January 23, 2011

There will be no sermon this week. The annual meeting will take place in the context of worship. the "sermon" will be sharing about the Endowment Fund and the ministries we support through it.

The next week, Katie Hartwell, a member of the congregation in her first year of seminary at McCormick seminary, will be preaching. She will preach on Martha and Mary.

Hope ya'll enjoy the break from my preaching!

Reflections on "Where Is Your Wife" Genesis 18: 1-15; Genesis 21: 9-21

I started Sunday morning with a sermon that had two major points: God extends the covenant and too often we try and do things ourselves instead of letting God work it out. As I wrestled with the sermon until chapel time (I literally printed it out at 8:31), the second point got lost. I also acquired a section on Ishmael's connections to Islam and realized how confusing it is to try and preach one sermon on a story that gets repeated in various ways several times in Genesis.

In reflecting on the sermon, I wish I had stumbled onto the Ishmael/Islam connection earlier; that could have used some more reflection. I like the play on "God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob," being redefined as "God of Sarah and God of Hagar." I don't think I figured out how to transition very well between the multiple stories I referenced in the sermon. If I did it over, I might just focus on Hagar and build on the parallel encounters with God in the wilderness.

Here is the text:

"Where Is Your Wife" Genesis 18: 1-15; Genesis 21: 9-21

Introduction: “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob”

Name for God, almost like Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God, defined through the patriarchs of the Israelite people.

But, this morning we discover a story about the inclusiveness of God's covenant and God's grace through two women – women tied together by giving birth to sons of Abraham; women who live in tension with each other; women whose story shows forth the graciousness of God.

Move 1: Abraham thinks that God's covenant is about Abraham.
a. maybe that's an easy mistake.
1.I suppose when God tells you that your descendants are going to be as numerous as the stars, it can make you feel rather important.
2.And when you live in a patriarchal society that elevates you as the head of the family as the most important player in the game, it's easy to think it's only about you.
3.It may not be Abraham's fault, but he certainly understands that God's promise is primarily about Abraham.
b. This story has lots more to it than what we read this morning (you might want to go back to Chapter 15 and read this all the way through later today), so let's go back to Chapter 15.
1.God has already promised Abraham that Abraham and his descendants will be God's people, and God will be their God.
2.With that comes the promise that Abraham's descendants will be as numerous as the stars.
3.Abraham and his wife Sarah see a problem with this promise – Sarah is not able to bear children.
4.So, taking things into her own hands, Sarah tells Abraham that the Hagar, the Egyptian slave-girl, will bear a child for Abraham (there's another sermon in this story about taking things into our own hands and not letting God do what God promises, but that sermon must wait for another day to be preached!).
5.Hagar does have a child, Ishmael, so from Abraham's perspective, his lineage is safe.
6.In fact, as was the custom in that time, Ishmael would have the legal status of being Abraham's son, even though he was the child of the Egyptian slave-girl.
7.Abraham is satisfied that since his lineage is continued, everything is okay.
8.In fact, when God mentions again that Sarah will bear a child, Abraham says something to the effect, “Don't worry about it. Ishmael is good enough for me.”
9.Ishmael is good enough for Abraham because Abraham is only seeing it from his perspective.

b. But that is not good enough for God.
1. God insists that the promise made to Abraham includes his wife Sarah bearing a child.
2. So in the first story we read this morning, angels are sent to Abraham and Sarah.
3. Abraham meets them, but they quickly ask, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
4. Fascinating question – the angels have Abraham, the patriarch there, but they want Sarah.
5. Another clue that God's promise involves more than Abraham.
6. When the angels meet with Sarah, they insist that she will bear a son.
7. Even at her late age, she will bear a child.
8. She laughs at the thought (In fact, her son Isaac's name comes from the Hebrew word for laughter), but it is no laughing matter – Sarah will bear a son;
9. This serves as an important reminder. In fact, Abarbanel, a medieval biblical exegete, explains that God responds to Abraham, "Abraham, you thought that all the good that I testified to do for you was for your sake [only], and therefore once you had your son Ishmael, you thought the birth of Isaac was unnecessary.. Know that this is not so, but rather Sarah is deserving to bear you a [covenantal] son.and behold Ishmael is not her son, so from the perspective of Sarah, the birth of Isaac is absolutely necessary." http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Judaism/2000/11/A-Great-Partner-For-A-Great-Endeavor.aspx?p=2#ixzz1BATycXhZ
10. God's covenant with Abraham is not just about Abraham, but includes Sarah as well.

Move 2: Interestingly enough, even as God goes to great pains to include Sarah, Sarah works to exclude Hagar.
a. Tension between Sarah and Hagar.
1.Even though this is an accepted practice, we can imagine the relational issues it creates.
2.Hagar looks at Sarah with contempt when she conceives Abraham's child.
3.Sarah treats Hagar harshly.
4.Hagar flees.
5.In the wilderness, alone and desperate, God finds Hagar.
6.And God makes a promise to Hagar – her sons descendants will be blessed.
7.And God sends Hagar back to Sarah and Abraham.
8.When her child is born, she names him Ishmael, which means “God hears,” as a reminder that God heard her when she was desperate.
9.God's covenant and God's grace will not be limited to Abraham, or Abraham and Sarah, but will include Hagar and Ishmael.

b. The tension continues after Isaac is born.
1.Sarah wants to send Hagar away.
2.Sarah does not recognize that God has a plan for Hagar as well.
3.When Abraham is worried about this, God reassures Abraham by telling Abraham that God will make a great nation out of Ishmael's descendants.
4. God's covenant continues to expand

Move 3: Step back and look at the big picture.
a. God has chosen to include: Sarah and Hagar
1. Two women.
2. Sarah is a barren women.
3. Hagar is an Egyptian slave-girl
4.both were lower in the societal hierarchy than Abraham.
b. And yet God desired to include them..

Move 3: Why does this story matter to us? Because it challenges us to recognize our tendency to want to exclude.
a. We tend to want to limit God.
b. Difference between personal and private
1.personal – relationship with Christ.
2.God numbers the hairs on our head.
3.An Important truth about God.
c. But we too often make our personal faith a private faith – that is, our exclusive relationship with God.
1. Our concerns become God's concerns
2.The people we like become the people God likes.
3.We limit God's grace to what we want, instead of hearing God's call to expand our understanding of God's grace.
d.Certain irony that Ishmael and Isaac are paired together in this story.
1. Islam traces its heritage back to Abraham through Ishmael.
2.Christianity traces its heritage back to Abraham through Isaac.
3. Perhaps the greatest divide in our context today is between Christians and Muslims.
4. But, when we read the story in Genesis, God's covenant is broad enough for both of them.

Conclusion: Perhaps we need to think of “the god of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” as the the God of Sarah and the God of Hagar. Maybe that would give us new insights into how God is at work in our world.

"Where Is Your Wife" Genesis 18: 1-15; Genesis 21: 9-21

This week the two women are Sarai and Hagar. You might also want to read Genesis 16 to get more background on this sermon. You may recall that Sarai is Abraham's wife who is barren; Hagar is the slave woman brought in to provide Abraham with a male heir. She succeeds, but that seems to only create issues for Hagar and Sarai. and, of course, we remember that Sarai eventually does bear a son at her old age. Lots of stuff in their stories. I have been thinking about the following:

1. Sarai and Hagar both were lower in the societal hierarchy than Abraham, but instead of recognizing their common plight, they get turned against each other.

2. When God tells Abraham that his descendants will be numerous, Abraham and Sarai do not trust God to be true to the promise, so they introduce Hagar into the mix. Their actions, instead of letting God sort it out, lead to problems. Of course, if their actions had worked out well, I would probably preach about the how they used their ingenuity to usher in God's plans!

3. The barrenness issue of Sarai and how that impacted her in the stories. There is a certain irony that Sarai should recognize in Hagar the vulnerability she has as an Egyptian slave because Sarai is living as a barren woman in a time where that was a sign of weakness. But, Sarai takes advantage of Hagar instead of seeing what they have in common.

4. When Hagar runs away from Sarai, she is told by God to return and submit. No surprise, but that was a favorite story of slaveowners in the South. How do I preach that part of the story today? If God's desire is to liberate us, how does that explain telling Hagar to return?

5. The Hebrew word used to describe how Sarai dealt "harshly" with Hagar is the same Hebrew word used to describe how the Egyptians will treat the Israelite slaves in Exodus. Did I mention that Hagar is Egyptian and Sarai is part of the Israelite tribe? Fascinating parallel, isn't it?

6. Are we given biblical stories so that we can read them and say, "that's not what I should do?"

7. The text says that Hagar looked at Sarai with "contempt" after she had conceived. What do we make of Hagar's perceived gloating?

Lots of questions and interesting info, but I haven't found the strand of sermon material yet. What do you find important in this text?

peace,

Richard

Reflections on "Anna: Waiting in the Shadows"

Not much to add to the sermon. I think this is going to be an engaging sermon series, at least for me!

“Anna – in the Shadows” January 9, 2011; Luke 2; Women series

Introduction: Today begins a series of sermons reflecting on different women in the biblical texts, and perhaps at some point in the next couple of months, we may also hear from some women who were important to our denomination and in the life of this congregation.

I have a confession to make – I am not a woman.

Among other things, that means you will hear about these woman as interpreted through my male lens. I can't do much about that, but I will try to be informed by other voices and other perspectives than my own as I prepare my sermons.

Two things to note about this preaching series: I am intentionally trying to reflect on some less prominent women in the biblical text. Most of us can list a few prominent women – Ruth, Esther, Mary, the mother of Joseph, and probably a few more. I want to hear the voices of some of the other women in the text.

Secondly, in many ways women have been left in the shadows of the biblical text and of church history. Not because they have been unimportant, but because the power brokers and the storytellers have usually been men. I hope that we can see some of these women emerge from the shadows in the coming weeks.

Move 1: the gospel of Luke, and its companion volume Acts, have some pretty dramatic announcements of who Jesus is.

a. some of those making the announcements are even women.

1.AS Luke tells the birth narrative, he focuses on Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and Mary, the mother of Jesus.

2.This is in sharp contrast to the Gospel of Matthew – reread the birth story in Matthew and you leave thinking that the only people that mattered were Joseph, King Herod and the wise men.

3.But Luke has the beautiful, poetic speech of Mary that we now know as the Magnificat.
b. And there are angels from heavens bursting out with “glorias” to announce the birth of Christ.

c. And shepherds travel through the night to come and see this baby and confirm that the Messiah has arrived.

c.In the passage we read this morning, Simeon, the priest in the temple, makes a dramatic announcement as well.

1.I can see him center stage as the priest might be sharing with everyone that he can now die because the Messiah God has promised has arrived.

2.We see Simeon going over to Mary and Joseph and sharing with them this great news.

3.Surely, those gathered were in awe at what the priest was announcing and his conversation with Jesus' parents gave them much to talk about.

d. And then, as the story comes to a close, with no dramatic announcement, Anna, the prophet, praises God and begins to tell people who are wondering about the redemption of Jerusalem that the Messiah has arrived.

Move 2: Anna

a. Her husband had died.

1.she would probably have been encouraged to get remarried, in part so that she could have kids.

2.But she chooses not to get married.

3.So there she is – a widowed woman with no children in a society that defines and identifies women through their husbands first, and then through their male sons.

4. In the power hierarchy of the world in which she lives, she, a widowed, old, barren women is down at the lowest rung with the orphans.

b. Anna has chosen a different path.

1.She stays in the temple day and night, fasting praying and worshiping God.

2.I suspect at times some of the others laughed about the old lady who is always there praying in the temple. She has no life.

3.But, I also imagine that some admired her persistent prayer.

4.Certainly, over time she became like part of the woodwork of the temple. Always there.

5.We do not know the circumstances of her presence in the temple, but we know that she was there and had been there for a long time.

c. And we know that on the day Jesus is brought to the temple for the customary rites, she recognizes who he is an begins to tell the people there about him.

1.No dramatic pronouncement.

2.Just Anna, probably off in the wings of the temple, sharing what she knows about the young boy begin presented in the temple.

3. Anna, just doing her thing with little fanfare.

Move 2: What do we learn about discipleship from Anna?

a. patient faith.

1.She'd been waiting a long time.

2. But she kept waiting.

3.surely she must have wondered at times why she kept waiting.

4. But she kept waiting.

5. She kept praying.

6. She kept fasting.

7. She kept worshiping.

8. how easily it is to give up, to decide God is not going to do what we think God ought to do, so we give up.

9. not Anna.

b. Kept looking for the Messiah.

1. in the midst of the distractions of the world passing by, Anna maintained her focus on looking for the one who was coming to redeem Jerusalem.

2. We live in a world where we multi-task and have many distractions.
3. Anna reminds us of the singular focus needed to see Christ in the midst of those distractions.

4. It is easy to miss God in our midst – Our busy lives, our preconceived notions about God, our inability to comprehend what God is doing – we easily miss God because we are not looking at the right time and the right place.

5. Not Anna – she kept her focus.

c. Tell the story.

1. I love the way Luke simply says, “she began to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

2. No Peter speaking to the crowds or debating on Christ's behalf.

3. Merely telling the story about the Christ-child.

4. Reminded of some advice a wise mentor gave me when I left for KY. First few months preach old sermons; use that time to visit people.

And don't forget the “little old ladies” – the ones who love the church; the ones who have spent their lives supporting the church; visit them and let them know that you care about the church as well. Let them tell your story.

I well remember the little old lady I visited in my first week. Didn't think much about the visit, except she was a nice lady. She didn't get out much anymore, but she'd been in the church forever.

From that visit on, I do not think I visited another house or person where they didn't say somewhere in the conversations, 'I was talking to so and so the other day, and she ...” I'm not sure if she intentionally called everyone in the church directory, but it seemed as if she did.

She had a story to tell.

Anna's story was a bit more important than the story about the new minister, but I learned to have tremendous respect and appreciation for women like Anna who tell the story.

Conclusion: Anna, waiting in the shadows, has much to teach us about discipleship.

"Anna -- In the Shadows" Luke 2: 25-40

This is a busy week with a wedding and three funerals, which means the sermon reflections will be later than I'd like. But, at this point I do know that this Sunday kicks offs a series of sermons and worship experiences related to women in the Bible and in the church. As our text tells us, Anna, the prophet, has been waiting in the temple. In fact, the text says she never leaves the temple. When Christ is presented in the temple, she confirms that Jesus is the one coming to redeem Jerusalem. I envision her as having been almost lost in the Temple's background through the years, but then appearing to proclaim the truth of who Christ is. I would suggest that the Bible often leaves women in the shadows of the story, even though women continually pray a dramatic and vital role in the biblical narrative. What is your impression of the role women play in the biblical stories?

peace,

Richard