A Just Society

The Second Sunday of Lent
March 11, 2001

By
The Rev. Ann M. Smith

Based on Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18 & Luke 13:31-35

When we are facing personal crisis, we often feel totally alone. No one in the world, it seems, has gone through what we are going through. There is no place to turn for comfort. We feel abandoned by the very ones we think should be the most supportive. Most of all, we feel abandoned by God. The readings today remind us that even in the most difficult and trying situations, God is with us. There can be no better examples of people who triumphed over adversity and held on to God’s promises than Abram, Paul and Jesus. We too are called to live as they did, in hopeful expectation as we await the outcome of God’s promises.

Abram was called by God to leave his homeland with Sarai, Lot and all of his possessions. He became prosperous, yet still felt cheated because he had no heir. God did not seem to have kept the promise. He quickly began to blame God for his condition. But God took him outside of himself. "Your descendants will number the stars," God told him.

There at night beneath the stars he caught a glimpse of himself and began to see how really blessed he was. It was reassuring for a time as he began to think back to his former life in Ur. When the insecurities crept back in, once more God renewed the covenantal agreement between them. At God’s suggestion Abram brought out the heifer, the goat, the ram, the turtledove and the pigeon. He cut them in two laying each half over against the other. In the darkness as he slept the smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed between the pieces. Rather like a blood brother ritual, it symbolized what would happen if either broke the agreement.

"May I be split open and left to die," God is saying to Abram, "if I do not keep the promises I have made to you today." Abram had little reason to believe what God said. Yet he trusted in a promise so outrageous that it was beyond belief.

Do we ever stand in Abram’s place – called and chosen as we are? Do we complain that the world owes us a living? Do we expect things to go our way without any effort? Do we think simply because we are Christians that God will make everything easy? Are we resentful when our expectations are not fulfilled? Does it suddenly become God’s problem to fix and sort out our messy lives?

It is easy – in fact, utterly human – to refuse to take responsibility for our actions. Yet when we open ourselves up as Abram did and allow God to take us outside of our stunted selves and see the stars in all their glory, then we can look at life in a bigger way. We know our place in the larger picture. We know how blessed we are. And how unworthy of that wonderful call!

And if we forget again, then God reminds us again. God calls us out of the darkness as he called Abram. God helps us to wrestle with our private demons. God graces us and we begin to trust the promises again.

And then there is Paul. Paul was writing to the Philippians from prison. In the midst of his own personal struggle and deprivation, he wanted to reassure them so that they would continue in spite of all the problems and hardships they faced. Philippian society was decadent. They lived at a time of excess. A great gulf lay between rich and poor. They were a people obsessed with sexuality. They overused their resources. They searched for meaning in a meaningless existence. Paul demands of them a quality of life, a higher purpose that will give meaning and direction to their lives. He calls on them to live as if they believe God’s great promise of salvation, to live within the shadow of the cross, that great symbol of sacrifice. If they believe that God is building a kingdom of love, they will live loving lives that that refuse to condone the society in which they live. They will not live their lives focused on instant gratification, but will seek inner peace and spiritual growth.

We all seek models in our lives to imitate and lifestyles to copy. In our materialistic society it is easy to make choices that kill the soul. Our choice as Christians is crucial, for we are called to emulate Christ. Jesus’ path was one of suffering and death. Do we ever wonder why our paths should be so smooth and our way so easy? While we claim to follow Jesus, most of us find little in our journey through life that resembles suffering or sacrifice for the sake of others. Are we called during this Lenten season to stand up for the poor and downtrodden to make our world just and equitable? How do we proclaim God’s love?

And then there is Jesus. "Get away from here," the Pharisees warn him, "for Herod wants to kill you." Jesus often reacts to "daily news" items such as this one. His parables and stories are a response to real events going on in real peoples’ lives. He lived in the real world and knew and responded to the current political situation. Even in the face of personal danger he did not back down.

"Go and tell that fox what you see happening!" he tells them. And he gives them a hint of what is to come. Jesus journeys under a divine imperative. He will finish his work for he has a reputation for doing things that threaten the established order. He will not stop his ministry when threatened by the power of the Jewish authorities, those of Palestine, or even those of Rome.

Much as Jesus is concerned with his mission, he is even more concerned for the spiritual welfare of humanity. He yearns to protect God’s children. As a mother hen gathers her young under her wings, so he yearns for their spiritual well being. Yearns so much, in fact, that he will face death on the cross to accomplish it.

How do we live out our call in the real world? It takes courage to stand up for what we believe. Our faith is of little effect unless we are willing to deal with the painful realities of daily living. We have an obligation to proclaim God's love in a real and tangible way. Our Confirmation class was reflecting on how very difficult it is to live up to our Baptismal promise to bring peace and justice to our world. How do we go begin to work for a society that is just and equitable? Do we have the courage to stand up for what we believe? Are our churches sanctuaries to those in trouble and in need? We are called to shelter and champion those who are ill-treated.

I was privileged to attend the Decade Festival of the Churches in Solidarity with Women in Zimbabwe. At that wonderful event I encountered women from all over the world who were working in their respective churches to bring about change in the conditions in which women live around our world. We heard of the desperate situation of the women of the Sudan as they struggle to survive in a country that has known nothing but war for forty years. We cried as women told stories of poverty and abusive situations. And yet we heard stories of great hope – villages brought to life through imaginative programs to create jobs, educational programs, a wonderful program in Mozambique to trade guns for toys.

The struggle to bring peace and justice into the world is a sign that God’s sheltering wings embrace us. May we know the comfort and grace of God on our Lenten journey. And may we offer that embrace to others.