“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.  I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” Genesis 17:1-7

“The Lord spoke to Moses: Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred fifty, and two hundred fifty of aromatic cane,  and five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil; and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand…” Exodus 30:22-28

As the saga of Abraham unfolded, the great patriarch came to value his relationship with G-d so much that he acted in ways which damaged his closest relationships. Can you imagine having Abraham as your Father? Not me. I would not have wanted to have been one of Abraham’s sons.

In our text above, G-d approached a mortal to make a promise.  The instructions regarding the sacred anointing oil in Exodus 30:22-28 concerned how people should approach the dwelling place of G-d–with the utmost reverence, OR ELSE.  There was a chasm, a grand separation between humans and G-d in much of the Old Testament. Abraham did manifest active trust in G-d when he was still Abram.  And Genesis describes a very close relationship between God and Abraham; they were on speaking terms, face-to-face, according to the texts.

We, too, should approach G-d with deep awe and love. When we come to worship, we should be prepared to reverence the name of the Trinity by crossing ourselves. We should bow in reverence when the bread and wine are elevated during the Great Thanksgiving. After all, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has not only approached us but incarnated and became one of us. And we have a commandment to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to respect the image of G-d in them.

In all of the resolutions we make this new year, my prayer is that we act accordingly, trusting in G-d, giving the reverence that G-d is due, and recognizing the limits of our abilities and knowledge. And may we value being merciful more than being correct in our minds.

Pastor Dave

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.” Daniel 2:44-45

Catholic theologian Alfred Fermin Loisy lamented:  “Jesus promised us the Kingdom of God, and all we got was the Church.” I sometimes agree with this excommunicated Priest.   But, if we understand the Kingdom of G-d as having been present on the Earth, inaugurated through the death and resurrection of Jesus, even a kingdom that has partially come and been evident in both hidden and revealed ways, then Loisy’s lament becomes less potent yet remains relevant.  Christian history contains much that brings no glory to G-d–the Crusades, bigotry, discrimination, slavery, misogyny, legalism, anti-intellectualism, a suspicion of science, etc.  Much of that litany of shame exists in the category of current events. Just look around the world and you can see how much evil exists on this planet. Nevertheless, much of Christian history (as well as the Christian present day) is also positive, also redeeming, and also worthy of praise – programs feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the incarcerated and the hospitalized, welcoming the stranger, to name a few–in short, recognizing the image of G-d in others then acting accordingly–bring glory to G-d. In those and other deeds the partially unveiled Kingdom of G-d becomes visible and G-d’s glory fills the Earth.

 Pastor Dave