March
17, 2019
2nd
Sunday in Lent
Psalm 27
Philippians
3:17-4:1
Luke
13:31-35
Please
pray with me,
Gracious
God, as you led the Israelites through the wilderness, as you were with Joseph
and Mary as they journeyed to Bethlehem, and as you journeyed with Jesus to the
cross….you are with us now. Guide our
hearts, minds and bodies on this Lenten journey. Continue to turn us toward you, creating
within us clean hearts, marking us with the cross, lighting our paths and guiding
us every step of the way. In Jesus’ name
we pray amen.
As we enter into our Old Testament reading today, Abram
is awaiting the promise of offspring. Maybe you remember back to chapter 12 in Genesis where God makes a covenant with Abram that he will bless him and make his name great so that he will be a blessing. Yet, Abram and Sarai have been waiting for the fulfillment of this covenant. And in the midst of waiting, Abram cries out in
laments to the Lord. He cries out in
lament to make his problem God’s problem.
God made this promise and so, Abram and Sarai
went and then journeyed to the land. They waited for a child -- a child who would
become the first of their many descendants, who would in turn become a great
nation, blessed to be a blessing.
Time passes. They go to
Egypt. They come back. No child.
They became prosperous,
even wealthy. No child.
Their nephew Lot separates from them. Lot is captured. Lot is rescued.
You know the refrain, and still no child.
And
then, finally, the Lord breaks the silence. In today's passage God responds to Abram. R. Jacobson
Just as Abram and Sarai wait, so do we.
We
are awaiting the coming of Christ, the promise of a peaceful world, the end of
illness, sickness and pain, the end of sin breaking into to our lives…and in
the middle of waiting – in darkness – we cry out in lament….we make our
problem, God’s problem.
We
come into this space…ready to pray, to sing, to be fed, to be with others…this
space is sacred, holy….
On
Friday, in Christchurch, New Zealand, our Muslim brothers and sisters entered
into their space, ready to pray, to worship, to be fed, to be with others…
On
Friday, in the United States our Muslim brothers and sisters awoke to this fear
filled, tragic news. Some wondered if
they would be safe to worship that day, on Friday, their holy day. Some have
been living with this fear for years.
Just
like Abram and Sarai, we are waiting….
Waiting
for the end of violent shootings, and hate-filled actions.
Waiting
for the day when doctors won’t say the word cancer, because it will be no
more.
Waiting
for the day when we are able to live freely with one another despite our
differences.
Waiting
for the day when wrongs are forgiven, friendships and relationships are mended,
and when we can share a hug or a kiss of peace without worrying about what
others may say or do.
We
wait, as Abram and Sarai waited. In
response to Abram’s lament, God reaffirms the promise and Abram responds in
trust and in righteousness and then….God expands the promise!
No
one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’
He brought him outside
and said,
‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count
them.’
Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’
As
many descendants as there are stars, as if Abram could even count all the stars in the heavens. Abram had been looking inward, inside himself, to his own ability to produce offspring. And God, the Creator of all things, says, NO! Look up! Look outside of yourself, see all those stars? That, is how numerous your descendants will be.
Too
often, we ourselves turn in upon our selves.
That’s really what sin is, right?
When we gaze at our bellybuttons only worried about ourselves, not
thinking or caring about others. Just
like Abram seems to have done in this situation. But God calls upon Abram to look up! To see beyond himself …to see the vastness of
creation beyond him and to see the renewed promise God has made to him.
When
we are struggling, searching for meaning, dealing with the troubles of this
world, in whatever shape they may take for you, we too, turn in on
ourselves. Yet God calls us to look up,
to look out.
When
we do that, we realize that we are not alone; we are able to see beyond
ourselves and cry out to God in lament.
When
we cry out in lament, we make our problems God’s problems, and God hears our
cries, God reaches out to us, reaches into our hearts and says I have marked
you with the cross of Christ, you are my child, my beloved, attend to me, I am
enough for you.
And
so we cry out to God to end the hate-filled acts of violence in our world. Lord, in your mercy, (hear our prayer)
And
so we cry out to God to break the bonds of sin that keep us from truly seeing
and loving our neighbors, Lord, in your mercy, (hear our prayer)
And
so we cry out to God for an end to sickness, illness, depression, loneliness
and feelings of being forgotten. Lord in
your mercy, (Hear our prayer)
And
so we cry out to God help us to see you, to know that you are here, to know
that our voices are heard. Lord, in your
mercy… (hear our prayer)
And
so we cry out…
Yes,
we cry, because some times that is all we can do. That's all I could do in response to the tragic news from New Zealand on Friday morning. All we can do is cry out in lament. God, hear our pain, feel our pain, know our
pain and make it yours.
And
when we cry out, (just like we did responding with hear our prayer) we hear the cries of others and we respond in care, compassion,
justice and generosity.
Our
prayers in this place are those cries.
When we lift up the prayers of the people here in worship, we are crying
out to God…we lift up names and places near and dear to our hearts that we want
God to know about, care about and be present with.
When
it comes to the prayers this day, you will be invited (as you are every week)
to lift up names aloud as we pray. I
encourage you to say the names in your heart and mind aloud.
Listen
to the many voices in this place raising their concerns, cares and worries to
God.
We
lift up these names in this place, and in our own prayers outside of this place
confident that God hears our prayers, our problems, our worries and our
concerns and makes them God’s problems, too.
God
knows we can’t solve the problems of the world on our own, so we give them to
God. Confident that God hears us, knows
us and walks with us in the midst of all that we go through.
Let
me say that again, we cry out in lament, because we are confident that God
hears us, knows us and walks with us in the midst of our troubles.
So
as we cry out, for whatever it is that weighs on our hearts, know that as you
do, as we do, God does hear us. God
takes on our fears, worries, angers, frustrations, laments and makes them God’s
own.
Thanks
be to God that we do not go through life on our own.
Thanks
be to God for the gift of this community that offers strength, experience,
love, compassion and support when we are in a time of need.
Thanks
be to God for the voices we have to speak out against violence and hatred in our
world as we work towards a peaceful future for all God’s children.
And
thanks be to God, for the gift of Jesus, the way we know and are connected to
God…for his living, his teaching, his dying and his resurrection….for that is
how we know we are named and claimed by God, marked with the cross and called
forth from this place to love and serve others.
And
now may the peace, which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen.
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