God, The Good Ally
Sermon
Sermons on the First Readings
Series III, Cycle B
Object:
A group of American tourists once listened to a story told by their Jewish guide. The guide, Moshe, claimed that his story would explain why the commandments were published on two tablets of stone. Moses came down from the mountain with a tablet of stone listing some of the commandments. He first met a group of Kenites. "Do you want the commandments of God?" he asked. "What do they say?" asked the Kenites. "Thou shalt not kill," replied Moses. "Thanks, we think we'll pass," responded the Kenites.
Next, Moses encountered the tribe of Hittites. "Would you like the commandments?" asked Moses. "What do they say?" "Thou shalt not commit adultery," answered the prophet. "No, thank you very much, we'll move on," retorted the Hittites.
Moses came to the camp of the Israelites. "Here are God's commandments," he said, "would you like to have them?" "How much are they?" they asked. "Nothing. They're free," answered Moses. "Fine, we'll take two," they replied.
God, The Good Ally Of Israel
Actually, the Kenites, a clan of the Midianites, are thought to be involved with the encounter of Moses and his exiled followers and sooner or later also confessed Yahweh as their God. It is thought that Sinai was a holy mountain for the Midianites before being "discovered" by the Hebrews.
At any rate, Moses met God in a terrible but wondrous way on the top of the mountain. God chose to ally himself with the Hebrews and made an offer. Through his spokesperson, Moses, he extended his special favor and the gift of the rules of life uniquely to the band of slaves who had made a run for it out of captivity in Egypt. The Hebrews had already experienced the favor of God. Without his aid, freedom for them would have been unthinkable.
So God deepens his relationship with Israel by proposing, "You shall be my people and I shall be your God." The giving of the law to the people constitutes a contract. It is not a law that is conditional which spells what will happen (the penalty) if the law is broken but it is an absolute law: "Just don't even think about disobeying!"
Another way to classify a law is to determine whether the law is a parity contract, a contract made between two equal partners to the agreement. For example, there was once an old farmer with an ill temper who married late in life and was lucky enough to win a young lady for his new bride, probably a girl who was naive or desperate. After the wedding, he drove his wife home in a wagon pulled by a mule. Suddenly, the mule stopped. The groom said, "Now, that's one," and he hit the mule with a stick. Later the mule stopped again. "Now, that's twice," said the man and he hit the mule again.
Later the mule stopped for the third time. The old geezer said, "Now, that's three" and he shot the mule between the eyes. The new bride protested, "Now, honey, that wasn't necessary. The mule was doing the best it could -- you should not have shot it!" The old farmer pointed his finger at his new bride and said, "Now, that's one!" The marriage contract between the farmer and his bride was obviously not a parity contract.
Likewise, the law given by God is not a parity covenant, but it is a unilateral contract. It is a law between a much superior party to be subscribed to by a weaker party, which has been aided or rescued by the superior party. In the ancient Middle East, a superior party, perhaps a king, might save the hide of the inferior party, perhaps a vassal. The weaker recipient of the favor gladly agrees to the conditions of the contract because of (usually extreme) gratitude.
But, of course, the usual categories can't possibly illuminate precisely the covenant between God and the Hebrew refugees. God here reveals an otherworldly grace not capable of human desire nor effort. At first glance, it might appear that God, in effect, said, "Look at what I did for you; now you do this for me!" God didn't really make any kind of offer. He saved the hides of the Hebrews and now he offers an additional gift, guidelines for living life; for loving him, for loving those within the community, and for loving those who would become Israel's neighbors. King David later would be chastised by the prophet Nathan because he took for himself another man's wife. Even today, Iraqis invaded in their home by American soldiers searching for insurgents or the weapons of insurgents will be offered a cup of tea.
God's gift and his unique partnership with the desert rats was nothing that could be turned down by sane human beings. The God of Sinai was proving himself to be a good ally. He was a keeper. The loyalty of the Israelites waned to and fro for centuries before the words of the prophets recorded after the return from the Babylonian exile proved that at least some of the remnant remembered the pact in the wilderness.
Good For The New Israel
The event of Jesus marked the birth of the new Israel. The pact with God at Sinai, incorporating God's goodness extended to the people in the wilderness, was taken off the shelf. Jesus came to endorse the contract and its stipulations and to elaborate upon them, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill ... You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times ... But I say to you ..." (Matthew 5:17 ff).
Volumes have been written on the application of the commandments in today's world. Even the elaborations of Jesus are hard to apply in the twenty-first century. What does it mean to "love one's enemies," according to Jesus, and how could one possibly refrain from looking at another man's wife with lust? (Matthew 5:28).
Admittedly, it's not difficult for modern Americans to avoid making "graven images." Our graven images are anything that is other than Paul Tillich's "ultimate concern."
A man began to lose his commitment to his church congregation over a period time. His attendance at church dropped; he stopped making a yearly pledge and occasional checks in the offering plate diminished to zero. First-class letters sent to his address were returned "no forwarding address."
He was not angry at the church council and was not offended by changes in worship. He had no bone to pick with his pastor. He just didn't find church "exciting" anymore. Devotion to orthodox Christianity cramped his style. He decided to move on. He sought more interesting friends, more exciting "diversions," and the thrill of less respectable activities. One day he appeared suddenly again at worship. "Jack," the pastor exclaimed, "you've been gone a long time. Why did you come back?" Jack answered, "I've been missing the trumpets in the morning!" What will it be? A sexual lifestyle without responsibility? The big bucks? The stimulating social life with the local community "movers and shakers," the "in group"? Yuppie cars, yuppie wines, yuppie clothes? Or will it be the "trumpets in the morning"?
What about taking God's name in vain? Some good folks cuss a lot and some bad folks use correct English as they gossip and share the latest "insider stories." John Otwell, a Canadian Lutheran theologian, once put it this way, "Much more serious than the mindless swearing or cursing of the modern age is the tendency of believers to use God's name to bless their many personal causes and concerns. The truly blasphemous taking of God's name in vain is that which uses God and the Bible to justify racial discrimination, aggressive war, and a host of other things that are contrary to God's revelation in Christ."1
There is also the issue of going to church on Sunday. The Israelites were taught by God how to remember that God created them and all that exists. The creation account notes that God rested on the seventh day. Likewise, the people of the God of Sinai were to rest on the sabbath in order to devote their thoughts and prayers to gratitude for the creation.
The people of the new covenant (Christians) also celebrate a sabbath, the first day of the week, to devote time, prayers, and praise to the proclamation of the resurrection.
It is difficult to imagine that God would condemn to hell anyone who must work on Sundays. How does one obey the commandment to observe the sabbath in an industrialized economy? Many churches offer worship opportunities on Saturday or Wednesday evenings.
A tourist found his way one morning to the Sistine Chapel in Rome. To his dismay, the chapel was closed that day because it was the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. He turned to negotiate his way through the crowded streets in the direction of Saint Peter's Basilica. A group of children cornered him between parked cars and a wall. They stuck a newspaper in his face. He thought that they wanted a handout, but they were not persistent. They quickly ran away from him. A few steps later, the tourist discovered that his wallet was missing from his front right pocket. He retraced his steps back to the entrance to the Sistine Chapel and looked on the ground where he remembered he had taken out his wallet. Another man asked, "What are you looking for?" The tourist answered, "My wallet!" "The children took it," explained the local Roman.
The tourist went to the police station and wrote the same report seven times. There was no carbon paper. He called his office in California and asked his secretary to cancel all of his credit cards. A friend in Rome loaned him the cash he lost in his wallet, his spending money for the next two weeks in Europe. His friend also told him about the bands of Gypsy children trained by adults who send the children forth to prey on the unsuspecting. The hapless tourist received his wallet in the mail several weeks later, credit cards intact but cash missing. A note from the Italian police said that the wallet had been simply tossed into a rubbish container.
The children of Israel were to thank God for his favor by refraining from stealing. In fact, even possessions that accidentally fell into the hands of others were to be returned to their owners, even if the owners were an enemy. The children of the new covenant must apply the law to identity theft or the theft of one's reputation caused by loose tongues or the theft of pension security by unscrupulous corporation leaders. The theft of a wallet by street children is a small matter compared to the potential for theft and unimaginable grief and chaos in the wake of technological and electronic theft in modern America.
What about the commandment not to kill? Innocent civilians die in the Middle East every day. The world stands at the sidelines while thousands die of genocide and starvation in Africa. The media nonchalantly announces the latest numbers of those killed by suicide bombers in between exhaustive reports about the latest movie star scandal or a politician's faux pas. But, in truth, a commentator's slip of the tongue about black female basketball players or the words of hip hop that belittle gender also embody murder.
Some who observe American culture have become increasingly concerned about the passing of civility. In 1996, Jonathan Alter wrote a piece in Newsweek in which he lamented, "... vicious politics, abominable manners [and] a dangerously atrophied civic spirit."2 Mr. Alter still optimistically believed that people say "thank you" on the bus and "excuse me" on the stairs. But there are still the cell phones that ring at the movies, the car driver behind that won't allow time for the car in the lane to her right to move in front of her, and the clerk at the checkout counter who regards the buyer as though she were a robot or some other inanimate object. The commandments are more than the sum of their total; they are guidelines for living in a community.
When God is our ally, his commandments (not "suggestions," according to a popular television commentator) are the backup system for the law written into our hearts. After all, we already know the difference between right and wrong. If the gift of the law were not enough evidence for our partnership with God, then there is more: His Son died on the cross for us, thus bestowing the greatest gift of all from our strong ally -- entrance into the kingdom where rules will not be needed. For the ancients, graven images were poor divine allies.
The God of Moses spoke from the mountain; he did not threaten. He gave the people of Moses a great gift: the gift of the law. If the law were taken seriously, it would go well with the Hebrew people. Now the law has been fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. The law helps us to get along with one another but it cannot save us: only God's Son can do that and he did. Amen.
____________
1. John Otwell, Proclamation: LENT: Series B (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975), p. 31.
2. Jonathan Alter, "Cheering the Nice Capades," Newsweek, June 15, 1996, p. 50.
Next, Moses encountered the tribe of Hittites. "Would you like the commandments?" asked Moses. "What do they say?" "Thou shalt not commit adultery," answered the prophet. "No, thank you very much, we'll move on," retorted the Hittites.
Moses came to the camp of the Israelites. "Here are God's commandments," he said, "would you like to have them?" "How much are they?" they asked. "Nothing. They're free," answered Moses. "Fine, we'll take two," they replied.
God, The Good Ally Of Israel
Actually, the Kenites, a clan of the Midianites, are thought to be involved with the encounter of Moses and his exiled followers and sooner or later also confessed Yahweh as their God. It is thought that Sinai was a holy mountain for the Midianites before being "discovered" by the Hebrews.
At any rate, Moses met God in a terrible but wondrous way on the top of the mountain. God chose to ally himself with the Hebrews and made an offer. Through his spokesperson, Moses, he extended his special favor and the gift of the rules of life uniquely to the band of slaves who had made a run for it out of captivity in Egypt. The Hebrews had already experienced the favor of God. Without his aid, freedom for them would have been unthinkable.
So God deepens his relationship with Israel by proposing, "You shall be my people and I shall be your God." The giving of the law to the people constitutes a contract. It is not a law that is conditional which spells what will happen (the penalty) if the law is broken but it is an absolute law: "Just don't even think about disobeying!"
Another way to classify a law is to determine whether the law is a parity contract, a contract made between two equal partners to the agreement. For example, there was once an old farmer with an ill temper who married late in life and was lucky enough to win a young lady for his new bride, probably a girl who was naive or desperate. After the wedding, he drove his wife home in a wagon pulled by a mule. Suddenly, the mule stopped. The groom said, "Now, that's one," and he hit the mule with a stick. Later the mule stopped again. "Now, that's twice," said the man and he hit the mule again.
Later the mule stopped for the third time. The old geezer said, "Now, that's three" and he shot the mule between the eyes. The new bride protested, "Now, honey, that wasn't necessary. The mule was doing the best it could -- you should not have shot it!" The old farmer pointed his finger at his new bride and said, "Now, that's one!" The marriage contract between the farmer and his bride was obviously not a parity contract.
Likewise, the law given by God is not a parity covenant, but it is a unilateral contract. It is a law between a much superior party to be subscribed to by a weaker party, which has been aided or rescued by the superior party. In the ancient Middle East, a superior party, perhaps a king, might save the hide of the inferior party, perhaps a vassal. The weaker recipient of the favor gladly agrees to the conditions of the contract because of (usually extreme) gratitude.
But, of course, the usual categories can't possibly illuminate precisely the covenant between God and the Hebrew refugees. God here reveals an otherworldly grace not capable of human desire nor effort. At first glance, it might appear that God, in effect, said, "Look at what I did for you; now you do this for me!" God didn't really make any kind of offer. He saved the hides of the Hebrews and now he offers an additional gift, guidelines for living life; for loving him, for loving those within the community, and for loving those who would become Israel's neighbors. King David later would be chastised by the prophet Nathan because he took for himself another man's wife. Even today, Iraqis invaded in their home by American soldiers searching for insurgents or the weapons of insurgents will be offered a cup of tea.
God's gift and his unique partnership with the desert rats was nothing that could be turned down by sane human beings. The God of Sinai was proving himself to be a good ally. He was a keeper. The loyalty of the Israelites waned to and fro for centuries before the words of the prophets recorded after the return from the Babylonian exile proved that at least some of the remnant remembered the pact in the wilderness.
Good For The New Israel
The event of Jesus marked the birth of the new Israel. The pact with God at Sinai, incorporating God's goodness extended to the people in the wilderness, was taken off the shelf. Jesus came to endorse the contract and its stipulations and to elaborate upon them, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill ... You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times ... But I say to you ..." (Matthew 5:17 ff).
Volumes have been written on the application of the commandments in today's world. Even the elaborations of Jesus are hard to apply in the twenty-first century. What does it mean to "love one's enemies," according to Jesus, and how could one possibly refrain from looking at another man's wife with lust? (Matthew 5:28).
Admittedly, it's not difficult for modern Americans to avoid making "graven images." Our graven images are anything that is other than Paul Tillich's "ultimate concern."
A man began to lose his commitment to his church congregation over a period time. His attendance at church dropped; he stopped making a yearly pledge and occasional checks in the offering plate diminished to zero. First-class letters sent to his address were returned "no forwarding address."
He was not angry at the church council and was not offended by changes in worship. He had no bone to pick with his pastor. He just didn't find church "exciting" anymore. Devotion to orthodox Christianity cramped his style. He decided to move on. He sought more interesting friends, more exciting "diversions," and the thrill of less respectable activities. One day he appeared suddenly again at worship. "Jack," the pastor exclaimed, "you've been gone a long time. Why did you come back?" Jack answered, "I've been missing the trumpets in the morning!" What will it be? A sexual lifestyle without responsibility? The big bucks? The stimulating social life with the local community "movers and shakers," the "in group"? Yuppie cars, yuppie wines, yuppie clothes? Or will it be the "trumpets in the morning"?
What about taking God's name in vain? Some good folks cuss a lot and some bad folks use correct English as they gossip and share the latest "insider stories." John Otwell, a Canadian Lutheran theologian, once put it this way, "Much more serious than the mindless swearing or cursing of the modern age is the tendency of believers to use God's name to bless their many personal causes and concerns. The truly blasphemous taking of God's name in vain is that which uses God and the Bible to justify racial discrimination, aggressive war, and a host of other things that are contrary to God's revelation in Christ."1
There is also the issue of going to church on Sunday. The Israelites were taught by God how to remember that God created them and all that exists. The creation account notes that God rested on the seventh day. Likewise, the people of the God of Sinai were to rest on the sabbath in order to devote their thoughts and prayers to gratitude for the creation.
The people of the new covenant (Christians) also celebrate a sabbath, the first day of the week, to devote time, prayers, and praise to the proclamation of the resurrection.
It is difficult to imagine that God would condemn to hell anyone who must work on Sundays. How does one obey the commandment to observe the sabbath in an industrialized economy? Many churches offer worship opportunities on Saturday or Wednesday evenings.
A tourist found his way one morning to the Sistine Chapel in Rome. To his dismay, the chapel was closed that day because it was the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. He turned to negotiate his way through the crowded streets in the direction of Saint Peter's Basilica. A group of children cornered him between parked cars and a wall. They stuck a newspaper in his face. He thought that they wanted a handout, but they were not persistent. They quickly ran away from him. A few steps later, the tourist discovered that his wallet was missing from his front right pocket. He retraced his steps back to the entrance to the Sistine Chapel and looked on the ground where he remembered he had taken out his wallet. Another man asked, "What are you looking for?" The tourist answered, "My wallet!" "The children took it," explained the local Roman.
The tourist went to the police station and wrote the same report seven times. There was no carbon paper. He called his office in California and asked his secretary to cancel all of his credit cards. A friend in Rome loaned him the cash he lost in his wallet, his spending money for the next two weeks in Europe. His friend also told him about the bands of Gypsy children trained by adults who send the children forth to prey on the unsuspecting. The hapless tourist received his wallet in the mail several weeks later, credit cards intact but cash missing. A note from the Italian police said that the wallet had been simply tossed into a rubbish container.
The children of Israel were to thank God for his favor by refraining from stealing. In fact, even possessions that accidentally fell into the hands of others were to be returned to their owners, even if the owners were an enemy. The children of the new covenant must apply the law to identity theft or the theft of one's reputation caused by loose tongues or the theft of pension security by unscrupulous corporation leaders. The theft of a wallet by street children is a small matter compared to the potential for theft and unimaginable grief and chaos in the wake of technological and electronic theft in modern America.
What about the commandment not to kill? Innocent civilians die in the Middle East every day. The world stands at the sidelines while thousands die of genocide and starvation in Africa. The media nonchalantly announces the latest numbers of those killed by suicide bombers in between exhaustive reports about the latest movie star scandal or a politician's faux pas. But, in truth, a commentator's slip of the tongue about black female basketball players or the words of hip hop that belittle gender also embody murder.
Some who observe American culture have become increasingly concerned about the passing of civility. In 1996, Jonathan Alter wrote a piece in Newsweek in which he lamented, "... vicious politics, abominable manners [and] a dangerously atrophied civic spirit."2 Mr. Alter still optimistically believed that people say "thank you" on the bus and "excuse me" on the stairs. But there are still the cell phones that ring at the movies, the car driver behind that won't allow time for the car in the lane to her right to move in front of her, and the clerk at the checkout counter who regards the buyer as though she were a robot or some other inanimate object. The commandments are more than the sum of their total; they are guidelines for living in a community.
When God is our ally, his commandments (not "suggestions," according to a popular television commentator) are the backup system for the law written into our hearts. After all, we already know the difference between right and wrong. If the gift of the law were not enough evidence for our partnership with God, then there is more: His Son died on the cross for us, thus bestowing the greatest gift of all from our strong ally -- entrance into the kingdom where rules will not be needed. For the ancients, graven images were poor divine allies.
The God of Moses spoke from the mountain; he did not threaten. He gave the people of Moses a great gift: the gift of the law. If the law were taken seriously, it would go well with the Hebrew people. Now the law has been fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. The law helps us to get along with one another but it cannot save us: only God's Son can do that and he did. Amen.
____________
1. John Otwell, Proclamation: LENT: Series B (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975), p. 31.
2. Jonathan Alter, "Cheering the Nice Capades," Newsweek, June 15, 1996, p. 50.
