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Cape Elizabeth Church of the Nazarene |
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Text:
Genesis
18:1-15; 21:1-7
I’ve finally figured out my problem with old Father Abraham.
You see, I’ve had this love/hate relationship with him for many years.
This relationship was strained as we walked through the early pages of
Romans where Paul uses Abraham to illustrate unwavering faith and absolute
obedience. In doing so the Apostle
Paul turned old Father Abraham into Saint Abraham; turning him from someone real
and personal into someone ideal and untouchable.
Suddenly old Father Abraham turned out to be like Maximillan Kolbe the
saint of Auschwitz or Mother Theresa or even Billy Graham or anyone else in that
long line of ideal saints of the church. And
standing shoulder to shoulder with the great saints that exhibited unwavering
faith and absolute obedience I feel unworthy.
I feel, at times, as if I just don’t measure up; as if I fall short of
those ideals of faith and obedience.
I just don’t seem to match up to Saint Abraham’s unwavering faith and
absolute obedience! Standing next
to Saint Abraham I’m just an ordinary Joe trying to raise a family and respond
to God’s call; respond to God’s gracious invitation to venture with him!
In fact, in Romans we are told that Abraham “did not waver in his
faith.” But. . . Abraham,
when he was about to enter Egypt, told Sarai to tell anyone who asked that she
was his sister instead of his wife. And.
. . Abraham, when he and Sarai were to the point of exasperation in waiting for
a son, concocted a plan to have an heir through Hagar the slave girl as a means
of promise fulfillment. And . . . it was Abraham, who when the LORD reaffirmed
his promise to produce an heir through Sarah, fell down in laughter.
The intervening story of chapters 12-17 reveals a quite different side of
Abraham! A side which looks a bleak
future in the face and attempts to do something about it himself.
These chapters reveal a side of Abraham that moves to action when the
odds appear stacked against him.
And it is in this doubting and questioning; this waiting and wondering
that we find a connection with Abraham who seemed to live a in world very
familiar with ours. A world in
which biological clocks expire. A
world in which desperation leads to actions incongruent with ourselves.
A world in which we laugh at the ludicrous suggestions and promises of
God. A world in which we don’t
see God acting in powerful ways all the time.
A world in which we wonder if this is all there is!
Abraham learned over the course of twenty-five years that venturing
yourself with God means trusting him unswervingly even when the future looks
bleak and the odds are stacked against you! Read Genesis
18:1-15; 21:1-7
Last we saw and heard Abram move out in great faith; move out into a
future full of promise and blessing. It’s
interesting that this world of ludicrous suggestions and divine promises is one
of a nomadic lifestyle; moving here and there; journey to and fro.
Moving out wasn’t the culmination of Abram’s faith, rather, it was
the beginning of a dynamic journeying with God -- very reminiscent of Noah’s
walking with God.
And then it dawned on me . . . the first step of heading out in this
journey with God is easy and exciting. The
future is pregnant with possibilities. The
future is full of promise. And then
. . . we realize quickly -- all too quickly -- that life is still pretty
ordinary; that life is still common and mundane.
We don’t encounter burning bushes every day.
We don’t “feel” Him all the time.
In fact, at times life is so mundane, that the future promised -- a
future full of God’s presence and power in our lives -- seems ironically
unfulfilling; unrewarding. We feel
empty; lonely; afraid. We feel
abandoned on this venture.
And it’s precisely at these times -- during ordinary, common, mundane
living -- that “trust” and “faith” becomes most evident because in the
monotonous, lonely living of everyday existence doubt, fear and anxiety tend to
reveal themselves. Consider it: Abraham and Sarah, tired of waiting for God
to fulfill his promise of a grand and glorious future, acted as if the promise
fulfillment depend on them. In some
senses this is the Garden of Eden revisited when Adam and Eve desired to become
like God. Abraham and Sarah,
determining that God wasn’t up to the task, pursue a course of action
dependent upon them and leaving God out of the equation.
Indeed Abraham and Sarah embraced the call of God on their lives.
They packed up all their belongings and family and headed out in response
to the divine call of God. They
began an exciting journey -- a holy venture -- with God.
But as time passed the enthusiasm dissipated. Monotony set in. The
routine became a means of security. And
once we become comfortable with the way things are is the exact moment that
something like the birth of a son to an hundred year old couple becomes utterly
nonsensical.
Responding to the call of God is, indeed, exciting and enticing.
With great enthusiasm we accept the call of God.
We pack up our belongings. We
leave our familiar settings. With
great anticipation we trek out on this lifelong journey with God.
And, then, in the intervening 25 years we stumble and bumble around
trying to make sense out of our lives.
We become familiar with the ways things are that anything out of the
normal would seem nonsensical. Imagine
God making a ludicrous promise to you! Imagine
a promise like the gift of shalom -- not merely the absence of conflict
and war but complete peace and restoration all relationships -- will become a
reality.
Living where we do and when we do in the course of history fall down in
laughter like both Abraham and Sarah when they heard the words of
the promise of an impending birth at age 100.
It’s precisely at that very moment the voice of God pricks our hearts
with a deeply probing question: “Is anything impossible for the LORD?”
To answer the question either way (positively or negatively) defines not
only how we will live in the world, but will also define the kind of world in
which we live, because finally it will define the kind of God we worship.
You see, if there is some human impossibility that lay beyond God’s
ability, then God is defined and confined by what we see as possible.
So finally he would not be God at all, or at least he would be a
different kind of God, one shaped and configured by human finiteness.
Yet if there is nothing in human existence and human experience that lay
beyond God’s ability to bring newness and open new possibilities, then any
future is possible. In that
possibility God can be God in ways that exceed the limitation of human
conception.
And so, to answer the question requires that we come face to face with
God and allow Him the freedom to define and determine Who he is.
In fact, according to the text Abraham and Sarah were not called to
answer that question right there. They
were not ready to answer it adequately. God
himself would answer the question “in due season.”
The question is simply left hanging, followed by yet another affirmation
that indeed the promise is moving toward fulfillment. The fact was, Abraham had already answered the question in
his own laughter, just as Sarah had just answered it in hers.
From their own perspectives, the answer had been a resounding “YES!”
There are some things that are just too impossible and too difficult for
God. (I’m finding that old Father
Abraham is more real than ideal -- more personal and untouchable; that he
wrestled with making sense of life in this world; and that I have more in common
with old Father Abraham than I once imagined!)
You see, the world in which you and I live is not all that much different
from ancient Israel for always existing is the dangerous possibility of defining
and determining the nature of God. And
in doing so we tend to handcuff him, prevent him and limit him from doing the
impossible in our lives and in our midst.
As He speaks to you and to me (to us) this day, we must open ourselves to
him much like Abraham made room for the messengers that day -- allowing room for
God to do the impossible among us. He
is faithful to his promises and works, often times, through ordinary, common,
mundane experiences. But, you see,
we’re enamored with the burning bushes and bright lights.
This time of the Christian year is commonly referred to as “ordinary
time.” That is, it is absent of
the great days in Christian history. Christmas,
Easter and Pentecost have been celebrated with great fervor and excitement.
And now we’ve returned to ordinary, everyday living.
Ironically, the majority of our lives are common, ordinary days of
subsistence. We get up, make beds,
go to work, do laundry, mow the lawn, cook dinner, and go to bed.
Monotony sets in. We become
comfortable and secure in the way things are.
Day after day, the routine is often the same.
It’s hard to become sensitive to the Holy in the midst of our robotic,
at times mindless, living. But more
often than not it’s in the ordinary of life that God acts.
It’s in the ordinary that the extraordinary might just happen if we are
sensitive to the prompting and prodding of God.
I’ve got bad news for you . . . the question has changed!
The question no longer is “is anything too impossible; too difficult
with God?” God Himself has
already answered that question numerous times.
He has answered in the birth of Isaac.
He has answered it in leading the Israelites out of their Egyptian
captivity through the Red Sea. He
has answered it Davidic Covenant. He
has answered it in the person and work of Jesus.
And in the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah; Jesus the Christ God, once
again says “nothing is too impossible; too difficult for Me!”
He has answered it in bringing you and I to this point in our lives!
For who among us hasn’t been sustained by God himself during our
bumbling and stumbling through life?
The question you and I are confronted with this day is. . . “Can we (or
will we) trust the God recorded in the pages of Scripture and witnessed to down
through the ages; Can we (or will we) trust the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
to act on our behalf bringing about the impossible?”
Standing shoulder to shoulder with old Father Abraham I’ve decided to
get on board with this venture with God and to trust him unswervingly even when
the future looks bleak and the odds are stack against me!
Want you join us? Benediction: “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations for ever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
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