Covenant Cultivates Courage

Officiating covenant ceremonies is one of the greatest honors I have as a pastor.

Even if, like last weekend, it was a beautiful outdoor setting, but I was dripping with sweat in the sun!

It was the wedding of a couple who I have been mentoring for the last few years. The brand new Prescher family, Chad and Anna, had asked me to write a special “call and response” based out of some passages from the book of Isaiah that were meaningful to them as a couple.

It was about God’s heart for the poor, for mercy and justice. (see call and response below)

These two not only believe these words, but they live them.

I am deeply moved and inspired by people who live out the values they espouse. I can’t wait to see how God will use their covenant to empower each other to live as Kingdom people for the long haul.

As I said to them in the homily, “It’s not for the faint of heart. It takes courage.”

The good news for them is that this is why God designed covenant. It is more than a mere contract, it is a spiritual reality made possible by God’s Spirit.

Covenant cultivates courage in our lives.

At it’s best, and living into it’s design, a marriage covenant will empower both partners to join God’s Kingdom better together than they could apart.

The good news for all of us is that a marriage is only one way to experience covenant.

Jesus has covenanted with us – a new covenant in his blood, which was poured out for anyone who will recieve it.

Additionally, we are invited to covenant in community, like the membership covenant folks in my church community make. This commitment to each other brings the courage we need to join God in God’s mission in the world!

The core purpose for any covenant is to bring strength and courage to join what God is doing.

We were’t designed to go it alone.

God will give us the courage needed to join his redemptive work in the world. This call and response is not merely a poem, but a prayer.

May it be our prayer today:

Prescher Covenant Ceremony

Call and Response

Based on Isaiah 58-61

The Lord says,

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over all people,

but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you.

Response: Lord, we want to see your glory, we desire to be people of your light.

The Lord says,

This is what I have chosen for you to do, to loose the chains of injustice and to set the oppressed free.

To share your food with the hungry and provide the stranger with shelter.

Response: Lord, make us instruments of your justice.

The Lord says,

I have sent you to proclaim good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom

for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Response: Lord, make us instruments of your freedom.

The Lord says,

I desire for you to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve,

to bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes,

the oil of joy, instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

Response: Lord, make us instruments of your comfort.

The Lord says,

If you follow me, I will guide you always, I will satisfy your needs and give you my strength. You will be

called Oaks of Righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

Response: Lord, plant our roots deep in your strength.

The Lord says,

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will

become like the noonday.

You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

You will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Response: Lord, we are your people, lead us to live out your mission of hope. Amen.