(By Roy Hamer)
There was a Catholic priest, an Anglican minister and a Jewish rabbi who all worked together in a little country town. Like a lot of country towns things were a little tough. So to save money they decided that they’d pool some of their resources to save on expenses. They decided to buy a car together so they could share the costs of the car over the three ministries. Well when the day came to pick up the car the Anglican minister and the Jewish rabbi arrived at the car yard to find the Catholic priest waving incense around the car and praying Hail Mary’s. Quick as a flash the Anglican got out his prayer book and started praying in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Rabbi stood their bewildered for a moment. But then he ran into the workshop, came out with a hacksaw and cut five centimetres off the exhaust pipe.
Well I guess you know that circumcision is a long and well establish tradition in Judaism. In fact circumcision is still practised today within more cultures than just the Jews. But in Jewish culture it continues as a sign of belonging to the people of God.
In today’s reading from Genesis 17, we learn that whilst it was part of the arrangement of God’s covenant with Abraham, it has continuing implications even for us today.
But first I think it is important that we know something about covenants in early Middle Eastern history. Whilst covenants were not unusual, this covenant was significantly different. Early Middle Eastern history was full of violent kings who’d raise armies for battle against each other. Battles were ferocious, and they’d battle until one King had the upper hand. This usually happened when one side had all but destroyed the other side. Well the losing King would approach the winner and make a covenant with him. This usually involved some form of animal sacrifice to the winning king. In effect what the losing king was saying is that if I’m not loyal to you from now on may what has happened to this animal happen to me. But here there’s a difference. God was not a losing King. Yet it was God who was coming to Abraham to make a Covenant. He was coming as a King from a position of power yet the implication was similar.
We heard a few weeks ago from Chris about the calling of Abram and of God’s desire to create a nation. He promised that Abram and Sarai would have many descendants. In fact their family would grow so big it would create a nation. Well I guess Abram like the rest of us had his own plans. He knew that Sarai was barren and had never conceived, so he took things into his own hands. And Ishmael was born. Abram was his father but Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant was his mother. Here we join Abram thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth. That’s thirteen years of Abram getting older. He was now 99 years old. I don’t know about you but for me, that’s far too old to be starting a family. God speaks, and says to Abram, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." (Gen 17:1;2) God’s first words in this exchange are calling Abram back into relationship and obedience.
Abram is also called by God to walk before God blamelessly. This is a new covenant. He’s being called to live in obedience to Gods commands. This is a new start, with new possibilities for the brokenness of the world. This is about the restoration of relationship with God. Not just for Abram but for all who would come after him. God makes his covenant with Abram an eternal covenant. Listen to the words, ’everlasting’, ’for generations to come’, ’everlasting possession’. God is committing to His covenant forever.
So how does Abraham respond when God speaks? He falls down flat on his face before God. He takes a position of worship and servitude. He is expressing his willingness to subject himself to whatever it is God might require. He’s demonstrating his worship of God as it should be.
And it is there, with Abram prostrate before him, that God speaks. And he says three things….. referring to the three main characters in the unfolding story…..
As for me
As for you
As for Sarai
And I want to add a fourth …… as for US.
In the first part, ’As for me’, God speaks again the familiar words of the promise he had been giving repeatedly for the past 23 years. "You will be the father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. The whole land of Canaan I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (Gen 17:4-8). The promise is about a nation, a land and the blessing of God on them as they become a blessing to others. God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule. Why? God wants them to be a Nation that other nations will look at and want what they have. So here we see God’s restoration project: First, restoration between God and humanity via Abram. Then, restoration between people via a nation. That is, as outsiders see the people of God living under Gods care they will want the same; this will lead them back into relationship with God. Finally we see in God’s Promised Land the restoration between God’s people and the land.
The second part "as for you" moves to a new thing. In Genesis 15, God himself had taken all the responsibility. But here, God calls Abraham to respond, in obedience to his commands. The response will be a sign of his intention, an ongoing and physical reminder of the covenant he’s agreed to. A covenant that commits the descendants that God has promised. "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised." (Gen 17:9-13). The act of cutting off flesh is symbolic of removing things of the old life and entering into a new life under the rule of and in relationship with God.
Here is why Jews even today maintain the custom of circumcision … it was to be an everlasting covenant, of which circumcision is the sign! It was to be a symbol of every male’s place within the covenant people of God … a simple, effective and lasting reminder of the agreement to maintain relationship with God. Failure to do so was to symbolize rejection of God, and a refusal to enter the covenant … resulting, obviously enough, in the final words of warning, "Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." (Gen 17:14). The only way the Covenant could be broken, notice, was by people disobeying God. It would never be broken by God. Remember, His promise is everlasting. But the sign carries within itself a warning of Judgment. If they broke the covenant they’d be cut off from relationship with God.
Then thirdly, there was the word to Sarai (now to be known as Sarah) … "As for Sarah your wife, I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." (Gen 17:15,16). Once again, these were familiar words … though they’d been hearing them now for more than 20 years, and so far, nothing had come of this promise. Little wonder that Abraham laughed (v.17), Abraham shows his lack of faith. Here he is with God, and God’s saying to him this is what I’m going to do and he laughs. I suspect it was one of those little giggles you give when you hear something so outrageous, it is the only response you can give. But whatever it was, it prompts God to show His kindness and mercy by providing a time frame in which the promise would be fulfilled … "by this time next year." (v.21).
So there it was … God’s part, Abraham’s part and Sarah’s part, all wrapped up together in this great covenant statement, to be fulfilled in the arrival of a son, through whom the sign of the covenant would continue throughout the history of God’s dealings with his people Israel, and the start of the Kingdom.
But here’s where the fourth part comes in. What about us? Where do we fit in all of this? If we want to be the people of God, members of the Kingdom, does that mean that all our males need to be circumcised?
Like the Jews, we also need to recognize that the ’sign’ is not the reality of the covenant … it’s merely a sign! For us Christians we might see baptism in a similar light. It’s an outward sign of our intention to belong to the family of God. The act of baptism doesn’t make you a Christian. But the Jews began to misunderstand, and to take confidence that the sign proved the reality … if you were circumcised or baptised, then you’d automatically receive the blessing of the covenant. But the scriptures soon (as early as Deuteronomy 10:16, 30:6) begin to speak of ’circumcision of the heart’ … that is, the cutting off of the things that stop you from being in relationship with God. It’s not the physical acts of circumcision or baptism that are important, but rather the attitude of the heart that each person has towards God and the covenant he has established. In the end, according to Paul (Romans 4:11), it’s really all about faith … and the measure of our response to God as an act of faith.
The covenant established with Abraham was always a covenant of grace … and the new covenant established with us through Jesus is likewise a covenant of grace. Baptism like Circumcision was always meant to be a sign of the faithful response to the covenant that God has already established … and it is this ’circumcision of the heart’ … a response of faith … which is still required from us.
So what might a Church that maintains a covenant with God look like? Dietrich Bonhoeffer (the German Theologian) said that "In the world the Christians are a colony of the true home". The church should then not be a mirror reflecting back to society the society around it, it should be more like a window through which people can see a different way.
How is it that churches are no longer seen by people as places where they’ll find grace and forgiveness rather than guilt and judgment? A friend of mine last year was sitting on a tram heading into the Commonwealth games. On the tram was a mother and her three children. As they got closer to the city the mother said to the children "so if you get lost who to you go to". The children said a "Policeman" to which the mother responded "but never a Priest".
For us at St Theo’s how do we respond? I think the answer lies in the way we receive God’s grace and how we dispense grace to those around us. Grace is not rules or ethics. It’s a new way of seeing. Philip Yancey wrote in his book "What’s so amazing about Grace" writes that the people of God are called to be a colony of heaven in a hostile world, where we see that if the world despises a notorious sinner, the church will love them.
If the world cuts off aid to the poor and the suffering, the church will offer food and healing.
If the world oppresses, the church will raise up the oppressed.
If the world shames a social outcast, the church will proclaim God’s reconciling love.
If the world seeks profit and self-fulfilment, the church seeks sacrifice and service.
If the world demands retribution, the church dispenses grace.
If the world splinters into factions, the church joins together in unity.
If the world destroys its enemies, the church loves them.
I think it does matter that we care for each other but equally we care for those outside our church community. It does matter that we recycle, turn off lights, and conserve water, that we’re concerned about environmental issues. But most importantly be concerned about your relationship with God. We can’t be the people of God without a relationship with Him. We’ve seen today that God’s covenant with Abraham restored relationship between Him and us, between ourselves and between us and the world. You need to get to know God by spending time in prayer and in silence with God? Spend time getting to know Him by reading your Bible and spending time discussing what you’ve read in small groups or with others. Ask questions about the things you read, ask Chris or someone to explain them.
God said to Abraham, "Walk before me and be blameless." And he says the same to us today … we need to live lives that show we’ve responded to His Grace by faith and that will be shown in our personal response to God, and in the way we dispense grace in our relationship with each other and in the way our care for our world.
For more sermons from this source go to http://home.vicnet.net.au/~sttheos
