2 Lent, Yr C (2025) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

2 Lent, Year C (2025)                                                              The Rev. Karen C. Barfield

Gen 15:1-12, 17-18                                                             St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Psalm 27

Luke 13:31-35

In the name of the one, holy, and loving God:

            in whom we live, and move, and have our being.  Amen.

Today’s readings are full of life . . . that is to say - they are real. 

They are full of faith

and full of doubt.

They are full of the struggle we know as life…

and our accompanying vulnerability.

If you recall, God has called Abram and Sarai to leave their homeland,

            a place with which they are familiar and where they feel comfortable.

In this calling God promises to bless them and through them all the families of the earth.

God promises not only to make of them a great nation,

but to make their name great among all the nations.

Now mind you, God sets up no timetable for the fulfillment of these promises,

and Abram and Sarai ask no questions when they first accept the call.

On faith they set out on their journey…trusting God’s promises,

becoming wanderers in unfamiliar territory …

wanderers in a place that is not their own.

As of today’s reading, Abram and Sarai have been wandering for quite some time in this land when God appears and speaks to Abram,

“Fear not!

I am your Shield. 

Your reward shall be very great.”

God might have intended to keep on speaking, but Abram interrupts. 

“Hey, wait a minute, God. 

Here you go again talking about rewards. 

       In case you don’t remember, you promised us some things quite a while back…. 

“If you recall…

you promised to make of us a great nation,

       yet we still have no children.”

Apparently, Abram has no problem complaining to God and taking God to task!

Taking Abram’s irritation in stride,

God points to the stars of the heavens

and tells Abram that his descendants will be as numerous. 

Once again Abram’s heart settled,

and Abram believed God;

       Abram trusted God’s word.

Now, even though Abram trusted God,

he couldn’t quite resist pointing out

       that he and Sarai were still wandering in a foreign land –

a land not in their possession…

as also had been promised. 

So, you see, Abram has one foot planted firmly in the land of faith,

but the other lags behind in doubt. 

He can’t quite make that complete leap of faith and trust God whole-heartedly,

so he asks God for a sign to know,

beyond a doubt,

that he will possess the land.

Once again, God doesn’t seem too miffed

because God makes a covenant with Abram: 

Abram brings animals and birds,

cuts the animals in two,

       laying each half over against the other

so that they make two rows with a space in between.

As the sun went down, a deep sleep fell on Abram,

and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him…

      a darkness of fear and lost-ness and distrust.

Then in the darkness,

 Abram sees God in the form of a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch

      passing between the animals,

and God makes a covenant with Abram. 

The covenant is this:

God gives to Abram’s descendants

      the land between the great river in Egypt and the river Euphrates to the east.

This time Abram knows beyond a doubt that God is serious

because this covenant is made in the ancient tradition

      in which two parties promise to keep their word under the pledge of death. 

God is saying to Abram, “If I don’t keep my promise to you that this land is yours,

then may you do to me as we have done to these animals.”

(that is, kill them and cut them in half)

Now…I don’t know about you, but when I think of the man Abraham,

     I tend to think of him as a man of courage and faith and trust in the promises of God…

             the man whose trust is reckoned to him as righteousness.

But today we also clearly see Abram’s questioning and doubt,

and God seems to be quite all right with that!

Despite Abram’s irritation and questioning,

God continues to affirm God’s promises without scolding or reprimand. 

God says to Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram,

I am your shield;

       your reward will be very great.”

In Hebrew, the root word for “shield” is the same root word for “garden” or “enclosure.”

“Do not be afraid,” God says . . . “I will enclose you. 

Come within the reach of my arms. 

Let me enfold you.”

“Do not be afraid,” God says . . . “I am your garden. 

Come and plant yourself here and I will nourish you,

and you will grow.”

Jesus says a similar thing in today’s Gospel, although we often don’t read it that way:

we usually read today’s Gospel as judgment rather than promise.

Some Pharisees come to Jesus and warn him that Herod wants to kill him. 

Now remember that up to this point in Luke’s gospel the Pharisees haven’t exactly been on Jesus’ side, and he sees right through their pretense.

“Go and tell that fox for me…” he says,

knowing full-well that the Pharisees are just as much out to get Jesus as Herod is.

“I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow…

I must be on my way.”

Jesus is performing miracles…

and bringing the healing grace of God

       into the lives of those who are hurting and broken. 

That is his business,

and he must continue despite any outside threats.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!

“How often have I desired to gather your children together

as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,

       and you were not willing!”

Could it be that at the same time that Jesus calls the leaders’ death-dealing by name,

he also sees them as people who are lost, fearful, and distrustful…

      too stubborn and arrogant and afraid

to seek their shelter under the wings of a mother hen?

Does Jesus see these leaders as people who,

despite their anger and violence and vengeance,

       are also in need of God’s healing grace?

Jesus will continue to witness to God’s healing power through his life…

calling all to gather in and take shelter under the protection of God’s wings.

Today’s readings are full of life . . . that is to say - they are real. 

They are full of faith –

and full of doubt.

They are full of the struggle we know as life.

You and I have gathered here today as we gather every Sunday

because we have embarked upon a journey –

a journey in an unknown land –

a wilderness in which we have the promise of God’s faithfulness,

       a journey which we long to know will succeed.

Sometimes this life seems to make no sense:

            There is pain and disease and war and natural disasters that confound us.

Sometimes we faithfully respond to a call,

and then the door seems to close.

We may commit our lives to another human being,

and then the relationship breaks.

Even our bodies seem to have a mind of their own,

leaving us feeling out of control.

Yet God says to us:

            “Do not be afraid.

     I will enclose you. 

      Come within the reach of my arms, 

    and let me enfold you.”

Today’s readings invite us to live with courage…

to live from the heart…

to embrace our vulnerability…

 to live out our faith despite our fears…

       to live into God’s promise of abundant life.

As with Abram, our assurance lies within God’s promise to be faithful to us,

for God offers God’s very life as a pledge of faithfulness.

Through our lives may we pray together with the Psalmist: 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation;

            whom then shall I fear?

            the Lord is the strength of my life;

            of whom then shall I be afraid?

“…Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call;         

have mercy on me and answer me.   

“You speak in my heart and say, ‘Seek my face.’

            Your face, Lord, will I seek...

“O tarry and await the Lord’s pleasure;

            be strong, and he shall comfort your heart;

            wait patiently for the Lord.”  (Psalm 27:1, 10-11, 18)

AMEN.