Sermon Texts: Genesis 12:1-9 and John 3:1-13, 16-17
Sermon Excerpt
Learning has always come easily for me. I breezed through high school, excelled in the final years of college, and earned my graduate and doctoral degrees with distinction. In sharing my academic story I intentionally omitted the less than pretty part that came early in my college experience when I encountered Professor Berrier.
When I registered for Old Testament Survey I looked forward to learning more about the First Testament. The course catalog offered one of the shortest, sweetest, and – in my mind –easiest descriptions imaginable: “An introduction to the story of the Bible as it unfolds in the Old Testament.”
Clearly my definition of introduction differed dramatically from that of the professor. I envisioned reading excerpts of familiar passages, hearing how historians helped connect the stories to the wider world in which they happened, and learning to pronounce a few of the many seemingly unpronounceable people and places found in the first part of the Bible. The professor expected that students arrived in the course with knowledge that exceeded what I imagined I might learn as a result of taking the class. He required that we become very familiar with the content and context of all 39 books of the First Testament, and confident in explaining how various parts fit together. It seemed to me that the course was designed to ensure every student became a seasoned biblical scholar in a single semester.
While I firmly believe that everyone needs a humbling Professor Berrier type experience, I sure didn’t feel that way 20 years ago. Thankfully, there were a few parts of the course that made complete sense to me. Perhaps the most memorable of all was the importance of the first half of this morning’s first reading. It is a call narrative – God uses it to call two retirees into a new reality that will forever change their lives and the lives of their descendants.
This passage is the dividing line in the book of Genesis. The first eleven chapters leading up to it tell the story of Israel’s primeval history or, if you will, pre-history. In case you need a refresher these initial chapters of the First Testament include
- both creation accounts: our shared stories of beginnings;
- the fall: the account of Adam, Eve, and serpent that introduces sin;
- the first murder: a family affair in which Cain killed his brother Abel;
- the end of the world as it had been known to that point: a flood in which all that survive does so through Noah and his ark;
- and a new beginning that led to more rebellion including people seeking to become like God only to see God intervene and confuse everyone’s languages at the Tower of Babel.
That is the Bible as we know it prior to this morning’s first reading. Immediately thereafter chapter twelve begins with some of the best known words in all of the Torah. In just a few verses God makes three incredible promises to Abram and Sarai:
- God will provide a land their descendants will call their own;
- God will ensure that their descendants will become a great nation; and
- God will make it so that through their descendants all families on earth will be blessed.
With these promises God is setting in motion a new vision for humanity. The future starts with this couple, but . . . (read full manuscript)
So What?
This sermon emphasizes the holy invitations found in the readings from the First and Second Testaments. The first is offered by God to an elderly couple, and the second is offered by Jesus to an established religious leader. Their responses are uniquely theirs, yet must also serve as examples that inspire us.
What is God doing in our midst?
- God is Still Speaking.
- God is Still Inviting.
- God is Still Promising.
This very God – our God – is patiently waiting on our responses. Knowing this, we affirm that
- we trust that God honors instant responses – like those of Abram and Sarai;
- we trust that God welcomes gradual responses – like that of Nicodemus; and
- we trust that by the ever-blowing wind of God’s Spirit, God guides us now and always.
As you continue on your Lenten journey
- What invitation(s) is God making or has God made to which you have not yet responded?
- What does God’s promise in Genesis 12:1-3 mean for you?
- How does John 12:1-13, 16-17 help shape your understanding of what “born again” means?