Proper 5, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 5, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Genesis 12:1-9 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Romans 4:13-25
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
In today’s Scripture readings there is a lot of “going” and “following!”
Since we are disciples (that is, “followers”) of Jesus, the Son of the living God,
I think it’s worth spending some time looking a bit closer at these actions
and what they mean for us.
We have probably all heard many-a-time the story of the call of Abram.
“The Lord said to Abram,
‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you….’”
God promises blessings upon Abram
and says that in Abram all families of the earth will be blessed.
That’s quite a promise
and quite an incentive to follow where God wants Abram to go.
So, Abram pulls up stakes and takes his whole family to follow where God leads,
leaving his homeland and his place of belonging behind.
When they all make it to the land of Canaan,
God again appears to Abram.
This time God says,
“To your offspring I will give this land.”
“To your offspring.”
That phrase stuck out to me this time as I was reading this passage out loud.
“To your offspring I will give this land.”
In other words, God says,
Thank you, Abram, for your great faithfulness.
It is your offspring, not you, that will receive the blessing.
It strikes me that in our discipleship, in our following…
the fruit of the ways that we heed God’s call in our lives
is not necessarily going to be apparent in our lifetime.
What we do,
we do not do for ourselves.
It is for others.
We may not see the fruit,
yet we act in faith, trust, and hope
that the God who calls us will fulfill the promise of blessing.
When God calls us,
like Abram we follow in faith,
knowing that God is in charge
and that in the end, God will redeem and restore all.
Another characteristic of the calling, going, and following of Jesus and God that show up in today’s Scriptures is that as much as we are called “to” something, we are also called “away from” something.
Even if we are absolutely convinced that we are being called to a place, ministry, or way of life,
we most likely will need to “let go” of some thing or some place or some people as well.
That might be an easy thing,
or it might be difficult.
It is important to honor the loss.
The way that we are able to follow where God leads is hope.
In Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome, he says that Abraham believed in the God
“who gives life to the dead
and calls into existence the things that do not exist.”
When God called Abram, at age 75, to be a blessing to the world through his offspring,
Abram did not consider his own body (which Paul says was “as good as dead”)
or the fact that his wife was barren.
Despite human obstacles, Abraham was fully convinced that God would fulfill God’s promises.
When God called Abram to a new life…
to a new adventure that would affect the world for generations to come…
Abram did not see a “hopeless cause” but an opportunity to partner in God’s promises.
The mill that has sustained the life of the Town of Canton for 115 years closed on Friday;
there are now hundreds of people looking for work and health insurance.
A man came in to ask for assistance with his utility bill last week.
His landlord has raised his rent by $400/month!
I have heard that water bills will be increasing for all residents of Canton.
I am curious to see what it is that God will call us at St. Andrew’s to do.
How will we bear witness to hope in God’s promises for abundant life?
We can certainly help folks pay some rent and utility bills,
but how else can we walk with folks on this journey?
In today’s gospel reading,
a leader of the synagogue comes to Jesus and kneels before him.
“My daughter has just died;
but come and lay your hand on her,
and she will live.”
Note what happens next:
Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.
A man comes to Jesus and pleads for help,
and Jesus’ response is to go with him…to follow him.
The one who asks us to follow him
follows the one in need himself.
And, while Jesus is accompanying the father,
a woman desperate for healing comes and touches his robe.
Jesus doesn’t get irritated with her;
instead, he calls her “daughter” and claims her well.
When Jesus arrives at the leader’s house and tells the crowd that the girl is simple sleeping,
they laugh at him.
How ludicrous this man is to think he can bring life to someone who is dead!
They do not realize that God is a God who gives life to the dead
and calls into existence the things that do not exist!
What great news for this day and age
and for the generations to come!
Our God is a God of life…
a God of healing and hope and abundant life.
How might God call us to be witnesses of hope
in situations that may appear hopeless?
In what ways might God be calling us to be faithful for the generations to come?
It strikes me that we have two funds here at St. Andrew’s. They are:
1) The Childrens’ Fund and
2) Hope for the Future
The purposes of both of these funds are life for the generations to come…
and fulfillment of promises that we may not live to see.
I pray that when we hear God calling us,
we may step out in faith, trust, and hope
that God can work through us
more that we could ever possibly ask or imagine.
In what ways will we be called to follow Jesus?
Will we have the courage to get up and go?
Amen.
