“Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Jesus tells this to the disciples just after last week’s parable of the rich fool who was focused only on accumulating wealth. These are words of comfort in the wake of a difficult lesson. It has been said that the job of a Priest is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. I hope in
this sermon to do precisely that.
Abram is more than a bit miffed. God had called him and said, “go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great.” This was an offer that Abram couldn’t refuse, so despite being seventy-five years old, he pulled up stakes and went. For years, Abram and his family lived in tents as nomads, with no permanent home. I would imagine by this point that camping had lost its allure. Abram had done as asked, yet God had not fulfilled his promise.
In the reading from Genesis we hear, “the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the Lord said, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars; so shall your descendants be.” And Abram believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
By this point, Abram is a very old man. His life has not turned out the way he expected. He does not live a life of ease in retirement, sitting by the pool and spending his 401K. He lives in a tent and sleeps on the ground. He has not received the blessing God promised him as he still has no child, no heir to continue the family name. It is starting to seem like it has all been for
nothing. Then the Lord appears and promises him descendants as numerous as the stars. Based on things thus far, you or I may have questioned God, or at least had some very serious doubts. But Abram did not. He believed the Lord. We call that Faith.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, for he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is
God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old– and Sarah herself was barren– because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore, from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”
Abram, now called Abraham, had faith. Faith which is the conviction of things not seen and the assurance of things hoped for. By faith Abraham responded to the Lord’s call to go, and by faith he stayed the course and continued the journey, even when it seemed that the end was nowhere in sight. We know the rest of the story. His faith was rewarded. God fulfilled His promise and Abraham did indeed become the father of many nations. It may not have happened on the time schedule that Abraham wanted, it was far messier and more difficult than he expected, but in the end, God did indeed give Abraham what was promised.
How often are we like Abraham? Do we let our impatience get in the way of our faith? Do we waver when we can’t see where the path is going? I don’t know about you, but for me, the answer is yes. I want there to be smooth sailing and I want things to go the way that I plan them. When they don’t, I can get a bit cranky. I suspect I am not alone.
But when we find ourselves in those times, that’s when we lean more heavily on our faith. For by faith Abraham stayed the course and God fulfilled his promise. Abraham couldn’t see the long view and wondered if God had forgotten him. But God’s time is not our time, and ultimately God always gives us what we need.
That is the comfort part of the message. God never, NEVER forgets us and is always with us, even when we have lost our way or are filled with doubt. God is faithful, and we simply need to be faithful as well.
But there is a catch. Uh-oh, here comes the affliction part of the story.
God did not tell Abraham, stay right where you are and do exactly what you have always done, and I will bless you. No, God said get up and leave behind everything you have ever known and go into a foreign land. Leave your life of comfort and predictability and become a nomad living in tents. In doing this you will be looked on as an outsider, with suspicion and fear. You will go places you don’t want to go and get into situations you would rather have avoided.
I don’t know about you, but this seems to me to be a hard thing to do. If you have ever had to change careers or make a significant move in your life, you may be able to relate a bit to Abraham’s call. As a people, we don’t particularly like change. Especially if you are an Episcopalian. But think of this; if Abraham had ignored God’s call and stayed in Ur, he would
never have received the blessing. Change was the catalyst for a life richer than Abraham could ever have envisioned.
When you hear God calling you to go somewhere or do something, it is tempting to block your ears and ignore it. You may tell yourself that you heard it wrong, or that God couldn’t possibly mean you, or that you are too busy, or don’t have the right skills, etc. What you are really saying is that you are afraid. Afraid of embracing a change that would require you to break out of your comfortable routine.
When you find yourself at that crossroads, it will help to recall the words of the great teacher Jesus of Nazareth. “Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”