Exodus 12:1-13; 13:1-8 & Luke 22:14-20 on September 29th, 2024
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
Below is transcript pulled from the video and formatted by artificial intelligence. There may be inconsistencies or errors.
I haven't done this in four months. Four months. And there were some comparisons that it's just like riding a bike. Except the bike is a little rusty and the rider ate whatever he wanted to for like three of those four months. So we'll see how this goes.
When I last left my final pre-sabatical sermon was on the state of the church. All the great things that we had happening here at St. Philip. From the people that we have in place to the ministry we do together to the parking lot and the building renovations, all was good. And the update is that Pastor Beth and John Sparkman and the council and numerous volunteers you kept everything rolling smoothly. And the state of the church is still good, maybe even better. And I knew it would be.
And since I knew that St. Philip was in good hands, I had a chance to check in on something else. The state of Jason's mental health. And after 3.5 months for rest and reflection and a little bit of boredom once everyone went back to work in school, I can report that things are stable-ish. There was time for rest and renewal. Simply having a new routine or no routine at all was refreshing. There was time with extended family on both sides. We took a trip up the east coast to cram in nearly everything one can do between here and the main. I reignited my home brewing hobby, brewing four or five batches over the summer. I shared a lot of it with friends, but I did put a heart in on a keg or two. I have much more well-behaved now.
There was space and time to reflect. I had several coaching sessions on personality and leadership style with Mark Tidsworth, a church consultant from Columbia, whom you will meet in November. The council, a few others and I will continue to work with Mark for the coming year as we navigate who we are as a congregation and having so much growth and the changes and the challenges that come along with it. I even did a productive thing or two around the house. While I did get a little bored near the end, I can say that sabbatical time was well-spent. Sabbaticals are designed for renewal. Renewing one's mind, spirit and energy for ministry. While I may need to shake off a little rust, I'm ready to get going.
Not a better way to get going than with girded loins and unleavened bread, right? Okay, so maybe my transitions need a little work still, but today's passage from Exodus is all about the Passover. The Passover is all about life and remembrance. God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, out of slavery and gave them life. Death was not the end of their story. Life was. And just as they were called to remember God's saving work, we too are called to remember what God has done and is doing.
But first let's catch up on the story. Last week we left Joseph and his brothers reunited after dreams and famines. Exodus, the very next book of the Bible, picks up right there with all 70 members of Jacob's family living as immigrants in the land of Egypt. And then a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph. And this new Pharaoh enslaved these rapidly growing Israelite foreigners, fearing their numbers. And after generations of slavery, the Lord called to Moses to lead the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt. And the Pharaoh said, no. No God sent plague after plague. Frogs, locusts, rivers to blood, all in an attempt to sway Pharaoh to sit to set the Israelites free. But each time the Pharaoh still said no.
So finally the Lord prepared one last plague, the killing of all first born children and animals. However, the first born of the Israelites would be spared the deadly effects of the plague by participating in the Passover meal, part of which is smearing the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes. And when the Lord came to a house that had blood on the doorposts, the Lord would pass over and no plague would strike. It is the defining moment in Israel's history and remains so today for people of the Jewish faith. The Passover is all about life and remembrance.
Hold on now, you may be thinking. How is God about life if the whole point of that last plague was to kill any first borns in here? Yeah, I'd be quick. Well for the Israelites, for those who listened to the Lord, the Passover is about life. God is the one who brought them out of slavery, out of Egypt, out of shore, and certain death and gave them new life, a promised land. God saved them. Death isn't their last word. Life is the last word. The Passover is all about life and remembrance.
And so God asks them to remember this. Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt. You shall tell your child on that day. It is because of the Lord and what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. Remember this story in every generation that God delivers, those who suffer, those under oppression. God works for the flourishing of the world. So the Israelites do. They remember by sharing a meal and telling the story. They remember what God brought them out of. But the ancient story isn't just history. For those who share the Passover meal, what was is also what is. What God has done is also what God is still doing today. God is still saving.
And just as the Israelites are called to remember their deliverance through the Passover, we too are called to remember how God delivers us through Christ. In Jesus our sacrificial lamb, we find life. We find a shared meal and we find the promise that God saving work continues in our lives today. Because of the Lamb of God. God passes over our sins and we have life. And this salvation is even more gracious than that from Egypt. See, the Israelites, they were told exactly what to do. Listen and you will have life. But we don't really listen to the Lord. At least not as well as we think we do. We miss here. We miss interpret. We miss it all together. We don't get it right. And we certainly didn't get it right before Jesus went to the cross. And that's why this gift of life is so amazing. We didn't and we don't listen all that well. But Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world. While we still were sinners, Christ died for us. Because of Jesus' judgment, passes over us forgiveness, it is given to us. It is grace upon grace that we are given life.
And so, as often as we gather, we do so in remembrance of what Christ has done. We share a meal, not just remembering God's past deeds, but trusting the promise that God is active, working present and now. Christ is here in the bread, in the wine, in the words given and shed for you. Jesus is present with us, reminding us, forgiving us, loving us, giving us life. The meal is remembering and it is telling. It is telling of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is telling that Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. And it is telling of the God who delivers us. Not just then and not just some day, but right now. God is active right now, delivering us from ourselves, for giving us our sins. Also we can pass over from death to life.
And hearing that again, sharing the supper again, being fed by God again, filled with the spirit again, we have the opportunity to hear God again. To listen better than we have, to live life better than we have, remembering all that God has done is doing and promises yet to do. That is a message of life that we take with us. We are a people marked by grace, sustained by God's promises and called to remember. But more than just remembering, we are invited to live the life that God offers us each day, every moment. The Passover pointed to God's saving hand for the Israelites and Christ's death and resurrection point to God's saving grace for us today. So may you remember that in Christ, death never has the last word. Life does. And that life, given by the Lamb, is ours to share with the world. Amen.