Reflections on "When God Makes Covenant, Then...." Genesis 9: 8-17; Mark 1: 1-9

We kicked off Lent with a sermon series reflecting on the statement, "When God does....then we...."  the idea is that each week we will explore something God has done and how we ought to respond.  I'm not sure how the series is going to hold up through Lent, but today started out with the story of God making covenant with humanity after the the floods.  the sermon went in directions I had never gone before with the Noah story because of the using the Lenten lens for this year.  If good preaching it. 

 The final section about the Ash Wednesday image of the woman with the cross on her forehead was very powerful.    I had someone ask if I had just added that part on the spur of the moment because when I got to that part of the sermon I decided I would look directly at the congregation and not look at my notes throughout that section.  I ended up finishing the sermon without looking at my notes, so I'm not sure if the notes below match what I actually said.

”When God Makes Covenant, Then….”   St. Andrew, Denton; 2/18/18; Lent 1; Genesis 9: 8-17; Mark 1: 1-9

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.[a] 11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 17 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.”

Introduction:  We will spend Lent reflecting on how we respond to different things God has done.  

The idea grew out of the covenant language we encounter in some of this year’s texts for Lent, although covenant language typically begins with “If….then”

But, Lisa and I decided that when talking about God, it’s not really and “if God does something;”  it is “when” because God has acted, continues to act, and will far into the future.

We begin this week with “when God makes covenant, then….”

A few thoughts….

Move 1: When God makes covenant, we better be thinking globally.

a. We know the Noah story.

1. God looks down on the creation that God had called good, and God is none to happy.

2.  God decides to do something, so God picks one family, in this case Noah and his extended family, and gives them a way out of the destruction from the raging waters.

3.  Then, God starts anew, if you will.  A fresh start with Noah and his family.

4.  Not a surprise — we see in the biblical story this pattern of God choosing a certain person or people:  Abraham and Sarah are next; the Israelites as a people to a light for other nations; Jesus choosing disciples

5.  It might be easy to think of God as always choosing a small subset with whom to be in relationship.

b.  But notice how the Noah story unfolds.

1. Depending on how one counts the recurring phrases of “every living creature,” “all flesh,” and “all the earth,” there are at least six different iterations.  The Politics of Saving Everybody—Genesis 9:8-17 (Timothy Simpson) Lectionary, The Politics of Scripture https://politicaltheology.com/the-politics-of-saving-everybody-genesis-98-17/

  

2.  Gives the unmistakable impression that there is no living thing anywhere that will ever exist anywhere that is not covered under the scope of this covenant.

3. Reveals Gods desire - to love and save not just me; not just you; not just St. Andrew; not just Presbyterians; not just Protestants; not just Christians; but God’s desire to love and redeem all of creation.

c.  When God makes covenant, then it shapes how we approach the world.

1. it is not us and them.

2. it is all of God’s people; all of God’s creation.

3. the covenant God makes demands that we are global in our outlook and our outreach.

Move 2:  When God makes covenant, the we better be humble

a.  We tell the story of the flood and talk about God’s covenant and Noah

1. We are reminded that covenant was a common concept in that time.

2. Covenants cemented relationships of mutual obligation.

3.  Often, a covenant was between two parties where one had more power than the other.

4. For example, a conquering kingdom might covenant not to destroy a losing kingdom, as long as the losers promised to fight against the conqueror’s enemies and to support the conqueror with troops and supplies.1 The obligations are indeed reciprocal, but the power dynamics are not often equal. (http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2375, Cameron B.R. Howard, Assistant Professor of Old Testament

Luther Seminary St. Paul, MN

2.   In this case, however, all of the obligations rest with God.

3. This covenant is about what God promises to do, regardless of what we might do in response.

4.  God reaches out to the world, and God does all the heavy lifting. http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2375, Cameron B.R. Howard Assistant Professor of Old Testament

Luther Seminary St. Paul, MN

b. how humbling to realize that this covenant is not about us, but about God.

1. of course, as you heard the story you might have noticed how often the word “I,” is part fo the story.  “I” being God.

2.  This story, this covenant, is about God and what God will do, not about us and what we can do.

3.  In a world when we have so much emphasis on ourselves, what we can do, what we can achieve, this story of God’s covenant is a powerful reminder that it is not about us, but about the God who chooses to love and redeem us.

Move 3:  Finally, when God makes covenant, then we better be looking for Jesus!

a.  sounds kind of convenient that the sermon on the first Sunday of Lent ends up with Jesus.

1.  We had to get to Jesus in the desert somehow, right?

2.  But really, I promise, it’s more than just a segue to Lent.

3.  When God makes covenant, then we look for how Jesus because we know that God is going to live into the plan to redeem the world.

4. The person we discover in Christ, the person who is baptized in the River Jordan when the voice from heaven announces, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased;” the person who goes to the desert and turns away from temptation and then begins his ministry; this person is the fulfillment of God’s covenant.

b.  that truth is more than a theological point.  It is our hope and promise as we live in our world today.

1.  Ash Wednesday.

2. Some of you gathered here in worship.

3. Sign of the cross in ashes from last years palm branches - “From dust you have come, to dust you shall return.”

4. A reminder of our mortality and sinfulness and God’s saving grace.

5. For us was a ritual.

c.  Ash Wednesday was also the day a shooter killed in cold blood 17 high school students in FL.

1.  I know it was Ash Wednesday, because the reports came out as we were headed to Super Wednesday and we remembered the dead and their families in our prayers together after dinner.

2. But I also know it was Ash Wednesday because of a photo I saw again and again on the Internet.

3. A woman in anguish, tears flowing, presumably a mother of one of the students killed.  

4. and on her forehead was the unmistakable sign of the cross marked in ash.

5.  For her, more than a ritual.  Her hope in the face of death; her promise in the midst of chaos; her comfort in the face of the unimaginable.

6.  When God makes covenant, then God will be true to that covenant. 

7. in fact, God has been true to that covenant in the coming of Christ and by the power of the resurrection; and God will live out that covenant when Christ comes again.

conclusion: 

Reflections on "Transfiguration Re-Imagined"

This sermon was part of our "jazz" service, which means jazz music filled the sanctuary.  We had a jazz ensemble of drums, trumpet, sax, string bass, and piano.  They did a terrific job accompanying the hymns, playing the prelude and postlude, the offertory, and the anthem.  The sermon incorporated the jazz ensemble.  Each move, as noted below, set the stage for about a 2 minutes improv from the jazz ensemble reflecting that mood.  It was really cool, although i'm not sure how to evaluate if it actually led to those gathered experiencing reflections/insights about what God is doing in their lives.

St. Andrew does music really well, and yesterday's service was an example of that high quality of music.  We will continue to work to find ways to highlight music as part of our worship experience.

“Tranfiguration Reimagined”   SAPC, Denton; 2/11/18; 2 Kings 2:1-12; Mark 9: 2-9

As you listen to the text I am about to read and you hear the sermon preached and played this morning, I invite you to imagine what it means for you to follow Jesus Christ.  

Close your eyes; breathe; listen to the words; breathe some more; listen to the music; tap your toes; breathe some more; and imagine - imagine a God who comes in Christ to be part of your life; imagine Christ in all his glory; imagine the Holy Spirit shaping you in this moment

Mark 9: 2-9:  Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,[b] one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved;[c] listen to him!” 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Move 1:  Peter, James, and John - the inner circle of the disciples - follow Jesus up to the high mountain.

Step by step.  they slog up the hill.  Each foot forward  moves them one step higher on the mountain.  

they look down at their feet to pass the time.  the rhythm of their hiking hypnotizes - step, step, step, step One right after the other. One right behind the other.  No stopping until they reach the top.

their breathing grows heavier with the exertion of moving up the mountain; they keep climbing.  No time to stop; there is still much of the mountain before them.

the weariness of the morning climb comes to them, and still they go on, one step at a time.

Their weariness is accompanied by a sense of expectation.

they are going up a mountain.  they know what  Barbara Brown Taylor tells us:   “…. every mountain, no matter where it was, was a ringer for the mountain that towered in the Hebrew imagination. Once the people of Israel had seen Mount Sinai smoking with the presence of the Lord, there were no "a" mountains anymore. Every mountain was "the" mountain, the place where the fiery God might be encountered again.

They climb the mountain with Jesus wondering if they will discover smoke, the presence of God, or something they have never imagined.

Each step brings them closer.

What is waiting for them at the top?  

Music expresses weary disciples, but tinged with expectancy - they know that on the mountain things happen; but it could be scary or incredible

Move 2:  Jesus transfigured

Suddenly, Jesus appeared dazzling white with Moses and Elijah.

the All-star team for Israel stands before the disciples.  Moses, arguably the greatest leader in Israelite history; Elijah,  one of the great prophets.  If those two were one your team, anything could be accomplished. And add Jesus to the mix, the high mountaintop cannot contain the possibilities.

Being disciples could be pretty tough.  A lot was expected of them.  It is terrifying in that moment to find themselves in the presence of such greatness and wonder, “What is expected of me?”

But the challenging task of discipleship seems more doable in the presence of  Moses and Elijah.

With Moses, Elijah, and Jesus in their midst, anything is possible for Peter, James, and John.

their imagination runs wild as they consider what they can do.

A dazzling white Jesus stands before them with unlimited possibilities.

Music expresses the dazzling white of possibilities

Move 3:  Have to head down the mountain, back to work.  

they want to stay on the mountaintop and build booths.  As if they could stop time and settle into that one moment forever.

they linger in this perfect moment.  If only they could stay.

But they know, they know that the exhilarating possibilities imagined on the mountaintop can only be lived out in the world below them.

Back where people flock to Jesus to learn, to be healed, to be set free; to have their lives changed forever.

They have to go back down the mountain.

Mood - Longing for the moment they just had mixed with determination for the mission ahead of them

Move 3:  Mystery of Christ – don’t tell anyone

their steps are lighter on the way back down the mountain.

they feel energized by the mountaintop experience, but also puzzled by the Jesus’ demand that they tell know now what they had seen until after he had been raised from the dead.

the questions bubble up each step of the way down.

“Raised from the dead?”

“Does that mean Jesus will die?”

“how can someone we raised from the dead?”

“why can’t we tell everyone what we have seen?”

the mystery of who Jesus is increases each moment.

the voice from the heavens echoes in their minds, “This is my son, the beloved.  Listen to him.”

Peter, James, and John cannot fully comprehend the God who sends Christ, God’s Son to live alongside them.  

Nor do they understand the mystery of this incredible, mystical, cosmic Christ. 

Or even why he commands them to “Tell no one.”

But they know the one who has called them to follow.  They have seen him heal and teach.  

they have given their lives over to him.

Now they go down the mountain ready to follow him into the world.

Mood - mystery of the incarnation

Conclusion: