sermon - What Does Require?

“What Does God Require?”

            Over the summer, we have journeyed through our Scriptures one covenant at a time.  Our God is a God that connects to humanity through a relationship.  With each of these covenants, God gives a promise to the people:  God will never again destroy the world through a flood, God will bless Abraham and his offspring to be a blessing to others and promises them a land, God gives the law to guide God’s people in living holy lives, God promises that David’s throne will be over an eternal kingdom, and in Jesus Christ, God promises to forgive our sins and love us with abundant grace.   

            In each generation, the people of God had to discern what it meant for them to be a people of the covenant.  Would they trust in God’s promise?  Would they choose to live holy lives?  Would they follow the law or worship the idols in the cultures around them?  A life of covenant was not easy for God’s people and again and again they fell away from how God called them to live. 

            In the first passage we heard today, the prophet Micah declares that God does not desire sacrifices that are being made with empty meaning.  The people have fallen into rote behavior, they do what they do because that is what they have been told to do.  The “why” behind it has been lost.  Why do we sacrifice to the Lord?  Do we do it because that is what God requires?  And so the prophet proclaims, that God desires this people of the covenant to do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with their God.  This is the “Why” behind being a people of the covenant not sacrifices.  God connects to God’s people in order for God’s people to be compassionate, to be justice oriented, to be kind, and to walk in the ways of God. 

            What does God require of us?  The rich young ruler had the same question.  He came to Jesus and asks:  What must I do to have eternal life?  Basically he is asking:  What does require of me to be saved?  And Jesus responds to him with the Law, the covenant given through Moses.  And the rich man responds, yes, I have been doing these things since I was a child.  Then Jesus takes it a step further, and tells him to sell his possessions and give everything to the poor.  And the man goes away sad because he has great riches. 

            What does it mean to be a person of the covenant?  Does it just mean to have faith and trust in God?  In today’s world, that may sound like enough of a challenge.  Does it mean just be a good person and follow the rules?  Or does it require more of us?  We believe that in Jesus Christ, God’s promises have been fulfilled and we proclaim that in the sacrament of communion Jesus gave us the new covenant, the cup of salvation.  As a covenant people are we to just gather and break bread and share the cup together?  

            God works with God’s people through the gift of the covenant.  What does that mean for us in today’s world?  What would Jesus say to us if we were the rich young ruler that asked:  What must I do to inherit eternal salvation?  Would Jesus say:  Just believe in me?  Would Jesus say:  Go and sell your possession and give to the poor?  Would Jesus say:  love your neighbor?  What would be the response to us? 

            I came up with a huge list of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. 

·         We are to drop everything and follow

·         We are to abide in Jesus and bear fruit for God

·         We are to Go and make disciple

·         We are to Go into the harvest and labor

·         We are to deny self and take up the cross

·         We are to be like children

·         We are to feed, clothe, visit, and heal the least of these

·         We are to be a blessing

·         We are to forgive each other

·         We are to be obedient

·         We are to be peacemakers

·         We are to be salt

·         We are to be transformed

·         We are to be like the teacher

That is a rather large check-list. 

If I had to use one piece of scripture to summarize what it means to be a people of the covenant given to use through Jesus Christ, I would use 2 Corinthians 5

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,^[d] not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

           

In Christ, God has given us eternal forgiveness, not just eternal salvation.  We are forgiven and we are to be a people that lives out forgiveness.  Loving one’s neighbor is to live in such a way that it exudes forgiveness.  To be a people of the covenant, we are to be agents of reconciliation in the world.  Just as God brings us into God’s presence through Jesus, we are to bring God’s love and grace to others.  We are not to judge others, but simply show them God’s love.  As a people of the covenant, God is working through us.  This is a holy and sacred task, one we should not take lightly. 

In a small church, what does it mean for us to be a people of God’s covenant?  Do we feel we are living into God’s purpose for us?  Is there a “Why” behind who we are?  If we are gathering to worship without a why, then we are empty.  If we gather to worship because we love God, desire to praise God, and desire to be a people of the covenant, then we start to answer our “Why”.   Through New Beginnings, you all named your why as:  Partnering with our community near and far to joyfully spread the message and love of Jesus.  As agents of God’s reconciliation, you all have a mission to partner with others, such as Roxbury Social Services, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Habitat for Humanity, the Rec department, Faith Kitchen, and Family Promise.  They cannot do what they do without the support of others, and we do what we do because:  We partner with our community near and far to joyfully spread the message and love of Jesus. 

I want us to let go of our financial concerns, committee responsibilities, and even our historical presence in this community and really think about what it means for us to be a people of the covenant.  What does God require of us?  A people called by God to be agents of reconciliation in the world, ambassadors for Christ.  In the book:  When the Saints go Marching out, Art Beals states:  pg. 3

            So good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal heaven?  What does God require of me?  Of us?  But to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.  What does God require of us?  To be a people of the covenant, to be agents of reconciliation, to be ambassadors for Christ.  Let us continue doing what we do, focused not on the doing, but on the “Why”.  We do what we do as Ambassadors for Christ, agents of reconciliation, people of the covenant.  Amen.