he notes that the father of the faith, Abraham, lived centuries before
the time of Moses and the giving of the Law.
More than that, Abraham is
made right with God, before he is even circumcised.
In fact, Paul points out, Abraham
receives the promise of God, on account of his trust in that promise. That he
believed in God who gives life to the dead—that is, God gives a child to one
who is impotent and one who is barren.
And there Paul pivots.
Paul then points to us and points out that we Christians too receive the
promises of God,
are made right with God,
because of our belief in God, who gives life to the dead.
That is our connection-point to Abraham—that is what makes us children of
Abraham—Justification by Faith, apart
from the Law or any work of our own,
is what connects us to Abraham’s faith.
Now, as a rule I don’t read
Hebrew Scriptures the way Paul does here in Romans—it often disrupts the
integrity of the text—it doesn’t let Genesis be Genesis, or Jews be Jews.
But, today, I’d like us to
try on Abraham’s faith for size, and compare it to our own. Not to dismiss the
Jewish tradition, or do any permanent damage to Genesis (not that it is within my paltry mortal powers to do so), but to
hear the faith anew, to see Abraham’s faith, and our own, again.
To hear the ways in which:
God claims Abraham,
Answers Abraham,
and stays in relationship with Abraham.
To hear as well, of God’s
claiming us, answering us, and staying in relationship with us.
Let us pray
God calls Abraham out of
Ur. He takes him out of the East and brings him to a new land in the West.
Abraham leaves all that he knows—it’s stripped away from him… and as anyone who
has moved a time or two knows, a new
location calls for a new identity.
You get to recreate yourself when you move—people only know you from the
time they lay eyes on you, you are something of a blank slate, a new person…
or as happens in Abraham’s case, God recreates him, presents him in a new
place, a blank slate for God to write God’s blessings upon, that he might be a
blessing to others.
Abraham can tell others, “Hi, I’m Abraham, and God sent me here.”… and
that’s who he is.
And then later, as we read
in today’s lesson, God even erases Abraham’s name and writes him a new one
—he replaces the name Abram with Abraham—“You will be the father of a
multitude of nations.” And Sarai, became, Sara, Princess—for from her will come
nations and kings.
See, their origin and their identity, are from God—that is part of the
Faith of Abraham.
We will also find Abraham
bargaining with God, hoping to save a city, doomed for destruction. He is
willing to call upon God again and again, pleading to God with prayers of
intercession.
We will also find Abraham
unable to believe, and so will ask for a sign that God’s audacious promises are
true.
And God responds, by cutting a covenant with him.
Literally.
Cutting.
He takes some critters and cuts them up, and walks between them. In the
ancient world such a thing would be done by both parties—signifying the
consequences if this promise is broken
—but in this case God alone walks the bloody line—God alone agrees to pay
the price if the promise is broken. God gives to Abraham this gracious sign of
his promise to him.
See,
risky requests, pleading and proof of the promise—they too are part of the
Faith of Abraham.
Now, this whole
relationship between God and Abraham gets started with a promise of Land in a particular place, Children by a particular woman, and Blessings… and with the noticeable
exceptions that I have already outlined, the majority of the Abraham Story is
Abraham endangering these promises…
Abraham doing seemingly everything in his power
to lose his land,
to be childless,
and to thwart any blessings that might come his way.
God promises Land, and Abraham leaves the land
promised to him and lays low in Egypt and refuses to take land when offered to
him.
God promises Children, and
Abraham gives his wife away to another man for marriage, not once, but twice.
He tries to make his
Servant, his Nephew, and his son by another mother, into his heirs
—instead of waiting for the promised son.
He sends that first son off
to die, not once, but twice. Then, when Sarah bears him a son after such a long
wait, he takes the kid up a mountain to sacrifice him to the God who provided
the child, who offered him the son.
God promises blessing, and
Abraham’s son Isaac was tricked out of it, and then Abraham’s one grandson
gives it away twice, and the other steals it and leaves the land.
In short, nothing.
Nothing.
Not one thing Abraham does secures the promises of God.
It’s only God’s constant faithfulness to His word
—only God keeping the relationship going
—only God protects the promise, and bears the brunt of its weight.
God’s ongoing faithfulness—that too is part of the Faith of Abraham.
Abraham’s faith involves:
Being claimed completely by God,
Calling on God,
Receiving a sign,
And ultimately it rests on God’s unwavering commitment.
So too it is with us
Christians
—all these things point to our own faith as well.
We are claimed completely by God
…Hopefully we see clearly that our origin is from God, and hopefully we
cling to the name we have received from God—that in Baptism we are made to be
God’s Children.
For that matter, one of the
things we do when we take up the Cross, is we give over our multitude of
identities and become identified with the crucified one.
We call on God
…Hopefully we can follow Luther’s advice, and call upon God in every
need, rubbing God’s promises in God’s ears, and interceding on behalf of our
sisters and brothers, and the whole hurting world.
We receive a sign
…Hopefully we are regularly fed with the bread of life
—Holy Communion
—a sign of God’s promise made solid for our sake
—a sign of God’s covenant with us
—of Christ broken to mend our break with God and with one another.
Our faith ultimately rests on God’s unwavering commitment
… Especially in this Lenten season, we recognize and
repent of our threats to God’s promise. We trust not in our own merit, but
instead in the merciful works of God.
In so far, as we are claimed by God
In so far, as we call upon Him.
In so far, as we receive a sign of promise from God.
In so far, as God’s ongoing faithfulness it our center.
Insofar as all that is true, we may say ours too is the faith of Abraham.
Amen.
