Isaiah 25:6-8 ~ Revelation 21:8, 1-7
Mary & Jim invited three couples to dinner. All afternoon, Mary and Jim work in the kitchen, their six-year old daughter working with them.
At the table, that night, it was quite a gathering.
Mary turned to their daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?”
“I don’t know what to say Mommy,” the girl replied.
“Just say what you hear me say,” Mary answered.
The daughter solemnly bowed her head, took a deep breath and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”
Welcome to Covenant to on the Corner.
A place of faith and family.
A church with courage and possessed with a godly vision.
A church serious about God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.
A church that recognizes the grace of God.
Celebrates love of God.
And lives the hope we have in Christ because God is at work in all things.
Covenant on the Corner –
A good church with a radiant love.
Eager to serve the LORD.
Ready to make good things happen.
A church serious about justice!
When the chips were down, Covenant stood up for fair housing.
And there were a lot of people who didn’t like it.
A lot of people who walked away from Covenant.
But Covenant didn’t back down.
Covenant stood up for what was right.
That any human being could live wherever they wanted in America, in Los Angeles, in Westchester – that race would no longer be a wall in a neighborhood … that real estate covenants barring some would no longer be accepted … because America is the land of the free, and justice is the mission of the church of Jesus Christ.
When the chips were down, Covenant stood up for gays and lesbians in their quest for marriage rights.
Covenant stood up and said No to Proposition 8.
And when Proposition 8 passed, Covenant stood up again in favor of its repeal.
I like that about Covenant.
We understand justice in this place.
We understand what it means to love God’s world.
To embrace a vision greater than the moment.
The vision of Isaiah – that all peoples are included in God’s plan … no one left behind; no one excluded … a place at the table for everyone.
A world without tears.
A world of great love.
A world of ceaseless grace.
Now, let’s honest:
There are always those who scoff at such things.
Pilate scoffed at Jesus.
Felix scoffed at Paul.
The Emperor and the Pope scoffed at Luther.
But Jesus didn’t cave.
And neither did Paul.
And Luther stood his ground.
They believed in a better world.
They fought for God’s vision.
They did God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.
Covenant on the Corner:
We are a people not content with things as they are.
Because we dare to believe the gospel.
We believe in God’s vision.
And that’s what we work for.
That’s what hope is.
Hope puts on its gloves and goes to work.
Hope builds God’s world.
Lee and Leslie in Nicaragua.
Willie and Ann with clean water technology.
International Justice Mission … a group of Christian attorneys addressing some of the most shameful problems in our world …
27 million slaves today … more than ever before …
Young children trapped in the international sex trade …
And in third-world countries where men die from disease and war, the theft of widows’ property.
IJM sends in a team of attorneys to investigate and build a case – they use existing laws rarely enforced, and they work with a justice system too often intimidated and bought off, and they’re winning cases …
They’re freeing slaves and helping them find life all over again.
They’re freeing the children caught in the sex trade, and rehabilitating them.
They’re recovering widows’ property …
They’re finding that if they can build just a few cases and win, putting a few high-profile criminals away, the rest of the criminals slink away …
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.
Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “Boys, if Jesus were sitting here, he would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.' Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus.”
We’d all like someone else to be Jesus, wouldn’t we?
You be Jesus.
You take up the cross.
You take the chance.
You sign up.
You volunteer.
Ryan, Bill, Susie, Mary, you be Jesus.
But in a very real way, you see, every one of us has to be Jesus.
His eyes to see the suffering.
His hands and feet to do the work.
His mouth to speak the words of peace.
His heart to love and to help.
Covenant on the Corner has a good and steady track record … we have been Jesus many a time …
But let’s not get uppity on this …
Let’s not rest on our laurels …
Let’s heed well the solemn note of Revelation 21:8 – those who miss the point, who get it wrong, who buy the lie rather than the truth.
The somber warning of verse 8 – you see, all of those people buy the lie …
That God doesn’t count.
That only I count.
That me and myself, my life and my dreams – that’s what counts.
That I can take advantage of the poor and the powerless.
That I can ignore suffering and hardship.
That I can feather my own nest.
And if I’ve got mine, it’s because I’m so smart: I worked for it, it’s mine, and I’ll break my arm patting myself on the back.
Every bit of it is a lie.
And the lie is powerful.
The lie is all around us.
Again and again, the Book of Revelation pleads for us to be vigilant … to never give up and to never give in.
To be brave and faithful.
Because there’s more work to be done.
A world to be embraced.
A gospel to be proclaimed.
Justice to be given.
And peace to be won!
Are you with me on this?
I know that you are.
Because YOU … are Covenant on the Corner.
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment