On the Second Sunday of Easter the readings remind us that we are inheritors of the promises made to the Children of Israel throughout the ages. Jesus did not live in a bubble or a vacuum but in an actual time and place in history. He was a Jewish man, living out his faith, and calling for a return to the commandment to Love God, Love Neighbor, and Love Self. However, Jesus also opens a new relationship to God because of his life, death, and resurrection. Christianity is built on the past and stretches into the future. We inherit the promises of our ancestors and pass them on to our children.
We inherit from our biological families, too. Some of what we inherit from our family-of-origin is
good. Curly hair and smooth skin or the ability to do math easily and use our
imagination. Other things aren’t as good. We can inherit the affects of family
dysfunction and trauma from generations past or a gene that makes it more
likely we’ll get cancer. Christ has, in fact, saved us from the good and bad
parts of our past, and even that of generations ago.
The Epistle notes, you were ransomed from the futile
ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like
silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ…you have purified
your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love,
love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of
perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of
God. (I Peter 1:17-23) Our inheritance from God means we are born anew, each and every day.
We may not quite understand how this happens, and we don’t
have to. We simply have to trust the promise of God. As Peter reminds the
people of Jerusalem, the promise [of God] is for you, for your children,
and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.
(Acts 2:14a, 36-41) Jesus, on the road to Emmaus, beginning with Moses and
all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the
scriptures. (Luke 24:13-35) God's promise of Love doesn't change, even though we may and do have good days and bad ones.
Everything we need to know about God is in the Sacred
record—the Bible and the lives of those who live into God’s truth and love. We
are each called into that life. Psalm 116 encourages us to remember to say, I am
your servant and the child of your handmaid. No matter what, God is with us
and present to grant us a future and an inheritance for generations to come.
What we inherit from God is good. Without question
we can say, with the Psalmist, you have freed me from my bonds. I will offer
you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the Name of the Lord. Even
when, as the Message version says, Death stared me in the face, hell was
hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn; then I
called out to God for help: “Please, God!” I cried out. “Save my life!” God is present in each and every day.
As the Psalmist says, in The Message version, set me free for your service! God does indeed act to save us. It simply means we must let go of trying to control our destiny and follow God’s way. (And that’s not simple at all!) When we do that, we realize we are blessed again and again. We might then ask, what can I give back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on me? I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God! We celebrate special occasions with a toast of champagne or wine or beer or even just cola. How much more might we want to celebrate God’s work in our lives!?
For what in your life would you offer a ‘toast to God’? For what are you so grateful that you cannot stop saying ‘Hallelujah’? From what ‘death’ has God rescued you this Easter season?
|
Psalm
116:1-3,10-17 1 I love the
Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, because he has
inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him. (Book of
Common Prayer) |
I love God because
he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently What can I give
back to God for the blessings he’s poured out on me? (The Message) |
