Aprons Or Bibs
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series II, Cycle A
Potluck dinners are wonderful! We enjoy marvelous fellowship, contagious laughter, and the comfort of being in a place where everybody knows your name. And, oh yes, the food! Tempting aromas fill us with anticipation of the glorious feast to come. Gazing and grazing at the buffet table is one of the true joys of parish life. The major challenge at a parish potluck is that the vast array of tasty choices always exceeds our ability to sample each selection!
There is always more than enough to pile our plates with culinary delicacies; not just once, but twice, or even three times. There is always more than enough leftovers, too, so that each one of us can take home still another meal to pop into the microwave.
One congregation even provides bibs for grazers and aprons for its servers.
Today's Old Testament lesson addresses the issue of choice in the religious life of God's people. Here, Moses' task has been completed. He had led God's people out of Egyptian bondage through the wilderness. The promised land was in sight. Their instruction in faith was complete. God's "buffet table" was visible just across the Jordan River. The people were ready to don their bibs. They were eager to stop gazing and begin grazing. They were ready to change their identity from "losers" to "choosers."
However, their choice was not as simple as deciding whether to select meatloaf or fried chicken. Their choice was truly a matter of life and death. "... I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Now that's a powerful choice and an even more powerful promise! It should also be pretty easy, a "no-brainer," right? Who among us would choose curses over blessing not just for ourselves but for our entire families for generations to come? Who among us in their right minds would choose death over life? Naturally, we would choose life and blessings every time. After all, we shape our future by the choices we make in the present.
Let's go back to God's people in our text. Their history up to this point certainly was not filled with good life choices. They often turned away from the Lord and worshiped other gods. They were often unjust and unfair in their treatment of the poor and vulnerable. They often ignored and even openly opposed the leadership of Moses. They often experienced bitter quarreling and dissention within their midst ... just like roots "sprouting poisonous and bitter growth" (Deuteronomy 29:18).
Choosing life and blessing was not as easy as it looked for God's people then. It is at least as difficult for us today, especially during troubled and frightening times. When the storms and challenges of life are crashing upon us from every direction, it's almost impossible to make any decision at all except to stop the immediate pain and eliminate the overwhelming fear. We will choose any port to ride out the storm in safety.
When giving directions to his home, retired New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra, explained, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
Which fork leads home? Which port is safe? How do we know for sure? How can we really know what choosing life and blessing looks like?
In our lesson, Moses was wrapping up his final address to God's children. Here, Moses reviewed their tumultuous forty-year wilderness journey and summarized faithful living as God's people in the promised land. "... loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees and ordinances ... obeying him and holding fast to him ..." (Deuteronomy 30:16, 20). Choosing life was to be demonstrated by faithful worship, purity of lifestyle, fair treatment of the weak and vulnerable, faithful leadership, and the honoring of all creation. (Actually, chapters 1-30 of Deuteronomy describe this in some detail!)
Even with these specific directions, God's people would often miss the mark completely. Left to their own efforts they would deserve not life and blessings, but death and curses. In the very next chapter of Deuteronomy, the Lord tells Moses that after Moses dies, the people will begin to worship pagan gods in their midst and will forsake God by breaking the covenant they made. "... they have eaten their fill and grown fat, they will turn to other gods ... despising me and breaking my covenant" (Deuteronomy 31:20).
Left on our own, we cannot follow the clear direction of God's teachings and decrees. Left on our own, life can be just one curse after another. Then we die. Left on our own, in the middle of life's cursed troubles, we gaze at folks who seem to have it all together. We long to graze at their buffet table of happiness and security. If only we could just understand the step-by-step directions to success and joy.
A doctoral student who was living in another state forwarded a dissertation proposal for her major professor to critique. She enclosed a self-addressed, stamped envelope for his convenience. After making suggestions on the proposal, the professor placed it back inside the envelope. Across the flap he noticed a tape on which the following clear directions were painted in large capital letters "Press it. Seal it." So he pressed it, but it would not seal. Again and again, the professor followed the directions explicitly. He pressed and he pressed, but still the envelope did not seal. He then began to pound and then to stomp on the flap with the same failed results.
Finally, the faculty secretary heard the uproar in the mail room and rushed in to see what was happening. With a twinkle in her eyes and a smile that she could not fully disguise, she took the envelope from the helpless and befuddled professor and said, "Watch and learn."
She then grasped one corner of the tape and peeled it away from the envelope flap. She then pressed it, sealed it, dropped it into the mail slot, and returned to her duties.
"Oh," said the professor.
No matter how clear the directions, God's people, you and I, cannot follow them alone. No matter what seems to be a clear-cut choice, God's people always seem to gaze and graze at the wrong buffet table, and we need enormous bibs to catch the overflow from our sinful choices.
The good news here is that God has already made the first choice. Through his covenant with Abraham, God chose these people to become his own. Through Moses, God chose to deliver his people from bondage and to form them in faithful living as they journeyed through the wilderness to arrive at the edge of the land God had chosen for them. God kept his covenantal promise to them often in spite of them.
God had already made the crucial choice of life and blessings for them. Because God had chosen them, God gave them the ability to choose life and the clear directions for living as God's people. And, with those directions, God intended for them to be ready to exchange their grazing bibs for serving aprons.
In Jesus Christ, God has continued to choose us as his own children. In Christ, the living Word of God, God promises, "The word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe" (Deuteronomy 30:14; see also Romans 10:8).
What does that choice look like? God's choice looks like the Word made flesh in a Bethlehem manger. It looks like the water mingled with that Word in baptism. God's choice looks like the Word broken and poured out for us in holy communion. God's choice looks like a cross and an empty tomb.
Jane was in hospice care, suffering from the effects of a massive stroke that would soon end her life. During her last few days, Jane was unable to move or to speak; yet the gleam in her eyes and a "yahoo" when a visitor entered the room let folks know that she was fully aware of her surroundings. Finally, it appeared to all that Jane had slipped into a coma. The pastor was called. Family and friends were gathered at her bedside. Together they shared "Jane stories." The room was filled with laughter and tears. It was time to share the meal Jesus served to his disciples in that upper room long ago. Clustered around Jane's bed, the small group of family and friends heard the familiar and life giving words: "This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you." And suddenly, from Jane's bed, they heard, "Yahoo!"
At the very moment, God's choice of Jane and of each of those gathered around her became visible. In that one exclamation, "Yahoo," Jane removed her grazing bib and put on her serving apron ... for the pastor and for all God's gathered people.
At that very moment, God demonstrated what our text looks like in this life and the next: "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Jesus Christ, host at the buffet table, serves God's chosen children. Because God had chosen her to serve, even in her most fragile hour, Jane was able to serve others with a foretaste of the buffet that would come very soon. Thanks be to God for Jane. Thanks be to God for giving us bibs for receiving and aprons for serving. Yahoo! Amen.
There is always more than enough to pile our plates with culinary delicacies; not just once, but twice, or even three times. There is always more than enough leftovers, too, so that each one of us can take home still another meal to pop into the microwave.
One congregation even provides bibs for grazers and aprons for its servers.
Today's Old Testament lesson addresses the issue of choice in the religious life of God's people. Here, Moses' task has been completed. He had led God's people out of Egyptian bondage through the wilderness. The promised land was in sight. Their instruction in faith was complete. God's "buffet table" was visible just across the Jordan River. The people were ready to don their bibs. They were eager to stop gazing and begin grazing. They were ready to change their identity from "losers" to "choosers."
However, their choice was not as simple as deciding whether to select meatloaf or fried chicken. Their choice was truly a matter of life and death. "... I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Now that's a powerful choice and an even more powerful promise! It should also be pretty easy, a "no-brainer," right? Who among us would choose curses over blessing not just for ourselves but for our entire families for generations to come? Who among us in their right minds would choose death over life? Naturally, we would choose life and blessings every time. After all, we shape our future by the choices we make in the present.
Let's go back to God's people in our text. Their history up to this point certainly was not filled with good life choices. They often turned away from the Lord and worshiped other gods. They were often unjust and unfair in their treatment of the poor and vulnerable. They often ignored and even openly opposed the leadership of Moses. They often experienced bitter quarreling and dissention within their midst ... just like roots "sprouting poisonous and bitter growth" (Deuteronomy 29:18).
Choosing life and blessing was not as easy as it looked for God's people then. It is at least as difficult for us today, especially during troubled and frightening times. When the storms and challenges of life are crashing upon us from every direction, it's almost impossible to make any decision at all except to stop the immediate pain and eliminate the overwhelming fear. We will choose any port to ride out the storm in safety.
When giving directions to his home, retired New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra, explained, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
Which fork leads home? Which port is safe? How do we know for sure? How can we really know what choosing life and blessing looks like?
In our lesson, Moses was wrapping up his final address to God's children. Here, Moses reviewed their tumultuous forty-year wilderness journey and summarized faithful living as God's people in the promised land. "... loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees and ordinances ... obeying him and holding fast to him ..." (Deuteronomy 30:16, 20). Choosing life was to be demonstrated by faithful worship, purity of lifestyle, fair treatment of the weak and vulnerable, faithful leadership, and the honoring of all creation. (Actually, chapters 1-30 of Deuteronomy describe this in some detail!)
Even with these specific directions, God's people would often miss the mark completely. Left to their own efforts they would deserve not life and blessings, but death and curses. In the very next chapter of Deuteronomy, the Lord tells Moses that after Moses dies, the people will begin to worship pagan gods in their midst and will forsake God by breaking the covenant they made. "... they have eaten their fill and grown fat, they will turn to other gods ... despising me and breaking my covenant" (Deuteronomy 31:20).
Left on our own, we cannot follow the clear direction of God's teachings and decrees. Left on our own, life can be just one curse after another. Then we die. Left on our own, in the middle of life's cursed troubles, we gaze at folks who seem to have it all together. We long to graze at their buffet table of happiness and security. If only we could just understand the step-by-step directions to success and joy.
A doctoral student who was living in another state forwarded a dissertation proposal for her major professor to critique. She enclosed a self-addressed, stamped envelope for his convenience. After making suggestions on the proposal, the professor placed it back inside the envelope. Across the flap he noticed a tape on which the following clear directions were painted in large capital letters "Press it. Seal it." So he pressed it, but it would not seal. Again and again, the professor followed the directions explicitly. He pressed and he pressed, but still the envelope did not seal. He then began to pound and then to stomp on the flap with the same failed results.
Finally, the faculty secretary heard the uproar in the mail room and rushed in to see what was happening. With a twinkle in her eyes and a smile that she could not fully disguise, she took the envelope from the helpless and befuddled professor and said, "Watch and learn."
She then grasped one corner of the tape and peeled it away from the envelope flap. She then pressed it, sealed it, dropped it into the mail slot, and returned to her duties.
"Oh," said the professor.
No matter how clear the directions, God's people, you and I, cannot follow them alone. No matter what seems to be a clear-cut choice, God's people always seem to gaze and graze at the wrong buffet table, and we need enormous bibs to catch the overflow from our sinful choices.
The good news here is that God has already made the first choice. Through his covenant with Abraham, God chose these people to become his own. Through Moses, God chose to deliver his people from bondage and to form them in faithful living as they journeyed through the wilderness to arrive at the edge of the land God had chosen for them. God kept his covenantal promise to them often in spite of them.
God had already made the crucial choice of life and blessings for them. Because God had chosen them, God gave them the ability to choose life and the clear directions for living as God's people. And, with those directions, God intended for them to be ready to exchange their grazing bibs for serving aprons.
In Jesus Christ, God has continued to choose us as his own children. In Christ, the living Word of God, God promises, "The word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe" (Deuteronomy 30:14; see also Romans 10:8).
What does that choice look like? God's choice looks like the Word made flesh in a Bethlehem manger. It looks like the water mingled with that Word in baptism. God's choice looks like the Word broken and poured out for us in holy communion. God's choice looks like a cross and an empty tomb.
Jane was in hospice care, suffering from the effects of a massive stroke that would soon end her life. During her last few days, Jane was unable to move or to speak; yet the gleam in her eyes and a "yahoo" when a visitor entered the room let folks know that she was fully aware of her surroundings. Finally, it appeared to all that Jane had slipped into a coma. The pastor was called. Family and friends were gathered at her bedside. Together they shared "Jane stories." The room was filled with laughter and tears. It was time to share the meal Jesus served to his disciples in that upper room long ago. Clustered around Jane's bed, the small group of family and friends heard the familiar and life giving words: "This is my body, given for you. This is my blood, shed for you." And suddenly, from Jane's bed, they heard, "Yahoo!"
At the very moment, God's choice of Jane and of each of those gathered around her became visible. In that one exclamation, "Yahoo," Jane removed her grazing bib and put on her serving apron ... for the pastor and for all God's gathered people.
At that very moment, God demonstrated what our text looks like in this life and the next: "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Jesus Christ, host at the buffet table, serves God's chosen children. Because God had chosen her to serve, even in her most fragile hour, Jane was able to serve others with a foretaste of the buffet that would come very soon. Thanks be to God for Jane. Thanks be to God for giving us bibs for receiving and aprons for serving. Yahoo! Amen.
