February 28, 2010 "400 Years From Now"

Genesis 15
Luke 13: 1-9 &31-35

This has been a difficult week for the people of our village, of our church. Not like the devastation of Haiti, 6 weeks after an earthquake still searching for the bodies buried beneath the rubble. Not like Chile, still feeling the aftershocks of an earthquake several times larger than that which struck Haiti. Not like the devastation to Coastal and Island communities throughout the Pacific submerged and others waiting to see what will still happen from Tsunamis. But still, when so many wives and husbands, brothers and sisters and Mothers and Fathers pass in a week, even from natural aging regardless of their accumulated age in years, it shakes our faith. Death makes us question God, asking about fairness, consolation, eternity. The difference of death by age rather than a catastrophic death from an accident or disaster, is that “natural causes” is a thousand goodbyes of little things, then accommodating to a new sense of normal, where disaster does not allow us to say goodbye...

In moments of weakness, we wish for simplistic faiths that could blame circumstance on immoral behavior, or some other individual, on a coach who told us to get into the wrong lane. We long to be distracted by the Olympic spectacle, by the winning of Gold and Silver, or by a night's win over Villanova. We long for the questions and doubts of faith to be answered. But like Abram, we stare up at the heavens asking “How long, O Lord?” How long is life? How long must we wait for You? As the Adult Forum last week on the Changes to our Culture from a Virtual Reality brought up, we have become an instantaneous society. Where we become more anxious by waiting, having our needs unfulfilled.

In an Old Testament culture, dependent for survival on having multiple children, who would be heirs and provide for their parents and grandparents when they settled, Abram and Sarai were childless. Having known that community and people all their lives, Abram and Sarai dared to venture out and risk following where God might lead, in hopes of finding what they desired to be fulfilled. When we have a problem, when we are filled with anxiety, when we must wait, we often seek to control, to have a static relationship that enables us to fulfill our needs.

Abram had taken with them the son of his brother, his nephew Lot, but Lot had separated from them at Sodom, and Lot had been taken captive in battle. Longing for an heir, Abram had all but accepted the cultural norm that as a slave was property belonging to the master, the eldest child of a slave, Eleazar of Damascus could be made his heir and therefore become like a child to the couple. In much the same way, but even more explicit, Sarai would use Hagar, her slave-girl, her property, to conceive a child by Abram, Ishmael. According to the text, Abram was 75 years of age, when he and Sarai began this journey with God. Over ten years later, they still are childless, unfulfilled. But God speaks to Abram in a vision, saying “Fear Not!... None of these shall be your heir, your own son by Sarai shall be.” Life, and therefore Faith, because our faith is set in the context of our lives, is real and growing and changing, is not a Static thing, to be controlled or made to happen. Faith is a reciprocal symbiotic relationship of trust.

In our anxiety, we seek after control, I can determine when to turn off life-sustaining machines; I can choose what I want for my family for my life, and what I do not. If no one else is going to be in charge, I can take responsibility and I can and will lead. Except, doing so, we over-function, we over-step our identity and our relationships, taking away from the responsibility of others. They may allow us in the short-term, but afterwards will resent our invading their autonomy. Despite what the myths and movies about Greek Titans, or the self-serving televangelists might suggest, the earthquakes and tsunamis cannot be attributed to anyone and the victims are no more to be pitied than all humanity.

Most often, we are not able to choose, but can act in faith. What we cannot control, we seek to prove, so as to be certain, a different kind of control. Abram looks for proof from God, but faith is not able to be proven. God invites Abram to look at the heavens, invites Abram to have an Epiphany, about the power of God, an Epiphany to trust that God has always been here, has guided us through difficult times in the past, and in faith can be trusted. We Need Not Fear... even if it takes 400 years.
That is what Jesus was saying to Herod and the Pharisees, as well. Remember that according to Luke it was a Herod who killed all the babies, searching for him at his birth. It was a Herod who had John the Baptist Beheaded, and the same Herod who now is seeking after Jesus to kill him.

It does no good to worry or to be anxious. Faith is a relationship, much like a traveling companion, who is going to walk along beside, helping us to see what is taking place and to know what otherwise might be missed. Faith is also a security, that what others might have missed, will be gathered and cared for.

This week in the papers was a headline that The Syracuse Assessors' Office was seeking to tax abandoned church buildings. Instantly the internet lit up, how long before they tax our church, how long before they take away tax deduction for donations, how long before the government begins taxing the receipts of churches? We cannot waste time with these fears. The society is based on the FOR PROFIT sector doing what it chooses, for profit. The GOVERNMENT doing what it chooses, as Social Program, Public Schools, Courts, Services. And THE CHURCH doing what we must to do, what no one else has done.

One of the most significant and fulfilling questions for every human being, as well as for the church, is “what are we doing that no one else does?” We do not need to compete with our sisters and brothers, we do not need to compete with other churches... Our purpose in life is to do what no one else does.

The fact of the matter is that when loved ones die, we have been filled with caring for them, making decisions. The Health Care Reports describe that 90% of our Medical Costs come in the last 10% of life, I would go further to suggest that 90% of our worry about one another, of our trying to control a good life and relationship comes in death. Which is why there is such a void when they are gone. How painfully hard it is to switch from going about daily life for 80 or 90 years, to suddenly sifting through the memories. FAITH is not about reliving the past, or even worrying about the future that may or may not come. Faith is to be lived in the present, accompanying one another to the best of our abilities, not worrying about the past or the future, but living faith with one another as companions on the journey.