PREACHING THE LECTIONARY: THE McGREGOR PAGE
THE McGREGOR PAGE is available free to your e-mail inbox. Send requests to subscribe, unsubscribe or comment to Roland McGregor (rmac.parti@ecunet.org) by clicking here.
Lent 3
March 23, 2003
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
John 2:13-22
I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:5-6)
"Thousandth generation" -- we are a long way from reaching the thousandth generation from the day these words were first spoken. So the descendants of the original faithful have eleven-and-a-half thousand more years of steadfast love coming, at least -- to say nothing about restarting the clock if there were subsequent faithful members in the family tree.
--or--
Is "thousandth" just a contrast with "third" and "fourth" and not to be taken literally? If so, then God blesses far more generously than God punishes, about 333 to 1, I figure. So, I guess it is not irrational for us to take our chances on the punishment side and not be too careful about obeying God's commandments. Since God is long on grace and short on judgment, we can be short on obedience and long on hope. Or, perhaps there is no judgment at all. Where is the evidence that God does anything about our disobedience? "And they say, 'How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?'" (Psalms 73:11)
This is the wisdom of the world, but God confounds the wisdom of the world with the cross. "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" (1 Corinthians 1:2c) The Jews who were his adversaries thought Jesus was talking about the temple that Herod had built them when he said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (John 2:19) It sounded like foolishness to them. The story of God in Christ sounds like foolishness.
So the wisdom of the world is either to ignore God's commands and hope for the best, or to obey God's commands as a way of gaining favor, but God is seeking something more meaningful in the way of relationship. God promises to "show steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love him and keep his commandments." Note that "love me" precedes "keep my commandments." It was Jesus who revealed what "love" God seeks to receive and to give.
It is this love link between us and God that holds grace and judgment together, that holds these scriptures together. God gives us commandments out of love for us, and we obey them out of love for God. Christs sacrifice for us and for our forgiveness frees us for joyful obedience, as the communion ritual states.
We need to hear the call to obedience from the perspective of grace, but we need to hear the call to obedience with clarity. We've heard enough of grace as a way of excusing ourselves.
Roland McGregor, Pastor
Asbury United Methodist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Click on the McGregor Page link below for a sermon starter essay to go with this Children's Sermon.
THE McGREGOR PAGE and CHILDREN'S SERMONS are available free to your e-mail inbox. To send requests to subscribe, unsubscribe or changes Click here
e-mail: seniorpastor@qwest.net
Webpage: http://www.webspawner.com/users/McGregorPage/
Webpage: http://www.webspawner.com/users/ChildPage/
 The McGregor Page |
| Official UMC Homepage |
| Lift Up Your Hearts |
| Sermons & Sermon Lectionary Resources |
| Clergy Resources |
Send E-Mail to: seniorpastor@qwest.netCopyright © 2002. All Rights Reserved