God remembers in a rainbow
Commentary
"Pastor," he began, "I want to tell you how distressed I am that we continue to have a prayer of confession for sin in the worship every Sunday. It makes me very uncomfortable. I come to church to have my spirits lifted. I do not come to talk about sin. Particularly, I do not think I should have to confess my sin. In fact, I don't believe in sin. I have never cheated on my wife, stolen from my company or even lied on my income tax return. I do not have any sins to confess."
Unfortunately, that true story reflects that the modern understanding of sin has not advanced much beyond the ancient Christian quaternion of fornication, murder, theft and apostasy. Too many of the typical pew sitters see themselves as a substantially different species than those who commit drive-by shootings or engage in ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. These evil persons share nothing with the good folks like them.
Lent offers a marvelous opportunity to clarify Christian teachings on the meaning of sin and the necessity of a savior. During the Sundays leading to Easter discuss the radical judgment that falls over us as we do violence to God's vision for creation. Take note that we all share in the sins of commission and omission. We are judged partners in the fragmentation of the family, the decline of the inner-city, the persistence of racial hatred and the balkanization of America. Indeed, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
But let us not leave the people without a word of hope. The readings for today stress that. In the Yahwistic account, the flood is a complete failure. The people were so wicked they could not even imagine doing good. The priestly ending, from which this week's lesson is drawn, puts a different spin to the story. Even though the hearts of the survivors remain unchanged, God decides against total destruction. In fact, he promises that will not happen. God will continue to work with the world and the rainbow is given as a sign of that covenant.
The passage from 2 Peter draws a parallel between the flood and baptism. Even as sinful people were saved through the water of the flood, so sinful people will be saved through the waters of baptism.
Our Lord, in the Markan passage, was baptized. That sacred rite did not, however, make him immune from temptations. He went immediately into the wilderness, encountered and then broke the powers of the evil one. Our baptism does not grant us a temptation-proof life, but we have the assurance that God will be with us even as he was with the Christ. We have the assurance of the rainbow. God never gives up on us.
OUTLINE I
Many colors make a rainbow
Genesis 9:8-17
God set the rainbow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant he had made with the people.
Rainbows, as we all learned in junior high science, are nothing more than white light broken down into its component colors: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Each of those colors are essential for the making of the white light which illuminates the room.
A. Let those colors of the rainbow represent the spectrum of human differences. For those who have not noticed, people are all different. We don't look alike, sound alike or believe alike. In fact, in all of human history there has never been a person just like you. Even identical twins usually don't agree on such basic matters as to whether or not mom and dad had a good marriage or which twin was the most loved. God made each of us as different as the colors of the rainbow.
B. One of the colors of the rainbow is not superior to the others. They are all necessary. Without each color making its contribution, there would not be white light. So it is with our human differences. Each person has a contribution to make.
C. Since God made us different, it must be good. In fact, God used this symbol of differences to seal his covenant with the people.
D. Therefore, let us rejoice in our differences and not permit them to be reasons for us to divide.
OUTLINE II
The alluring power of death
1 Peter 3:18-22
The recurring theme of the messianic banquet found in 1 Corinthians 15 and John's Revelation is suggested in this passage. 1 Peter draws on the anticipated saving power of the cosmic Christ to offer the suffering the hope of heaven.
A. We all come to that point in life when we understand that we must face the fact that this earthly life will not last forever. No matter how advanced our medicine, we will still die. Death, however, is no barrier to God's love for us.
B. On the other hand, let us not look to death as a solution to whatever problems or suffering we experience. Death has an alluring power we must guard against. The poet, William Doane has a line which holds, "We are too stupid about death. We will not learn how it untangles every mortal mesh." Rising suicide rates and rising divorce rates suggest we have learned too well that death of persons or relationships does "untangle every mortal mesh." The continuing fascination of the world with war suggests that we really believe that if we killed enough people we could have peace on earth. Unfortunately, the seeds of the next war are always sown in the present conflict.
C. The message of scripture is not that we are to believe in the power of death. Instead our faith advances for the power of resurrection. We believe physical life can be transformed to spiritual resurrection; that decaying relationships can be resurrected in new opportunities; that despair can be reconstructed as hope.
OUTLINE III
A faith with a limited guarantee
Mark 1:9-15
At one time, John was a very wealthy man. The company he owned made him millions of dollars before an economic downturn bankrupted him. A gifted entrepreneur, in a few years he rebounded only to have another set of problems beyond his control bankrupt the second business.
John considered himself a very conservative, faithful Christian. These misfortunes were more than he could handle. "Why did God let this happen to me? I have led a good life. I have prayed regularly. I have been generous with all that I have received. Is not our faith to bless us? I cannot continue to believe in a God who does not cause his own to prosper."
A. The function of our faith is not to give us a leg up on the competition. Our baptism does not protect us from the problems of this world. This is demonstrated by our Lord who, immediately after his baptism, was tempted by all the evil powers of this world.
B. Rather than avoiding the troubles, the angels attended him and kept him from being destroyed by Satan and the wild animals.
Such is the problem for us. Our baptism does not immunize us from the troubles. By the power of God, however, we can face those problems and temptations and not be destroyed by them.
C. That promise is different than being promised that if we love Jesus everything will go exactly as we plan it to go.
Unfortunately, that true story reflects that the modern understanding of sin has not advanced much beyond the ancient Christian quaternion of fornication, murder, theft and apostasy. Too many of the typical pew sitters see themselves as a substantially different species than those who commit drive-by shootings or engage in ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. These evil persons share nothing with the good folks like them.
Lent offers a marvelous opportunity to clarify Christian teachings on the meaning of sin and the necessity of a savior. During the Sundays leading to Easter discuss the radical judgment that falls over us as we do violence to God's vision for creation. Take note that we all share in the sins of commission and omission. We are judged partners in the fragmentation of the family, the decline of the inner-city, the persistence of racial hatred and the balkanization of America. Indeed, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
But let us not leave the people without a word of hope. The readings for today stress that. In the Yahwistic account, the flood is a complete failure. The people were so wicked they could not even imagine doing good. The priestly ending, from which this week's lesson is drawn, puts a different spin to the story. Even though the hearts of the survivors remain unchanged, God decides against total destruction. In fact, he promises that will not happen. God will continue to work with the world and the rainbow is given as a sign of that covenant.
The passage from 2 Peter draws a parallel between the flood and baptism. Even as sinful people were saved through the water of the flood, so sinful people will be saved through the waters of baptism.
Our Lord, in the Markan passage, was baptized. That sacred rite did not, however, make him immune from temptations. He went immediately into the wilderness, encountered and then broke the powers of the evil one. Our baptism does not grant us a temptation-proof life, but we have the assurance that God will be with us even as he was with the Christ. We have the assurance of the rainbow. God never gives up on us.
OUTLINE I
Many colors make a rainbow
Genesis 9:8-17
God set the rainbow in the clouds as a sign of the covenant he had made with the people.
Rainbows, as we all learned in junior high science, are nothing more than white light broken down into its component colors: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Each of those colors are essential for the making of the white light which illuminates the room.
A. Let those colors of the rainbow represent the spectrum of human differences. For those who have not noticed, people are all different. We don't look alike, sound alike or believe alike. In fact, in all of human history there has never been a person just like you. Even identical twins usually don't agree on such basic matters as to whether or not mom and dad had a good marriage or which twin was the most loved. God made each of us as different as the colors of the rainbow.
B. One of the colors of the rainbow is not superior to the others. They are all necessary. Without each color making its contribution, there would not be white light. So it is with our human differences. Each person has a contribution to make.
C. Since God made us different, it must be good. In fact, God used this symbol of differences to seal his covenant with the people.
D. Therefore, let us rejoice in our differences and not permit them to be reasons for us to divide.
OUTLINE II
The alluring power of death
1 Peter 3:18-22
The recurring theme of the messianic banquet found in 1 Corinthians 15 and John's Revelation is suggested in this passage. 1 Peter draws on the anticipated saving power of the cosmic Christ to offer the suffering the hope of heaven.
A. We all come to that point in life when we understand that we must face the fact that this earthly life will not last forever. No matter how advanced our medicine, we will still die. Death, however, is no barrier to God's love for us.
B. On the other hand, let us not look to death as a solution to whatever problems or suffering we experience. Death has an alluring power we must guard against. The poet, William Doane has a line which holds, "We are too stupid about death. We will not learn how it untangles every mortal mesh." Rising suicide rates and rising divorce rates suggest we have learned too well that death of persons or relationships does "untangle every mortal mesh." The continuing fascination of the world with war suggests that we really believe that if we killed enough people we could have peace on earth. Unfortunately, the seeds of the next war are always sown in the present conflict.
C. The message of scripture is not that we are to believe in the power of death. Instead our faith advances for the power of resurrection. We believe physical life can be transformed to spiritual resurrection; that decaying relationships can be resurrected in new opportunities; that despair can be reconstructed as hope.
OUTLINE III
A faith with a limited guarantee
Mark 1:9-15
At one time, John was a very wealthy man. The company he owned made him millions of dollars before an economic downturn bankrupted him. A gifted entrepreneur, in a few years he rebounded only to have another set of problems beyond his control bankrupt the second business.
John considered himself a very conservative, faithful Christian. These misfortunes were more than he could handle. "Why did God let this happen to me? I have led a good life. I have prayed regularly. I have been generous with all that I have received. Is not our faith to bless us? I cannot continue to believe in a God who does not cause his own to prosper."
A. The function of our faith is not to give us a leg up on the competition. Our baptism does not protect us from the problems of this world. This is demonstrated by our Lord who, immediately after his baptism, was tempted by all the evil powers of this world.
B. Rather than avoiding the troubles, the angels attended him and kept him from being destroyed by Satan and the wild animals.
Such is the problem for us. Our baptism does not immunize us from the troubles. By the power of God, however, we can face those problems and temptations and not be destroyed by them.
C. That promise is different than being promised that if we love Jesus everything will go exactly as we plan it to go.
