Sermons for the Month

With God's help, I'm moving forward.
DATE: 3/16/03
SERVICE: Second Sunday In Lent
TEXT: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

It's the second Sunday in Lent, the time when the church traditionally focuses on spiritual growth and renewal. Our emphasis here at Faith is on growing in discipleship, that is, on becoming more faithful followers of Jesus. So, let me ask, "How is that going for you? Has the Lenten focus been central in your lives?"

I'm reminded of a story that Bishop Mark Hanson, the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, told at the Professional Leaders Retreat this winter. It was about a woman in his Minnesota congregation who, after hearing the dismissal, "Go in peace. Serve the Lord," week after week wondered why no one ever inquired, "How's that going for you, then?" In other words, how is the process of walking in peace and serving the Lord going in your life? What challenges are you facing? What joys are you experiencing as you live out your faith in Jesus Christ?

So, I'll ask again, "How is the business of growing in discipleship going for you?" Did the message of last Sunday from the story of Noah sink in - that the rainbow is a reminder of God's intention to offer the world life, hope and new beginnings? That certainly is a good foundation on which to build as we journey toward the cross, but can we trust that promise?

In order to answer that question I would like us to focus again on the Old Testament lesson, this time on the story of Abraham and Sarah who had a great deal of experience with learning to trust.

They are important figures in the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths and I think that's because of what they teach us about imperfect trust. Imperfect trust? Isn't that a contradiction? Well, perhaps, but it nevertheless is a reality in the lives of faithful people through the ages.

The story of Abraham - then called Abram - begins in the 12th chapter of Genesis where we read that the Lord came to him. Author Bruce Feiler, who wrote a book titled Abraham, writes that the words spoken by the Lord are simple, yet stunning in what they ask of Abraham and what they promise in return.

Abram is asked to do two things. First he must leave his native land and his father's house. Now remember, Abram is not a young man - scripture says he was 75 - he has no children and he has no idea where he is going. So it is that the second thing Abram must do is believe that this actually is the one and only God who is giving these instructions. As Mr. Feiler puts it, "…Abram is forced to express superhuman devotion to this abstract request."

However, the incentive to do so is great because God promises Abram that he will be the founder of a great nation, that he will be blessed. So, Abram leaves home and is engaged in various battles, and the next thing we know it's 13 years later. All during those 13 years Abram has trusted the voice that had moved him from his homeland and promised to make of him a great nation. There's a problem, though, he and his wife Sarai have no children.

So, God gets a bit more specific and says that Abram will have a son, and descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens. God also describes the land that he will posses - evidently after 13 years they have not yet arrived in the new home that God had promised to show them.

Thirteen years is a long time, but Abram and Sarai continue to trust - although imperfectly - because they decide to take matters into their own hands. Following the established practice of the day, Abram and his wife's maid Hagar had a son, Ishmael, who was to become Sarai's own. But, jealousy reared its ugly head and resulted in disunity and heartbreak for all involved. (Now that's another story altogether.) The point being that this was not God's plan.

But time's a wastin'! Now, as we read today's passage, it's 24 years since Abram responded to God's call. He has been trusting, although he's made mistakes, but there still is no legitimate heir and Abram is 99 years old.

Once again God shows up, and this time does something very significant. In spite of past mistakes, God changes Abram's name to Abraham, which means "the father of a multitude." But, how will he ever live up to this name? Especially since God has at the same time made it clear that Sarai, who is now to be called Sarah, will be a mother.

We didn't read the verse which describes how Abraham's response to all this is less than inspiring. There is no profound display of gratitude; instead he fell down on his face and laughed wondering how a child could be born to a man who is 100 years old, and a woman who is 90? But God assures him that it will be so. After 24 year of waiting he and Sarah must trust.

What if, at that moment, someone would have asked them, "How's that going for you, then?" If it was me, the ability to trust would be a bit ragged around the edges. And yet, by the grace of God only, the promise is fulfilled and the child Isaac is born nine months later.

We are compelled in our lives to trust God, even though doing so seems at times laughable.

I still remember bits and pieces of a television special I saw years ago that told the story of a woman, her husband and their two young children who were involved in a terrible car accident. She was the only survivor, and her situation was critical because she had been severely burned over most of her body.

Video tapes that were taken shortly after the accident made it obvious that her physical and emotional suffering were intense. Perhaps that's what led the interviewer to ask her why she had not become bitter, and why she was not angry at God. Her answer was amazing. She said that as she suffered in that hospital bed she wondered if she would get through the ordeal with her faith intact. And … this is the part that I found so overwhelming … the thought of losing her faith in God was more painful to her than the loss of her husband and children.

Of course the story went on from there, but I kept going back to that one statement … losing her faith would be more painful than losing her family. Why? It was because if she lost her faith, she would have nothing. She would have no source of strength, no comfort, no sense of divine guidance and no hope for a life that extends beyond this one. So, with the Holy Spirit's help she chose to trust - imperfectly at times - but still she trusted that the tragedy was not so horrible that God could not be at work in the midst of it.

Abraham, Sarah and all of us trust God - imperfectly at times - but nevertheless we stand in the promise that the God of life, of hope and of new beginnings is a God that can be trusted. As we receive Holy Communion today - a number of us for the first time - we are strengthened in our ability to trust and to follow Jesus so that when we are asked, "How's that going for you, then?" we can respond that with God's help, I'm moving forward.

AMEN

---