Proper 6 A
A Kingdom of Priests
Exodus 19:2-8
18 June 2017 – Redeemer
You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Israel had been saved completely and solely by the work of God. God had promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars and God delivered Isaac and to Isaac he delivered Jacob and Esau, and to Jacob he delivered a new name – Israel, and to Israel he delivered 12 sons.
Did God choose to save Israel because they were better than every other nation on earth? No. Twice Abraham lied about being married to Sarah, his wife, to protect his life. He let her be abused to save himself. Sarah laughed at the promises of God. Jacob, their grandson, was a cunning trickster who stole from his brother and pitted his mom and dad against each other. His boys were a bunch of jealous brats – selling their brother Joseph into slavery and lying to their Father.
So why in the world did God choose this bunch of sinners, this nation to be His own? He chose Israel for the sake of Christ and for your sake. God set His heart on Israel to be the people through whom Jesus Christ would come into the world. Jesus was born to Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph. They were descendants of David, who was a descendant of Judah, the fourth son of Israel.
God sent His Son through Israel. That’s why we have the Old Testament. To trace and track the promises God made to Israel. God promised to deliver through them and to them and for them a Savior who would deliver them from their lies, their fears, their enemies, their doubts, their sin and their death. Jesus was sent through Israel for the world. That brings us to the text and brings us to you.
In Exodus 19 the Israelites have arrived at Mount Sinai after experiencing the greatest salvation event of their lives. They had been enslaved to that old evil foe Pharaoh when an unlikely savior showed up – one of their own, a guy named Moses. With 10 miraculous plagues against Egypt, God Himself, through Moses, momentarily broke Pharaoh’s hard heart and released his grip on God’s children. Israel left Egypt for the land of Canaan, the land promised to Great Grandpa Abraham, but their enemies pursued. Pharaoh and his army pinned the Israelites against the Red Sea. It appeared that God had delivered them to death, but God used that water to bring life to His people. He brought Israel safely through the water, but drowned Pharaoh and his army in that same water. The New Testament says this was Israel’s baptism – life for them, death for their enemies, in the water. This is what God is referring to in the text. You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.
God’s covenant, His Word to and with Israel is based on His saving work, on the good news that He chose them. He loved them. He saved them. He took care of their enemies. He did this for Israel, but not for Israel alone. He did this for the whole world. He did this for you. Through Israel He would save the world and thus save you by sending Jesus.
That is where this text speaks to us. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus sees crowds of harassed and helpless people. They are like sheep without a shepherd – and you know what a sheep without a shepherd is – a dead sheep, easy prey for the wolves. So Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Then Jesus provides some of those workers Himself – sending out the Apostles to do what Jesus did – heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons, and preach that wherever Jesus is – “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” As God used Israel of Old to bring Jesus into the world, so God used Apostles to bring Jesus out to the world, so God would also use you.
You and I have not been called to be apostles – you and I do not heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, by the simple command of the Word, as did the Apostles. Yes, I preach that the Kingdom of God is near for you – as near as the preaching of Christ crucified, as near as the water of baptism poured, as near as the body and blood of Christ eaten and drunk, but I am not a called apostle. My calling is pastor. However, the words addressed to Israel in the Old Testament reading are also addressed to the God’s New Testament people, to the Church, to you. God chose you. God saved you and now He would use you to bring His compassion to a world of harassed and helpless people. God says to you as He said to Israel, “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Peter says it like this in the New Testament, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)
God has called you to be a priest. What does that mean? Well, what do priests do? Peter tells us – priests make spiritual sacrifices. Priests stand between God and the world. Priests pray. Let me give you a little illustration of how dads are called to be priests, since today is Father’s Day. Dads pray for their children. They know their children’s needs. They see their troubles. Dads don’t just pray for themselves, but offer up their children’s lives and needs to God in prayer. Dads serve their children – they make sacrifices for their children. A dad might drive down to the Twin Cities to fix his daughter’s broken-down car. A dad sacrifices his anger to love his children even when they sin, because he too has received mercy. A dad teaches his family the Word of God and demonstrates his own need for Jesus.
These words about priests don’t just apply to dads. Wherever God has placed you in life – in your volunteer work, in your job, in your family, in your neighborhood, you know and see people who are harassed and helpless. God would use you to care for them, to be His priest – bringing them to God in your prayers and bringing God’s compassion to them by your works of love and mercy to them. Wherever God has called you and placed you – dad, daughter, ditch digger, diesel mechanic, dish washer, God would use you as His priest to pray, to serve, to love your neighbor with your gifts. Through such love and kindness, you likely will have opportunity to confess your faith, to give a reason for the hope that is in you – to speak of Jesus’ death for your sins, for the world’s sins. Like Israel of old God calls you to be a His kingdom of priests to bring Jesus to the world.
As you do this, you must also remember the other words God calls you – a holy nation. Now, was Israel “Holy”? The answer of course, is that Lutheran answer, “Yes and No.” No, lying Abraham, doubting Sarah, tricking Jacob, the jealous brothers of Joseph were not holy. They were sinners who sinned. But, yes, they were holy, because God had chosen them, called them, saved them, and made them His own. In the same way, I might ask you – are you holy? Well, no, certainly not by your works – not even by your priestly work are you holy, for like Israel you lie and cheat and complain and doubt and laugh at God. You dads often love yourself more than your wife or children. No, you are not holy and yet, yes, you are holy in Jesus. You are holy because you are baptized and in your baptism the Holy Spirit delivered the holy work of Jesus to you. His perfect life of love is credited as your life. His death for sins is accounted to you. His resurrection is yours as well. You are holy because God the Father has given His Son to you and for you.
This holiness, given to you from the Father through His Son by the Spirit, is the great confidence behind your work as a priest. God chose Israel to receive His grace and mercy and called them to deliver Jesus into the world. God chose you to receive Jesus, His forgiveness, and eternal life, and He calls you to deliver Jesus to the world, wherever He places you – in your home, in your neighborhood, at your work. As Jesus told His disciples, “You received without paying: give without pay.” That is your priestly calling. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
17 June 2017 anno Domini