1st Tuesday in Advent (2023)

1st Tuesday in Advent (Year A) RC-DL, 2023

St. Matthew’s Luth, Cornwall

Genesis 9:1-17 (Psalm 124, Hebrews 11:32-40)

As we come to the end of our walk through the story of Noah and the flood and we look backward, to what has happened, what has been said, and what has been done.

How did we start? Do you remember?

Mankind was sick, mankind was sinful – every thought of every heart was only evil all the time. There was no good in man. Mankind was wicked as wicked comes.

And so? God put mankind (and all things that he had tainted) to death. Drowning it all in the waters of the destroying flood.

But – in the midst of this flood, in the midst of this death and this desturction God was yet saving for Himself a remnant, a people, holy, and kept unto Himself. A people His own – and these holy people He saved through this water, - indeed, and with them all things. Noah and his family, and 2 of each kind of animal, saved through water, - kept in the ark of salvation.

And then, from up out of the water from which God has saved them, God then carried them through to the other side of it all, and He planted them back into the dry land, back into the earth, - back into a garden, and there He set them up over all things, and gave them dominion over all creatures, over plants and animals, birds and fish, and all things. To care for them, to keep them, and to steward them.

And after it all, Noah set up for the Lord an altar of sacrifice to God. Offering to Him a burnt offering, a thanksgiving for all that He had done , a sacrifice of worship unto the Lord, for His salvation, for His redemption, and for this new beginning.

And there, and then – He blessed them. And there, and then, He made His covenant with them.

There and then He promised to never again destroy the earth and all of creation for reason of the sins of there. There, He promised GRACE to mankind, and to all creation. Not for the sake of a change man in man, saying that man will never give reason to be destroyed, not saying that man is no longer evil in the depths of his heart, but rather, saying instead; “I WILL NOT DESTROY.” For even, He says, I will never again curse the land for the sins of man. For though every inclination of man’s heart is evil even from his youth; yet still I will not destroy. For I am the Lord, of creation; He is saying. Not of destruction. I am the Lord of life, He is saying; not of death. I am the Lord of grace, He is saying; not the Lord of deserved wrath. And so this grace comes to Noah in the form of a covenant. Not as a conditional agreement, but an unconditional and unbreakable promise. Not dependent on man. Not dependent on Noah. Not dependent on us, - but entirely dependent upon God. His character. His grace, and His promise freely given. The Lord will no longer destroy. Why? Because He is not the Lord of destruction but of creation. Because He does not act to us according to the Law, but according to His grace.

And this grace comes to us through His covenant promise.

And this covenant, He says, He makes with us,

This covenant He makes with us. This covenant He makes for us. This is a covenant of peace. A covenant of reconciliation. One of relent. That He will not destroy.

And this covenant – this Peace, God makes with us. This covneant He gives to usThis covneant He says also He will remember/ and so He gives it a sign. and throguh this sign He “remembers”

and what does this mean? What does it mean to remember His covenant?

It means for Him to act , and to make good on His promise.

I feel like I was just speaking on this same concept form Psalm 105 on last Sunday, ebcause I was. So I wont spend to much on this point but, it is here key to the point of the text before us also.

God’s covenant is not somehting in the past, but somehting concurrent with the now. Somehting made present. And this rememberance is not just His recalling what was but His constantly and recurringly making present, of what is. It is the making of what was that which IS. And always, this is about His character, this is always about His promise, this is always about His saving action and presence for us and for our salvation. Not just IN THIS TEXT of genesis 9 and THIS covenant, made with Noah and all creaiton. But also with the Benedictus and Magnifcat in Luke 1; where the BIRTH OF CHIRST; God in flesh, is named – what? GOD’S REMEMBRANCE OF HIS COVENANT. And what covneaent is that? Do you have these canticles memorized? HIS PROMISE OF MERCY, WHICH HE MADE TO OUR FATHERS – TO ABRAHAM, AND TO HIS CHILDREN FOREVER. Yes. And not just to Abraham. But also to Eve in the garden, in Gen 3:15; the first Gospel, (the seed of the woman will crush..), and also to Moses; and also to David ; - all of these cocovenant, all of these promises, are made good on, and presently fulfilled through God’s REMEMBRANCE ; manifest in His saving action.

And so just as here in Genesis 9 as the Lord says here is my covneant Here is my promise to you, - here is the sign of this covnena,t now when I look upon this sign I will remmeber this covneant and make good on my promise – so also it is now with the New and Eternal covnenat. So now also it is with the new covneant IN CHRISTS BLOOD, given and shed for you, the sacrament its sign, lifted high, for why? Celebrated, for what? Offered up to the Lord? Unto what purpose? FOR – REMEMBRANCE – OF – ME, He says. For this is the sign of God’s true, great, new, and eternal covneenat. The forigveness of sins. The salvation of souls. Worked, won, and promised throguh Christ jesus our Lord, and made good on, and delivered, and manifested, and made true, and present, and real, and active, through this sacrmaental aciton. The sign of the covenant. - the remembrance of the covneant. The fulfillment of the covenant. This is what we are really seeing in Genesis 9. the fgoundation being laid of God’s etenral promises made, proclaimed, remembered, and fullfiled. And this is what we are here to contemplate this evening. That just as God made this promise of mercy and grace ot Noaha and to all creaiton throguh this O.T. covneant, with the rainbow in the clouds as its sign for His remembrance so now also you should take this and store it up in your heart as we go toward the fullness that Noah could only glimpse at – the truest, fullest, and most complete covneant of peace and reconciliation that God has now promised in Christ, shown forth in Christ, accomplished in Christ, remembered in Christ, and manifested in Christ. For as we do this, we do so for HIS REMEMBRANCE. As we do this, we do this for our eternal inheritance. This is His promise. This is His grace. This is our salvation.

Let us give thanks, for remembrance of Him. In the name of the + Father, and of the Son, and of the HS. Amen.