"God Preserves the Church"
Pastor Susan Langhauser
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Sometimes, as I read Scripture, I find myself arguing with it. Take this week’s Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 26:1 – “the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess...”
ME: Wait a minute. God didn’t give ME any land…
Verse 2 – “go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name”
ME: Wait a minute. God didn’t choose THIS place… (I think Tom Williams did…)
Verse 3 – “you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him…”
OK, JUST WAIT A MINUTE!
Then there’s that long passage about wandering Arameans and Egypt and escaping to a land of milk and honey where blah blah blah…
ME: This is so not MY story…
How in the world are we supposed to take seriously anything from Scripture that is so far from our own experience? Well, we might consider that it’s just maybe because it’s the Old Testament, and we Christians like the New Testament so much better…And we must consider that the Jews were the first people God chose…and Jesus was a Jew…and don’t we confess that we are part of the Body of Christ?
OK, then, I guess I can stretch and understand that I am supposed to offer to God the first part of my harvest, like it says in Deuteronomy, but what might that be?
Our theme for Lent this year is God Will Provide, and this week our focus is God Provides Endurance.
The trouble is, with a few exceptions in this community, not many of us have ever had to look to God for endurance. Strength? Absolutely. Perseverance, Patience? For sure. But endurance (by definition) goes to a level beyond most of our experience. The first definition according to Merriam-Webster is “permanence,” and if we accept this definition, then it might fit our experience with just a bit more impact, i.e. “God Provides Permanence.” In our shifting, uncertain, insecure times – permanence deserves thanksgiving, to the One who provides. God is worthy of our praise.
Largely because of my recent trip, I have been thinking a lot about the existence of the church in the world. Why does God continue to preserve the church? What is the Church FOR? And why does the Church endure? I think I am beginning to get a handle on that. I believe it is because God LOVES us; and God LOVES the world.
In Rome, there is a building that used to be part of the Papal palace. It contains the personal chapel of the early Popes, known as the chapel of St. Lawrence. Leading up to the chapel is a flight of 28 marble steps, encased in wood. These stairs are called the Scala Sancta, or the Holy Stairs. The Christian tradition is that these stairs led up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem. Therefore, these are the stairs that Jesus would have walked down after Pilate sentenced him to death by crucifixion.
The Roman Emporer Constantine’s mother, Helena, was known for her work in finding and recovering ancient religious artifacts, and she had them brought to Rome in the 4th century where they were incorporated into the palace of the pope. By the time Luther visited Rome 12 centuries later, the Holy Stairs were climbed only on one’s knees, and to this day, pilgrims mount those 28 stairs on their knees out of reverence to the One who used them to walk to his death on our behalf.
An amazing bit of Christian tradition. An awe-inspiring sight and practice in the Eternal City with so much opulence and magnificence. A place where thousands come to express their love for Jesus and devotion to his life and work. And yet, right outside the doors of the church where the Holy Stairs are, we crossed the path of an old woman, a beggar, who was lying on the ground with an outstretched hand and a tin cup.
God preserves His Church, the body of Christ, his Beloved, because we are to offer our first fruits – ourselves – in service to others. That is how we give God praise. That is how God Provides Endurance. Amen.