People of Promise

Have you ever had someone break a promise to you? I worked in a juvenile treatment facility for two summers while I was in college. I remember one particular resident. His father would call every Sunday and promise to come for visit on the following Friday. He promised to bring McDonald’s, play with him, and have a great time. The boy would get so excited about the promise of seeing his father that it was hard to control himself. Every week that summer Friday would come, but the boy’s father wouldn’t show up. Every Friday, we knew we would have to help this kid deal with the emotions caused by a broken promise. It was hard.

Growing up, my family functioned by certain rules. One of the main rules of my family was centered around the words “I promise.” In my family, when someone said “I promise,” that meant no matter what, unless the world comes to an end, the promise would be kept. If my mom promised us we would go to McDonald’s, we knew that unless something catastrophic happened, we would be eating Happy Meals for lunch. Now, my parents didn’t say “I promise” all the time. If mom said, “we might go to McDonalds,” it wasn’t the same as a promise. But once the promise was made, she would keep the promise. It is a pretty good rule that my wife and I have incorporated into our family. A promise is a promise. Maybe that’s one of the reasons working in that facility was hard for me. It was hard to watch parents break promises.

It turns out God keeps His promises. Early in the book of Genesis, God promised Abraham that he would become a great nation, with his own land. In Exodus 3, God told Moses He had heard the cries of His people, and had come down to bring them out of Egypt. The passage today finds us right in the middle of God keeping His promises.

The first Passover meal happens immediately before the tenth and final plague: the plague of the firstborn. This is the big one, the final act of God that breaks the will of the pharaoh. After this night, Israel will be set free to begin the journey to the land of milk and honey. God promised He would do it, and on this night, He keeps His promise. This night is so important in the history of God’s people that they are to reset their calendars accordingly. Passover is to become their New Year’s Day. They are to celebrate it as a festival to the Lord throughout the generations. They are to remember the God who keeps His word.

God’s people are to be people of promise. As such, they are people who are always looking both backward and forward. They look backward to that night in Egypt when God “passed over” them as He struck the Egyptians. They are to remember the deeds of God in the past. At the same time, they are a forward-looking people. Because God has been faithful in the past, He will be trustworthy in the future. He is calling the Israelites toward the Promised Land, toward a future with hope. They are to live toward that future as people of promise.

In our world, it’s easy to look around and see broken promises. Politicians, employers, and friends break promises all the time. Campaign promises quickly morph into campaign lies. “Secure” jobs are downsized in a blink. Friends and family members can prove untrustworthy. We can find ourselves feeling like that little kid in the facility: all we want is for someone to keep their promise.

The good news this morning is this: God keeps His promises. Throughout the Scriptures, God proves faithful to His people. It’s no mistake Jesus chose Passover to celebrate the Last Supper with His disciples. Just as in Egypt, God was on the eve of fulfilling His promises to His people, redeeming them and saving them from bondage. Immediately before the miracles of the Cross and Resurrection, Jesus pauses again with His people, at the table, and calls them to remember. Remember the first Passover. Remember God’s promises. Remember . . . Me. Look forward to a future of fulfilled promises. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26, NRSV).

As we gather at the table today, we join a long line of God’s people who have gathered around the table for centuries. . . even back to the first Passover. We all gather as people of promise. In the midst of a promise-breaking world, today we celebrate this fact: When God says, “I promise,” He means it.

	Pentecost Sunday May 11, 2008
	Trinity Sunday May 18, 2008
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