Sermon 5th March 2023 – 2nd Sunday in Lent
Text: Genesis 12:1-4a – faith journeys
Our Genesis reading takes us back to the beginnings of our
faith – Abraham, or Abram as he is known here – considered to be the father of
faith, even by Jews and Muslims. Abram
is asked by God to sacrifice which requires and act of faith in God: When his
son, Isaac is just a young boy, Abram is asked to sacrifice him to God as a
burnt offering which would jeopardise his future generations. But he trusts God
and puts his faith in his request.
In our Bible reading, our introduction to Abram, along with
his wife Sarai, is asked to leave their land and their family and set off to a
place yet unknown to them. They respond to God’s command and then
continue to listen to God’s Word for further instruction on what God wanted of
them. That is what faith means. To hear
the Word of God and trust and then respond even though the future is unknown.
The book of Hebrews describes faith as - confidence in what
we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Abraham certainly had to do
this. This is also what it means for us to be disciples of Jesus. To listen to
what the voice from the cloud told us a few weeks ago in the Transfiguration
account about Jesus: to listen to him. To hear God’s word and then to respond
to what we hear even if the way forward is unclear or seemingly unpleasant.
It’s a very short direction from God to Abraham. “Go from
your country and your family and your father’s house to the land that I will
show you. That’s it. And even more brief is the response: So Abram went, as the
Lord had told him;
Whenever I have received a call from a vacant parish I
usually receive a huge folder of all the things relating to the Parish. Copies
of Annual Reports. Floor plans of the manse. Services and attractions in the
area. Details of the congregation and the different groups and activities they
are involved in. I have 4 weeks to make up my mind. Sometimes a Pastor will
visit the calling parish, look around, meet with the people and then go home
and prayerfully contemplate. And then they will advise “Yes” or “No”. There was
none of this when it came to Abraham’s call.
God had given him promises - “I will bless you and your
descendants,”. But there was no
guarantee how those promises would be fulfilled. No explanation on when they
would be fulfilled – just like Abraham had to wait till he was 100 before his
son Isaac would be born. Abraham went in faith which St. Paul today refers to
with great admiration. “Abraham believed
God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” This belief and trust in God
is at the heart of our salvation and our relationship with God which we read in
our Gospel reading. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
But that step of faith is not always an easy first step. Just
look at Nicodemus with all his questions. He believed in Jesus but was afraid
about making that first public step of faith. Nicodemus was a leader of the
Jews but he came to Jesus by night. Cloaked by darkness so no one could see him
go to Jesus. Maybe there’s a bit of
Nicodemus in all of us. Maybe we are that little bit hesitant of accepting
where God is calling us. Nicodemus has many questions and some of them are very
shallow. Such as “How can anyone be born after having grown old? But he wasn’t
embarrassed to ask.
The bible is full of heroes of faith as examples for us. The
book of Hebrews lists many of them:
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did
– Able ended up murdered by his brother because of it.
By faith Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death.
By faith Noah built an ark to deliver his family – could you imagine the
ridicule he received. Hebrews also talks about Abraham from today’s call: when
he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an
inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed as
a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob,
coheirs of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has
foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And Abraham’s wife - by faith
Sarah, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive
offspring, even though she was past the age, since she considered that the One
who had promised was faithful. Much like
Mary– how can this be since I am a virgin - but accepted what the angel said
Whereas Nicodemus was hesitant, fearful of what his fellow
Jews would say because of his faith in Jesus, he would go on to cast off this
fear and go with Joseph of Arimathea to ask for Jesus’ body from the cross. And
note also that Joseph shared his fear: Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the
body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he
feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body
away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at
night.
Maybe you’re somewhere in the middle in regards to your faith
or lack thereof. Maybe you’re scared to take that huge leap of faith like
Abraham. And remember, Abraham was likely to have been in his 70s when he
received that call. Or perhaps you’re a little like Nicodemus or Joseph of
Arimathea – afraid to share your faith or don’t have all the answers and maybe
afraid to ask the questions. But remember that faith as small as a mustard seed
can achieve great things for God’s kingdom. We can feel rather guilty at times
about our faith.
But that’s not God’s intention. Neither was it Jesus’
intention with Nicodemus as he helped him to understand the new way that God
was dealing with faith through him. And he reminds Nicodemus – and us that -
God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that
the world might be saved through him.
We don’t know what Nicodemus was thinking as he departed
Jesus’ company after hearing these words about water – spirit – born again. But we know that something within him changed.
And little by little, his heart opened
and he was born anew, finding his way through darkness and doubt, to the cross.
And there at the cross all of Nicodemus’s and Joseph’s fear would be cast off
as they prepare Jesus body for burial and wait now for Jesus’ promise to be
fulfilled – to rise on the 3rd day. We too now wait in faith for Jesus to
fulfil his promise to us – to come and take us to be with him in Heaven. That
is a journey we can take in faith.
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