I don’t know the grandson, so I’m not sure what was going through his mind. I suspect he was a little perturbed that people had this really great party but he wasn’t included. Surely, they should have waited for him if they were going to have cake! That would have been my thought. But I also suspect he is beginning develop this awareness that events before his life ever began can have a profound impact on his own life. In fact, events before his life ever began made his life possible. The family into which he was born, the joy and nurture he receives from his mother and father, aunt and uncle, and grandparents rests on a series of covenants made when he wasn’t there. Right now he looks at the pictures from those covenant moments and says, “that’s weird.” But, I suspect he’ll grow to look at those pictures and say, “thanks be to God.”
Scripture contains a number of snapshots of covenant moments. These moments predate our lives by millennia. Perhaps we look at these pictures and have an initial reaction—that’s weird. A normal response. After all, cow entrails are involved in a couple of these covenants. But ultimately, we begin to see that these covenants made long before we were born provide the contents for us to receive joy and nurture of the community of fait to which we belong.”There’s a snapshot of Moses and the Israelites receiving the commandments, a snapshot of David receiving a promise, another snapshot of exiles returning to their homes. In these covenant moments, God forged and renewed the relationship between God and God’s people. Here’s a picture we treasure—Jesus at a table with his Disciples, bread and cup. Indeed, "Thanks Be to God."
