Genesis 12: 1-4a; John 3: 1-17
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
March 12, 2017
Second Sunday in Lent
Now 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. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him. - Genesis 12: 1-4a
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3: 1-17
Today we take the next step to jump into our Lenten adventure of Spiritual Boot Camp. This entails a willingness to let go of old excuses and lesser habits to discover who God is creating and recreating you and me to be. This is not a one-time deal. Throughout the course of our lifetimes, God’s Spirit is on the move to meet us where we are and to empower us to do a new thing in our lives.
Six years ago Phyllis Rowley received a knock on her front door. The retired seventy-eight year old woman opened the door to receive quite an invitation. The person on her doorstep was a member of a local karate dojo. Phyllis was asked if she would like to take some self-defense classes. Without hesitation she said yes. She thought this new start could be quite useful at this stage of her life.
For the past six years Phyllis has trained in the karate dojo four days a week. She works out with female and male classmates as young as five years old and on into adulthood. Phyllis never felt embarrassed to start karate so late in life. She says, “I have diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and COPD. I am not a fit person but none of those ailments are going to stop me!”
Phyllis has now earned her first black belt. Her new start has given her renewed confidence and she feels so empowered. Phyllis never expected to go this far, but she has inspired many people along the way. Her training has become a new way of life. We are never too old or too young for God to bring about a new start in life.
Abram was seventy five years old when God knocked on his door. But Abram did not receive a divine invitation from God. The Hebrew reveals that the word “Go” (verse 1) bears some thrust and urgency – lek leka – meaning “You MUST GO!” Just like my charge to you after every worship service – “Now GO with the bold assurance that through this gift of faith, our God is certainly able to far more than we can ever hope, ask for, or imagine!”
God told Abram it was time for a new start. He was to GO with a new sense of urgency to follow God’s covenant promises. In doing so, Abram was to leave “his past, everything familiar, and all his previous supports to depend on God alone.”[1] God’s command to Abram was to leave everything which had shaped his existing identity. It was a great sacrifice to leave all he knew in order to follow God’s lead.
What I find amazing about Abram’s story is that he didn’t question God. Scripture does not give us any information about Abram’s relationship with God. All Scripture reveals is that Abram was a descendant from the line of Noah, the only righteous man God knew (Genesis 10:1; 11:10-26).
Abram simply followed God in obedience not fully knowing where this adventure of faith will lead. I can imagine Abram’s human tendencies may have left him feeling unprepared for such a difficult task. But somehow God’s promises were compelling enough for him to take the first step.
Abram’s story is a not just one man’s journey. It is the new start that connects God’s people of Israel to the beginnings of God’s story of redemption. Abram was blessed to be a blessing to all future generations that would come through him. The arch of Scripture reveals that God’s people continued in the journey that God began in Abram.
God’s people today still walk these ancient paths of faith and just like Israel we still veer from the path of obedience. Our human story remains the same in that we all continue to need God’s help in taking the next right step in this adventure of faith. Thank goodness Jesus Christ fulfills God’s covenant promises showing us the path that leads to a life of redemption.
Spiritual Boot Camp reminds us that we need the discipline of Lent to see and hear God’s calling in our lives. Lent is a time to be more fully present to hear God calling us in a new direction. From Ash Wednesday through Good Friday we are in a liminal space – a transition period – where God’s Spirit is reforming our identity to be born anew through the womb of God’s grace. We are urged to open our hearts and minds to a new adventure in order to be reshaped by God’s wondrous love revealed in Jesus Christ.
The hope is that we may experience God’s deliverance from what God is calling us leave behind: old excuses and lesser habits.
But today Spiritual Boot Camp leads us to the next task to gain spiritual health. We are called to go deeper into the recesses of our hearts and consider leaving the lesser things that have shaped our lives and become all too familiar:
past regrets that still weigh on us;
unresolved conflict that still chains us;
systemic racism that we are complicit in;
self-centeredness that prevents generosity;
spiritual apathy that says nothing in life will ever change.
As we lifted our voices in the prayer of confession this morning we named all these: regrets, unresolved conflict, racism, self-centeredness, and spiritual apathy. They are all blockages to the human heart. These lesser things can become so familiar that we actually become complacent to break the hold they have on our lives.
Our indifference to these blockages actually forms a barrier to truly experiencing the love of Christ in new ways. And Christ’s self-giving love always flows in the direction of wholeness.
This week Spiritual Boot Camp leads us to take the first step to reflect on what is blocking the path to experiencing real change which comes from the fullness of God’s promises and wholeness.
I will be the first to tell you that looking deep into one’s heart is one of the hardest things for any of us to do. We all have these “blockages” as I call them deep down. Indifference is the easiest way to respond to them. But faith empowers us to do the hard things and Holy Spirit gives us the motivation to be changed.
No matter what your relationship with God has been like in the past, we are assured today that God draws near to us because we are chosen. God’s steadfast love surrounds us when we don’t like what we see in the mirror, when we feel unprepared to take the next step, and when we are afraid of where God might lead us or require of us.
God is not inviting us but God is calling to us saying, “You MUST GO on this new path which I will show you!” This new start is about training and retraining our hearts to work through those blockages.
Take some time this second week of Lent to name your indifferences. What is blocking your heart? What is God calling you to let go of? The truth of Spiritual Boot Camp is that the beginning of any new regimen is hard. Our desire for change must be greater than our indifference to do nothing. But the more we train our hearts, the more our training becomes a new way of life. Day by day we are being reshaped to be the people God has created us to be.
As you train lift up your voice like Phyllis Rowley and say, “I may not be the most spiritually fit person right now, but these indifferences - these blockages - in my life are not going to stop me!”
And take heart - God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17). And remember, Christ’s deliverance always flows in the direction of wholeness.
May we respond to God’s call with faith like Abram. We may not know where this Lenten Boot Camp will take us but we do know this: God is leading us on an adventure of faith to experience his covenant promises one step at a time.
God is saying it is time for a new start to be reshaped and renewed. How will we respond?
In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
Sermon Theme and Title adapted from "A Preacher's Guide to Lectionary Sermon Series: Thematic Plans for Years A, B, and C (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016), p. 21, Sermon Theme "Boot Camp for the Soul," by Winnie Varghese.
[1]David Cotter, “Sacra Pagina: Genesis” (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2003), p. 90.
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