The Abrahamic Covenant – the mideast
The Abrahamic covenant is a part of the foundation of Judaism, the Muslim faith, and our own faith in Christianity.
Within the Hebrew faith, of which Jesus was a part, the people believed that God had called them and set them aside as a unique people. They see Isaac as the child of the promise, and trace their lineage back to Isaac.
The Muslim faith is also based on the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham had two sons. Ishmael was the elder. Like Abraham, he was circumcised. They believe the story of Abraham going to the mountain to sacrifice his son refers not to Isaac, but rather to Ishmael. And even in our first Testament, Abraham at first thought Ishmael was the son of the promise. They believe they are the unique people of God.
If I had time to include it this summer, I would have loved to have done an entire sermon on the story of Cain and Abel, because it repeats the theme that we find throughout the Old Testament. We see it here in Isaac and Ishmael. In today’s world, Isaac and Ismael continue their conflict, both calling Abraham the father of their nation. Both still seeking to be the favored one. People ask, what is the source of conflict in the Middle east. It begins here. Two brothers. One father.
We, as Christians, of course, trace our roots through Judaism. We believe that Jesus, of the lineage of David was the fulfillment of the promise of God. And we believe that our heritage in Jesus makes US children of Abraham fulfilling the promise of the descendants too many to count. We are now the unique people of God.
At times in our history, we have actually persecuted those of the Jewish faith for not recognizing Jesus as the Son of God. We have fought wars over the territory where Jesus walked. We have viewed both Muslims and Jews as the enemy.
We, as Christians, are the third party to this ongoing dispute. We are the adopted child wanting our place in the family.
Blessed to be a blessing
All three points miss one inherent point in the blessing of God upon Abraham. He was not set aside to make him important, he was set aside to be used. And he was to be used to be a blessing to all people.
We, in our faith, have the same call. God called us to be His people through his son Jesus Christ.
God did not call us because we were special.
God did not call us because we were better than anyone else.
God called us because God is a loving forgiving God. We are called, not out of our goodness, but out of God’s grace toward us. Just as God reckoned Abraham’s belief in the promise as righteousness, God reckons our faith in Jesus as righteousness.
And because we are saved by grace, we are saved to reflect God’s righteousness to the world.
Humankind was created for a purpose. To reflect the glory of God.
The story of Noah is the story of God’s salvation. But God did not just save Noah and his family, he used Noah to save the animals of the world. Noah was blessed to be a blessing.
Now we have Abraham. God has a plan, and Abraham is to be part of it. But the promise is not for Abraham alone.
Like God’s call to Noah to save humankind and the animals on the ark, Abraham’s call is a small part of God’s plan to save the world. Abraham is called, not for his own worth, but so that God can use him as the first step of a long plan to save the world.
Our Part in the blessing.
God called us to be a part of that story as well. We, too, are blessed, but we are blessed not for ourselves, but to be a blessing to the world.
Jesus spoke it when he discussed the greatest commandment. The first, of course, is to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, and minds, and strength. The second is to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We are loved, we are called to love others.
Now, the question of the greatest commandment, according to Luke, was asked by a Lawyer. As you are aware, Lawyers are pretty good at splitting hairs.
JOKE About Lawyers
There is a story about a greedy man who called his closest three friends around him before he died. He shared that he wanted to take his fortune with him, and had hidden it in cash under his bed. His request was that after they lowered his coffin into the ground, they were to pile it on top of him.
After the funeral, his friends gathered.
The first shared – My church was in desperate need of the money. I threw in most of his money, but I saved $10,000 to give to my church.
The second friend also confessed – I serve on the board of the local hospital. I, too, threw in most of the cash, but saved $100,000 to help build a new cancer wing to save lives.
The third friend, a lawyer, spoke up – “I am ashamed of both of you. How dare you not follow his wishes. I threw in my personal check for the full amount.”
Back to Story
So, Lawyers are very good at skirting around the edge of things, and it is equally true in the story where the Lawyer asks Jesus about the greatest commandment. Because as soon as Jesus responds to Love God and Love Neighbor, the lawyer has a question.
OK, but who is my neighbor?
It is very easy for us to ask that same question? Especially if our JOB is to reflect God’s love to our neighbor. If we are blessed to be a blessing, who are we to bless?
As the lawyer asked, “Who is our neighbor?”
Is it the people who live in our school district? In our Community? In our County?
Is it people who look like us or believe like us?
Jesus answered the lawyer with a parable, in fact it is a parable we know as the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:29-37)
Imagine you were headed to Jericho and were beaten and left for dead by robbers on the side of the road.
You finally hear footsteps and see a priest coming your way. You think you are saved, but instead of helping you, he crosses to the other side of the road.
As time goes by, you finally hear another set of footsteps. You look up and see a Levite coming your way. You are relieved. A Levite, like a priest, is dedicated to service of God. You wait, moan, and watch, as he too crosses the road and ignores your pain.
You are devastated. Beaten and bleeding, the people of faith you counted on didn’t help.
After another long time, you finally hear a third set of footsteps. But this time as you look up you see a Samaritan. This man is not of your faith. This man is not of your culture. You have often gone out of your way to avoid speaking or touching such a person. You lay your head down, expecting nothing.
But this time the footsteps stop. The man comes over and begins to care for you. He carries you on his own donkey into town and makes sure you get the care you need, paying for it himself.
Then Jesus asks the Lawyer a question, “Which one was a neighbor to you?”
The lawyer answered “The one who showed mercy?”
And Jesus responded, “Go and do likewise.”
We are blessed to be a blessing, and like the lawyer, we don’t get to define our neighbor.
Patriotism and Blessing
Here in our country on this celebration of our independence, we often sing the song “God Bless America.” When we ask God’s Blessing on America, we need to go back and remember something important.
Blessings are given, not for personal use, but to be a blessing to others.
We are truly blessed.
We often turn our blessings towards others, reaching out and helping. And it seems like there is always someone else to help. There is always a demand upon our time and energy and resources.
But there are times when we wonder, haven’t we given enough? We worry there won’t be enough left for us.
The word that is often used is called “Compassion fatigue.”
As a pastor, I often wonder about the thoughts of the priest and Levite who walked past the wounded traveler on the side of the highway.
We often think of them as selfish, or try to justify their actions by talking about ritual cleanliness. But I wonder if they were burned out? Had they given too much?
Had the priest been out all night taking care of someone? When was the last time the Levite had a day off?
Jesus doesn’t tell us. He simply asks the question, “Which one was a neighbor to the traveler?”
We are blessed to be a blessing. Who is God calling you to be a blessing for today?
