Genesis
12:1-4a & John 3:1-17
Blessings
- They Come in All Pains
I do realize that some of you were
not here last Sunday, so I should apologize for continuing a thought this
morning which you were not a part of from the beginning. But as I read and prayed over this Sunday’s
Gospel lesson, I kept coming back to one of the points which Pastor Hoffmeyer
made in his sermon. He spoke of the
fruitless attempts to find our heart and soul’s desire in that which does not
have the capacity to satisfy those longings.
He spoke of the ways in which we are encouraged to spend our time and
spend our money attempting to obtain that which will forever be placed just beyond
our grasp.
He identified the only answer to our
prayers. And that answer is the grace of
God, freely bestowed upon us.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus. Nicodemus has some pretty basic
questions. Jesus has some answers for
him. But the answers Jesus offers (or at
least the way he offers them) do not match with the expectation which brought
Nicodemus to Jesus in the first place. Even
Nicodemus, it seems, may be looking in the wrong direction for the thing which
he so deeply desires.
I hope to couch all of this under
the banner of confusing short-term satisfactions with eternal solutions. I am hoping that we might depart this morning
with a clearer dichotomy between fleeting accomplishments and genuine rebirth
and renewal. I was moved by Pastor
Hoffmeyer’s distinction last Sunday between what it means to be blessed by God as
opposed to living a charmed but fleeting life.
Look again at the 17th
verse of John, chapter 3. It reads: Indeed, God did not send the Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him. This verse beautifully
parallels this morning’s reading from Genesis 12. There, God speaks to Abram, telling him, I
will bless you, and make your name great, so that you may be a blessing
...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. God's blessing does not shield them from the
harshness of human existence. God's
blessing provides them with the assurance they will need in order to persevere.
Having been blessed, they become a
blessing to others.
Abram was indeed blessed. He is the patriarch to whom three of the
world's major religions trace their origins.
Abram (whose name is changed to Abraham, so as to reflect his
prominence) is revered as the father of faith for Jewish, Christian and Muslim
believers. He is blessed; his blessing
is the root out of which our own blessing emerges.
But remember with me the realities
of this man's life. Twice he finds
himself in situations in which he has to lie about Sarah being his wife. Abram and Sarah are wondering shepherds. Without a home, they are at the mercy of
landed lords and rulers. Abram knows
Sarah's beauty will make her an object of desire, that he may be killed so another
might claim Sarah. So they say Sarah is
his sister. Abram is not murdered, but
Sarah is taken into the home of another man.
Abram is blessed. But remember his nephew Lot, the one who was
not satisfied with the harsh pastures of the hills and chose instead to go into
the valleys of Sodom. By the Oaks of
Mamre, Abram learns that Sodom is to be destroyed. It is Abram who has to argue with God -
risking his stature in God's eyes - in order to save his nephew.
Blessed? Sure he is.
But Abram and Sarah are growing old.
Unable to conceive, Sarah asks her servant, Hagar, to be the mother of
Abram's child. The child born to Hagar,
Ishmael, becomes an irritation and a fight ensues which threatens the whole
clan.
Abram was blessed by God - but his life
did not always show the signs of what we might call a blessed existence.
Everything and more that can be said
about Abraham can be said about Jesus.
He is indeed blessed: He
is the One acclaimed as God's Messiah.
Is there another whose name is better known around the globe? The great civilizations of the west bear the
marks of Jesus' teachings. Churches
bearing his name can be found on every continent, in practically every
nation. No one is more clearly
associated with what it means to be favored by God - but remember Jesus' life.
While we prefer to imagine it
differently, Jesus was only able to attract a very small band of
followers. His message is not that widely
accepted. And his message proves so disruptive
that Jesus is eventually condemned by the authorities of state and
religion. When he is taken in to prison,
even those who claimed to be disciples abandoned him. He dies a painful death upon an instrument of
torture.
Even though his life took on none of
the forms we would associate with blessedness - Jesus was indeed blessed. Blessed because God had promised he would be
a blessing.
A blessed life is not a life free
from pain and disappointment. That kind
of a life would better be called a charmed life - it is a life marked
with good fortune. A blessed life
is something different - a blessed life is a life lived with the assurance
that no matter what I might encounter, God will never abandon or forsake me.
Earlier I called your attention to
John 3:17. I deliberately did so, as a way of causing you to think of John 3:16,
without actually needing to read it. I
realize that the association most folks make with John 3:16 is the
encouragement to believe so as not perish. But for me the real power of this verse lies
in its opening clause. The promise of
eternal life is preceded with the acknowledgement, For God so loved
the world. It is God's love for us
which leads to the birth and ministry of Jesus which results in our
salvation. God's love for us. God's blessing, coming to us and remaining a
part of our lives.
God's blessings are found among us
for God has promised to come and dwell with us.
If I had a nickel for every time I
had wished being a disciple of Christ's meant my life would flow more
smoothly, I would be a rich man. But it
just doesn't work that way. At least it
hasn't in my life, and it hasn't in the lives of so many others with whom I
regularly gather for worship. God does
not protect us, set us off from the rest of the human population because doing so would call into question
the whole notion of God's love for the world. God's love results in God coming to be with
us - to share our lives and suffer our pains.
With all due respect to those who
are affirming their faith this morning, being active in the church does not
reduce the trials and tribulations, the hardships and difficulties of one's
existence. Being a part of God's church
does not shield us from pain. But coming
here allows us to see the beauty and strength of God's promise to be with us. Among God's faithful people, we are allowed
to see that a charmed life might be nice - but a blessed life is a thing to
cherish.
"Indeed, God did not send
the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might
be (blessed) through him." Come, receive God's blessing.
Amen.
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