In Ephesians 2 Paul spoke of the plight of some when he said they had been "strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."
As I thought about what it might be like to be a stranger to the covenant of promise I remembered a conversation I heard on public radio last week. they were discussing the survey done recently across America about religious belief and the question was asked, "Do you have to belong to a church or can you be religious alone?" A woman called in and gave a good testimony of how much the fellowship of the church meant to her. Then another woman called who said she did not need a church to be religious or spiritual. In fact, she felt most religious and spiritual when sitting alone on a hillside under a tree or on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
I can understand that to a great extent. I love the mountains and the seashore and have spent a lot of time there. I have been in church camps at Winema on the beach and in the wilderness area of the Wallowa mountains when campers went out alone and had a devotional time. Those can be very spiritual moments. But how would we feel in those places if a ferocious storm came upon us -- as it well could do. Of if a blizzard threatened to bury us under a deep blanket of snow? How spiritual and religious would we feel then? I think I would feel more frightened than spiritual.
Even in good weather, being alone can be frightening. One year on our high school back packing camp in the Wallowas a girl got separated from the rest of us. The trail split and went around a lake and then came together again further on past the lake. She took one trail and everyone else took the other. The trails were far enough apart that they were hidden from each other. Suddenly we heard frantic cries for help coming from across the lake. She had left the trail and found the lake but couldn't see us. Eventually, we made visual contact and motioned her in the right direction. That night at bonfire we had our usual prayer time. She had not prayed before but that night said one simple, five word prayer: "Thank you God for people."
It can be very frightening to be all alone in the world. This is one reason we have covenants. A covenant requires commitment. It means being part of a group of people who are committed to each other. People who help us find the way.
As Jesus held the cup before his disciples he said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood..." In effect, he was initiating a covenant community and was expressing his commitment to them. Not much later he demonstrated that commitment as he went to the cross and shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins. As we partake of the Lord's Supper we join in commitment to one another and to Christ. Some, as Paul said, may be "strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world," but not us. We are his covenant community.
