Going up the Mountain

 Who heard of St. Anselm? He was a Bishop in the 11th century who put the final nail in the coffin of the theology that says that Jesus died to pay a debt to Satan so we can be released and go to heaven. Yes, for the first thousand years, most Christians thought Jesus died to pay a ransom to Satan to free us. St. Anselm thought if God was truly God and no one could stand against HIM, then nothing was owed to Satan. Then how this goes is that the debt wasn't owed to Satan but to God. St. Anselm lived in a world dominated by the church and kings, nobles, and a time when honor wasn't about doing the right thing, but who had the power. And because we weren't God, we didn't have the power, so we were slaves, servants, chattel to God whose very existence was an affront to God, until Jesus paid for our very lives and souls and then, then we had a chance to get into heaven. This fermented and grew until it became the individual quest for salvation that was removed from our worldly doings capsulated in American preacher, Rev. Jonathon Edwards who started the First Great Awakening in America with a sermon that basically states:

 “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; His wrath towards you burns like fire; He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in His sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in His eyes as the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended Him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet ’tis nothing but His hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment.”

(Sermons & Discourses 1739-1742, pp.411-412)

And this has dominated our American Christianity for far too long, far too long. They posit God's relationship with us is based upon humans being more abominable that any creature on earth is to us. But God loves us, so some of us can be saved. Not a lot of joy, compassion, or loving your neighbor. They just hoping that you are scared straight. It's a contract to send you to hell unless you say the magic words and say the Sinner's prayer for your get out of hell/jail free card.

Here is my rebuttal: in the first creation story, God saw all that God has made and God proclaimed all good, all water, dirt, creature that swims, flies, walks, crawls, and tunnels. God made humankind in God's image and blessed them and proclaimed them good. Yes, after the Fall where we are kicked out of Eden, God clothes us and sets humans up to live, grow, and continue to be blessed and be a blessing to all. If we are as evil or morally corrupt as evangelicals and theologians that believe that Jesus died to pay off God, then why can we usually tell when people are lying? If we are as bad as they say, then a lie detector should not be able to work. We should have a truth detector to see if we are going against our sinful nature and struggling to tell the truth. If we are as bad as they say, then how come in a nation of 342 million people, only over 1 million are in jail? That is less than point three percent (.3%). If all humans were bad, then shouldn't be at least half of us be in jail for all the bad stuff MAGA's are claiming the immigrants (illegal or otherwise) are bringing in? But we aren't as bad as that. Most people are pretty decent, not waiting to hurt or kill or destroy others. Most people care about others and pitch in when there are fires, storms, floods, and war. Most people say, "ahhh" when they see a picture of a cute baby, kitten, or puppy. We are drawn to beauty, to joy, to community, and peace. We find that those who do commit violence are usually come from bad environments and are taught to ignore or quash our compassion and a very small group of people actually do like violence and power, but thankfully we have laws and enforcement that keeps us on the sane side of society. 

Well, what does this have to do with covenant series we are finishing up today? I posit, propose, and strenuously proclaim that our relationship with God is based upon love and compassion, first and foremost and ultimately last of all. So any kind of relationship, covenant, or contract with God is not one based upon power or honor or a point scheme or a magic prayer to wipe out our sins so some can get into heaven or be God's chosen in this world living a prosperous life while some suffer in this world and go to hell in the next. It is based upon a love from the God who is love. Can you hang in there with me for a moment? 

Checking in on the story of Elijah, he wins his biggest battle against an idol Baal and flees because Queen Jezebel promises she will kill him or die trying. What does God do? They tells Elijah to take a nap, feeds him, lets him sleep, feeds him again, until he is ready for a journey. And after going up the mountain to face the wind, fire, and earthquake, Elijah hears God in the silence and is told to get back in there and continue to bless and minister and proclaim. 

Going to the Gospel, Jesus tries to find some peace, in last week's story, he feeds 5,000 men and also women and children, heals them, and then sends them all away and even the disciples, goes up the mountain to pray, finds God in the silence away from the crowds. He is refreshed and restored and works to catch up with the disciples by walking on water, which here in Minnesota we do it all the time December through March, maybe April. But here are waves and wind and Peter who jumps first and then realizes what he has done. Jesus saves him, calms the wind and waves and brings them all safely to the shore. Then they probably catch up on sleep, maybe even sleep in late, and then get up and get going again, doing what Jesus is called to do: heal, forgive, feed, love, reconcile, and share the good news. 

I really would love to give a definitive definition about covenant, saying here is exactly what is expected of us as humans, families, churches, communities, nations, and the world. I believe, I may be wrong, but I believe that God loves us with all God's heart, each and every one us, each and every human being and all of creation. And we are here to learn how to love with our whole hearts, and minds, and souls, and bodies. Not just God, not just ourselves, but the whole of God's creation. And in that love resides a covenant that is written on our hearts that we slowly learn in this life and probably into the next. If we are tired, take a nap, if we are hungry and thirsty, then let us go to God and eat the bread that has life and the living water that quenches our thirst in the cup of the covenant. Then, we get up and go about loving the world in doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God. We have successes and we have failures, we have triumphs and we have doubts, we go to the mountaintop and then we come back down to continue the path of God's kingdom. 

We are in covenant, not just making it up as we go, but learning from the past, seeing and listening for where God is leading today, and trusting that even when we mess up, better days are ahead, not just for us, but for all. The God who never slumbers nor sleeps is still speaking, still creating and still inviting us to get up and love: love wildly, generously, passionately, extravagantly, and even outrageously. Just as God loves us.  Amen.