Lent 2 - Everlasting

Texts: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 and Psalm 22:23-31

What does covenant mean to you? The first two things that come to my mind are “covenant of marriage” and “covenant of life partnership.” Those are both ceremonies at which I have officiated as a pastor.

Then, in the UCC we have lots of covenants. We covenant together to be a congregation. Our churches are in covenant with Associations, Conferences and the national UCC. It is covenant which binds us together as the United Church of Christ. When Jill was here she was in a 3-way covenant consisting of herself, our church and the Minnesota Conference because she was not in a called pastoral position. That has changed now that she is the pastor and a member of a church in South Dakota.

Even our UCC Statement of Faith talks about covenant. It says about God: “You bestow upon us your Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races.”

So… we have some ideas about covenant. But what does it mean to be in an everlasting covenant with God? Because that’s what our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures today is about.

This wasn't the first, or the last time God and Abram had a conversation; in fact many times in the book of Genesis we read the words, "The Lord said to Abram…" It isn't even the first time that God "made a covenant" with Abram and promised him lots of descendants, as numerous as the stars in the night sky—God made that promise in chapter 15. Still, it must have been something of a balancing act for Abram. I would think it must have been impressive to be seeing God, and actually hearing God's voice. Surely, that would never get old, and who among us wouldn’t like God to tell us exactly what to do? And yet, the things that God was saying to Abram during these visits really tested the limits of a person's imagination. God promised not just one child, but a multitude of descendants, for two people past ninety years of age??! Could it possibly be true that old Sarah would not just produce one child but would "give rise to nations," to "kings of people"?! Imagine! It’s not in today’s reading, but is it any wonder that both Abraham and Sarah laughed?

Scholars believe that today’s story was probably written by the Priestly writer—one of several different writers who produced the book of Genesis, bringing together other traditions into the story of the birth of the people of Israel. The Priestly writer was writing during the time of the exile in Babylon, so it was important to him to remind himself and the rest of the people that even though they were in exile and even though there had been destruction of their city and separation of the people, God was still their God and God kept God’s covenant.

“What do a people do when they are strangers in a strange land, uprooted, aliens? One thing they do is remember, recall time past, lovingly reiterate the promises of God. [In spite of the present situation], the Priestly writer insists that the covenant of God still holds. Israel, now persecuted and laid waste by the nations, is destined to be the family above all families, the nation before all nations.” [1]

We are reminded that it is, of course, God who is at work in this story. It's God's initiative, and God's plan in motion. God is shaping a family, and God commits to be at the heart of that family's story, to travel with them when they wander and dwell with them when they reach their home. This covenant and its blessings aren't just for the sake of Israel because God intends, through Israel, to restore all of humanity. But it starts here, with a man and woman who leave home and all that is familiar, including its security and its gods, to set out in response to the irresistible call of this one particular "God Almighty." And so a relationship begins—a relationship that is at times beautiful and at times troubled. This relationship is between the children of Israel and their one God, whom they trust to be with them always. “Israel's commitment to absolute monotheism did not come about from philosophical reflection upon the being of God. [Instead], it arose out of a vital and personal experience of God's presence and faithfulness" [2]

How do we experience God’s presence and faithfulness today? How do we experience being in an everlasting covenant with God that has been going on since the beginning of time?

People experience God in very different ways and, like Abraham and Sarah, we, too, have our doubts and probably lots of questions. But God is still there for us all. And God is present to each of us in different ways.

This week I read the book, The Shack, by Wm. Paul Young. I hadn’t heard enough to have any idea what to expect in this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found that the author’s theology fit pretty well with mine, so I didn’t have any major disagreements with anything he wrote.

The story is about a man who has had great tragedy and guilt in his life and then has an experience of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Sophia/Wisdom that changes him forever and makes his life new and easier to live, though not trouble-free.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when God expresses being “especially fond” of Mack—the main character—and it turns out that God is also especially fond of all the other people in the world! Isn’t it nice to know that God is especially fond of EACH one of us?!

Back when God made that covenant with Abraham and Sarah, God promised to be their God and to be the God of all their offspring after them. That includes you and me because, as we should know, Abraham and Sarah are the parents of all the great religions and symbolically they are the parents of all the people on earth. What went before them—Adam and Eve, Noah and his family—was the prequel, but the real story of the relationship and everlasting covenant between God and humankind begins with Abraham and Sarah and the promise of children to people who found the idea hysterically funny because they were both over 90 years old.

God kept God’s promise to Sarah and Abraham and to all their descendants. God is still our God today, even though we have become more numerous than the stars,[3] and God’s covenant promise is everlasting, meaning that God will be “especially fond” of our children, grandchildren, and all the generations yet to come. That IS good news for all! AMEN.


(Image "Old Abraham receives God's Promise, Genesis 15:2-6, 17:15-17, 21:1-6" Clay Illustrations by Georgia Cawley)

Endnotes
1. William Willimon, The Lectionary Commentary (quoted at http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/march-8-2009-second-sunday.html)
2. Mark Husbands, Feasting on the Word (quoted at http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/march-8-2009-second-sunday.html)
3. Genesis 15:5-6, NRSV.