Sermon 6th June 2010
Today, our Associate Vicar, John Itumu, preaches based on the reading from Genesis 17: 1-8
Abraham
In this new series that takes us to the end of July, we will look at some prominent heroes of faith in the bible. We will learn how our own lives could be enriched as we journey with them in their adventure. We begin today with the father of faith, Abraham.
I need to start by reminding us that the central theme and story in the Old Testament describes how God chose a particular family, the Abraham clan – and which eventually grew to a particular nation called Israel. He chose them to be his special people, to show the world what would happen if human beings shared their lives with God. We can also think of the Old Testament as a story of what happens, in terms of opportunities lost, when people choose to disobey God. It is equally the story of God’s love, his justice and mercy, his patience, his willingness to help human beings put matters right with him.
This story begins with God’s call to Abraham:
Chap 12
Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you...
I will make of you great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse; and in your name all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
That was a huge ask for a seventy-five year old man. It is an age one really doesn’t want to be moving about, and certainly not to the unknown. But there was an another bigger problem. The promise talks of ‘making Abraham into a great nation’ which suggests some progeny. Seventy-five years plus is not an age that one would normally think about bringing forth children. Abram himself concedes that he is too old to be a father. This is what God says to him:
You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you...
To make matters worse when he is ninety-nine, God appears to him again and says;
As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah - I will bless her and moreover I will give you a son by her... (Chap 17:15ffd). And Abraham laughs. Who wouldn’t? But even when Abraham laughs (17:17) at this God continues to reassure him, ‘...yes, your wife will bear a son and you shall name him Isaac...
If you think about it, this man has been on the road, obeying, trusting, showing faith for about twenty-five years since being commanded to leave all his familiar surroundings. Suddenly he begins to doubt the promise. The ‘father of faith’ laughs a mocking laugh...’how can a son be born to me?’
At another incident the same promise is repeated and this time his wife Sarah laughs as well. But God doesn’t stop the reassurances from flowing: Here is another conversation:
God: Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield. You reward shall be great.
Abram in frustration can’t take it anymore: O Lord God, what will you give me for I continue childless...you have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir...
God replies:This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.
There are two issues in tension: the first is the powerful claim of the promise:
I will make you exceedingly numerous, exceedingly fruitful, you shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations...
The second is the powerful reality of being without an heir. These two issues are in conflict and Abraham finds it hard to resolve them. As the story goes, long before even the second reassurance comes at ninety-nine he had already given up. This man of faith had given up! He felt he couldn’t continue to wait on such a ridiculous promise any longer. He agreed to his wife’s plea to bear a child with his slave girl, Hagar, and Ishmael was born. This is the man, who had trusted God and left his country and familiar surroundings to go into the unknown in total obedience and faith; this same man decides to doubt and produces an heir in his own devious way. Just what has happened to the radical faith?
I wonder whether this sounds familiar! Have you found yourself in a circumstance that you felt the need to do things your own way because God took too long coming, or you could not trust that things would really get done if you didn’t ‘assist him’? Have you felt like Abraham, unable to trust God anymore and willing to rely on other more readily available alternatives? That remains a huge challenge even for those with a strong faith.
It is a bit like the incident when the disciples who witnessed the feeding of the 4000 in Mark 8:1-10 and who later in the evening, when they run out of bread, doubt Jesus’ sufficiency. The reason given for this is that their hearts were hardened. The failure to understand, to trust, to wait on God’s promises is not a matter of intelligence but of the will. In a similar way, this same crisis of faith is present in Abraham who fails to discern God’s promise and capacity to create a new life. He finds it impossible to accept the link of barrenness with an heir even though this is the background of the promise. God’s promise is simply beyond reason and belief!
This should remind us what a scandal and a difficulty faith is. Faith is not a reasonable act which fits into the normal scheme of life and perception.
It is not tidy and sensible – most times. That is why in fact the gospel of Christ, which must be received by faith, is not some conventional wisdom that is accommodated to everything else. For faith in God to operate, perspectives have got to change. Some things must give. The rich young ruler was told (Luke18:18) – if you really want to inherit eternal life, go sell all that you own and give money to the poor. He went away downcast, because he was too rich. When the gospel becomes a reality, it shatters and discontinues. Abraham had become accustomed to Sarah’s barrenness and accepted their hopeless situation as normal. God’s promise does not meet them in receptive hopefulness but in resistant hopelessness.
That is why the promise is nonsensical because they are resistant to the possibilities that God could do a new thing. Have you been waiting for the Lord to do a new thing? Then please don’t lose heart. Keep holding. Keep on praying. Keep on hoping. That is my prayer for you today. That you would feel able to wait on God’s promises for you. Why because God is faithful. He will deliver!
So did God select Abraham because he was superior than ordinary mortals in every way? Absolutely not. This is what God says:
‘I chose Abraham...’ (18:19) in Hebrew this suggests the act of God making Abraham a friend, a partner who will play a significant role in his plans. That is the same relationship that God has with you. God does not watch you from a distance, disinterested in who you are. You are the precious work of his hands. And he calls you to a higher dignity – to that of a friend, partner. He longs to have a personal relationship with you.The words of Jesus to his disciples are instructive here (John 15:15)
No longer do I call you servants...but friends. In the same way you are a friend of God. God loves you, unconditionally. Now, the question that confronts each of us, as we rest in this promise of a personal relationship with God who loves us is this: Is anything too hard for the Lord? This is what the Lord asked Abraham when he doubted. It is a valid question for us today.
It is an open question that each of us must answer. How we answer it determines how we live. If the answer is ‘yes, some things are too hard for God’ then this is failing to confess God as God. This is determining to live in a closed universe where things are stable and reliable - because we are in control. We know what the future will be, because we have put everything in place; but also hopeless because of failing to proclaim the radical freedom of God. God is God!
He alone controls the volcanic ash that scuttles our meticulous travel plans. He alone knows what our tomorrow will be. That is where the rubber hits the road – when realise how powerful ‘nature’ is.
If the answer is ‘no, nothing is impossible for God’ the answer fully entrusts all to God and to no other. It is a risky answer because it defies reason, wisdom and common sense. This answer is totally against our value systems. Yet if faith in God depended on these things, it would cease to be faith in God.
Does God then break his covenant due Abraham’s doubts? No. The fulfilment of God’s promise to bring a new heir through his own power is still accomplished regardless of Abraham’s scepticism. Even doubt does not thwart the gracious acts of a merciful God. He knows what we need! What about the issue of faith then? Well, faith does not make everything desirable possible, for the simple reason that God does not promise everything. What is possible is only what God promises. Only what corresponds with God’s good purposes is possible. And so when we pray we collaborate with God for his will to be done and in the process we discover more of what he is like. As we reflect on the life of Abraham, his faithfulness and doubting, and as we continue to claim our inheritance on this the covenant that God made with him and all who belong to the house of faith, may we be truly humbled by this knowledge as we discover more about our God who showers us with blessings and everlasting love. Amen.
Abraham
In this new series that takes us to the end of July, we will look at some prominent heroes of faith in the bible. We will learn how our own lives could be enriched as we journey with them in their adventure. We begin today with the father of faith, Abraham.
I need to start by reminding us that the central theme and story in the Old Testament describes how God chose a particular family, the Abraham clan – and which eventually grew to a particular nation called Israel. He chose them to be his special people, to show the world what would happen if human beings shared their lives with God. We can also think of the Old Testament as a story of what happens, in terms of opportunities lost, when people choose to disobey God. It is equally the story of God’s love, his justice and mercy, his patience, his willingness to help human beings put matters right with him.
This story begins with God’s call to Abraham:
Chap 12
Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you...
I will make of you great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse; and in your name all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
That was a huge ask for a seventy-five year old man. It is an age one really doesn’t want to be moving about, and certainly not to the unknown. But there was an another bigger problem. The promise talks of ‘making Abraham into a great nation’ which suggests some progeny. Seventy-five years plus is not an age that one would normally think about bringing forth children. Abram himself concedes that he is too old to be a father. This is what God says to him:
You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you...
To make matters worse when he is ninety-nine, God appears to him again and says;
As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah - I will bless her and moreover I will give you a son by her... (Chap 17:15ffd). And Abraham laughs. Who wouldn’t? But even when Abraham laughs (17:17) at this God continues to reassure him, ‘...yes, your wife will bear a son and you shall name him Isaac...
If you think about it, this man has been on the road, obeying, trusting, showing faith for about twenty-five years since being commanded to leave all his familiar surroundings. Suddenly he begins to doubt the promise. The ‘father of faith’ laughs a mocking laugh...’how can a son be born to me?’
At another incident the same promise is repeated and this time his wife Sarah laughs as well. But God doesn’t stop the reassurances from flowing: Here is another conversation:
God: Do not be afraid Abram. I am your shield. You reward shall be great.
Abram in frustration can’t take it anymore: O Lord God, what will you give me for I continue childless...you have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir...
God replies:This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.
There are two issues in tension: the first is the powerful claim of the promise:
I will make you exceedingly numerous, exceedingly fruitful, you shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations...
The second is the powerful reality of being without an heir. These two issues are in conflict and Abraham finds it hard to resolve them. As the story goes, long before even the second reassurance comes at ninety-nine he had already given up. This man of faith had given up! He felt he couldn’t continue to wait on such a ridiculous promise any longer. He agreed to his wife’s plea to bear a child with his slave girl, Hagar, and Ishmael was born. This is the man, who had trusted God and left his country and familiar surroundings to go into the unknown in total obedience and faith; this same man decides to doubt and produces an heir in his own devious way. Just what has happened to the radical faith?
I wonder whether this sounds familiar! Have you found yourself in a circumstance that you felt the need to do things your own way because God took too long coming, or you could not trust that things would really get done if you didn’t ‘assist him’? Have you felt like Abraham, unable to trust God anymore and willing to rely on other more readily available alternatives? That remains a huge challenge even for those with a strong faith.
It is a bit like the incident when the disciples who witnessed the feeding of the 4000 in Mark 8:1-10 and who later in the evening, when they run out of bread, doubt Jesus’ sufficiency. The reason given for this is that their hearts were hardened. The failure to understand, to trust, to wait on God’s promises is not a matter of intelligence but of the will. In a similar way, this same crisis of faith is present in Abraham who fails to discern God’s promise and capacity to create a new life. He finds it impossible to accept the link of barrenness with an heir even though this is the background of the promise. God’s promise is simply beyond reason and belief!
This should remind us what a scandal and a difficulty faith is. Faith is not a reasonable act which fits into the normal scheme of life and perception.
It is not tidy and sensible – most times. That is why in fact the gospel of Christ, which must be received by faith, is not some conventional wisdom that is accommodated to everything else. For faith in God to operate, perspectives have got to change. Some things must give. The rich young ruler was told (Luke18:18) – if you really want to inherit eternal life, go sell all that you own and give money to the poor. He went away downcast, because he was too rich. When the gospel becomes a reality, it shatters and discontinues. Abraham had become accustomed to Sarah’s barrenness and accepted their hopeless situation as normal. God’s promise does not meet them in receptive hopefulness but in resistant hopelessness.
That is why the promise is nonsensical because they are resistant to the possibilities that God could do a new thing. Have you been waiting for the Lord to do a new thing? Then please don’t lose heart. Keep holding. Keep on praying. Keep on hoping. That is my prayer for you today. That you would feel able to wait on God’s promises for you. Why because God is faithful. He will deliver!
So did God select Abraham because he was superior than ordinary mortals in every way? Absolutely not. This is what God says:
‘I chose Abraham...’ (18:19) in Hebrew this suggests the act of God making Abraham a friend, a partner who will play a significant role in his plans. That is the same relationship that God has with you. God does not watch you from a distance, disinterested in who you are. You are the precious work of his hands. And he calls you to a higher dignity – to that of a friend, partner. He longs to have a personal relationship with you.The words of Jesus to his disciples are instructive here (John 15:15)
No longer do I call you servants...but friends. In the same way you are a friend of God. God loves you, unconditionally. Now, the question that confronts each of us, as we rest in this promise of a personal relationship with God who loves us is this: Is anything too hard for the Lord? This is what the Lord asked Abraham when he doubted. It is a valid question for us today.
It is an open question that each of us must answer. How we answer it determines how we live. If the answer is ‘yes, some things are too hard for God’ then this is failing to confess God as God. This is determining to live in a closed universe where things are stable and reliable - because we are in control. We know what the future will be, because we have put everything in place; but also hopeless because of failing to proclaim the radical freedom of God. God is God!
He alone controls the volcanic ash that scuttles our meticulous travel plans. He alone knows what our tomorrow will be. That is where the rubber hits the road – when realise how powerful ‘nature’ is.
If the answer is ‘no, nothing is impossible for God’ the answer fully entrusts all to God and to no other. It is a risky answer because it defies reason, wisdom and common sense. This answer is totally against our value systems. Yet if faith in God depended on these things, it would cease to be faith in God.
Does God then break his covenant due Abraham’s doubts? No. The fulfilment of God’s promise to bring a new heir through his own power is still accomplished regardless of Abraham’s scepticism. Even doubt does not thwart the gracious acts of a merciful God. He knows what we need! What about the issue of faith then? Well, faith does not make everything desirable possible, for the simple reason that God does not promise everything. What is possible is only what God promises. Only what corresponds with God’s good purposes is possible. And so when we pray we collaborate with God for his will to be done and in the process we discover more of what he is like. As we reflect on the life of Abraham, his faithfulness and doubting, and as we continue to claim our inheritance on this the covenant that God made with him and all who belong to the house of faith, may we be truly humbled by this knowledge as we discover more about our God who showers us with blessings and everlasting love. Amen.
posted by Parish Administrator at 1:38 pm
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