Gen 15:1-6, Heb 11:1-16

AD 2022 – Pentecost 9 | 07.08.22 | Gen 15:1-6, Heb 11:1-16 | Andrew F. Weisner, Ph.D. |

Genesis 15:1-6
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram  in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’   ^{But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; 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.’ And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.}

Psalm 33:12-22

Hebrews 11:1-16
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. ³By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. ⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith. ⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” ¹³All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, ¹⁴for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Luke 12:22-34 (35-40)
²²He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁶If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. ³²“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ³⁵“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; ³⁶be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. ³⁷Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. ³⁸If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. ³⁹“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Homily

       Some of us know — and if you don’t, it helps to know — that some of the smartest people around us, full of wisdom and perspective that runs rather deep, and often with hidden talents and skills, are janitors. Some years ago when I served as a university chaplain, we had a cleaning lady who I occasionally referred to as one of our college’s “most insightful and articulate theologians.” Not only did she have something to say, but she had an interesting way of saying it.

       This cleaning lady had experienced some profound events during the course of her life: not only had she buried her husband; she had also for many years given care to a son who eventually died from his disabilities. She had seen, like many of you, up-close-and-personal, from the inside and out, ups-and-downs in life. One day she was telling me about some health troubles happening to her sister, and finally, this cleaning lady leaned into me closely like she had either a secret – or something real important — to say, (or both,) and in a voice that sounded like a John Wayne-character (in a movie) getting ready to face insurmountable odds, she declared, “Let’s face it, Pastor: There ain’t none of us gettin’ outta here alive!” It was both humorous – in the way she said it, and also startlingly true.

       An end to life as we know it, the unknown before us, as certain, as inevitable, and as unavoidable as it is, can be – sometimes is – in a sense paralyzing to some individuals. A few years ago, a fellow I know nearly lost his marriage and family because of fear of death and the unknown – not because of fear of his own immediate death, but his father’s. His mother had died suddenly and unexpectedly. He went to his parent’s home (of course) for the funeral, and then – wouldn’t leave! He was afraid of losing his father. He didn’t out-right admit he was afraid of his father’s death… and that’s the way it is: often we’re not “in touch with” our fear of death, yet it can control us; this fellow kept claiming (with some truth) that his father’s health troubles and physical needs determined that he (the son) needed to stay there with him. The folks at his job were startlingly patient with him (giving him a leave of absence), and so was his wife – up to a point! But finally, after a few months of this, after his wife went to him and confronted him, his dad told him: “Son, you are not going to prevent me from dying. It doesn’t matter what you do, or how much you stay here with me, you’re not going to prevent me from dying.” Some years later, when the fellow’s father finally did die, the son told me that, his father’s earlier words – “you are not going to prevent me from dying” – were the most freeing words he had ever heard in his life. They were true; and they were permission to him to move on.

       The end of life as we know it here, is inevitable. So is our growing-up and moving beyond our teen-years; so is, for us parents, the growing-up and moving on of our children; and those kinds of developments are familiar and recognizable. But as for the end of life as we know it here, to move on to something completely different that we have never experienced before!: even for those of us who have seen it happen with our parents and other people, it can be still, nonetheless, a frightening prospect.

       However!, there is someone who has been there, and has come back to us to tell us about it. In fact, the person who created all our lives and our stories tells us repeatedly, through sacred writings and through his messengers: “Don’t be afraid.” Relatively early-on in the Bible, in Genesis chapter 15, among the first words of today’s scripture reading, we encounter the Lord God saying to our ancestor Abraham, “Do not be afraid.” In the midst of our gospel reading for today, and from the heart of St. Luke’s gospel, are the words, “Do not be afraid.” 

       The end of this life  as we know it, just like the end of certain chapters of our lives, is inevitable. And as we are traveling to that end, when we arrive there, and also beyond that point: God is with us. God is (as he states to Abraham) our shield and protector. We may not always feel like we are being shielded and protected; but we are. God is with us always, in this life as we know it, and beyond, and in fact, much of what happens in this life as we know it, is to prepare us for the life beyond. There, we shall be part of a community, a kingdom, of security, of plenty, freedom from worry, filled with kindness, and peace. And today the Promiser, the one who guarantees the promise, Christ Jesus, who has overcome death, comes to us to give us a foretaste of the feast and the life to come.

       Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

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The Rev. Andrew F. Weisner, Ph.D.,
The North American Lutheran Church (NALC)
Antioch Lutheran Church, Dallas, North Carolina