As
we continue to move through Ordinary Time, I continue to ask the question: what connection do you see between the first
lesson and the gospel? What themes stand
out for you as you listen to these two readings?
This
is one of those difficult weeks I spoke of when I first started asking you to
pay attention to the two readings. How
do we connect a passage in Genesis about a promise of offspring to a gospel
passage that basically says, “Jesus is coming soon – look busy”?
If
you are having trouble finding a connection between the two, this is your week
to have trouble. While the Epistle
readings normally have nothing to do with the other two, today it does. Unlike other weeks when this reading starts
at Chapter 1, verse 1 of a letter and goes to the end, today’s Epistle (I
believe) was more or less selected because of its thematic connection to the
other two readings. And the thematic
connection it presents to us is Faith.
“Faith
is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” says
the writer of Hebrews. Abram had been
promised descendants by God. He hoped
for children to carry on his line and his assurance came in the form of God’s
promise. And even though he had not seen
these children up to this point, he had the conviction to believe it would be
so.
But
these verses from Genesis aren’t some lightweight children’s book on how easy
faith is. In these six verses we are
shown struggle, doubt, protests and acceptance.
These six verses are, in a nutshell, an entire faith journey.
A
few chapters earlier we learn that Sarai is barren and that God promised Abram
he would become a great nation. It’s
hard to become a great nation if you can’t have kids. Nevertheless, Abram believed and moved from
place to place in pursuit of that promise.
This
is where things get dicey for Abram and for us.
Abram, and Sarai as well, were promised both land and offspring, but
they were nomads and unable to have children.
They were landless and childless.
In every sense of the word, they were barren. God’s promise of abundance to them and us is
a promise in the midst of barrenness.
We
who are promised abundance must live with barrenness. This is the promise and the reality. It often seems we live with barrenness more
than we live with abundance. For us to
receive the gifts of that promise, though, we must, by faith, participate in
it. We are invited to participate, but
we are not forced to participate. And it
is through our participation by faith in which we believe in the assurance of
things hoped for and have the conviction of things not seen.
In
the gospel Jesus tells his disciples (and us) that God wants to give us his
kingdom. This is a promise of
abundance. God not only wants to give us
his kingdom, but he does so with pleasure.
It’s almost as if God is saying, “Here are the keys to my kingdom; take
it, it’s yours.”
But
in that promise of abundance is a time of barrenness. God’s kingdom is yours – now go and sell all
your possessions and give your money to charity. Use your wealth to feed the poor, clothe the
naked and shelter the homeless.
What
would it look like if we actually did that?
We would be homeless. We would be
nomads, forced to wander the streets having no place, no land, to call our
own. We would have to cultivate our
faith to have the conviction of things not seen.
The
promise has been made, but we are asked to live in faithful barrenness and we
are asked to act. Be dressed for action
and have your lamps lit. This takes on
special significance when we connect it back to all the places where the light
of God overcomes the darkness. Where in
the world can our lamps shine in the darkness, shedding the light of God’s
abundant promise and lighting up the kingdom of God for all to see?
We
certainly can’t do everything, but we can choose to believe God desires to
embrace all people. We can choose to act
as if there is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, us or them,
but that Christ is all and in all. And
we can choose to shine the light of God’s kingdom into those dark places that
keep people oppressed and treated as outcasts, less Thans and Others.
Doing
something is important. The gospel
passage is a not-so-subtle hint about the next coming of the Messiah. But rather than sit around reading Left Behind books and trying to
calculate the day and hour of his coming, we need to employ our imaginations. What does the kingdom of God look like? Who is part of it? Where do you least expect it to appear? When we imagine that, we can imagine Jesus’
activity in the world and we can imagine the kingdom of God being present right
here, right now.
And
now we find ourselves back with Abram.
He was living in an exhausted and barren time of the present. The promise given is one of an abundant
future that does not rely on the present barrenness or darkness. God can and will cause a clear break between
this tired present and an abundant future.
And
like Abram, we must do our part. In the
midst of barrenness, Abram believed in the Lord. His faith in that promise, his conviction of
things not seen, allowed him to begin to bring the kingdom of God into the world. We, too, are given an abundant promise of
God’s kingdom. We also must live in the
midst of barrenness, a place where evidence against the promise surrounds us.
In
the face of barrenness, do we believe in God’s promise? Can we place our assurance in things hoped
for, and have conviction in things unseen?
Do we have the courage to shine a welcoming light that invites outcasts
into God’s kingdom?
If
we are willing to faithfully participate, then God will faithfully fulfill.
Amen.
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