In our scripture readings for Abraham & Isaac Sunday, we hear God call Abram to leave behind the familiar territory of Haran, and journey to the promised land of Canaan. Abram will be God's chosen person, and despite his character flaws, God will use him to be a blessing to all the families of earth. Together with his barren wife Sarai, they will be the first and ancestors of God's chosen people, and they will have more descendants than anyone can count.....
We have a word in our language to describe men who exploit and sell the sexuality of the women around them for their personal profit. In days gone by, these were the men in muscle cars who organized groups of women to stand on street corners, and who took a percentage from whatever their ladies could sell their bodies for. These days, these are the men who operate the cameras and edit the footage, as their ladies create content for sale on sites like OnlyFans. In our language, we call these men “pimps.” And apparently, this occupation is not new, as our readings today describe how Abram pimped out his wife Sarai to the pharaoh of Egypt several thousand years ago, to save his own skin, and to walk away from Egypt a very rich man. And just in case you think this was a one-time iniquity, SPOILER – in another 7 chapters, Abram is at it again, attempting to pimp out Sarai to the king of Gerar. You can't claim that God's chosen people were chosen BECAUSE they were paragons of virtue, and you ALSO can't claim that the author of the book of Genesis attempts to cover up Abram's faults....
Now to be fair to Abram, he WAS responsive to God's call – unlike his father Terah, who was ALSO called from his home in Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan, but only made it half way, to Haran, in modern day Turkey. After Terah's death, Abram went the rest of the distance, so that God's chosen people would have a presence in God's promised land. And, Abram WILL place his full trust in God's promises, even when God asks him to sacrifice his son Isaac in his old age. As Paul would write later to the Galatians, Abram “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Abram's righteousness continues to inspire today, even if his moral conduct regarding his wife Sarai does not.
What promised land is God calling us to occupy, figuratively, or literally? To what adventure is God sending US, away from what we are used to and from what is comfortable? And then, the big questions – will we listen and leave the comfortable behind...and will we go all the way to the place God wants us?
Unlike Abram, we do not have God's promise of an immense earthly legacy – uncountable descendants, founder of a great nation, name synonymous with blessing. But we DO have the even greater promise of an immense heavenly legacy given through Jesus Christ – the promise of eternal life in the presence of the Father. However, this promise is easy to doubt, easy to minimize, easy to ignore. And that makes God's call, easy to ignore, as well. Like Tevia in the movie Fiddler on the Roof, we can wish that instead of being God's chosen people, God could have chosen someone else.
Why did God choose Abram, out of all the humans on the planet at that time? You would have to ask God that question. Maybe...the life of Abram was the cleanest window through which God could be seen. For Abram's calling was to be a blessing for the families of the earth, such that they would come to know God. And through their interaction with Abram, many people would come to know God! In fact, God would be known AS “the God of Abram” (later renamed Abraham), at least until his son Isaac and grandson Jacob were born, and then God would be known as “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Of course, now, we see God primarily through the window of his son Jesus. Through our interactions with Jesus in Word and Sacrament and prayer and worship, we come to know more about God. We come to understand the depth of God's love for us shown on the cross. We come to put more and more trust in God's grace, and it is reckoned to us as righteousness.
And as this process known as sanctification continues in us, we are called by Jesus to witness to what he is doing. We become the window through which Jesus shines, attracting the attention of the people around us, and making himself known to them. We become the blessing to the families of the earth, despite our flaws, despite our doubts, despite ourselves.
Every year, I receive a couple of Easter or Christmas cards which call me a blessing to their families. I can think of nothing more affirming...and nothing more humbling than that, because I know my flaws and I know my doubts! Please know that you are not only a blessing to MY family, but to each other, as through our interactions here and in the wider community, we get to know our Savior Jesus...better and better....
Heavenly Father, call us away from where we are stuck in a rut, to the promised land you have for us, where we can be a blessing. Keep our minds occupied with the amazing promises you have given us, that our sins can be forgiven and we can live with you forever, in Jesus name.... Amen.