Reflections on "Whose Story Is It?" Genesis 17: 1-7; Philippians 3: 1-14

Again, a sermon that blends my own thoughts and the curriculum of the Engage material that we are using for our Lenten small groups.  Interestingly, the topic I taught for confirmation yesterday morning was the "marks of Membership," in which I traced "membership" from the call of Abraham to our resent time.  I confess to just pulling out the Confirmation material on Friday and not really looking through it, so I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered these four marks of membership that I teach the confirmands:  God initiates the call; God calls us to community; God calls us to respond; our call marks us in a distinctive way.  As you will see, that had several parallels in the sermon.  In fact, the point in the Paul section about circumcision was added at the Sanctuary service based on what I had just taught in Confirmation.

As sometimes happens, the Sanctuary sermon was measurably better than than the Chapel service.  I never found a rhythm in the Chapel service.  The first illustration was supposed to be enlightening, but also a bit humorous, but I was not able to translate the humor in the Chapel sermon, so it set a tone that dragged down the whole sermon.

The Frederick Buechner quote was really a neat one.   I probably should have built more of the sermon around it.

“Whose Story Is It?” FPC, Troy, OH; March 8, 2015; Genesis 17: 1-7; Philippians 3: 1-14

Introduction: a woman in the church I served in KY came to see me when her son was going through confirmation.

She was one of those people who was Presbyterian by marriage. She was much more fundamental and evangelical in her faith, although when she married her first husband she ended up in a mainline church, and now with her second husband she was in a Presbyterian Church.

Very active in the church. We used to have have some great conversations. I remember one time discussing prayer with her: I was surprised she prayed for an open parking spot near the entrance to the mall during a downpour of rain (she believe that her prayer had been answered by someone leaving right as she pulled up); she was surprised that I did not pray for open parking spots near the door if it were raining!

She came to see me, very excited about her son joining the church. “It will be awesome for him to be baptized,” she told me.

I hesitated a moment and then asked, “I thought you told me that he had been baptized as a baby?”

“why would that matter?” she asked.

“We only baptize once in the Presbyterian Church.”

“But he needs to have the experience of a baptism.”

“If he were baptized as a baby, God does not need to do it again.”

“Well, what if he had not been baptized as a baby?”

“Then he would have to be baptized when he joined the church. But...” I never finished the sentence because she had turned and left.

A week or so later she came by my office again.

“you know, I was looking through his baby book, and he wasn't really baptized. He was just dedicated. “

“Really?”

“Really. That means he has to be baptized when he joins the church, right?”

“I guess.”

I baptized him a few weeks later on Confirmation Sunday.

I never asked to see the certificate of dedication.

I decided nothing good would come from challenging a mother who wants her son to be baptized when it would make an impression on him.

That's what mattered to her – not the Presbyterian theology of baptism.

Not what might of might not have happened14 years earlier to her son as a baby.

All she cared about was that joining the church would be a memorable experience;

something that would mark him;

something that would change him;

something that would show him and the world that being in relationship with Christ made a difference in his life.

I learned about the importance of marking significant changes in our lives in that moment. That is why when we present our confirmands each year they end up on their knees as I anoint them, whether they have been baptized or not, so they will feel that they are marked by their profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

This sermon is the third sermon in our Lenten reflections on how to engage God, engage our story, and engage the world around us.

I have two questions for you to ponder this morning.

1. how is your life changed by being a relationship with Christ?
   2. Why would anyone else want to engage your story if your story did not show how you were changed?

Move 1: Abraham

a. We do not know much about Abraham from before.

1. Not sure what he was doing that would make him a prime candidate for God to choose him.
2. But God did choose him and his family.
3. We might note that change involves his wife Sarai who becomes Sarah.
4. Pretty exciting to be chosen by God; to enter into covenant with God; to be promised that your ancestors would be as numerous as the stars.

b. But being chosen by God also meant change.

1. He literally changes his name – Abram until vs. 5.
2. Same thing for his wife. She goes from being Sarai to Sarah.

2. Physical change also – circumcision for Abraham and his family. A physical marking that now identifies them as connected to God.
3. Geographical change – take off and head toward a new place. There is something more out there.
   c. Change leads to new possibilities.
   1. Sarah will have a baby.
   2. sounds great, except Sarah had never been able to conceive and now she is really old.
   3. having a baby sounded so ridiculous, she burst into laughter.
   4. as Frederick Buechner describes it: “Sarah and her husband had had plenty of hard knocks in their time, and there were plenty more of them still to come, but at that moment when the angel told them they'd better start dipping into their old-age pensions for cash to build a nursery, the reason they laughed was that it suddenly dawned on them that the wildest dreams they'd ever had hadn't been half wild enough.” Frederick Buechner, http://frederickbuechner.com/content/weekly-sermon-illustration-abraham-sarah-and-laughter;  Mon, 2015-02-23 10:06 Weekly Sermon Illustration: Abraham, Sarah, and Laughter
   5. They enter into relationship with God – they are changed. The possibilities are endless. Let the adventures begin.

Move 2: Paul

a. Paul has all the credentials

1. he was a person of importance with the right pedigree.
2. As Paul tells the Philippians, he was “circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel (descendants of Abraham), of the tribe of Benjamin (that would be King David's tribe), a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee (that would be one of the leaders of the faith); as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
3. Paul had it made.
   b. but that changes when he encounters the risen Christ on the road to Damascus.
   1. he gives it all up to join with Christ.
   2. We might note that for Paul the decision to follow Christ is not marked by circumcision. In fact, he will argue against the need to be circumcised or follow the dietary laws of Judaism.
   3. But his change is marked by his his commitment to participate in Christ's resurrection and in Christ's suffering.
   2. Paul had it made by the world's standards, but he gives it up for a relationship with Christ.
   4. He meets Christ and is changed.
   5.new possibilities abound – the persecutor of Christians can become a great leader of Christians.

Move 3: What about your story?

a. What difference does it make that you have a relationship with Christ?

1. Many of you do not even know life without Christ in it.

2. no dramatic change like Paul on the road to Damascus.
3. You've never known anything besides being a Christian.

3. but there must be a difference.

b. It's your story.

1. why have you chosen to be in relationship with Christ?
2. In fact, not just why have you chosen as if you only make that choice once in life, but why do you continue to choose to be in relationship with Christ.
3. Surely, there are times when your decisions are different than what they would be if you were not trying to live out your relationship with Christ.
4. Perhaps giving up what the world values like Paul did to follow Christ.
5. So why?
   c. Our answer to that question becomes the reason why others want to engage us.
   1. people want to be a part of something that offers change and new possibilities.
   2. let me ask you this question. If you were coming the lobby of an auditorium and you had to choose which speaker you wanted to hear, what would you do?
   In Auditorium 1 you could hear someone who was known for his storytelling. You knew if you went into Auditorium 1 you were hear some great stories. if you went to listen to him you would laugh and enjoy the speech.
   In Auditorium 2, you're not sure what you might hear. The speak was not known for her great stories, but she had some new insights to share; she offers the opportunity to explore new possibilities.
   Which auditorium do you choose?
   Auditorium 1 is the safe choice. Some fun stories, but not much else. You know what you're getting.
   Auditorium 2 has new possibilities; going to hear that speaker might change you forever.
   3. which one are you going to choose.
   4. When we people come to you to hear your story about your relationship with Christ, they believe you are the speaker in Auditorium 2.
   They want to know about the possibilities that come with being in relationship with Christ, the Son of the God, the one who caused Paul to give up his life as a Pharisee and follow the God of resurrection;
   they want to know about the possibilities of being in relationship with Christ, the son of the God who called Abraham to a new way of life and punctuated that call with the surprising pregnancy of his wife Sarah.
   They want to hear your story or how being in relationship with Christ has changed your life.
   Tell them.
   Amen.