“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor”

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Pastor Tom Johnson, February 17, 2013

“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor.” That is the first line of the liturgy of giving thanks for God bringing his people into the promised land. Literally “A wandering Aramean was my father.” This statement intrigues me. It captures the whole story of God’s redemption. It is a way of looking at oneself that goes way beyond the self. Instead of a mere individual with a unique identity coming to worship, the worshiper comes at the end of the line of generations of God’s faithfulness. “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor.” There is a bigger story than my particular story. There are lots of stories to tell.

For the Israelite coming to the Tabernacle, their story began when God called their ancestor, Abraham. And when God called him, he was not chosen because of the uniqueness of his bloodline. His ancestry was just as heathen as anyone else’s. Abraham was from Ur of Chaldees. The region is also called the region of Aram. Abraham was a wanderer; he wandered his way to the land of Canaan. When Abraham’s grandson Jacob had a falling out with his brother Esau, he ran away; and he wandered his way through Aram and married two Aramean women. Their wandering, nomadic life is a reminder that, like Jesus, they had no place to rest their heads or call home. Their wandering, unlike Jesus, was a result of broken relationships and the power and persistence of sin in their lives.

Because of the jealousy of his brothers, Joseph was forced out of his home to wander as a slave in Egypt. Because of the famine, his brothers would wander on down to meet Joseph—the one they sold into slavery. Generation after generation passed. Moses was born. His mother placed him in a wicker basket, and so he began his life wandering down the Nile River. After Moses killed an Egyptian, he was forced into his own wandering in the wilderness. God called Moses from his wandering. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness again. For 40 years, they wandered—40 years of hunger, temptation, and stumbling into sin. And now that they have come into the Promised Land with the words,  “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor.”

And so  Jesus in our Gospel reading, takes on the life of a wandering Aramean—taking on the temptations and struggles of a people groping through 40 years of struggle with hunger, thirst, and temptation.. But unlike those who preceded him, Jesus does not wander and stumble into sin. He maintains a steady diet of God’s Word. He humbles himself and takes on all that it means to be a human being struggling to survive the wilderness of this world.

What could the opening words of our liturgy be this morning? How should we approach the blessings we have received since we have come into the Kingdom of God through the Body and Blood of Jesus? How could you and I summarize the deep and perplexing stories of our lives? And how could we do so celebrating how God has safely brought us into the arms of his mercy and assures us of a safe continued journey to our Promised Land? I know what I would say. “A wandering Viking was my ancestor. My father’s line goes back to the Island of Gotland in Sweden—the battleground of the resiliant and often bloody people who worshiped the gods of thunder, land, and sea. In my wanderings, I have met those who have a wandering Aztec for their ancestor, wandering Han Chinese, various wandering tribes in Africa, and wandering First Nations peoples. When Paul preaches at the Areopagus in Acts 17, he describes the human race as groping and feeling their way toward God.

When the Israelites embrace an Aramean as their ancestor, they are embracing the whole of the human race. They are saying their story is part of a greater human and universal story of what God is doing to bring all nations, tribes, and peoples to him. Maybe that is why Jesus goes into the desert. He identifies with us in his wandering in the desert for 40 years. Certainly, he is the new Israel who does not fall into temptation as the Israelites did. But more importantly, he is a human being who shares our experience of struggle through trial and temptation in this world.

“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor,” we can say, as we give thanks for all God has done. “My journey is rooted in God’s love for my wandering ancestors generations ago. Our journey has taken twists and turns—there was nothing to commend us before a holy and righteous God. But he has called me. He has a plan—not only for me, but my children—and my children’s children, my family, and friends. And the end of our journey, although it may include wanderings, hunger, and temptation—God will bring us safely through to the other side. He will bring us home. And, in some ways our being here this morning is already a homecoming. In this gathering, we are neither Jew nor Greek, Aramean nor Barbarian. We are God’s children. He is our Heavenly Father. Jesus is our Savior. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor. You and I are sisters and brothers in Christ. We have wandered from very different places and peoples. But God has brought us together in his Son.”