Worship > Sermon Archive

The Reverend Beth Fain

4th Sunday after Pentecost, June 8, 2008
Proper 5a RCL: L'chi lach (Genesis 12. 1-9)

Please pardon my Hebrew but L'chi lach!
These were God's first recorded words to Abram.
L'chi lach!
Which means, roughly, get up and go!
It wasn't the first time that Abram had gotten up and gone.
He had traveled 500 or so miles with his dad from their home in Ur.
Scripture tells us in Genesis 11 that they were on their way to Canaan when they stopped and settled in Haran.
They didn't quite make their destination.
So God comes to Abram and tells him-Get up and go!
The Abram story is familiar to us.
The preposterousness of telling someone to get up and go without telling them where they're going.
The even more outrageous preposterousness of doing this when one is 70 years old and his wife is 60.
In any kind of years, this is very old to be getting up and going-without a plan.
What Abram and Sarai, his wife, do have is a promise.
6 L's from God. (You can find these on p. 9 of your pew Bible; Genesis 12, starting at the 1st verse).
I will show you.
I will make of you a great nation
I will bless you,
I will make your name great (literally, for us Mary lovers, I will magnify your name)
(notice the caveat I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing, that is, blessed to be a blessing.)
(God continues) I will bless those who bless you,
and the one who curses you I will curse; (maybe a better way to understand this "I" statement is for Abram not to worry about his enemies; God will take care of them)
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Us included.
Now God only expects one thing of Abram for all of this to be his.
All Abram has to do is trust God.
And all the rest will fall into place.
Abram doesn't receive this promise because his resume is especially outstanding.
He doesn't receive this promise because he's been the most devout man in Haran.
Showing up is all he has to do to be offered this blessing.
Trusting is all he has to do to receive the blessing.
Abram even gets to take all his family and belongings with him.
Abram doesn't have to get up and go empty handed as part of trusting God.
Who is God to Abram?
In our lesson from Romans, [4. 17] Paul writes about Abraham and says that God is the One who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
That's who Abram is called to trust: the one who gives life to the dead; the one who calls into existence the things that do not exist. Not that the journey will be easy.
We're told that Abram doesn't even have to do it all at once.
We're told that Abram travels in stages.
When he gets as far as an oak tree in Shechem, Abram stops, and God speaks to him again.
Abram honors God at Shechem by building an altar.
By building an altar for God, Abram is saying that the One who made a promise is to be trusted-even when we're still in the midst of our journey.
Abram'll do the same thing again the next time he makes a major stop between Bethel and Ai.
Even if his destination isn't reached at once, Abram does worship God at the rest stops along the way.

Today I believe with all my heart that God is saying to us gathered at St. Mary's,
L'chi lach.
For 2 ½ years we've been praying:
Our God, the time is now and we are here.
We know that you have always called people to do special tasks when the time was ready and the need was grea
What would you have us do now?
How can we serve you best by using the gifts and talents you have given us?
Show us how you want us to serve the people of God who cry for peace and justice, who lack life's necessities.
Please help us know what you are calling us to do here and now.

And a month ago we added

And grant us the courage to answer that call.
We are listening, God. AMEN

We've basically had a 2 ½ year prayer vigil, and today we, like Abram and Sarai, are invited, called by God, to trust God in a new and powerful way as we actively hear what God is calling us to do.
It's a four month process called Ripe for the Harvest. It begins today.
The parallels with Abram and Sarai and what we are about to do are stunning.
Like Abram and Sarai, we've already traveled a way, but it's time to travel to a destination unknown.
Like Abram and Sarai, all God asks us to do is to show up and to trust.
God will do the rest.
Like Abram and Sarai, we don't even have to give up everything we have or leave our loved ones behind to trust God.
Like Abram and Sarai, we'll also travel in stages, and we'll stop and worship God along the way.
Like Abram and Sarai, we will trust that God will bless us so that we can bless others, but the specifics are yet to be revealed.
After all, the God we trust is the same God as Abram and Sarai's: the One who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
A pretty good God to trust.
The way we're going to do this is in a very Biblical way; we are going to accept as true that all of us here together make up the Body of Christ.
Each of us, as part of that Body, is going to have the opportunity to write down the answer to three questions.
We'll give an opportunity to do this for four Sundays to give every person in the parish the opportunity to write these answers down, and then we're going to tabulate every answer.
We're going to listen to you
The Vestry with the help of our consultant, The Rev. Steve Rofflers, will read every comment you make and look for common ideas. In July, we'll post every comment you write.
We'll group them by the number of times a response was given.
We are going to make the assumption that while every answer has value, the ones that most of you write will be our starting place for mission and ministry.
Those which only a few of you list may have great value, but they may not be for the whole parish or they may not be what we are to do right now.
We're going to assume that what the Bible says is true: that we are the body of Christ, and coming together as that body, collectively, we can discern what God is calling us at St. Mary's to do, here and now.
As your Vestry tabulates what you've written, they will be listening to what the Spirit is saying to God's Church at St. Mary's through you.
In August, the Vestry will begin to put together a plan to make what the Spirit is saying through you happen.
Once again, during August, you'll be part by an activity we'll do as part of Sunday worship.
In September, the Vestry will pull all of the pieces of the work you've done together and condense it into a new mission statement, vision statement, and statement of St. Mary's core values.
It's time to L'chi Lach!
Now there are some parameters for how you are going to tell us what you are hearing.
Every person will get one green card, one pink card, and one blue card.
If the ushers could distribute the cards now. Pencils if you need them.
If you are visiting today, we're so glad you are here!
While I am giving these instructions, could you please be in prayer for us?
On the green card you can write as few as one or as many as five things to celebrate about St. Mary's; things we do well; if you were a bragger, things at St. Mary's that would be bragworthy.
Bullet points not essays.
On the pink card, you can write as few as one or as many as five things you think need to be changed at St. Mary's or that we're doing that we shouldn't or that you don't like or that are broken; concerns.
Again, brief answers, please.
On the blue card- as few as one, as many as five, hopes, dreams you have for St. Mary's. Things you would like to see happen at St.
Mary's. Things we could do. Brief answers. Phrases.
There are only two other rules.
You can only fill out one set of cards.
You can only fill them out here at St. Mary's.
Oh, and one more. No names please.
If you forget any of the instructions, they are listed in an abbreviated version on your announcement sheet.
Green card-positives. Pink card-not so positive. Blue card-hopes, wishes, dreams.
Any member of the Vestry or I'll be glad to answer any questions after worship.
You can do this today, or you can think and pray for a week and do it when you come back next week for worship.
We will take up all the cards as you leave worship today-your completed cards or your blank ones.
We'll be handing out cards every Sunday in June, so if you don't fill out your cards today, hand them back into the usher and you can do it next Sunday.
But we want you definitely to fill them out.
We'll be publicizing this through the weekly email, through the Messenger, and if someone will be gone the rest of the month, I'll work out a way for them to respond.
We definitely want to hear from all of you.
We'll give you time right now to begin to ponder and pray about what God is calling you to write on that card.
Let's pray the Prayer of Discernment to get us started:
Our God, the time is now and we are here.
We know that you have always called people to do special tasks when the time was ready and the need was great.
What would you have us do now?
How can we serve you best by using the gifts and talents you have given us?
Show us how you want us to serve the people of God who cry for peace and justice, who lack life's necessities.
Please help us know what you are calling us to do here and now.
And grant us the courage to answer that call.
We are listening , God. AMEN

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