Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 25 February 2024.
• First Reading: Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16 (‘And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly’)
• Epistle: Romans 4: 13-25 (Abraham’s promise received not by law but by faith)
• Gospel: Mark 8: 31-38 (Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves, take up the cross and follow Me)
The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 had 281 sections, 24 schedules and covered 359 pages. For a fairly workable planning system this was probably not excessive but then it had to be supported by a great array of Orders, Regulations and Directives, as well as all sorts of circulars, guidance and technical and policy papers.
But there will be far more extensive acts of parliament, especially dealing with taxes and government spending.
And the more involved the matter then the more complicated is its regulation as law-makers try to out-think of every possible way of evading or lawfully avoiding their requirements. Definitions are crucial but tortuous.
So look at what God says to Abram in Genesis: ‘Walk before Me faithfully and be blameless.’ Seven words to hold together a total lifestyle. And all without evasion or argument over the meaning of words.
It was long before the 10 commandments, the Law of Moses or the requirements for the construction of the Ark of the Covenant or the Tent of Meeting, or later the Temple.
And it was at a time when Egypt was flourishing as a sophisticated and powerful empire, with its pharaohs, pyramids, trading relations and forms of worship.
Yet God was establishing a new kind of worship and a new lifestyle while other civilizations were flourishing and growing in might.
And in this relationship with Abraham, God was demanding that instead of royal court customs and conventions, or elaborate systems of justice, Abraham spend time waiting on God and listening to Him.
His direction would be entirely inner, and it would rely on the clarity and purity of the life of his inner spirit. Not so much the soul which relied on feelings and perceptions, memories, calculations and understandings.
This relied on his direct and personal relationship with God and one which had to be unobstructed and uncompromised at all times. It was quite separate from feelings and perceptions and yet was wholly alive to the prompting of God, and Him alone.
So: ‘Walk before Me faithfully and be blameless.’ No more was necessary. This alone was sufficient.
Yet even Abraham sometimes got it wrong.
And what Abraham had done, sometimes with some difficulty, so had Jesus: perfectly. He also was wholly alive to God, above and before all other considerations.
And that means above all personal feelings or even perceptions, hunger or discomfort, feelings of being accepted or rejected. This was the relationship which defined who Jesus was and what was to be His priority in life. Not bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God. Never a relationship to be taken lightly or as a matter for amusement or trivia.
This was the relationship which drew Jesus to baptism in the River Jordan and then into the wilderness to test His vocation in the face of a horrific outcome but even more savage temptations to avoid that outcome.
So He also followed that calling to walk before God faithfully and be blameless: as He proclaimed the gospel and healed the sick, forgave the guilty and raised the dead. All without allowing this celebrity status distract Him from His central mission.
It is also understandable why Peter was horrified by Jesus’ prediction of His rejection, arrest, torture and crucifixion. The way of the world just does not work this way, and dear Peter fell right into it.
The One who had become his Master and Lord, closest friend and teacher above all others was now speaking of this. And yes, Peter recoiled.
Jesus may have been following Abraham, but He was also leading the rest of humanity in general and the church in particular.
Life was about being in the business of God and with no distractions or short-cuts.
The righteousness of Abraham came from his willingness to believe in God and in the covenant that God had made with him. It did not come from works of any law since the only law that mattered was the law written in his own heart and discovered day by day as he continued in his walk with God.
It was there in his decisions on spending time and money, in his relationships, transactions and loyalties. It was definitely there in the priorities and direction of his live.
Jesus was therefore following what had been done already – but this time He was also showing His disciples what it meant and what it would demand. And without personal wavering.
In Him they would see what it embraced and what it avoided. It would be there in the things that inspired and strengthened Him and in the things that made Him recoil in disgust or horror.
For us, the Holy Spirit is given to renew us in the life and person of Jesus, and to make Him present in all that we also think, say and do.
For we also are called to follow the steps of Jesus and Abraham – and to walk before the Lord faithfully and blamelessly.
