left out of history (or kept from being witnesses to a murder?) in order to babysit a jackass. (I could say something political about this scenario, but will refrain. Be glad.) From this moment on, church history is filled with people obediently “babysitting jackasses.” Let’s view that as a metaphor for the important, but largely thankless jobs that kept religious history moving forward. Just imagine how many minor, MINOR prophets there were in Hebrew history who also spoke God’s “word” to single tribes, or possibly even smaller audiences, whose subsequent obedience led to a victory, be in moral, or in the field of battle. Who were they? I have always found it fascinating that Paul, in his long greetings or closing “gratitudes,” gave us the names of many such “donkey watchers” in Christian history. For every John Calvin or John Wesley, there were countless “Alices,” “Sallys,” “Roberts,” and “Bens” who carried out the work in the trenches. When the proverbial “gates of hell” fail to prevail over the church, thus thrusting it into its next challenge, you can believe there was a cast of “donkey watchers” out there who “won the battle” over the devil. In Charles W. Ferguson’s volume, Organizing to Beat the Devil, he details the multi-level, organizing steps taken by John Wesley and the early “Methodists” to advance the cause of the Gospel—“beat the devil” at his own game, so to speak. Methodism has thrived—when it has—because of the “donkey watchers,” whose names may only be known on a task list or a Charge Conference report. Without them, though, the devil would have won “bigly,” by now.

 

In previous sermons, I have cited people like Clint, Julie, Jim, Rick, Ed, Peggy, Bonnie, John, Faith, Mary, Michael, or so many others whom YOU have never heard of, but will forever be on their pastor’s “hall of fame” list. They were not only the “donkey watchers,” but the ones who fed the beasts, groomed them, picked up after them, and let others know when they needed a break from their labors. While we pastors may be best compared to those “minor, MINOR prophets” who spoke God’s “word” to smaller, sometimes disinterested audiences, these lay folk had just as strong a call to “watch the donkeys” and take care of the stuff that nurtured the church, its mission, and its people. Donkey watchers hardly aim for recognition or glory; in fact, the most effective of them like to remain as anonymous as possible. Note: these are NOT the people who keep making excuses that they “aren’t gifted” or “can’t do anything”; I’ll just call them the “just haven’t yet yielded to God’s call” crowd. No, “donkey watchers” are in the game, enthusiastically, and while they may shun the proverbial “limelight,” they WILL and DO step up, when the work calls for it. One of the most gratifying surprises we pastors have had is when one of the “donkey watchers” is asked to say a few words of recruitment or invitation from the pulpit, and do so eloquently and quite effectively, and without needing an egg timer to limit their verbiage. If the church has its “meat and potatoes,” these people fill the bill.

 

I’ve most likely preached 25 sermons in my career on the Abraham-sacrificing-Isaac story, and I still don’t get it, honestly. Oh SURE it’s a simple metaphor for a horrible act God actually went through with in Jesus, but something doesn’t feel right about that comparison? Then there’s the “God already knew God would “provide the lamb in the thicket,” and was just testing Abraham, motif. Again, this seems like a copout to me, too. So, where did I wind up on this seminal story from the Hebrew Bible? How about this: Abraham was caught between his love for God and his FEAR of God. A loving God would never ask a man to sacrifice his beloved son, but a powerful God might “have a reason” to do so, and not obeying could have escalating ramifications for the people Abraham represented. How often have YOU been caught between fear and love? Don’t tell me you don’t understand, for if you never have, you haven’t engaged in any serious relationships, either with human beings or deity. Like so many jarring stories from the Old Testament, it matters not whether this event actually happened, for the predicament it puts the reader in the middle of has nothing to do with the historicity of it. The Jonah story doesn’t need a scientific “explanation” as to whether a man could survive a three-day ride in a fish gullet to make its point, and neither does it matter one iota whether Job was a real person, and HIS predicament an historically accurate event to give us one of the most powerful lessons of the whole Bible. The “donkey watchers” of the church know this; you won’t find them arguing a Bible passage over the question “Is it a true story?” The truth is in the telling, even as the “truth” of their Christian commitment is in the serving. 

 

Two interesting things have happened to me, since I retired from full-time service in the preaching pulpit: I find myself more mystified by the Old Testament and its wealth of “good material” to study and explore; and I ruminate almost daily about some of the people in the six churches I served who gave of themselves quite unselfishly for the welfare of the church, and in service to the Gospel of Jesus Christ—you know, the “donkey watchers.” In the latter case, in carrying the “donkey watching” metaphor to its logical end, I also found myself wondering who the jackass stood for, and my conclusion was not at all flattering, I’ll tell you. If you are a pastor reading this, you know where I’m going with it.

 

I’ll leave you with this thought: the most valuable people in the history of Judeo-Christianity are ones you have never heard of. They are ones who labor behind the scenes. They are, however, persons who, when called upon to “step up” or to ascend the pulpit steps, have a deeply inspirational (effective?) story to tell. They may be “elevating” or “edifying” more than eloquent, and “available” more than “able,” regarding some tasks, but they WILL and DO show up. Time and time, again. And there is no “donkey” they won’t watch, allowing the bigger story to unfold. Thanks be to God for the ones who “stay with the donkey”! Amen.

Mocking Birds

 

Mocking Birds

 

Jeremiah 20:7-13

The prophet must speak 

 

20:7 O LORD, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.

 

20:8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out; I must shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.

 

20:9 If I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.

 

20:10 For I hear many whispering: "Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. "Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him and take our revenge on him."

 

20:11 But the LORD is with me like a terrifying warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.

 

20:12 O LORD of hosts, you test the righteous; you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

 

20:13 Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers

 

This text begins with two very interesting words: “enticed,” and “mocks.” Both of them are poignant illustrations of how differently words can be perceived. When I think of “enticed,” I am tempted to think of “tempted.” (Sorry, didn’t mean to do that…) The dictionary says something like “entice” means to offer something desirable to someone in an attempt to get them to do something. Sounds like the proverbial “carrot on a stick” thing to me. First of all, the entice-ee must like carrots, or the jig is up for the enticer. So, the choice of “bait” used must be appropriate to the intended audience. As they say, don’t holler “sermon” in a crowded casino or a busy bar, as you’ll be quite disappointed at the response, if not outright injured. In a negative context, the enticer is looking to benefit his/her self by getting some unsuspecting actor to DO something that they might not otherwise do on their own, and to the benefit of the one doing the enticing. As we read in 4^th grade, Tom Sawyer masterfully entices his neighborhood friends to whitewash the fence in the eponymous Mark Twain novel by using reverse psychology. Politicians entice citizens to vote for them by offering outlandish promises, such as the town council candidate who says he will control immigration or the schoolboard candidate who says she will curtail abortions, if elected. Such promises, while initially casting aspersions on the political candidates themselves, truthfully indict the voters, for these kinds of candidates DO get elected, as we have witnessed, so some hoodwinked or mentally questionable majority had to exercise their legal right, albeit foolishly. 

 

“Entice” can have a benevolent meaning, however, as we see here in this text from Jeremiah. The prophet writes that it was God who did the enticing, in this case, to speak God’s word to an audience that is, at best, unprepared to hear it, and at worst, is hostile to it (remember “sermon” in a crowded casino?). When God does the enticing, God promises to have the backs of the entice-ees, and as this text shows, generally does. Of course, this thought takes me to another of my favorite movies (as the Bible often does)—“Oh, God,” the original, staring George Burns as God and John Denver (yes, THAT John Denver) as Jerry Landers, the supermarket manager and reluctant “prophet” God enlists to “give his word” to the world. In this entertaining story, God is much higher on the “calling” scale, and not quite so much on the “having his back” on the defensive side, at least until late in the film. In the Bible, I’m guessing most of the prophets would identify with Jerry Landers, at least until “the word” turns out to be “the truth,” even to the often hostile audience. Remember Elijah, hiding in the cave, paranoid about his future after defeating the prophets of Baal? Still, God ultimately does defend God’s spokespersons, unless you count John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul, all of whom met an untimely end, after challenging authority. George Burns’ portrayal of the Almighty in the movie caught God’s occasional reticence in standing up for God’s human “mouthpieces.” God may have a higher aim in mind, and martyrdom may be on the docket, if for nothing else, to prove a point to the human community that God’s ways are decidedly NOT our ways. In short, God’s enticements to the would be prophets are with the intended audience in mind, not the messenger, who may “get shot” in the line of duty. Part of faith is believing that all things will come out in the “great wash” at the end of the line.

 

The other word in verse one of this text is “mocks.” Now, here’s another verb that can have differing “nuances,” depending on what the “mocker” has in mind. I have usually viewed being “mocked” as a negative. “Don’t MOCK me!” is not a statement made by someone who is feeling flattered by the act. To repeat someone’s statement in a snide way is most often labeled as “mocking,” but to repeat it as a point of recall or emphasis, may be viewed as a high compliment. Given what Jeremiah is saying here, he wasn’t hearing the “word of the Lord” that he was proclaiming coming back at him for clarification or to endorse the message. There’s this: For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. As Jerry Landers found out, even a “good word” turns sour in some peoples’ minds when it is given as “from God.” The problem is, if it really IS from God, it’s hard to argue with, unless you’re Moses. And many folk have a hard time with that kind of finality or “last word” on anything. Since Jeremiah is writing somewhere around 600 B.C.E., I’m guessing we can say this kind of “derision” is universal among humans. Jeremiah’s mocking was not praise for his eloquent rhetoric; not praise at all.

 

There’s another word that catches my self-diagnosed ADHD brain: “derision.” John Wesley and his fellow Oxford students that had banded together to study the Bible, nurture their mutual spirituality, and perform acts of mercy to the less fortunate of England back in the early 18^th century, were branded “Methodists” by other, far less pietist students. It was a term of derision—or “mocking,” as some might say. Of course, it stuck, and here we are today as “United Methodists.” United? Well, those of us who stayed are working at it, but the former United Methodists who chose to disaffiliate, not so much. Are we still “methodical” in our approach to social issues, spiritual formation, and prayer? I might suggest that the centuries of embellished polity, systemic, hierarchal posturing and politicking, and “spreading thin” of way too many good goals have eroded our “method” into a kind of mish-mash of great expectations and good intentions. We HAVE done many good works to the glory of God, and we HAVE helped many people with their human needs and fostered much discipleship, but some would say we created an overly bureaucratic structure that is not “taming well” after the loss of almost half of our denomination. Am I mocking this predicament? Perhaps. But I digress…

 

The Northern Mocking Bird is an interesting creature. It is able to duplicate the calls of neighboring birds, and even the human-made, mechanical sounds of society, I am told. I have an Audubon app on my phone that picks up a bird call and can tell me what specific bird produced it. From time to time, it will hear a call that I KNOW is of a Cardinal or a Chickadee, of some sort, but the app says it’s a Northern Mocking Bird, obviously displaying a keen, technical ability to discriminate “real” from “Memorex,” as the old recording tape used to say. Amazing. I looked up the Northern Mocking Bird, and all of the science on the little beast says that it does not “mock” the calls of other birds for any nefarious reason. It is not a predator, it is not trying to steal their mates, or anything like that. It just does this because it can, and possibly to entertain itself. Of course, it, too, is looking for a mate, and being skilled at mocking other birds’ calls may also demonstrate its abilities for a female of its species, who would otherwise be unimpressed with its dull, gray appearance. I guess some are show-ers, while others are, well, mockers. 

 

Humans who mock others may be showing off, too, but mostly lesser skills and possibly even displaying an inferiority complex. To paraphrase an old line, Those who can, DO, while those who can’t, make fun of those who DO. Human mocking birds are not attracting females in spades, either, and the few who may be “attracted” by the male mocker are sparing another, more gifted male a miserable existence. The prophets of God like Jeremiah—or Jerry Flanders, for that matter—may not like the mocking they endure, and may pray that God give them their comeuppance, but in the end, those with the REAL “good words” prevail with truth as their shield and buckler. The “mocking birds” who attack the messenger and eschew heeding their message wind up with egg on their beaks.

 

We live in a day when those “mocking birds” among us deride truth, embrace empty boasts and broken promises, and proclaim themselves superior to the immigrant and the downtrodden. Perhaps this makes them feel superior, in some way, but in God’s eyes, they are hanging a millstone around their own necks, which will silence their stolen song, in the long run. The prophets among us who speak the truth, even in the face of the mockers and the oppressors, will have the final say, but it won’t puff their egos, for they know that ultimate truths belong not to them, but to the Divine. Jesus wound up on a cross for telling the truth and calling out the “mocking birds” of his generation as “whitewashed graves.” All of the remaining twelve disciples died as martyrs, history tells us, for they dared using their words and deeds to keep the truth of Jesus alive (might this be the “second resurrection” Jesus spoke of?). Paul lost his head because he refused to stay silent about the inbreaking Kingdom of God. And down through the ages, countless “mocking birds” have taken the sword, the flame, and the lynching tree up against those who speak and live God’s rightful truth. They, too, will have their feathers ruffled at the judgment seat. To quote Jeremiah: They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. May we be “birds of a different feather,” Dear Ones, and may our song be that of the Mourning Dove that pines for peace and justice. Amen.

 

The Insecurity of Covenants

The Insecurity of Covenants

 

Exodus 19:2-8a

The covenant with Israel at Sinai 

 

19:2 They journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

 

19:3 Then Moses went up to God; the LORD called to him from the mountain, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites:

 

19:4 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

 

19:5 Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine,

 

19:6 but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. 'These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites."

 

19:7 So Moses went, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

 

19:8a The people all answered as one, "Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do."

 

The thing about covenants is that they are great…until they aren’t. Think about it. Marriage covenants are broken all the time, whether it is by alienation of affection and infidelity, or just reneging on all the promises we make when we “solemnize” them. I promised to “love, honor, and cherish” my partner, but that reminds me of the old Stephen Wright joke: A guy goes to a store advertising “Open 24 Hours,” and finds the door locked; he bangs on the door until the owner comes out, and he says, “I thought this store was open 24 hours,” to which the owner answers, “Well, not in a ROW!” “Love, honor, and cherish”…but not all at ONCE! Thankfully our 49-plus marriage covenant has not had to weather any storms beyond my occasional breaching of one of these “Honey, I love you” elements. True confessions? It’s usually the “cherish” one, when we are arguing. 

 

There are all kinds of covenants: some are like legal contracts; others are more akin to “handshake agreements.” All of them are some kind of “promise” to either do or DON’T do something. One of the things that may derail a covenant happens when both covenanting parties have divergent views of what the covenant means. Go back to our marriage covenant: when one partner thinks it just means not openly dating another person, while the other takes seriously the whole “love, honor, and cherish” part, bad things happen. Two parties can MAKE a covenant, but if there are varying understandings about how the covenant is kept, even a well-constructed covenant isn’t worth the paper (or “handshake”) it’s printed on. Of course, this reminds me of another joke from Seinfeld: Jerry makes a rental car reservation (a covenant, as he sees it), but when his flight lands, the rental desk has no cars available. He argues with the reservation clerk regarding just what a “reservation” means. He “explains” that a reservation should mean that they will hold a car for him. The indignant clerk protests by saying she knows what a “reservation” is, to which Jerry responds, “I don’t think you do! You know how to “take” the reservation, you just don’t know how to “keep” the reservation!” This goes to our understanding of covenants, doesn’t it? We know how to MAKE the covenant, we may just not agree on how to KEEP the covenant. One only needs to read the Old Testament to see that God and Israel had this problem much of the time.

 

Pastors spend much time “sermonizing” about covenants: reminding members of the “membership vows” (covenant) they took when they joined the church; of the baptismal vows they took (covenant) to raise their children in the life of the church; or of their “commitment to Jesus Christ” (covenant) they made, urging them to be faithful to it. Hopefully we preachers of grace ALSO remind them that in Christ, God made a covenant with humanity that will never be breached. If a “disconnect” occurs, guess who is at fault? This gets at the heart of my own practice of covenant-keeping, by the way. I FIRST assume that if there is a problem with a particular covenant, I am the one at fault. If I start there, it keeps me from immediately blaming the other party. You’d be amazed how many times it never gets beyond that, as I AM usually the party that is having a “promise problem.”

 

In their title song from David Merrick’s musical of the same name, Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote:

 

Oh, promises
Those kind of promises
Take all the joy from life

Oh, promises, promises

My kind of promises
Can lead to joy
And hope and love
Yes, love!

 

These lyrics illustrate the sometimes fickle nature of the covenants and promises we make. Some covenants lead to freedom, while others are designed to create boundaries or restrict. Human beings need both to have happiness and security. But when we bump up against covenantal walls when we’re looking for freedom, we get upset, and when we feel “too free” while needing a fence to rein in our inappropriate wanderlust, it is just as disconcerting. All this well summarizes my opening statement: covenants are great…until they’re not.

 

Covenants that are too constraining are most inconvenient, and while designed to give us boundaries, they may actually make us feel even more insecure. It’s kind of like the Dutch reclaiming land from the sea using dikes. Having the land is nice, but the more the sea strains against our “covenantal” dikes, there is always the chance that one of them will let loose. Now THAT’S an insecurity! Dara and I just signed a binding covenant with a retirement community where we will be moving to next month. And while this has been our plan for some time, and while this is a wonderful retirement community that has fantastic independent living options like the one we’ve taken, there is both a “finality” and a fear about permanently aligning ourselves with both a set of agreed upon rules and standards, and committing so much of our retirement resources to it. You know what is performing a “healing” on my initial apprehensions about this major “covenantal” leap? Beginning to sort and pack our “stuff” to both prepare for the move, and to “stage” our home for sale, as directed by our realtor! Fatiguing myself beyond reason in the process is fully convincing me we made a wise choice. Had we stayed where we are, none of this “weeding out” would have occurred, and our two adult children would have been left with a mess, when we “shuffle off this mortal coil.” At least in the retirement community, they know how to guide survivors as to how to deal with the remaining stupid “stuff” accumulated, may even have others in the community who would like to pick through it like scavengers.

 

Today’s text is about the Sinai Covenant between God and Israel, as brokered by Moses. God, after reminding Israel of all God had already done for them by liberating them from slavery in Egypt, promises to care for them and hold them as a “treasured possession” before all other peoples, if Israel promises to keep the covenant and obey God’s voice. In short: “If you will be my people, I will be your God.” Sounds simple; sounds like a good idea, having such a close relationship with the God of the universe, especially when their “blessings” look so tempting to other “peoples” surrounding them. Here’s the thing that caught my preacher’s eye, though—the last verse of the pericope: “The people all answered as one, ‘Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do.’” Knowing human beings, THAT sounds too good to be true. Everything that the LORD has spoken? They will “do” it? It sounds like the teenage boy whose father is gifting him a car. The father says, “I’ll give you this car on the condition that you keep it in good condition, pay for the necessary auto insurance, and drive it safely and obey the traffic laws,” to which the teen hurriedly answers, “Yeah, yeah, I will! GIVE ME the keys!” You know where that one is headed. In this text, God is giving Israel the keys. Oh, and we Christians should remember the parable Jesus told about the father and two sons (no, the OTHER father and two sons), one of whom said he would go work in the vineyard and the other, who said he wouldn’t. The one who “covenanted” to go, didn’t show up, but the one who didn’t commit, DID show up. Jesus praised the latter. Covenants may sound good on paper, but if there is no actual action proposed by them, what are they?

 

I don’t want to get overly negative here. Dara and I were blessed with two wonderful and generally compliant children. We really trusted them, and they rarely gave us any reason to NOT trust them. When they said they would do something, they did it (at least to the best of our knowledge). Similarly, Israel DID often obey God and keep the various covenants they had with the Divine. When they did things went well with them. When they didn’t, the old “What you sow, you will also reap” thing applied. (With Israel’s herky-jerky track record, it’s no wonder that Jesus brought this little chestnut back into prominence through his teachings and parables.) Our experience with our two children reminds us that people CAN keep covenants, and occasionally DO what they say they will DO. However, too anxiously saying “Yeah, yeah, give me the keys” and driving off can sow seeds of impending doom, when it comes to covenants. 

 

Ultimately, it comes down to the integrity of those making the covenant in the first place. Then, have the two (or more) parties also hammered out at least a boilerplate shared agreement on what it means to KEEP the promises of the covenant in question? And what about accountability? Are there “penalties” for breaking the covenant, or is it truly just a “What you sow you will reap” system? In the case of God’s covenant with Israel—and with humanity through the Christ Event—the integrity of God is not really in question. Oh, there were those times when Moses had to argue with God and “remind” God of God’s culpability in creating humans with “free will,” n’at, but still, God is not one to be trifled with in covenantal matters. Humans, on the other hand, can have our issues with them. God can go out of God’s way to offer all kinds of blessings and rewards, but when God asks simply that Israel be a “royal priesthood” and be respectful of the Divine, Israel be like, “Oh, do we really have to have the car back by MIDNIGHT?” 

 

And finally, going full circle, we would be well to be reminded that covenants—if only made to offer security of the “lesser” party—may breed INSECURITY more than safety. The best covenants are between two respectful, faithful, and “loving” parties—more like a marriage than a legal contract. When covenants spell out positive actions, describe and “codify” a respectful relationship, and create an environment of mutuality, not dominance. Some naysayers of the Christ Event have suggested that God could have “fixed” the human sin problem by snapping God’s fingers instead of making the kind of sojourn among us that Jesus advanced. But not if you understand what I just said about the nature of a true covenant. Jesus came to “be” with humanity, to fully understand us, our temptations, our fears, and our need for healing at multiple levels. It didn’t matter that these may be “consequences” of our own choices. The fact is, we were separated and suffering, and this is not the life God created us to have. Jesus himself said it: “I came that you might have life, and life abundantly.” In this covenant, there is NO insecurity! Amen.