How far back can you trace your roots? 5, 10 generations? How about 30 generations? How far back do your family stories go? 50 years, 100 years? How about 700 years? I can trace my roots back 4 generations and the family stories I can share go back only 120 years. Because I cannot follow the threads of my family tapestry back very far, I do not know or claim a particular inheritance from some great, great 30 times removed grandfather and grandmother. I do not know and cannot claim a particular bond or single purpose with others descended from this same couple.
And so it was for the people in today’s text. They share common ancestors 30 generations back—Abraham and Sarah. But they do not realize it. They do not see themselves as a family or a clan and probably not even as a tribe. This shared ancestry has been lost over the years. They share life circumstances—this they do acknowledge, for they have been living as slaves in Egypt for many generations. They claim a shared misery, but they do not claim a shared identity, and certainly not a shared divine destiny as a chosen people. When we meet them in the 1st text today, they are a fearful, tired, haphazardly brought together group of runaway slaves.
Following Moses, an adopted prince of Egypt, a man with kinship ties to them, they have fled Egypt. Moses leads them towards the Sinai wilderness. Halted by the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit, it seems as if the Hebrews will be destroyed. They fear for their lives. But the waters of the Red Sea are parted long enough for them to cross to safety. Then those waters pour back over the Egyptian army, drowning them. The Hebrews are saved. Trekking through the wilderness, the Hebrews grow desperately hungry. They fear for their lives. Food rains down from the heavens, and they are saved. Journeying through the desert, the Hebrews grow thirsty. They fear for their lives. Fresh water gushes from a rock, and they are saved. They arrive now at a sacred mountain. Moses has brought them here to worship the God who called him to lead them out of slavery. Here they encounter this God in booming thunder, shaking earth, and fiery smoke. They fear for their lives, and Moses brings them this message from God: “If you will obey God and stay true to God’s covenant, you will become God’s most treasured possession among all peoples of the earth. You will be become a priestly kingdom, a holy nation.” A nation, they will become a people united by a common cause. Holy—they will be set apart. A priestly kingdom—they will be an earthly people with a divine purpose. “The people all responded with one voice: ‘Everything that the LORD has said we will do.’” (Exodus 19:8)
They are brought to the mountain to worship God. Through obedience to the conditional covenant God offers them here, they will be formed into a single people—a people with a shared story—the story of their delivery out of Egypt—the story they are living. They will become a single people—a people with a shared identity—God’s treasured possession. They will become a single people, a people with a shared purpose—the ones through whom God will bless all families of the earth.
And what are the conditions of this covenant? The people promise to hear—to receive—the words spoken by God in our 2nd reading today. Better known to us as the 10 commandments, these words shape the people and their lives, and consequently their worship.
In the 1st 3 commandments, God identifies God’s self and demands all reverence saying: I am the God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. I am the God who has brought you safely here. I am the God who has saved you each time you feared for your lives. Worship only me. Worship no one and nothing else. I am the Almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing God. Do not try to limit me, to box me in, to contain me in images or metaphors that make me less than what I am. Worship only me.
I am who I am. I will be who I will be. Do not misuse my name. Worship only me. These first 3 commandments are all about God and worshiping God.
The 4th commandment offers re-creation, our own re-creation. Observe the Sabbath. Human life is not meant to be a series of frantic activities—working and acquiring. Human life needs ebb and flow—activity and rest. Just as God rested from God’s creative activity in the beginning of the world, so must God’s covenant people rest—one day each week. All the people need this rest—not just the patriarch. Everyone in each household, even the servants need this rest. All humans need this rest—not just the covenant people but also the immigrant to their community and the visitor to the households. Observing the Sabbath acknowledges God’s control over our activity. Observing the Sabbath creates a check and balance—helping us to recognize the world does not depend on us, on our work, on our efforts. Observing the Sabbath balances our perception of our own self-importance with our dependence upon God. The 4th commandment is ultimately about trust, for observing the Sabbath is an act of trust—trust that God will provide even when we rest.
The 5th – 10th commandments call for respect. Respect all generations in the community— honoring the parents and caring for the children. Respect human life; respect marital relationships; respect the reputations of others as well as their property. Respect your place, your role in the community—being content with what you have rather than obsessing over the livelihoods, possessions, or relationships others might enjoy. The 5th – 10th commandments sum up living in community.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Respect.
The people are brought to the mountain to worship God. They are invited into a covenant with God—a covenant in which their part is to worship God with their whole lives, to worship God in their relationships with one another. If they hear, receive, and obey these 10 commandments, then their very lives will be worship of God. Worshipping God: that will define who they are and form them as a people.
We, too, are brought to a place to worship God. Right now, we find ourselves in this physical worship place. During this season of Lent, we may find ourselves in a spiritual place of worship. We may find ourselves reflecting, praying, reading, and studying—actively seeking the presence of God. During this season of Lent, we may be examining our lives, asking ourselves this question: Is my life an act of worship to God?
We, too are invited into covenant with God. Rather than Moses, it is Jesus who leads us to this spiritual place where we hope to engage with God. Jesus leads us out of slavery—slavery to sin and death. Jesus leads us to a holy place where we are in the presence of our awesome God. We may not hear thunder, see smoke, or feel the earth tremble beneath our feet—but still, Jesus leads us into the presence of the God who creates us, who loves us, who wants to make us a holy people—not holy as in holier than thou. But holy as in set apart for God’s special purpose. Jesus leads us into the presence of the God who invites us into a divine destiny.
The covenant offered us is not conditional on our obedience but on our accepting the gift of God’s grace. We hear not 10 commandments but 2. They come from Jesus. And they are not meant to be responsibilities that we are ordered to do. Instead they are meant to be our grateful response to God’s grace. Two commandments from Jesus: Love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. And love your neighbor as you love yourself. Love. We are commanded to love. Love: it goes beyond respect. Love. Love. It is a covenant of love that we are offered.
Just as the Hebrew slaves were called to worship God in all that they did—in how they lived their lives, we are called to worship God in how we live our lives. That’s what it means to be a follower of Christ, a disciple of Jesus. Just as the Hebrews were formed into a united people with a divine purpose, we—the church universal—are called to a divine purpose. We are called to share the good news of Jesus the Christ. And we, the members of this congregation are called to be a single people with a divine purpose. God is calling this congregation to a particular mission in this community—a specific way to share the good news. It is our shared identity. Responding to this call—engaging in this mission will be our shared story. Your Session is prayerfully discerning what that mission is. As we all continue our Lenten journeys, may we pray for God to reveal to us our collective divine destiny. May God to give us the courage and the energy to live into that destiny with all that we are.
No comments:
Post a Comment