Exodus 20:1-17
These first weeks of Lent we have been looking at covenant with God and certain people. The first one was Noah and the promise in the sky of the rainbow. The second one was to Abraham to be the father of many nations. This week it is Moses and the people and the law God gave them, a covenant for them to keep, a mark of what it looks like to follow God.
So should we say God's covenant is ever changing or is it the people change and grow and need different ways to embody this walk with God? We have a covenant ourselves, does anyone know what it is (baptismal covenant)? What is the time of year we start equipping people to take this covenant (Lent)? How often do we reaffirm our baptismal covenant (Easter Vigil)?
I want us to think about the words we say in this covenant because they are important. They are central to who we are, what we take up and how we interact with our world. The first part of this is our statement of belief and three questions are asked: Do you believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the answers come from an old creed called the Apostles Creed.
The last five questions all have to do with a candidates pledge of what they will do in response to joining with Christ, like today's scripture it is like this law given, the response we want to give to ourselves and others. The first one is about continuing in the apostles teaching and fellowship and in breaking of bread. What we do every Sunday is an expression of this. The way we worship, the ways we bring in the concerns of the people, and it follows with the next question about repenting and returning to God. Every week in Lent we begin with the confession, the things we leave done and undone in our week. What we need to repent from and return to God for forgiveness.
The next question is a little harder because we should be always asking and turning this. Proclaim the Good News of God in Christ. Well, what is our good news? What is our story of God's good news? Where do we proclaim this? Do we proclaim it at all? Proclaiming good news is getting out there, maybe even being vulnerable to others. Proclaiming the good news never stops no matter how old or what stage of life we are in. We can always proclaim God's good news in Christ to others.
The last two are about how we treat others and ourselves. One asks us to seek and serve Christ in all people loving our neighbors as ourselves. The other is about striving for justice and peace among all and respecting the dignity of every human being. Our responses to these last five are I will, with God's help. None of these can be done alone because not always do we treat ourselves well and so we don't treat others well. Sometimes it is hard to know what justice and peace look like and we end up questioning what it is all about. So we try our best, with the help of God.
Just as we are being reminded this Lent what the central covenants have been between God and us and what our responses should be to the gifts of God to a people we should remember our own covenant. Now some of us have claimed this just through our once a year saying of this, and some were baptized as children into this, and others were confirmed reaffirming this, but we all have said this as one together. This is the foundation for all else which springs out of our growth and life with one another and with others.
So let us study it deeply this Lent. Maybe take each one a week at a time. See where it leads you for understanding, for questioning, and for fulfilling all that we can be. Let us proclaim the good news of God in Christ through the waters of our baptism.
These first weeks of Lent we have been looking at covenant with God and certain people. The first one was Noah and the promise in the sky of the rainbow. The second one was to Abraham to be the father of many nations. This week it is Moses and the people and the law God gave them, a covenant for them to keep, a mark of what it looks like to follow God.
So should we say God's covenant is ever changing or is it the people change and grow and need different ways to embody this walk with God? We have a covenant ourselves, does anyone know what it is (baptismal covenant)? What is the time of year we start equipping people to take this covenant (Lent)? How often do we reaffirm our baptismal covenant (Easter Vigil)?
I want us to think about the words we say in this covenant because they are important. They are central to who we are, what we take up and how we interact with our world. The first part of this is our statement of belief and three questions are asked: Do you believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the answers come from an old creed called the Apostles Creed.
The last five questions all have to do with a candidates pledge of what they will do in response to joining with Christ, like today's scripture it is like this law given, the response we want to give to ourselves and others. The first one is about continuing in the apostles teaching and fellowship and in breaking of bread. What we do every Sunday is an expression of this. The way we worship, the ways we bring in the concerns of the people, and it follows with the next question about repenting and returning to God. Every week in Lent we begin with the confession, the things we leave done and undone in our week. What we need to repent from and return to God for forgiveness.
The next question is a little harder because we should be always asking and turning this. Proclaim the Good News of God in Christ. Well, what is our good news? What is our story of God's good news? Where do we proclaim this? Do we proclaim it at all? Proclaiming good news is getting out there, maybe even being vulnerable to others. Proclaiming the good news never stops no matter how old or what stage of life we are in. We can always proclaim God's good news in Christ to others.
The last two are about how we treat others and ourselves. One asks us to seek and serve Christ in all people loving our neighbors as ourselves. The other is about striving for justice and peace among all and respecting the dignity of every human being. Our responses to these last five are I will, with God's help. None of these can be done alone because not always do we treat ourselves well and so we don't treat others well. Sometimes it is hard to know what justice and peace look like and we end up questioning what it is all about. So we try our best, with the help of God.
Just as we are being reminded this Lent what the central covenants have been between God and us and what our responses should be to the gifts of God to a people we should remember our own covenant. Now some of us have claimed this just through our once a year saying of this, and some were baptized as children into this, and others were confirmed reaffirming this, but we all have said this as one together. This is the foundation for all else which springs out of our growth and life with one another and with others.
So let us study it deeply this Lent. Maybe take each one a week at a time. See where it leads you for understanding, for questioning, and for fulfilling all that we can be. Let us proclaim the good news of God in Christ through the waters of our baptism.
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