Kevin spoke last week about how part of the fulfillment of God's great prophecy is the formation of a particular group of people. This means that God's plan to redeem the world came, in part, through the everyday worship and faithful living of the people of God. Our Old Testament tells of this plan - that through creation in Genesis, law-giving in Exodus through Deuteronomy, prophecy, worship, sin, and repentance God was preparing a people who knew him, loved him, and followed after his ways which were given in his word and in his law. I don't know many Jewish people, so I experience them primarily through the OT. Perhaps many of us do. But even if that is true, we should remember that not just anybody wrote the Bible, but a particular people who lived, dressed, ate, and related to one another in very specific ways according to what God had revealed to them.
If we remember that, behind the life-giving words of the Old Testament were actual lives, we will remember that we're no different. We speak what we live. We live what we speak. Traditions come from the way we live together over time. Traditions characterize our church life. They also characterize our family life. They shape and form our year, forming pillars around which we decorate. Valentine's in February. Birthdays. Easter in March or April. Halloween in the October. Church on Sunday. Thanksgiving in November and Christmas now.
Traditions are hard to sustain. I once started a tradition of watching "Mary Poppins" with my family on New Year's Day. It fizzled out after a few years. Even nations that seem like they'll go on forever seem to have an expiration date. Rome was called "the Eternal City" and its empire sure seemed to fit the bill. When it collapsed, after 1000 years of existence, it caused a crisis. It may be hard to believe that we are only several hundred years into our American government! Now think of the Jews! Their traditions have survived for over 3000 years! This is because the Jews were never people who read their Bible in private, but folks who developed their whole life around reading, praying, worshiping God, sacrificing, confessing, observing sacred days such as Passover and Pentecost. They did this as a whole community, presenting every person, animal, acre of ground, and thought to God so that they would be formed into his people. Israel - the ones who love God and love one another.
As Christians, we believe that the gospel - that Christ came, lived, died, and rose from the grave - allows us to live, die, and rise in Christ so that his Holy Spirit can come and form within us this holy life that God revealed to his people over so many centuries. The gospel makes us gospel people - living risen-from-the-dead lives in freedom. Just like the Jews, in fact because of them, we offer every person, place, and thing in our lives to God in worship. We can't do that as private Christians. We need each other for this. None of us can live the Christian life alone.
Reflection Questions:
1) Do you have someone with whom you can share your prayers and experiences of who God is?
2) What seasons and traditions most form the rhythms of your life?
3) What opportunities are there for you to live the Christian life with others this coming year?
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