Everlasting Covenant

"Everlasting Covenant"
a condensed version of the sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Sunday, March 8, 2009 at Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, in Somonauk, Illinois.

PODCAST of "Everlasting Covenant"

This Morning's Scripture reading is:: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

Second Sunday in Lent – Today we’re going to prepare to celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection by looking back . . . back . . . back – to Abraham, Sarah and . . .

Well, that’s pretty much it, according to this week’s reading. This week the Bible reading, I think, does a disservice. It omits some important stuff and only reveals part of the story.

I think folks like to tell stories of the past that put the best ‘face’ on situations. This week’s reading from Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 wraps things up in a pretty tidy package, but I think we do ourselves a disservice by avoiding the verses ‘in the middle’ as well as exploring the whole context of Abraham and Sarah’s story.

We’re missing some pretty sordid details about our hero, Abraham.

Twice – he gave his wife away – as his sister, to powerful men.

Genesis 12:10-20 Abram (no name change yet) told Pharaoh that Sarai (no name change yet, either) was his sister. Pharaoh took her as his wife and gave Abram lots of stuff. Then Pharaoh got sick and also found out that Sarai was Abram’s wife. He ‘gave her back’ (that sounds so awful today!) and let Abram keep all the stuff.

Genesis 20: Abraham told King Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. And the King took her as his wife. This time there was no consummation – but in the end, Abraham had Sarah and a whole bunch of stuff from the King with him as he left town.

Twice – Abraham treated Sarah despicably. Sordid.

We’re missing the circumcision verses:

(Genesis 17:8-14 NRSV) And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God." {9} God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. {10} This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. {11} You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. {12} Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. {13} Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. {14} Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

By ignoring them in this week’s reading, I think we miss out on a discussion of circumcision among other people in the area when Abraham lived and when his story was written. It seems we want to remove it from our thoughts because we think the discussion will be too distracting from the message of God’s promise that we want to explore.

But it’s not too distracting – it is part of the story. And it is not a "how to keep people out" kind of story. Egyptian and Canaanite male children were circumcised – but for them it happened at puberty. (Ishmael, Abraham’s first son, was circumcised at puberty.) Infant circumcision was something new – a sign that a person wasn’t just someone to reproduce other people, but valuable no matter what. And circumcision later was very important to Israel in exile. They were cut off from their identity, but they also remembered the ‘cutting of the covenant’ through something that wasn’t visible on the outside.

If ever someone takes a symbol or an action meant to be inclusive or empowering to a people who were excluded or powerless, however, we have to remember the two rules. And in this case – It’s been addressed several places in the New Testament. Here’s one:

(Galatians 5:6 NRSV) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.

And let’s talk more about what’s missing from the story today.

We’re missing the story of Abraham’s children and how they link today’s Christians with our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters.

I think the overall narrative of the Bible – God creates, we mess us, God restores and reconciles, we mess up . . . shows a care and love of God for all creation. Telling the story of Ishmael, Isaac and all of Abraham’s other children helps, I think, Christian folk realize that we are part of a heritage that ties folks together and also one that continues in different God-serving religions.

Abraham’s first son, Ishmael, whose mother was Hagar was sent away by Sarah after Isaac was born. Ishmael had twelve sons. They settled all over the lands between Egypt and Assyria. The lands are commonly called Arabia. Muhammad, prophet of Islam, considered himself to be a descendent of Ishmael, as do the people of Arabia today. In fact, both Jewish and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael as the ancestor of Arab people. Muslim believers worship Allah. Allah is the Arabic word for God. And God’s promise to Ishmael’s father, Abraham, applies to all of his descendants:

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.

Isaac, Abraham’s son with Sarah, is considered the ancestor of the Hebrew people – of Israel. And God’s promise to Isaac’s father, Abraham, applies to all of his descendants.

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.

When Sarah died, Abraham remarried. He had 6 children with Keturah. Abraham’s Children with Keturah don’t fit into any neat religious or ethnic description -- but some were considered enemies of Israel and would have been considered by the name "gentile" because they were not of Israel.

One of Abraham and Keturah’s sons was Midian. The Midianites and the Hebrews became enemies and fought each other. Later, Moses, as a shepherd, married Zipporah, a Midianite.

Abraham and Sarah are lifted up as symbols of faith and patience. They were imperfect. Most would say deeply flawed, but they were and are important to the story of God’s unconditional and continuing love for all of humanity.

Three historically linked religions – always fighting with each other – Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Three Biblically linked religions – still fighting with each other – Judaism, Islam and Christianity. We can and must have hope for greater respect and conversations with our cousins.

After all, the Bible – in its overall theme and in the stories of God’s people, remind us that we are all part of God’s everlasting covenant.