Sermon "Remember, Worship, and Share" Feb. 21, 2010 Deut. 26:1-11 (Luke 4:1-13)
We are on a journey together. It began last Wednesday night as we put on ashes to remind ourselves that we will not escape this world alive. We end the journey at Easter when we are reminded that we will live forever through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In order to make the journey meaningful and hopeful, I am going to suggest we do three things: remember, worship, and share.
PRAYER
The Olympic games are great television entertainment. However they are more than games or entertainment. We are also given the privilege to discover the human drama behind the performance of the athletes as they reveal their personal stories.
One such story is that of Shaun White, the flamboyant, Carrot-top look-alike snow boarder who seems to will his body to do anything he wants it to. What he does on a snowboard is unbelievable. We saw anther side of Shaun in the interview Brian Williams did with him. It started out with video of Shaun at a Target House, a place where families can come while their child is undergoing difficult treatments for cancer. He was playing foosball with some of the kids displaying the obvious affects of their treatment. Shaun has contributed out of his new found wealth to help build some of those houses. Brian Williams asked him why he was involved in such a venture. Shaun said he had heart defects as a child that had to be corrected. He remembers what he went through and now is helping kids who may have much worse outcomes than his.
On our Lenten journey, the first thing we need to do is to remember. That was a crucial part of the faith of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. They were to remember that their ancestor, Jacob, was a wandering Aramean called by God fulfill the promises God had made to make them a mighty nation. The Israelites were to remember the mighty acts of God that delivered them from slavery to the freedom of that Promised Land. In fact each generation was to remember as if they were participating in the event themselves.
That’s like me putting myself in the shoes of my parents and grandparents and asking why faith in Jesus meant so much to them. It is listening to the same Bible stories and applying them to my own life. That can only be done if the stories are heard. That is what worries me about my children’s and their children’s generation. Will they hear the stories, participate in Sunday School and church to let those stories shape their lives and faith? Many times I have heard young parents say they remember their experience in Sunday School and want the same for their children. The next step is for them to remember the stories are still vital to them as well.
Which leads to the second action we are to engage in, worship. It is a celebration of who God is. The Israelites worshiped because God had done mighty things on their behalf. They worshiped because God was generous and gave them the gift of a land flowing with milk and honey, much as we have been given the gift of the abundant life in America. Therefore the appropriate response was to gather the first fruits of the harvest and bring it to the altar of God. It was an act of thankfulness for the generosity of God.
As Christians we worship the same God for the same reasons, only we kick it up a notch. Now we must go to Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by the Devil. Jesus is stripped of all resources other than the Holy Spirit. He is weakened by hunger. The Devil offers him power, riches and glory, the three temptations. There is only one catch, change allegiances from God to Devil, or self. Jesus in turn quotes from Deuteronomy 6: "worship the Lord your God, and serve only him." Jesus does what we can’t do. He resists all the false promises and very human tendencies to provide for and do for ourselves. Jesus’ obedience only to God leads to the cross, the tomb, the resurrection and the gift of new life for us, a new life that begins on this side of death.
As we remember God’s generous acts of grace on our behalf, and worship God so we live in that grace, there is one more action that results, sharing. The Israelite people are told to bring their first fruits before God and bow down. "Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house." Levites by the way were the pastors of the day. They weren’t allowed to own land or support themselves financially. Their job was to lead worship and keep the traditions, and enjoy a cup of coffee and cookies with their parishioners, if you know what I mean.
The aliens were those not born into the families of the chosen people. They may have been freed slaves, refugees from wars, or those who married into the chosen people. They were to be recipients of the generous acts of God as well. That does mean that God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ is available to all who wish to call upon the name of the Lord, including the aliens among us. Today those aliens may be family members who choose not to worship or worship differently than other family members. Aliens may include people of races other than white European who make their way into the hearts of family members. Aliens may include those of a sexual orientation other than heterosexual.
Tempted by Devil in the wilderness, Jesus knew something we tend to either forget, ignore, or resist. God is worthy of our trust and obedience. God never forgets, God never abandons us, nor is God’s loving purpose ever overcome by our sinfulness or devilish temptations. We remember, we worship, and we share because we have been unconditionally accepted and loved and shaped by God’s heart revealed in Jesus Christ. Amen.
