2/17/08 - Emeka Maduewesi, Attorney-at-law

2/17/08 - Emeka Maduewesi, Attorney-at-law

Thoughts on the original contract between Abraham and God and its applicability to all Christianity.

Sermon Delivered on Sunday, February 17, 2008, by Emeka Maduewesi, Attorney-at-law
The readings for this sermon are from Genesis 12:1-4, Romans 4:1-5 , 13-17 and John 3:1-17.
When I got the readings for the day from Rev. Anne, I smiled at the coincidence. For today, I will be wearing many hats, seeing myself in the shoes of most of the characters mentioned in the readings. Like Abram, I also departed my native Nigeria with my family - actually, just my wife - to come to the US. Like Paul, who wrote the epistle to the Romans, and Nicodemus who went to Jesus by night, I am a lawyer. Actually, I am a lawyer, learned in both Nigerian and American law. While my Nigeria law part will represent Nicodemus, my American law knowledge represents Paul, who was later in time.
As I wear my many hats, please do not compare me to your pastor, unless your pastor is also a lawyer. And do not compare me to your lawyer, unless you have heard your lawyer preach the word of God. Unlike Abram, I do not know if called me to come to the United States. Everyday, I look forward to see the reason why I had to leave my family in Nigeria. I was not a poor lawyer in Nigeria. I was considered a young and successful lawyer by my peers, friends and clients.
Speaking of lawyers, Jesus never had it easy with them. My Lord was very disappointed by their conduct. He lamented that though they hold the key to the kingdom of God, they not only refused to enter, but also hindered those who are willing to enter.
Lawyers are trained to interpret or construe documents, especially contracts. The Bible represents the only authoritative contract between Christians and God. One may also look at the Bible as our manufacturer's manual, telling us when to change our engine or transmission oil; what to eat so that we do not become obese and sick, how to love unconditionally, and how to purge any spiritual or physical "foreign body" we knowingly or unknowingly ingested. Since I have always used my legal training to understand the Bible, I have, for that reason, refused to go to any school of theology.
Applying law training to today's reading, God called Abram and offered him a contract. In our common law legal terms, God offered Abram a unilateral contract. The elements of a common law contract include an offer, an acceptance, and consideration. There may be other terms, covenants, conditions, qualifications, limitations, etc.
Firstly, a contract may be for a specific duration or in perpetuity. All these must be clearly stated and agreed upon by the parties. There must be consensus before a party would be bound; it need not be in writing or signed, unless another law specifically requires. Secondly, a contract must have beneficiaries. The beneficiaries may be direct or indirect. The direct beneficiaries are named in the contract and may include the parties and third parties. There may be incidental beneficiaries. Finally, a contract is either performed or breached. When performed, all parties are entitled to the benefits. When breached, the aggrieved had a right of action.
In our reading from Genesis, God offered Abram that He will bless Abram, make him a great nation, and that all families of the earth shall be blessed through Abram. The condition was that Abram must leave his country, his kindred and his father's house and then go to the land God will show him.
Abram had the choice to accept or refuse the offer. Being a unilateral contract, there was no room for negotiation; you either accept or decline. If Abram had negotiated, it would no longer be a unilateral contract. It would have morphed into a bilateral contract, thereby eroding God's sovereignty. The only way to accept a unilateral contract is by performance. And the bible records that Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him. Abram performed!
God, in blessing Abram, did not do so for Abram's sole benefit. Lawyers who practice contracts and inheritance know that Abram was not given an unqualified blessing. God commanded him to get out of his country, his kindred and his fathers house. God also told him that all families on earth will be blessed through him. As a lawyer, I interpret this to mean Abram is the pipeline through which God's blessing shall flow and reach ALL FAMILIES on earth for ever, in perpetuity. Not just men. Not just women. Not just white families. Not just to Black families. Not just for a thousand years. But for ALL FAMILIES and FOREVER. We all are the beneficiaries to the contract.
Paul, my first century professional colleague, made this known in his letter to the Romans. Paul told the early Christians that Abraham's blessing was not just for Abraham and his seed, but to all who believe in and are faithful to God. Paul called Abraham the father of us all - not the father of the Jews, or the father of White people, or the father of Black people.
Blessing flows because of your faith, not because of your skin color. The blessing is yours if you believe in God and obey his commands as contained in His manual. It is like buying a car. The manufacturer tells you how to use it. Of course, you have the choice to use it as you please. You will only lose your warranty. Same with God. When you buy a Honda Accord, you are entitled to all Honda warranties not because you are black or white, but because you purchased their car. You will not lose your warranties for being a man or a woman, but for using the car to swim across the Bay, instead of driving across on the bridge. However, with God, you will never lose your warranties for ever. He sent Christ to come and renew our warranties for free.
As we celebrate Black History month, we have to look at the role of lawyers in perpetuating slavery and injustice in the US. Where were the lawyers when the heinous crime of slavery was being practiced? That takes us back to the gospel for the day - Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night,
The lawyers were busy arguing the law, not the faith. They were busy making laws to protect material wealth, forgetting that no amount of external wealth will assuage internal poverty; and no amount of electric bulbs will brighten the darkness of the heart.
Like Nicodemus, they were rulers of the people who had the key to the kingdom of God but denied entrance to all, including themselves. Just look at Nicodemus, sneaking out of his palatial house, to go and meet Jesus under the cover of darkness in whatever project Christ was staying at the time. Just imagine Nicodemus, learned in the law and a ruler of the Jews, calling the carpenter's son a Rabbi!
But my Lord was ready for him. My Lord was always ready, whether it was the devil himself tempting him, or a lawyer cross-examining him. Notice that as the conversation progressed, Nicodemus spoke less, while Christ spoke more. His long opening address shrunk at the superior knowledge of our lord and savior. Christ told him that for anyone to SEE the kingdom of God, that person must be born again! Christ further sank his hopes of being a leader in the kingdom of God by telling him that for one to now ENTER the kingdom of God, that person needs to be born of water and of the Spirit. Yes, there is a huge difference between SEEING and ENTERING. Moses saw the promised land but did not enter therein; Joshua entered!
I have been in the US since July 1998. My wife and I lived in Tennessee for one year and moved to the Bay Area in September 1999. I have moved from being a records clerk in a law firm, to being associate attorney on the partnership track, in the same law firm. I now attend meetings, seminars and conferences with the same attorneys that I served as records clerk.
My firm has 215 Lawyers, 13 technical adviser and 10 patent agents in my firm. We have only two black lawyers, no black patent agent, and no black technical adviser. So, where are my biological brothers and sisters, the mainstream blacks? Maybe because of the specialized nature of my practice, there are very few black people. I see but a few of them in seminars and conferences. My firm has just me and one other, a Partner. The firm goes out of its way to seek and attract Blacks and other minorities, but the pool of the qualified is very, very small.
I see the mainstream Blacks as foster kids of wicked parents; physically abused and spiritually traumatized by beliefs that have no foundation in science or religion. Being black, I look at them in the eyes and know that these are really my brothers and sisters. I see the indomitable spirit of the Black race in them that have been cowed by many years of institutional oppression and racism. The heads may be bowed or bloodied, but certainly not defeated.
Nicodemus did not tell Jesus that he was preaching to the choir, as many of us are wont to say. He listened to the Carpenter's son and learned a lot in one night. You cannot meet Jesus and remain the same. Not even Nicodemus, a hard-line Jewish ruler, was able to do so. The next time he showed up in the Bible, he was quoting the law on behalf of the disciples. And later he went, again secretly, with Joseph of Arimathea, to claim the body of Jesus. Actually, Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, about seventy-five pounds. Nicodemus became a changed person after that nightly encounter. Here in the United States, a lawyer named Abraham Lincoln was the first President to say "NO" to slavery.
For many of us, we are still the Nicodemus of the night. We are covered by the darkness of all forms of fear, grudges and prejudices. We hold unto the past, with unforgiving spirit, refusing to let go and let God. Like Nicodemus, we pretend that we know the word of God and what Jesus will do, even though we have not read the Bible. Are you the leader in church today, that does not know that institutional racism is still practiced in the US today? Are you a leader in Oakland, without knowing that the community is in dire need of reconciliation? As Christ would say, "Are you a master in the United States of America, without knowing these things?"
You have been meeting Jesus, at least every Sunday. As observed by The Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 11 o'clock on Sunday morning remain the most segregated period in America. This is segregation of Christ's own Kingdom. In Dallas, Texas, the Bishop T .D Jakes' church will be filled by 20,000 black people, and in Houston, Texas, Rev. Joel Osteen's church will be filled by 20,000 white people.
Being born again means giving up something from your fleshly lusts, so that the spirit of God will thrive in and around you. You have to give up something dear to you; something you thought was indispensable to your existence. Being born again means loving God with all your heart and with all your soul; and loving your neighbor as yourself - A lawyer took Jesus up on this! But now is not the time to waste arguing with lawyers. This is action time, a convenient time to forgive our foster parents.
Let us use this period of lent, not just to honor and celebrate the richness of black culture, but also to pray for that baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. Let us search our hearts and expunge all forms or hatred and prejudices, so that the dove of peace may enter. Let us bury the ugly side of our history, especially the ghost of slavery, and move forward to claim the glorious future God prepared for us all.
For all of us who claim to be citizens of God's kingdom and beneficiaries of that Abrahamic covenant, what are you willing to give up for peace to rule in your family? What are you ready to forfeit for equity and equality to manifest in your community? What are you willing to leave behind for justice to reign in the world?
Abram left his people to claim God's blessing for all of us. God so loved the world that he gave up his only son for all of us. What are you willing to give up for all of us? How will you write your Acts of the Apostles? Today we are judging history; how will history judge us?
Let us pray
Father in heaven I thank you for enabling me to share your word. May your holy spirit strengthen us as we resolve to leave this earth better than we found it. Let the indelible footprints we will leave behind in our respective duty posts be worthy of publication as Acts of the Apostles, encouraging and inspiring our children many years to come. Let the clues and memories they uncover about us, be a light that will lead them to excellence, as they serve you and humanity. In Jesus name I prayed. Amen

Our baptismal vow is to seek and serve Christ in others.