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The Third Sunday in Lent |
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I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. After a series of plagues had been visited upon the land of Egypt by the Lord God of the Hebrews, the once mighty but now broken Pharaoh summoned the stranger and priest of curses, Moses, to his throne room. "Leave!" he shouted. "Take your children and your herds and all who follow you, and get out of my sight. If I never see your face again it will be soon!" And that very night, the Hebrew people—the nation of Israel—loaded up all their possessions and left the land of Egypt after 400 years of slavery. And like their ancestor Abraham, they set out into the wilderness bound for nowhere, except the promise of a land that the Lord would show them. After two months of traveling, the Hebrew people came to the Mountain of God—Mt Sinai—and it was there that the Lord gave the Law to his people—the Ten Commandments; the ten words of obedience; the Decalogue, which we heard and affirmed at the beginning of our service today. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; And all the people of Israel answered in one voice (just as we did this morning with our "Amen."): "All the words the Lord has spoken, we will do." There is a covenant taking place here between the Lord and the Hebrew people. We've been reading and talking about covenants for the past three weeks now. But this one differs from the covenant made with Noah and with Abraham in that this covenant demands a response. There are some expressed obligations here. It's not just God saying, "I will do this for you" and leaving it at that. An unconditional promise, as is the case with the other two. No, here God wants something back—demands something back. Obedience to the laws regarding their worship of God and their relations with one another is how the Hebrew people were to remain faithful to the covenant and to continue to receive God's blessing. It's a quid pro quo, as lawyers would say. Something in return for another thing. In this case, obedience for blessing. And we know about that, don't we? Something for something. It's the way we do business with one another (most of the time). It's a notion that is alive and well today in religion too, and not just in the Jewish faith. It's the way we expect to deal with God, and God to deal with us. It's called legalism, self-justification, self-righteousness—what we deserve, what we earn. It's the presupposition that sets up the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" (when really who of us can claim to be good? Who of us really deserves special treatment from God?) It underlies the claim of some Christians that the so-called good life—success, wealth, good health—come to those who are obedient. That the Lord causes the sun to shine on the good and the rain to fall on the evil. And we're confused when it rains—on us. In fact, loving God and doing God's will can sometimes be the cause of trouble. It can get you into a pickle. It brought Jesus—not to mention some disciples—not only a hard life but a terrible death. If there is a certainty in life, it's that Christian living is not easy, not devoid of pain or tragedy, not necessarily filled with success or achievement as the world understands success and achievement. Obedience to and following the Lord demands sacrifice and service. Obedience and following God are easier said than done. Jesus’ encounter with the rich, young ruler makes this point clear. When the young man asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments. The young man responded, "All of these I have kept since my youth." Then Jesus, looking deep into the man's soul, added, "There is still one thing you lack. Sell all that you own, give the money to the poor, then come and follow me." Jesus knew the one thing that stood between the man and God—the one thing that the man held above God and that kept him from being fully obedient to God—was his wealth. And the ruler knew this too. And he sadly walked away. Paul, too, recognized that obedience is easier said than done. "I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want but the evil I do not want is what I do." And we know this from our own experience. We often disobey the commandments or the teachings of Jesus. Despite our desire to do what is right, we do what is wrong. Despite our best intentions, our behavior isn't what faith or the law requires. Such "human-ness" is what prompted the disciples to ask of Jesus, "Then, who can be saved?" to which Jesus replied, "What is impossible for mortals is possible for God." And Paul finally argues that God did what the law couldn't. God sent his own Son to deal with and defeat human sin. In Jesus Christ the old covenant is fulfilled and a new covenant is established. We were not excused from the old covenant; the covenant of the law and obedience was broken by us and a debt was owed, a price had to be paid to set things right. And through the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ, even obedience to death on a cross, that debt was paid, and a new covenant was established: a covenant not of law, but of divine grace—forgiveness and undeserved favor. And under the new covenant, this forgiveness, this grace is offered to each and to all—to you and to me. We can do nothing to earn it. It is not dependant on our obeying some law. No quid pro quo is required. It's there, free, available, already bought and paid for through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the love of God, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Amazingly, it's something for nothing. It's the deal of a lifetime and then some. All we need to do is claim it. And give thanks for it. And live, as best we can, in a way that says (and shows) we appreciate the gift. So call today. Claim it today. It is a limited time offer, (because your time is limited). Don’t miss out on life in its fullest and life at its best—today and tomorrow and for ever. In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. |
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