Faith
Sermon
One year, our church was approached by the chairman of the local council to see whether we could offer a civic service. We were delighted to do so and invited all the local dignitaries plus anyone who had a job working for or within the community. So we invited police officers and fire officers and nurses and refuse collectors and postal workers and so on, to share together in thanking God for their skills and thanking them for all they did, on behalf of the community.
We sent the proposed order of service to the chairman of the council for approval, leaving gaps where the words of the hymns would be added.
When the order of service was returned, the chairman had chosen hymns to fill in the blanks. This was somewhat tricky, since our organist had already exercised his prerogative to select the hymns, they simply hadn't yet been added to the service sheet. Clearly the chairman had misunderstood the instructions regarding the order of service, which were that the order of service had merely been submitted out of courtesy, seeking the approval of all concerned.
Fortunately the chairman had a sense of humour and accepted his mistake with good grace, but it was a typical example of how easily misunderstandings can occur.
When God spoke to Abraham, God told Abraham not to be afraid. "Abram," said God, "I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." Abraham had just been engaged in battle with the collective kings of the surrounding tribes. The alien kings had sacked Sodom and Gomorrah and captured the residents as slaves. One of the residents of Sodom who was captured and abducted was Lot, Abraham's nephew, along with all his household. When Abraham learned of Lot's capture, he immediately set out with all his troops and with God's help was able to rescue Lot and his household.
Hence God's words to Abraham in today's reading, "Don't be afraid, I am your shield. Your reward will be very great."
Most people might think that by those words God was offering his continued protection to Abraham and that Abraham's great reward was the protection of his life. But that wasn't how Abraham understood God's words and he pressed God on what the reward might be. "O Lord God," said Abraham, "what will you give me?" And he went on to tell God in detail exactly what he wanted.
"I continue childless," Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."
Offspring and land were the two essentials for survival in the ancient world. People needed land in order to grow crops and to graze livestock for food and they needed plenty of children to provide sufficient labour to work the land. In the days when life expectancy was short and many children died in infancy, it was necessary to have as many children as possible -- preferably sons -- ready to take over the support of the family at short notice.
Abraham's wife, Sarah, was barren and so the only gift he wanted was the gift of a son, someone who would help him till the soil and who would take over from him when he became too old to work. And this wasn't merely a deep desire of Abraham's, but was essential for his continued existence.
God understands Abraham's plea and understands Abraham's plight. God knows exactly what Abraham needs and offers it to him. But God doesn't simply agree that Abraham will have one heir. God instructs Abraham to look to the sky where the stars are myriad and far too many to count, and tells Abraham that his descendants will be like that. God goes over the top in his gifts to Abraham and offers him far more than he either asked or dreamed was possible.
God took Abraham's expectations of reward, which may not have originally matched God's ideas of reward, but God far exceeded those expectations. Despite all the appearances to the contrary, since for many years Sarah had been unable to have children, God promised overwhelming fertility both for Sarah and for Abraham and Sarah's future children.
And despite that being a promise which in human eyes seemed impossible to fulfil since Sarah was already past child--bearing age, Abraham instantly and without doubting, believed God. And this cemented the relationship between God and Abraham, for we're told that God regarded this as a "right attitude" on Abraham's part. This supreme example of faith, which is shown again and again in Abraham's life, became a model for Christians and was frequently quoted by St Paul in his letters.
God still speaks to each one of us today. Mostly we fail to hear God's voice, partly because God seems to speak in a whisper, in a suggestion, but also because when God's promises seem impossible we fail to believe them and simply dismiss them as our own bizarre imagination.
It doesn't matter if we get things wrong and like Abraham, ask for something which God didn't originally offer, for God works with us to give us exactly what we need.
God speaks through our imagination, our thoughts, through other people, through the Bible, through the media. God can use any medium to speak to us and we need to keep listening carefully in order to discern his word as clearly as Abraham discerned it. We also need to be aware that nothing is impossible for God and to have faith both in God's ability to deliver whatever he promises, no matter how outlandish and seemingly impossible, and to have faith in our own ability to hear his voice.
And once we can do that, we too will experience the joy of living our lives with God through faith, just as Abraham lived.
We sent the proposed order of service to the chairman of the council for approval, leaving gaps where the words of the hymns would be added.
When the order of service was returned, the chairman had chosen hymns to fill in the blanks. This was somewhat tricky, since our organist had already exercised his prerogative to select the hymns, they simply hadn't yet been added to the service sheet. Clearly the chairman had misunderstood the instructions regarding the order of service, which were that the order of service had merely been submitted out of courtesy, seeking the approval of all concerned.
Fortunately the chairman had a sense of humour and accepted his mistake with good grace, but it was a typical example of how easily misunderstandings can occur.
When God spoke to Abraham, God told Abraham not to be afraid. "Abram," said God, "I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." Abraham had just been engaged in battle with the collective kings of the surrounding tribes. The alien kings had sacked Sodom and Gomorrah and captured the residents as slaves. One of the residents of Sodom who was captured and abducted was Lot, Abraham's nephew, along with all his household. When Abraham learned of Lot's capture, he immediately set out with all his troops and with God's help was able to rescue Lot and his household.
Hence God's words to Abraham in today's reading, "Don't be afraid, I am your shield. Your reward will be very great."
Most people might think that by those words God was offering his continued protection to Abraham and that Abraham's great reward was the protection of his life. But that wasn't how Abraham understood God's words and he pressed God on what the reward might be. "O Lord God," said Abraham, "what will you give me?" And he went on to tell God in detail exactly what he wanted.
"I continue childless," Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."
Offspring and land were the two essentials for survival in the ancient world. People needed land in order to grow crops and to graze livestock for food and they needed plenty of children to provide sufficient labour to work the land. In the days when life expectancy was short and many children died in infancy, it was necessary to have as many children as possible -- preferably sons -- ready to take over the support of the family at short notice.
Abraham's wife, Sarah, was barren and so the only gift he wanted was the gift of a son, someone who would help him till the soil and who would take over from him when he became too old to work. And this wasn't merely a deep desire of Abraham's, but was essential for his continued existence.
God understands Abraham's plea and understands Abraham's plight. God knows exactly what Abraham needs and offers it to him. But God doesn't simply agree that Abraham will have one heir. God instructs Abraham to look to the sky where the stars are myriad and far too many to count, and tells Abraham that his descendants will be like that. God goes over the top in his gifts to Abraham and offers him far more than he either asked or dreamed was possible.
God took Abraham's expectations of reward, which may not have originally matched God's ideas of reward, but God far exceeded those expectations. Despite all the appearances to the contrary, since for many years Sarah had been unable to have children, God promised overwhelming fertility both for Sarah and for Abraham and Sarah's future children.
And despite that being a promise which in human eyes seemed impossible to fulfil since Sarah was already past child--bearing age, Abraham instantly and without doubting, believed God. And this cemented the relationship between God and Abraham, for we're told that God regarded this as a "right attitude" on Abraham's part. This supreme example of faith, which is shown again and again in Abraham's life, became a model for Christians and was frequently quoted by St Paul in his letters.
God still speaks to each one of us today. Mostly we fail to hear God's voice, partly because God seems to speak in a whisper, in a suggestion, but also because when God's promises seem impossible we fail to believe them and simply dismiss them as our own bizarre imagination.
It doesn't matter if we get things wrong and like Abraham, ask for something which God didn't originally offer, for God works with us to give us exactly what we need.
God speaks through our imagination, our thoughts, through other people, through the Bible, through the media. God can use any medium to speak to us and we need to keep listening carefully in order to discern his word as clearly as Abraham discerned it. We also need to be aware that nothing is impossible for God and to have faith both in God's ability to deliver whatever he promises, no matter how outlandish and seemingly impossible, and to have faith in our own ability to hear his voice.
And once we can do that, we too will experience the joy of living our lives with God through faith, just as Abraham lived.
