THE BIRDHOUSE
The readings for Pastor Ken's sermon are Genesis 15:1-6, Hebrews 11:1-3,
8-16, and Luke 12:32-40.
This sermon is about FAITH and
FAITHFULNESS.
In our First Reading, from Genesis 15,
we read that "the word of the Lord came to Abram." Out of the
blue, unexpected, uninvited, God invades Abram's life. After the
customary exhortation "Do not be afraid" (for it is a rather shocking
surprise to have God drop in on us that way), God presents him with a promise:
"I am your SHIELD (implying king, sovereign, protector, provider); your
REWARD (better translation = GIFT) shall be very great." Now
apparently, the gift that would have the most meaning for Abram would be to
have his own son and heir. But he and Sarai are
getting on in years and she is barren, so Abram points out that God has not
given him any offspring, and so (according to the custom of the day) a slave
born in his household is to be his heir. What kind of reward does Abram
have to look forward to?! Remember God's covenant promise to Abram back
in Genesis 12: "I will make of you a great nation"
.... Where is this great nation? Only one heir and he isn't even Abram's
own child! So Abram is amazed and mystified and maybe a little skeptical
about this surprising promise.
But God isn't through yet. His
word comes again: "Your very own issue shall be your heir! .... Count the stars .... so shall your
descendants be!" A more amazing promise yet; even more unbelievable!
But what's even more amazing is the
very next verse: "And he believed the Lord!" Why? How
does one simply believe the unbelievable? There was absolutely no
supporting evidence to make plausible God's unbelievable promise. Ah, you
say Abram had FAITH so he believed the unbelievable. Well, one thing we
can then say about faith is that it doesn't depend on evidence, or logic, or
our analysis, or our experience, or anything else we can bring into the
equation. For us Christians, BELIEVING GOD'S PROMISES DEPENDS ON SIMPLY
ONE THING: TRUSTING THE ONE WHO MAKES THE PROMISES ....
TRUSTING GOD TO BE FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES. Faith is indeed a leap into
the unprovable, into the loving arms of a sovereign
God who invades our lives with sometimes amazing, even "unbelievable"
promises.
Our Second Reading, from Hebrews 11,
puts it this way: "FAITH is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen." Here I like to make a distinction
between wishing, which expresses our desire for something, and hope, which is
our response to God's promise about something. Abram probably wished for
a son all his life, but after God's invasion with his amazing promise, Abram
had a basis upon which he could hope for a son. And that hope was not
"hope against hope", but it was the hope that's based on the promise
of our Faithful God. It was believing! Or,
as Hebrews puts it, it was assurance, conviction, absolute rock-solid knowing
for sure!
Hebrews goes on to point out something
quite astounding about FAITH. After citing Abram's faith-obedience to
God's call and promise, it notes that he and his descendants "died in
faith without having received the promises", that is, without having
received the ultimate promise of the heavenly kingdom during their lifetime! They,
and we, while we live on earth, can see and greet the promise of that kingdom
only from a distance as we anticipate its coming in fullness. Now we get
glimpses of the heavenly kingdom, but some day we will be ushered into its full
glory and splendor. Note Jesus' words in our Gospel Reading from Luke 12:
"Do not be afraid (there's that exhortation again), for it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." God has a great
world in store for us .... Some day
.... Does He even giggle in His good pleasure?
I have to tell you about a birdhouse I
have in my backyard - earlier this summer I observed a couple of sparrows
bringing in pieces of straw and string and things with which to build a nest -
what a warm and satisfying feeling I had to be able to provide a little home
for a couple of birds - in time I noticed some little chirps coming from the
recesses of the little house and observed their steady flying to and fro
carrying bugs - one day I peeked into the hole of the house and saw four tiny
beaks peering out at me - four hungry chicks waiting for their vittles - what a
warm and satisfying feeling to provide a home for a whole family of God's
creatures - as I continued to sneak up and peer into the hole I noticed in time
that the chicks would back away and hide from this unknown, large, and perhaps
dangerous creature. "Fear not" I thought to myself, but wasn't
able to communicate it to them. Then last weekend the chirping stopped,
there were no more bug-carrying journeys by Mom and Dad, and no more residents
in the birdhouse. The time had come. It was time to venture forth,
to experience a totally different world and life than the little chicks had
known in the safe and cozy confines of their house. Time
to fly. Time to live a "new" life.
They're gone now .... Up in the trees, in the
sky, in the neighborhood .... And I miss them: my
little "birdhouse family."
It occurred to me that when the time
was right and God called Abram to leave his country, his people, and his
father's household to venture forth to a land that God would show him, he was
calling him to leave his "birdhouse" in
Some of us are facing similar moves,
similar challenges, similar emotions. Some of us
have graduated from the "birdhouse" of a school, and life as a
student, with assignments given, defined problems to be solved, papers to be
written. Our lives have been pretty well mapped out by our program and
our teachers. Where do we go from here? How do we go about getting
a job, becoming a productive member of society? What is this great big
world with all its unknowns, challenges, and dangers?
Some of us are facing the first day in
school, or perhaps a new school. It's time to venture forth out of that
"birdhouse" of the life we have known and felt comfortable in to face
the opportunities and challenges of a bigger world.
Some of us are facing life changes - a
move to a different community, a different job, a marriage, even serious
illness and possibly death! There are any number of things that will
nudge us out of our safe, cozy "birdhouse" into a new life, a new
world with all its unknowns, challenges, and dangers. How can we face
such change? By taking each step with our gracious
Lord. By believing, despite any worldly
evidence, God's promise to be our shield, our king, our protector, our
provider. By not being afraid, by being full of assurance and
conviction, that it is our Father's "good pleasure to give us the
kingdom." Goodness, if I could find such pleasure in giving a family
of sparrows a little birdhouse for a time, how much more does God find pleasure
in giving us his kingdom! And if we have the promise of his kingdom, what
more do we need? The answer is: FAITH to accept it, to believe it, to
stake our lives on it .... FAITH to
believe that God is FAITHFUL to his promises.
Finally, we may ask the questions: How
does this happen? When does the Father give us his kingdom? All
that Jesus tells us is that we must always "be ready, for the Son of Man
is coming at an unexpected hour." We get glimpses of God's kingdom
during our earthly journey, but one day, when the time is right, we will
receive it in fullness, in all its splendor and glory. Meanwhile, we are
to be ready, dressed for action, serving our neighbors in Christ's love, and
looking for God to be faithful to us.
Thank you, Lord, for allowing us for
awhile to reside in our safe, cozy birdhouses, and thank you for preparing for
us a great big world out there where we are privileged to share your love, to
witness to your glory, to grow in our faith, and, ultimately, to fly through
the gates of pearl into eternity with you. Thank you for taking pleasure
in giving us your kingdom. May we find pleasure in anticipating its
coming ... whenever. Amen!