Numbers 20:4-9 Restoration

            It is hard to believe that we are over half way through Lent. It seems like it just started not that long ago. It is our fourth Sunday and our fourth Covenant (another promise) that God made with the people of Israel. They are out travelling, wandering in the wilderness and they are getting pretty tired and hungry; until, they have had enough.

            In today’s scripture of Numbers, we read and hear of God’s chosen people complaining. They are complaining about not enough food or water…then they don’t like the food (which can be confusing). They are complaining about God and Moses. It is like a long road trip with someone who complains about everything (are we there, I can’t find anything to eat with a full cooler). It does not sound if there is anything that would please these people. These people are mad at God for bringing them out into this desolate place where there is scarcity, at best; not enough food, water and this is where they feel they are going to linger and even die.

            In the midst of their complaining, “The Lord sent serpents into the group. The serpents begin biting the Israelites and some of them die. When people are bitten and start dying, their story changes quite fast. They go right to Moses and repent. They ask for Moses’ and God’s forgiveness. They ask Moses to step in for them and ask God to make it stop. I can imagine that they are pretty scared at that point. Who could blame them? I think if we all saw something like that, we too would ask for forgiveness as soon as possible.

            Moses did pray to God and God’s response was something that may seem confusing. God told Moses to build a bronze serpent and put it on top of a staff so that when people were bitten they would live. It might seem confusing because, would the easier fix have been to take the serpents away? Would it have been better if God killed all the serpents and then there is no need to build this bronze marker? We might want to think so. But, God tells them to build this bronze statue and place it on a staff.

            I think there are a lot of questions that could remain with this whole “serpent on a stick” thing. What is the purpose of this? Is it because this could be a reminder to them of the awesome power of God who sent the serpents in the first place? Is it that God has mercy on these people and might be using this as a way of getting their trust back? Or is it a way to show the Israelites the importance of believing a God who leads, trust a God who can show mercy, and giving thanks to a God who will not let them die in the wilderness?

            I believe the answer to all these questions is a resounding yes! God is revealing himself as a God who does not want people to suffer. If he did, then God would have let the people continue to die and that is not the God that is being revealed here. God is being revealed as having compassion, mercy, and grace, despite the complaining and thoughts that God is only leading people to die. God is being revealed as a present God; in addition to not leading them or us out simply to die, but to be able to look at the snake after being bitten and knowing that there is life, abundant life and that the journey continues.          

            I cannot explain why God did not take the serpents out. There are numerous possibilities of why those serpents remained and I think that is one of those questions that we all can ask when our time comes to be with Jesus. Nevertheless, God gives the Israelites the second chance at life; the chance to seek forgiveness and repentance for their mistakes. Moses creates this serpent as God commands to show and prove that the snake is not the one who has the power over life and death but it is God who has that power AND the last word.

           

            Many years later, there is another staff that is raised up. In a time when the people have gotten so caught up in laws, purity, who is in and who is out, positions in society above everything else. God sends His only Son into the world to re-establish a relationship with God’s people, to reveal to all who will listen the compassion, grace and mercy of God. God’s Son, Jesus Christ goes throughout the land of these chosen people, the people that God delivered out of slavery in Egypt to reveal this loving God, once again.

            Instead of welcoming the Son of God with open arms, there is testing. While some listen and follow, those in positions of authority seek proof of Jesus, find ways to punish, and some might say complain about him being like a serpent; because of his teachings, healings, and treating outsiders as brothers and sisters as God’s children, beloved and valuable.

            This time was different. This time the staff that was raised did not contain a serpent. This staff that was raised was in the shape of a cross. This cross that was considered a place of shame and humiliation did not contain a serpent, but contained the Savior of the World. Jesus Christ. While the authorities looked at Jesus as a serpent and, maybe, saw the end of their authority…their life in the way they knew; those who follow Jesus know that they can look to this cross and have life. We know that God is showing us once again that death does not have the last word, but it is God who is the last word on everything.

            As complainers that we know that we are, God does not abandon us. We complain about a variety of things: from petty things to things pretty significant BUT God who is patient, loving, gracious and Merciful listens AND calls us to the foot of this cross to show us and prove to us that we are not abandoned. To reveal to us that we are offered the same second chances that were offered to the people of Israel in their time of complaining and wandering. God calls us to this cross to say that when we feel like we are wandering through the wilderness seeking God’s answers that we are not abandoned, God is with us; when we make mistakes or say and do things that may seem sneaky, believe it or not we can be like those serpents or bitten by one. We can project the sting of anger or hatred for something or someone, just as we can receive that same sting and be injured; sometimes irrepairably harmed BUT we are called to come to the cross to see God’s only Son who gave himself for us so that we may have everlasting life. We are called to come to the cross with all our brokenness to seek God’s healing in our lives and to seek and ask for forgiveness from those we have hurt and those who may have hurt us; because it is at the foot of this cross where God’s healing and promises give us life.

            TO be very clear, God did not promise and easy road. Our lives may be full of those bite marks from others or from everyday life. There are times when we might feel so beaten up by the world. God calls us to this cross, God calls friends and family to reach out to one another and walk together to this cross, to this cup of blessing and this bread of life to hear how valuable and truly loved we all really are: AMEN!

Exodus 20: 1-17 The Third Covenant for Lent, The Ten Commandments

            So it is the third week and we have our third covenant. This one is a little different than the others. The first one was God making a blanket promise with Noah. The second requires a little more action with Abraham; and now, we have this thing that doesn’t sound much like a covenant, does it? It’s the Ten Commandments. God is giving Moses the law. How does that sound like a covenant?

            Well, let’s break this one down. What is this law that is being given? What do we know about the law? Traditionally, we know that laws tell you what you cannot do. They are restrictive and place boundaries on us. They help define what it means to be a good person or a bad person. If you live by the law, you are a good abiding citizen. If you break the law you are a criminal, a bad person, and most times marked for life. There are consequences to breaking the law and we, as a society, expect law breakers to take responsibilities for our actions, right?

            So God is giving us these laws. In a world that is sitting in conflict today, when we hear the word law, if your anything like me, the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, you might be thinking “great what next?!” I get tired of hearing about laws, what I can and can’t do. It gets exhausting and sometime, I know that I just want to tune out; because we have heard this before. We know the story and we have seen Charleton Heston as Moses.

            But there is another way to look at this. While we know the story and it is something to be cherished. But think about this covenant as a gift; think of it as not a way of restricting behavior but think of it as a way of being freeing. I am not going to go over every commandment, but I am going to group them in a way that might make Martin Luther proud, I hope. We can break these Ten Commandments into two basic groupings. The first group of Commandments are 1-3, are all about God. You shall have no other Gods, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, and keep the Sabbath holy.

            Just on those first three, here is an idea about this gift. “thank goodness” that I don’t have to worship all these other Gods. From a lazy standpoint (just ask my wife) I don’t want to worship a God of Sun, rain, snow, peace, sadness…that can get exhausting. Another thought is “why would I want to worship all those Gods when I can worship the ONE GOD who created all of this. I want to worship the God who created the Garden of Eden, made the promise to Noah and his family, and who promised not to use floods to destroy the earth.

            On the other commandments, two and three, I would say the same thing. Why would I want to take the Lord’s name in vain? Do I really want to ask the Lord to curse something? Am I really gonna ask God to condemn something or someone? Frankly, I believe God is all that powerful to create so I better be careful what I ask for. It means that we all need to choose our words a little carefully. It also means that God can do all these things so why not keep the Sabbath day Holy. Why not respect God who created community, participate in the community that God created and honor that time together.

            Commandments 4-10 are a little more difficult. They are the commandments about how we treat each other. That can be a little more difficult because we are human. We make mistakes, we say and do things out of frustration, anger, and sometimes just down-right selfishness. We do things that we want to do, sometimes, without a thought about who it may or may not affect. There are a wide variety of reasons and circumstances that may cause us to do something; may cause us to covet, steal, bear false witness, and maybe even kill. I don’t pretend to know or excuse these actions. My point is that sometimes we don’t live up to these commandments about how we treat each other.

            No matter what, these actions do have consequences in our society. There is our own sense of guilt, there are penalties in our civilization, and yes there are penalties in God’s eyes. But I think that we can see these commandments as gifts as well. We know and hold to be true that God created man and woman. We are gifts from God in God’s creation and so these commandments are not to say you cant…but maybe we can think of ourselves and each other as God’s creation. That means that we are ALL more important to each other. It means that the God who created me, also created you and that means that you are just as valuable in God’s eyes and, therefore, my eyes.

            Sometimes that is really difficult. Sometimes there are those people who test your last nerve OR you may test theirs. This does not mean we don’t try to treat each other as if we are all gifts. It means that we can try and continue trying to treat each other as valuable gifts that God created to be on this earth and to be in community with one another.

            This month, our special offering is going to the St. Dysmus ministries which is known as the “prison ministry” within the synod. Pastor Gerry Rickell visits the prison and there are church leaders who go to the various prisons in the state and hold worship services, who remind the people who are paying their debts to society that they are worthy of God’s love and that God has not given up on them. There are many unique stories of people whose lives were changed because God sent people into those prisons to spend time with these people; stories of people who have maintained their good standing and found support in changing their lives because God entered their lives and refused to leave, through the interactions of others.

            Brothers and sisters, I am sure there are times when we have broken, at least, one of God’s commandments. We have all made mistakes in our lives. Not one of us can say we have never made a mistake and we will continue to make mistakes. But God does not abandon us when we make those mistakes. God sent Jesus into the world for our sake…for our mistakes and to teach us that everyone is redeemable and valuable. Through the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross our sins, God has brought us to the reality that we live in a sinful world, we make mistakes, yet we are forgiveable…because of our contrite hear and wanting to know that God DOES love us…always has; and is always there for us.

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; God's covenant with Abraham

            During Lent we will be looking at the five covenants that God made with God’s people. Last week, if we had been here, we would have heard the first covenant. That covenant was made between God, creation, and Noah. Last week God was the one making the covenant. There was no work needed on Noah’s part. After the waters began receding, God said that there would never be another flood like that again. Last week God said, “I will never do this again.” That was it, end of story.

            This week, there is something a little different. This week there is some action required on the part of Abraham. But, let’s take a look at what this promise is from God. God starts out with telling Abram that this is EL Shaddai which in Hebrew is God Almighty. And he tells Abraham to walk before me and be blameless. That is a pretty tall order to fill. Imagine if God told you, directly, “walk before me” we might not know what to do OR think God really means to walk in front. I will get to that part a little later.

            God jumps and making a covenant with Abraham. God is telling Abraham that this is not just me doing this but this “is a covenant between you and me.” God tells Abram that God is changing his name to Abraham and he (Abraham) will be the father of many nations; a multitude, God says. Imagine hearing that when you are ninety-nine years old…and his wife was about the same age! Imagine hearing in your nineties “congratulations, you are going to be parents!”

            This isn’t the first time that Abraham hears this. In Chapter 15 God makes the promise that he will be the father of many people “as many as the stars in the heavens, if you can count them.” God has been walking along with Abraham for some time now telling him that he will have child and be the father of many nations. SO, Abraham is not so sure that God is going to keep God’s end of the bargain, but God is persistent in his covenant with Abraham. He keeps repeating it. God even goes to the point of “here is what I am going to give you and you only have to do this for me.” God is giving Abraham the chance of a lifetime to do this one little thing and Abraham will receive a great promise from God.

            Now the one “little thing” is not walk before me. What God asks is not included in our reading for today. I am going to tell you what it is because it is important to what we know and believe as Christians. What is left out is that God asks Abraham to be circumcised. I want to be clear about something. Remember in the days of the Old Testament, women were not regarded as individuals; they were property and the books were written by men. So, it looks like men win out here but, work with and we will get to the important stuff. God makes the statement that circumcision will be the mark to let God know that Abraham has kept the covenant, because all the men after Abraham are to be circumcised. The important words that I want you to hear is God noticing the mark for God’s promise.

            This is where we all can relate to God’s covenant. Man AND women can relate to being marked for God. We can relate to this mark that is made on our foreheads at our baptism. Jesus, the only Son of God called us to be marked; marked with a symbol that we all know. Marked with a symbol of God’s sacrifice for our sake, marked and sealed with the sign of God’s ultimate act of love and forgiveness.

            Jesus underwent great suffering for our protection. He went to the place that was set aside for criminals, for the lowest of the low. He went on trial, endured a beating, and on that Friday at noon, Jesus went to the hill where two pieces of wood formed the cross. It was that place where the Son of God was nailed, for our sins, for our wrongs and for our brokenness.

            You see, when we look at God’s words to Abraham we might think of the words “walk before me and be blameless” as something unattainable. “How can I walk before God and be blameless?” We know the words El Shaddai (God Almighty) as powerful and intimidating words. It is a title that can be intimidating that we might just think “trying to be blameless is too hard, so maybe I shouldn’t even try.” OR “Luther says I am a sinner and saint all at the same time so God has to forgive me so there is no use in trying.” We all have times in our lives where we might feel this way, because we are human! We do make mistakes, we do and say things we shouldn’t, and sometimes we say and act out of frustration.

            But knowing that doesn’t mean we don’t try to walk before God and try to be blameless. Yes, God is almighty and powerful! God is so powerful that God created all this around us in a meticulous, powerful, yet beautiful way. God is powerful enough that God created us in God’s own image; AND God is so powerful that God sent Jesus Christ into the world to save us all from sin and from ourselves.

            Walking before God isn’t just about walking. It is not a strut but it is an inventory of our very lives. Walking before God means that we put our lives out in front of God, the good and the bad; our best decisions and our not so good ones. This week in bible study we talked about Adam and his choices. Adam took responsibility for his decision to eat from the tree of knowledge and there were consequences. But, Adam and Eve were never abandoned by God. God remained with them and they tried to live better lives despite their decision.

            Friends in Christ that is what we are called to do in walking before God. We are called to place our lives, decisions, and our heart in front of the God powerful enough to create & powerful enough to forgive…to place our daily lives in front of God. I hope we see that as an opportunity and not something to be afraid of. I hope we see it as a chance to invite God into our lives…not just on Sundays but every day and in every aspect; Because, I truly believe that when we do that, our lives change. With God being more at the forefront of our lives we may practice a little more humility, praying a little more, walking and talking with God, and forgiving a little more, and maybe seeing more blessings than we realized; in our lives, friendships, families. We may even find ourselves laughing about God’s sense of humor in making two ninety year olds first time parents and celebrating all that God has done and will do for us: AMEN.