Sermon for the 13 th Sunday after Trinity, September 6, 2009

Promise and Fulfillment

“ To Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. ”

HOW MANY are the broken promises, how many vows gone unfulfilled, how often have good intentions led nowhere? In a moment of great need, at a time of encompassing fear, at the point of survival, a person will promise anything. Haven't we all? Under duress, it's one thing to think that you will follow through and make good on your rash words and high ideas of yourself. But it's another thing to do it. David wrote panic stricken and despondent that “All men are liars.” That was almost accurate, wouldn't you think? Due to the sands of time, changed circumstances, new passions, anger, sins, broken faith: we weaken in our resolve, and fail the promises we gave in other times. Who hasn't broken promises? There is one exception, and a very important exception.

       God made a promise to a man named Abram . God saw something in this Chaldean immigrant to Syria that He could work with. The world had once again fallen to pagan idolatries, useless pursuits trying to explain the wind, the rain, the sun and moon and stars, fertility, wealth and good health by little quixotic spirits appeased through weird rituals and worship of their statuary. Abram's heart ached for a God who could answer all questions, give all blessing, and make his lonely life meaningful —and even give him an heir, a son to bless and bestow all his belongings upon. Yet, he loved his one wife, Sarai, so much and he wouldn't betray his beloved, barren though she was. God began to reveal Himself to Abram. Now it's certain that God was revealing Himself to many people back then. He always does that, in great to small ways. It's never complete, never a constant visual overwhelming Presence with God staying right there where you can see Him, talk to Him and hear Him and have the vision verified by any passerby. God remains to some degree hidden, so that He can test us and find in us the answer to the question behind the entire Creation: “Will you love me?”

      Of all the people of the ancient world, Abram responded to the whispers of the Almighty. He packed all he had and traveled south at the quiet urging of God's Spirit. He settled among strangers, had commerce with them but kept to himself, and waited for more promises. More promises came. What promises they were! “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Gen 15:1 Gradually, God revealed to Abram a plan to give him a son by Sarai, that son to give grandsons to Abram, now called Abraham, father of nations, and descendants in number like the stars. They would inherit the very land he was resident in, and when Abraham showed his willingness to obey God even to the point of sacrificing this son, God said, “in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” Gen 22 An even more important promise and relationship was created here: Abraham believed this God who spoke to him, and God counted Abraham's faith as righteousness, that is, belief set aside all of Abraham's sins. Gen 15:6

      The seed of Abraham is Jesus Christ. No other descendant of any father has been sent to bless every nation, family, tribe and individual on earth. Abraham offered his son, God gave His Son. The deal was struck. Centuries later, St. Paul would explain to the Church in Galatia that this promise was more important and lasting than the Law of Moses. Paul was arguing against the mistake of reasserting Jewish Law on new Christians, causing them to feast and fast, eat Kosher, be circumcised, and sacrifice animals, observant of Jewish Sabbath. The Law was for a time, until Christ should come, the fulfillment of the promise made 430 years earlier to Abraham through faith.

      The whole thrust of Paul's argument is that obedience to Jewish religious laws never saved anyone, but only served to let us know our sins. Jesus came and deepened our conviction, but relieved our guilt not through further ritualistic observance, but by faith in His shed blood. Laws are good: they keep us aware of when we wander away from this faith, but the laws themselves can't save you.

      God promises and we believe. The fulfillment of His promises may take months, years and even lifetimes, but God never promises what He does not make good on. All through the wonderful record of both faithful and unfaithful Jews comes a legacy, a growing promise that takes shape and creates a yearning and builds a confidence in God's good intention toward His chosen race. From the foundation of the world, the promise grows as God the unseen reveals Himself, and the One who is coming to us in time. Like the sketch of an artist who knows his subject well, first a line, then another, a shape, rough shading, cross-hatched shadows, something over there, then here. When His face finally emerges from the paper we slap ourselves, wondering how we never guessed at it until now.

      There are as many as 425 Old Testament references that have been tied to the One coming. Each by itself is a mere line, a vague shading, a doodle on a page easily mistaken for anything else. But together they produce a finished work of three dimensional art that moves and speaks and predicts in perfect detail the One promised to Abraham. These promises speak of a boy born of woman who would crush the head of Satan but would be bruised by the serpent, who would be a descendant of Noah, through Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, David and the line of kings. He would be a prophet like Moses, born in Bethlehem, born to a virgin, his birth triggering a massacre of infants, would also come out of Egypt, and be appointed a priest like Melchizedek, not like Aaron. His rulership would be endless. He would be proceeded by a messenger, and would come to the Temple, perform miracles, open blind eyes, speak in parables, free captives, lead Gentiles to God while His own people rejected Him, enter the capital city on a donkey and be hailed. The exact day of His coming was told four centuries earlier. For no reason He would be hated, betrayed by a friend, rejected by His own brothers, dismissed by rulers, handed over for 30 silver coins, which money would be cast down on the floor of the Temple and be used to buy the potter's field. He would not speak in his own defense, would be beaten with rods, spit on, his beard pulled out, and He'd be stripped naked, counted a criminal, pierced in His hands and feet, given vinegar and gall, and die lifted up for all to see. His followers would scatter. His suffering would be for our sins, His wounds for our transgressions, His clothes gambled over at His feet. His bones would not be broken, and He would be buried in a rich man's grave, yet never decay, but be resurrected on the third day. He would ascend to heaven, be seated at God's right hand, and would rightly be called the Son of God.

      A king, a victim, a priest, God with us : this was the Promise made to Abraham. God comes through on His promises, and every human life ever lived has been touched by this promise and its fulfillment in Jesus. If we disregard this touch, shrug it off, turn to other means of self-fulfillment and security, and worship other things— the Promise is still there . God was faithful. God comes through on His Promises. The invisible God made Himself visible for long enough that we have no excuse, not ignorance, not our cries that He's unfair. He's better than fair. He's generous. He has taken our sins upon Himself and died to relieve us of our guilt, our broken promises, our shattered vows, our faithless fears. Claim what you will: your own rule of life, your private code that you claim justifies you, even in your own eyes. You've broken your own rule, twisted the code, mangled the evidence, and been judged by your law. We need a Savior. And we have one. He fulfilled the Promise, and all the prophecies, and every need we truly have.

      Don't make promises to God. Don't take vows. The reason for that is, you break promises, and broken promises to God are serious—He takes promises very seriously because He keeps His. Rather than promise, enter the Covenant . A Covenant is an offer by God to you that if you proceed as He says for you, He rewards you. If you fail, He corrects you and brings you back in . It's not a prison, but a territory where the rules are different than outside. Here God is in full authority to act in accordance with the terms of the Covenant. The Old Covenant of Moses was rules of conduct. The New Covenant of Jesus is rules of faith and love . Our conduct should reflect that faith, that love, and be much like the mosaic code, but for an entirely other reason. We've been forgiven. We now live by faith and receive the goodness of God, so we act accordingly. We love Him and we love each other because He grants us grace for loving that we never knew before. We may love ourselves for the first time. We discover a love for others that we never felt before. We begin to know God and in knowing Him, come to love Him. He is very good.

      Knowing and understanding can't get you there. Academics can read and understand every word of the Bible, as an artifact , and debate the themes, sources and archeology endlessly, and still never understand a word of it. The Word is alive, and Truth is a Person . This Person fulfilled the Law in Himself so that in Him we can be made perfect. The lawyer questioned Him, led Him to the edge of a verbal legal trap : “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus masterfully told the parable of the Good Samaritan and said, “Go, be like the Samaritan. Show mercy on those in need, not asking if they're worthy. I don't ask that. I am mercy. All people are my neighbors. All are yours too.”

      Promise and fulfillment: don't look elsewhere for it, for you will be disappointed. People aren't good at this. God is perfect at it. We need promises, because the ultimate things we need aren't coming to this world. Perfect government, affordable healthcare, a chicken in every pot, equal opportunity, all folk having a share in the wealth—these things are dreams and political promises. No one ever keeps them: no one . Religious bodies aren't much better at keeping promises. We follow a perfect God, but we are imperfect people just the same. What never changes is His Word , and the life that is to come. He fulfills every line, every word, every vow, every promise, for He is that Promise. Hold on to Him, and you have the Promise. And if you have the Promise, He will keep His Promise and you will have it all.

PFH+