“A Growing Covenant”

Genesis 9: 8-17

 

As we enter into Lent we are often encouraged to

          Do something or give up something that will

                   Remind us of God and God’s presence in Christ.

                             That’s part of our Christian commitment

                                      To remember God not only in Lent

                                                But for the rest of our life:

                             To make a commitment to God,

                                      To follow the urgings of God’s Spirit,

 to listen to Jesus Christ.

          That’s the word of God to us at Jesus Baptism

                   “This is my beloved son, listen to him.”

                             That’s the word right before the Spirit

                                      Drives Jesus into the wilderness

                                                To be tempted.

                   We know that world all to well

                             We live in that world of temptation daily

                                      And we strive to remember God,

                                                And the words of Christ,

                             “Man cannot live by bread alone but every word

                                      That comes from the mouth of God.”

                   We start our Lenten season this Sunday with

                             The celebration of the Lord’s Supper

                                      As a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice for us

                                                But also our calling to remember

                                                          As we hear the words of Jesus:

                             “Do this in remembrance of me.”

 

This is good news that we have the words of Christ

          And the life of Jesus to remember God this Lent.

                  

 

 

But if you are like me,

your memory is not as good as it used to be.

I find myself getting up from my office

          And going into the sanctuary and forgetting

                   What I went in there to do or get.

My memory is not as good as it used to be.

          I am thankful for computers, calendars,

                   And palm pilots that allow us to

                             Organize ourselves and remember.

And even with all that technology,

          I still forget.

          I write down “meeting at 3 pm”

                   But I forget what the meeting is

                             Or where it is.

          If I have to rely on my remembering for my salvation

                   Then I am in trouble.

 

But the good news in the Genesis passage is that

          God’s Covenant with us, God plan for salvation,

                   Doesn’t start with our remembering God

                             But rather with God’s remembering us.

 

In Genesis 8:1 after the flood waters had wiped out creation

          The text says: “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark.”

          It is comforting to know that when Noah was adrift

                   Being buffeted by the waves of the sea of life,

                             That God remembered him and his family

                                      And all that animals who were with him.

 

And that promise is not just for Noah and his family

          But God offers that promise to all of us in the Covenant.

                   “Behold I will establish my covenant with you,

 and with all your descendant after you.”

          That’s you and me. 

We are the descendants who follow Noah.

      We are those descendants who God promises to remember.

          We are the ones God has made a covenant with

                   And that covenant is that God will never again

 destroy the earth because of the sinfulness of humans.

And it’s not that we are so good now,

or that Noah was so good.

          In fact the first thing Noah did after landing

                   Was to plant a vineyard.

And when the grapes were ripe

 and fermented to make wine,

The text says that that Noah got drunk

          And lay naked in his tent.

          Not exactly what God had in mind for the new creation

                   And yet even when Noah struggled with his

                             Promise to remember God, God didn’t

                                      Forget to remember Noah and

                                                His descendants.

          God remembers us.

                   That’s his promise to us, his covenant,

                             And I believe God keeps his promises.

                                      That’s why you won’t here me

                                                Analyze the flood of New Orleans

                                                          As God’s judgement on them.

          I believe God when God says “never again”

                   God means never again.

                        Not never again except for New Orleans.

                   That doesn’t mean that God does not judge us,

                             That God is not pained by the reality of sin,

                                      And saddened by those time

                                                We forget God

                   But I believe that God honors his covenant to us

                             Despite our failures

                                      And that the Covenant God makes

                                                Is much broader that just us.

 

I believe God when he says:

 “I will establish my covenant with you,

 and your descendants after you,

     and with every living creature the is with you,

          the birds, the cattle and every beast of the earth...

and every living creature that is with you,

          for all future generations.”

 

That’s God’s promise, covenant to us, and to the whole world.

          And this is where our work comes in for Lent and beyond

                   Even as God has remembered us we are called

                             In this time of Lent to remember God,

                                 To remember that we are responsible for

                                      Not only our generation but ones to come,

                   We are in covenant with God and all creation.

                             We depend on God and are interdependent

                                      On each other and on the environment.

 

So God Covenant is the God will not forget us,

          Not wipe us off the face of the earth,

                   And our side of the covenant is to remember God

                             And remember the whole of God’s creation

                                      For God’s covenant isn’t just about us

                                                But it is about the whole earth.

So take our your calendars, palm pilots, organizers,

          And your planners and write it down:

                   Remember God’s covenant to us

                             And our responsibility to God’s creation.

When Jesus says “Do this in remembrance of me”

          He is not merely talking about feeding us,

                   But Jesus is talking about feeding others.

          So I invite you to continue the tradition of bringing food

                   To worship and we will keep these baskets here

                             To remind us of the hungry this Lent.

Bring your kids and grand kids to Church and Sunday school

          Because the Covenant is not just for you

                    But for your children and your children’s children

And how will they know

                                       That God remembers them unless

                                                We tell them, unless we bring them.

          The story they are studying in Sunday School this month

                   Is the story of the person who can’t walk

                             So his friends bring him to Jesus.

                                   You can be that friend who brings another

                                      To be in the presence of Christ this Lent

                                                As you invite them to worship.

 

And the Covenant is with the whole world

          “I will establish my covenant with the whole world.”

                   Now we can’t go out into the whole world but

                             We can send others in the name of Christ.

          Next Sunday we are having our mission faire as a way

                   To celebrate that God has established a covenant

                             With the whole earth and we participate

                                      In that Covenant by being missionaries

                                                And sending missionaries.

          Our One Great Hour of Sharing Fish goes to remember 

                   God’s covenant around the world. 

Whether it is the Tsunami in Asia or

          The Hurricane in Mississippi

The One Great Hour of Sharing supports the

          Relief and rebuilding of those areas and

                   Says to the resident that:

 God has not forgotten them

          And neither will we, God’s people.

God’s growing covenant is God’s promise to us that

          He will remember us, our descendants and the earth

                    And will never give up on us.

How will you remember God this Lent?       Amen