Message Preached on August 23rd
Genesis 12:1-14 New International Version
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4a So Abram went, as the Lord had told him;
Romans 4:13-25 Revised Standard Version
13 The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants—not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18 In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Welcome back to the Book of Romans!
Paul’s Letter to the Romans leans into the great divide that existed between the Gentiles and the Jews in the churches in Rome. By the time we reach Chapter 4, Paul is deep into his argument for focusing on Faith and Grace instead of focusing on the many laws or rules set down in the Torah. Faith can be a very abstract Concept to grasp, and so, like any good teacher, Paul brings up an object lesson to help his audience understand. And that object for the Christian Jews was the person of Abraham.
If you say to a Christian Jew, “if you want to know what faith looks like, just look at Abraham.” they will immediately start to understand. And while there are many biblical characters that demonstrate great faith, Abraham holds a special place. Abraham is the father of all Jews, the example of what a man should be in the Jewish tradition, he is the root from which their people spring. Abraham pre-existed the laws that started with Moses by hundreds of years. And yet, Abraham found favor with God. God picked him. Why? Because Abraham took God at his word. He therefore yielded to God’s will in trust and in faithful obedience. The law had nothing to do with it. And so, Paul is saying that right relationship with God doesn’t come from the covenantal law, from earning merit through following that law. It is not that the law is imperfect, it is that people are imperfect and as we may read in the Old Testament, the people broke the covenant repeatedly. It was time for something new.
He goes on to say that if the inheritance that God promises can only be earned through following the law than what is faith for? Faith means nothing in that scenario, Gods promises mean nothing.
The law is riddled with quid pro quo. Something for something. The law is transactional, if you do all the right things then you will earn my blessings.
When parents have a child, they don’t look at that child and expect anything from it, except love. And parents are not even promised a child’s love. Most parents when they look at their children, even if they don’t say it out loud, pledge to lift that child up, to love and protect them, to always be there as much as they can. And in a healthy world that comes to fruition. Children are raised in love, and they do not need to pay back all that they have received. A parent’s love should be a gift.
My nephew said the other day that children are a terrible investment financially. There is no return on all that we invest in having children. And for the most part that is absolutely true. And it’s a good thing to be honest, because we should not have children for any other reason than to build familial community and to love one another.
And so, a mother will love her children unconditionally. Sometimes that love will bring her joy, and sometimes that love will bring her grief. That is probably how God looks at us. He loves us, regardless. And that is how grace can exist. It is a gift of love, that keeps coming when we bring God joy, but also when we bring God grief.
In our transactional world it is so hard to grasp a ‘free’ gift. The other day I gave a history talk and a tour of the museum and around the city park for a group that were learning about Cultural Resources. And when it was all over, I was given a gift bag. I went into that tour with no expectation of gifts. I have no need for gifts. But if it made them feel good to give me something, fine. And then I opened it and there was tea, and some pens, a notebook and this very interesting piece of artwork, a jar of honey, and a thank you note. In the note was $80 in cash. I was shocked. Some tea, cool, I’ll drink it. But cash? I popped those 20’s straight into the donation box at the museum. And I instantly felt better. Not only is the museum part of my job, but I love it. I love sharing Tenino history. It gives me so much joy. But in our transactional world, we all must be paid. Everything has a price. Nothing comes for free. I wish that it wasn’t so.
The Christian Jews were raised under the law; according to their understanding they had to follow many rules and rituals to earn God’s favor. They could not accept the new covenant that freed them from the law. It felt wrong, in their transactional world. But Paul argues that under that system, you will fail. You cannot follow the law perfectly and so at the end of the day, all that is left is judgement and wrath. But Paul says a surprising thing. He says, “where there is no law there is no transgression.”
Would you rather live by Faith in God’s Grace? Or would you rather live under the law? This was a fearful idea for the Jews who had been taught that the law was the only way.
So really the heart of our verses today ask these questions: Can God do what God promised? Why should we trust God? Is there a reason?
God, who created all things, could take Abraham and Sarah, who were old and did not have reproductive capabilities and give them a son. God was able to take Jesus who died on the cross and resurrect him to life. These are examples of the restorative, creative, and resurrecting power of God. This is who God is. That is why God can be trusted. All things are possible.
When we come to a place in life where all hope is lost, like it should have been for Abraham and Sarah, God gives reason for hope. And through Jesus’ life and resurrection that promise is fulfilled. God can bring about newness where there was nothing before. Abraham had not seen the nations that would spring from his line, but he had faith that it would be so.
Sometimes, because we are only human, we cannot see the things that are possible. We can’t imagine them and so we do not believe. But Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Doubt about whether something is possible or not sometimes comes from a lack of imagination. So, let’s imagine! Abraham was able to imagine and to understand God’s call on his life, and then in addition to that he had the conviction to act upon that understanding. That isn’t the hard work of following the law, but it also isn’t a passive thing to do.
And so, I want to ask us to imagine God’s call on our individual lives, and on the life of this church. And in our imaginings, I think we should lean into God’s commandment to Love God and to love others. That commandment is our guiding light.
So, what does that look like? How do we show our love? It is one thing to have love inside of you, but if it doesn’t find expression it’s almost like the adage, “If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one to hear, does it make a sound?” Well, of course it does, but that thing that is not perceived by others is also lost to the forest. Love is one of those intangibles that screams to be given and received. When we love, others must know. So, I’m asking us to radically imagine what loving others might look like. And I know that we already do this, to some extent, through the Wardrobe ministry and through the Hope House. These ministries show our support for those who are in need at some level. But how do we show our love for the people who are not distressed, those whose physical needs are met? What are their needs? How do we express our love for the greater community?
In William Barclay’s commentary on Romans, he shares this: Sir James Barrie author of Peter Pan once told a story about Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island. The two men were pen pals. Barrie said, “When Stevenson went to Samoa he built a small hut, and afterwards went into a large house. The first night he went into the large house he was feeling very tired and sorrowful that he had not had the forethought to ask his servant to bring him coffee and cigarettes. Just as he was thinking that, the door opened, and the native boy came in with a tray carrying cigarettes and coffee. And Mr. Stevenson said to him in the native language, ‘Great is your forethought’; and the boy corrected him, and said, ‘Great is the love.’
The boy didn’t bring him those things because he had to as a servant. He was compelled to do it out of love for Stevenson. When we really love someone, we learn their ways, do we not? We learn their needs. That also is the motivation of Christian Goodness. Not because we have to perform works, not because works of merit are the way to salvation, but because God loves, and so we also must love.
I want you each to spend some time this week thinking about how we can step out in Faith for God. How can we share God’s love with others in creative ways? I have some surveys here to pass out. Take the survey, fill it out. It is just information gathering. I strongly believe in leaning into the hive mind to see the direction that the Holy Spirit is pointing us. You can claim your ideas or make them anonymous. What is your radical idea for the church? What might we do to best express our love for God and our love for others?
God’s call on Abraham’s life was extreme. He was told to uproot his life and leave everything that was familiar. That isn’t a small thing to ask. What lengths are we willing to go to out of faith? I think God has been rather easy on us. So, let’s challenge ourselves a bit, shall we?
And if you look at one another and say to yourselves, whatever she is proposing sounds like work. I mean, she’s already giving us homework!
I want to give you some encouragement from the trail.
Eden and I went hiking the other week, and the trail ended up longer than expected because we added about 3 miles to our hike by taking a wrong turn. By the end I was struggling. I’m sure Eden was struggling too, but then I actually had a fall, and once I was on the ground it took all my strength to get back up and go up the next hill.
Sometimes hiking, and in life, we simply need an attitude adjustment. Much of hiking is simply having your head in the right place so that you can forget about what’s going on with your body. If I start thinking about drudgery, if I start thinking that ‘I will collapse if I have to go up one more hill,’ then I will undoubtedly collapse. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The other way to face it is to say to your hiking partner, “Hey, let’s talk. Tell me about your favorite hike you ever went on. Or your favorite move, or….” Whatever. So that is what Eden and I do. We talk, we get our minds off how we are feeling and the miles start to fly by. And when we support each other like that, I have all the faith in the world that we can make it up that hill and the next after that, and that is how you make it 7 miles up hill with a full pack: with one foot in front of the other, and friendly conversations.
Whatever we embark on brothers and sisters it will be easier if we come together as a team and encourage one another. What might be drudgery alone, can be fun afternoon of getting whatever it is done, that needs to be done, if we have friends by our side.
So, use your imagination and step out in faith when you fill out these surveys. We will worry about the work later, if there is in fact, any work at all.
For today, let’s lean into God’s loving Promise and rest in God’s creative, restorative and resurrecting power to bring all things to wholeness and flourishing. I don’t think we actually have to lift a finger to make that happen. Faith and love are all that is needed. But when faithfulness and gratitude are strong in the hearts of those who have found peace and healing and restoration through God’s Grace we can’t help but want to pass that on.
The Survey:
- How do you think we can better express our Love for God? Are there spiritual practices you would like to see mor of or that you miss?
- How do you think the church can show you more love?
- How do you think the church can share more love for the greater community (Tenino)?
- Do you think we should reimagine the Hope House mission?
- Do you have creative ideas for the church you would like to share? How would you like to help?