Last Saturday I had the pleasure of officiating a wedding. One of my good friend’s son, was getting married to an adorable young woman and I was thrilled to be part of their big day. They did two things a little differently. First, they did a ring warming where they passed the ring box containing both wedding bands around at the beginning of the ceremony so that each person could say a prayer or blessing over the rings. Now before you have fears that the rings would get lost on this journey, they only invited close family to the wedding, about 30 people. This made for an intimate ceremony as they exchanged their vows. The second thing they did was an hour and a half later they invited 150 people to the reception for the celebration! All in the same place.
Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman made before God. It is a sacred covenant that binds two people together in faith and love.
Right before they said their marriage vows I declared, “No other human tie is more tender and no other vow more important than the one you now assume.” I believe that is so true. Now a peace treaty is a political covenant, and forming an LLC is a financial covenant, and becoming a naturalized citizen is a social covenant, but the one that unites two people in holy matrimony is a covenant like no other. It is also a covenant that we relate to more. I have never negotiated a peace treaty, or formed an LLC or become a citizen, but I have lived the covenant of marriage. Just like many of you. That is why our Old Testament lesson is framed in marriage language.
Al read this loving passage with God speaking tenderly to Israel trying to woo her back into relationship. Because Israel had turned away to other gods, like a spouse who turns to other lovers, and the question is will the marriage last? One caveat before we continue, Hosea is speaking of Israel and God in marriage but also about his wife Gomer who had been adulterous. You see Israel was at war with Assyria and worshipping the gods of Baal. This national betrayal of God felt much like Hosea’s own experience with his wife. If you have ever had a spouse cheat on you, you know exactly what that feels like. The sacred covenant you made on your wedding day is violated. For better or for worse is called into question, not because of our actions, but because of theirs. Today infidelity is listed as one of the top reasons for filing for divorce. With a conservative estimate from divorce lawyers that 30% of marriages suffer infidelity. (https://divorce.laws.com/number-one-reason-for-divorce) So the imagery of God alluring Israel into the wilderness, the place of the original covenant, is like God taking his bride back to the site of their first date. Maybe in this romantic place, God can turn the Valley of Achor, which literally means valley of trouble, into a doorway of hope. Transforming all the fighting and hurt caused by the infidelity, into a new beginning. I am not advocating one way or another about staying together in a marriage after infidelity. Yet seeking to offer hope, the prophet’s personal life is an incarnation of God’s redeeming love. God promised to make Israel “my wife forever” “in righteousness, justice, steadfast love and mercy.” God and Israel are reclaiming their marriage vows!
In the letter to the church in Corinth Paul is inviting them to make a renewed commitment to Christ. The relationship between Paul and this community has been difficult and painful. But Titus had just shared news that the church is open to Paul and remaining faithful. Hence Paul writes of renewing their commitment not with a letter, which is how he has been communicating but with the Spirit of the living God written on their hearts. In this moment they are making a renewed covenant with Christ and God.
You see this is how a covenant differs from a contract. In a contract if one sides breaks it, then the deal is off and there are often consequences. But with a covenant, even when one side falls short, the covenant remains. That is how the covenant God made with Moses still holds even when Israel worshipped other gods and turned from God’s laws. But God remained faithful. God renews the covenant over and over again, because we humans are sinful people. I am reading through the Bible this year and the Old Testament is story after story of how people turned from God and the consequences that followed, loosing land, life, God’s favor. This week I read about Solomon the wise king even after building the temple of God turning away from God when he started following the gods of his foreign wives. Then the kingdom was divided. Yet again and again God returns to the people and renews the covenant with a new person in the hopes we can be faithful. We do not know how to follow laws perfectly. So, Christ came to be the fulfillment of the law, the way we could remain in right relationship with God even when we mess up, even when our marriage dissolves, even when we have done hurtful things. Christ is the bridge that connects us to this amazing love of God that wraps us in unconditional love and seeks all that is good for us.
God remains faithful! We are the ones who fall short. So, we are given opportunities to recommit to God. One of the ways we renew our covenant with God is at Christ’s table. Let me be clear, Jesus died so that our sins are forgiven once and for all, nothing we do can change that. But when we come to table we are renewing our commitment to Christ, we are seeking again the right relationship with God, we are acknowledging the mercy that awaits us in the moment of holy feast. We Presbyterians call it the Lord’s Supper, other times it is call the eucharist meaning “thanksgiving.” This is based on the passage we will soon hear, “He took a cup, and when he had given thanks….” But for centuries it was called Holy Communion. Let’s remember what the word commune means. As a noun it is a small intimate group of people sharing together. As a verb it means “to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings” (Dictionary.com). At Christ’s table commune is both a noun and a verb as we unite with Christ and each other in divine love, pondering the powerful sacrifice behind such love. Perhaps John Calvin spoke for each of us when he admitted that “the matter is too sublime for me to be able to express, or even to comprehend … I rather experience it, than understand it.”
I am grateful that my last Sunday with you prior to my sabbatical is one where we share communion. We are joining again in our covenant with God and with each other. The very existence of a sabbatical is all part of another covenant, an employment covenant. One we made together in of May 2011 when you invited me to be your pastor. And just like a marriage covenant between two people made before God, we entered a covenant as pastor and congregation and approved by San Jose Presbytery seeking to follow God’s ways and to be of service to Christ in the community of Aptos. When I return we will renew our covenant and start the next chapter of our shared lives in Christ. I look forward to that reunion. In the meantime, I will hold you in prayer and I ask that you pray for me as well. Our communion can remain strong in our bond and love for God. Peace I leave with you, Christ’s peace I give to you. Amen.
