Covenants of Life

February 25, 2024 – Second Sunday of Lent

Focus Scriptures: Romans 4:13-25 and Mark 8:31-38

Covenants of Life

Our faith, active trust in God, is central to our lives as Christians. When we have faith in God and faith that Jesus Christ is who he said he is – the son of God, The Way, The Truth, and The Life – we are entering into a sacred covenant of life that makes us understand why Jesus Christ came into the world in the first place.

There are five central covenants on which our faith is built, covenants in the Bible going back to the covenant with Noah that we discussed with the children last week. From there, we move to the covenant we heard about this morning, God’s covenant with Abraham, a covenant that said he would be the father of many nations due to his faithfulness.

From there we move to the Mosaic covenant. God gave the Israelites the law in the desert after leading them out of Egypt. God said, “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” And from this law, we see the cycle of blessings and curses that result based on the Israelite’s behavior relative to this conditional covenant. When people obeyed the law, there was life and abundance. When they strayed, there was exile and suffering.

Our fourth covenant is the Davidic covenant. God promised a Messiah from the house of David. Jesus came to fulfill this covenant, he is that Davidic king, King of the Jews. This is why we find the genealogy to begin the Gospel of Matthew: “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

Finally, we have the New Covenant. Through the New Covenant initiated at the Last Supper, Jesus promises forgiveness of sin and eternal life through faith in him. Clearly, we have much more to come on that point over the coming weeks.

Through this entire arch of the story told in the Bible, the inspired Word of God that allows us to know God, we are left with one truth on which our entire tradition stands: When we have faith and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God – because he told us he is – and that he came to take on our sin and punishment – the one we deserve but don’t get – we become part of this unearned covenant of life.

It is through the lens of this Truth, with a capital “T,” through which we should be judging ourselves, our thoughts, and our actions. This is the reflection work in which we should be engaged during Lent.

In the end, we should be asking ourselves, “Are we living up to the terms of the New Covenant, this covenant of life?” When we partake in the Holy Communion sacrament, are we truly doing this in remembrance of him, Jesus Christ, who initiated this sacrament? Are we showing our faithfulness?

What are the terms of that agreement?

First is believing that Jesus Christ is who he taught us he is during his time on earth.

Second is demonstrating our faith through our thoughts and faith practices, our spiritual disciplines.

Third is action, taking up your cross and following Jesus.

Let’s take a brief look at each of these three in just a bit more detail.

While there are many passages of scripture that we can consider concerning our first point, believing who Jesus is, we need look no further than the Mark text that comes just before today’s lectionary. In Mark chapter eight, Jesus asks a simple question: “Who do you say I am?” Peter, of course, replied, “You are the Messiah.”

In our Bible study this past week, we discussed the paralyzed man being lowered through the roof to be healed by Jesus (Mark 2). Again, this is another simple yet profound expression of faith. Not only did the man who was paralyzed have great faith in who Jesus was, so did those four who worked together to carry him, climb the roof, tear it open, and lower him down into the home below to see Jesus. Clearly, their faith was great. He and they knew who Jesus was and is. After all, and Jesus “saw” his great faith.

Our faith is one that is built on plenty of evidence: scriptures written by people who knew Jesus or were just one level removed, like John Mark. It is not faith built on a fairy tale or myth; it is faith with the foundation of truth. It is faith built on what was seen and conveyed by the people who came before us, not what someone made up or crafted of melted gold.

Concerning the second point – demonstrating faith through our thoughts and spiritual disciplines – this is something we should all be striving to develop. Just as a marriage or close friendship without attention, listening, and caring will wither and die, our relationship with God will also suffer if we do not invest into it. Simple things like short devotionals done daily can start us down the path. With commitment, we might take on more reading and reflection on God’s word. Combined with prayer, worship, Holy Communion, abstinence and fasting, we can grow in our knowledge of God’s word and commitment to us. Joining a study group allows us to do this in community and helps us understand the tougher texts. These means of grace also lead to us growing in our faith.

Finally, there is action, action above and beyond what we just discussed. Consider what Jesus was saying when he said, “Pick up your cross and follow me.” He was talking about doing the hard work of being a follower, a child of God, a Christian. It is about committing to acts of mercy and justice, to making a commitment to transforming the world, regardless of the personal price. Fewer hours in front of the television and more in service to the least of these is what Jesus is calling for. The actions of Matthew 25, the actions that define one as a sheep or a goat.

Make no mistake, there will be sacrifice, and there will be temptation to back away from it. The world will give you every excuse to do so.

Your faith? Why do you believe that? There is no truth! That is not my truth. Well, Jesus said that there is truth, and the truth will set you free. If you believe.

Devotions, prayer, and worship? What? Wouldn’t you much rather relax with another documentary about criminals on Netflix? As John wrote in his first epistle, 1 John 2:17, “The world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.” The spiritual growth that comes with spiritual discipline will crowd out the world and make the path forward clear. Don’t pick up the remote. Pick up your cross.

Picking up a cross? Deny yourself? You only live once, you know, so you’d better enjoy the ride. Jesus, The Truth, tells us otherwise. When we rise from the couch and deny ourselves through faith in and service to Christ, we are saved.

My friends, on this second Sunday of Lent, please know that we worship a loving, living God in whose image we were all made. Following our creation, God was not thinking “set it and forget it.” No! Our God is actively engaged in relationship with all of us.

When we choose to be in relationship with God, when we connect to our living savior, Jesus Christ, we are in the most intimate and meaningful relationship possible. We are the creatures of the Creator. And our creator has made covenant with us, a covenant of life if we only believe. Amen.

###

You are welcome to join the congregation of First United Methodist Church of Shelton (CT) in person or online at 10 AM Eastern Time any and every Sunday. Services are streamed live, and past services are recorded. The church's web address is www.UMCShelton.org.

###

Questions? Comments? Feel free to post your thoughts. Please keep it civil. Peace to you, and thanks for reading. - Bill Florin

###

###

Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash