A necessary mid-course correction
Commentary
About the author Michael L. Thompson, marketing director at CSS Publishing Company, is the author of the Charting The Course column for Reformation Sunday. Space exploration has fascinated me since that day long ago when our high school geometry teacher brought a television set into class in order for us to watch the brief, historic flight of Mercury astronaut Alan B. Shepard. Later, I was particularly interested in the longer manned flights to the moon and the unmanned ventures to other planets. What seemed like pure fantasy from my readings of Jules Verne was coming true before my very eyes. In many of those longer flights the scientists would make what they called mid-course corrections. It seems that regardless of how well-planned the flight was, something would necessitate a fine-tuning of the navigational system to insure a correct flight path for the spacecraft. I would suggest that today's texts refer to something quite similar in our human experience. Jeremiah speaks of how God's covenant relationship with his people was launched when God first established an agreement with them. At that time, God took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Now, says Jeremiah, the time is coming for a mid-course correction. Even though the first was well planned and followed for a while, it is time for a necessary change to put humanity back on the right path. A popular word study on "sin" describes it as "missing the mark." Paul uses some impressive language to present the various efforts made by God to improve our aim. With God's corrective actions we are literally put on the path we were designed to follow. Many mid-life crises present an opportunity for persons to make some healthy mid-course corrections in their lives. However, many people in the throes of such crises have been heard to utter, "I just wanted to be free to be and do those things that are important to me. It is time to do something for me for a change." John's text speaks of the freedom which comes from and with the truth ... a truth that is far more expansive than simply that which addresses the concerns of self. Sermon Seeds In The LessonsJeremiah 31:31-34 One of the current styles of Christian education is called "active learning." Basically the style is one in which teachers and students take a hands-on approach to learning. In fact, one publisher has titled its Sunday school curriculum "Hands-On Bible Curriculum." With this style of education there is a lot of interaction on a variety of levels between the teacher and the students. The history of God's involvement with his people reads very much like a chapter in an active learning handbook. During the process of creation, God is like any Sunday school sculptor as he puts his fingerprints all over us, molding the clay into human form. Then, during the exodus from Egypt, God physically leads his people out of bondage and into the promised land. He converses with them through Moses and Aaron. He listens and responds caringly and quickly to their concerns. He feeds them when they are hungry. He protects them when they are in danger. He hands to them a list of guidelines which will lead them to a quality way of life. It is in light of this history of hands-on involvement that Jeremiah enters with his pronouncement that God is preparing a new covenant. And this covenant will be unique because it will be written on the hearts of God's people by God himself. His signature on those hearts will be just as legible as the names of sons and daughters on each of the handmade clay treasures crafted for parents over the years. Romans 3:19-28 Paul seems to have a penchant for large, complex words in this text. Fortunately the message is straightforward ... God is the one who initiates and implements salvation. One of Paul's big words is "redemption." Frank Stagg has written, "... full redemption is liberation from all that enslaves, degrades or defeats what we were created to be." Another way of looking at this word is to understand that we have been liberated from our self-destructive attempt to save ourselves. Like many small children, we are often strongly tempted to say to God, "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. Lord, you need to concentrate your saving activity on those who really need your help." Dealing with the word "justification," an interesting question surfaces which can spark some fascinating thought: "How can a truly just God justify sinners?" As one preacher said to his congregation, "If God is a truly just God, then we are all in BIG TROUBLE!" The beautiful element about God's style of justification is when he not only gives the sinner an acceptable standing through forgiveness, he also goes to work within the sinner to create a refreshing new quality to that sinner's life. "Expiation" has to do with overcoming. In this text Paul emphasizes the fact that God is the active one in overcoming sin. Since God relates to his world sacrificially, he reaches the ultimate in self-giving in the person of Jesus Christ. John 8:31-36 Before we have the truth about anything, we are imprisoned by our lack of understanding or our lack of information. Any weekend handyman and do-it-yourselfer can tell you a personal story about attempting a project without all of the necessary information in hand. But once the necessary truth about the project surfaces, there is a visible and sometimes audible expression of freedom which feels very refreshing. That "aha" feeling is part of what John is talking about here. There is so much to discover about Jesus and what it means to be a disciple or learner. The more truth we uncover in our studies the more freedom we have to continue our adventure of discipleship. Once again, we are like that weekend do-it-yourselfer. Upon completion of one "never-tried-before project," we are eager to try something else ... perhaps something even more challenging than what we just built or repaired. With God's truth revealed to us, we can see a little more clearly God's blueprint for creation. And when we see the way our existence was designed to be ... shalom ... then we are set free from things like: fear, self-absorption, worry, doubt, unnecessary inhibitions, false assumptions, and sin itself.
