March 20, 2011, The Second Sunday in Lent, Yr. A

March 20, 2011, The Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 12:1-4, Matthew 3:1-17
The Rev. Jo Miller

I thought it would be interesting to spend this morning with the reading in
Genesis which tells us the beginning of Abram’s journey. This is a story of a call, a
response, and a journey. It is a hero’s story. Heroes are not perfect, they make
mistakes as does Abram whom we know better as Abraham. We hear of his faith
and his righteousness. His righteousness is in his relationship with Yahweh and his
faith is demonstrated in his following the call.

“So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.” Abram’s story is both an
outward journey and an inward journey. God tells him to go to a place he has never
been before - go from your country, go from your kin, go from your father’s house,
go from your comfort zone, go from what you have always known and what you
have always done, go into something new.

At the beginning of this story we know very little about Abram. We hear little
about his pedigree, credentials, or qualifications to become the father of nations.
Why would God call Abram? At the beginning of the story we do not know. But, his
story is a thrilling one because he steps across the threshold into his calling, into the hero’s journey. In Joseph Campbell’s book, “The Journey of the Hero” he uses
Abraham as a positive example of responding to the call of the hero. No surprise, he
uses Jonah as a negative response to the call of God.

Perhaps, we know the ways of God through our own experiences or by
observing others who have responded in our church communities by taking on
varied lay ministries they did not feel they had either a skill or talent for; or by
traveling with those who have responded to the call of ordained ministry. There are
also secular vocations we may be called into.

We have seen that God does not always call those with the “best” credentials
or the most shining pedigrees. Peter the fisherman is a good example. One who
would speak first and then think. I identify with that. There is James and John the
sons of Zebedee aka, the sons of thunder, and then there is Matthew the tax
collector. It is amazing who God calls, perhaps it is even more amazing when we
see them follow.

We see again and again that a faithful response to God’s leading results in a
blessing of gifts and talents and skills in which one learns and grows.
God calls and Abram responds faithfully. Just because we have been called
once to one journey does not mean we may not be called to yet another journey
which uses the skills and inner spiritual growth that we gained on the first journey.
The city Haran from which Abram is called means “highway or crossroads”. This
text could be used to exam your own crossroads; the needs, callings, and challenges
of your congregation as well as the faithful response of individuals you know who
have responded to God’s call. Such exploration may lead to naming some of the
unique crossroads faced by your congregation and you have had a few. Perhaps, you can see how you were equipped to meet the challenges. The one who equips always
leads the ones called to a more complete expression of who they were created to be.
It is a holy journey.

If we look at the Gospel’s reading and Nicodemus perhaps we can see that
being born from above or anew or again may be understood as the embrace of
God’s calling of one’s true vocation which may mean taking leave of our own
self-directed course. A change of course may happen more than once. Bishop
William Temple is credited with responding to a question from a Christian of
another tradition when asked if he was born again. Bishop Temple said, “Yes I have
been born anew, I am in the process of being born anew, and I hope to be born
anew in the future.” He understood the spiritual journey of inner transformation as
well as his outer vocation.

So, we can say that Abram was born into a new reality. Every new birth is a
blessing and every blessing holds the possibility of newness; a sense of well-being,
or the presence of peace in the midst of change, challenge or hardship.
God calls us to go; will our response offer blessings to those who follow after
us? If our faith history reads, “So she went, so he went, as God called”, blessings
will flow for generations beyond our own faithful response.


*includes thoughts from Donald P. Olsen, Feasting on the Word Year A, Volume 2