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God's Outrageous Ideas Genesis 18:1 – 15 (21:1 – 7); Romans 5:1 – 8 One of the most heartbreaking parts of the book, Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini. New York: Berkley, 2003) is the relationship between a man and his newly found orphaned nephew. The man very carefully developed ways to engage the young boy, which then allowed the child to begin to trust. This was a major ordeal since the child’s parents had been murdered — in his sight. The uncle promises the child they will go to America together, and plans and dreams begin to occur. The devastating turn in the story is what happens to that child when his uncle tells him the promise cannot be kept. Promises are worth nothing if there is no trust within a relationship. Redeveloping trust after a broken promise is an even harder task. Why do you suppose then that Abraham and Sarah were still such faithful people? They had been promised for years that they would have offspring, and the land given to them by God would be inhabited by a great people (their heirs). Abraham asked about the promise — when it had not come to pass — and God reassured him that his heirs would number as many as the stars in the sky. Again, when Abraham was 99 years old, he was promised that God would give him an heir through Sarah, his wife. How did they keep going expecting that God would come through on the promises? How was their trust maintained? How did they keep the faith? “Faith is not a reasonable act which fits into the normal scheme of life and perception.” So writes Walter Brueggemann (Genesis, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Atlanta: John Knox press, 1982. P. 158), one of America’s leading scripture scholars. Faith is not a reasonable act; therefore, it is understandable that Abraham and Sarah maintained their faithfulness to God even though the ludicrous promises had not been kept. We get to today’s part of the story with that basic understanding. Sarah is 90. Abraham is 100. One day three men appeared, and Abraham (faithful man that he was) knew that these men had been sent by God — indeed, were angels of God. Hospitality is very, very important for middle easterners. So Abraham — and please remember the story goes that he is 100 years old — is seen rushing around making these visiting angels comfortable — water to wash their feet, having them sit under the trees for shade, asking 90-year-old Sarah to make some bread, running to the herd of cattle and getting a servant to fix them a steak, and before that to give them some cottage cheese to whet their appetite. Clearly this is not a short visit, and, just as clearly, we do not have any idea the scope of the conversation over the passing hours. What we do get to hear about is the promise these men/angels make to Abraham about Sarah’s pregnancy. What could be as outrageous as a 90-year-old lady having a baby? Well, it could be that her 100-year-old husband actually believed the possibility! As a sidebar…I have shared with others that I have never known of (or certainly have never served) a congregation that had as many faithfully attending 90-year-old women as Union Avenue does. What in the world would we do if we found out that (and I will not name you – but we all know who you are!) you or you or you or you or you were pregnant? Probably the same thing Sarah did — laugh. The scripture says she laughed to herself. I think we could have an out-loud laughing time — outrageous – absurd – crazy! Of course, scholars will refute the true age of Sarah and Abraham, but the fact is this couple was old, too old, to be having babies. But God made a promise, and God would fulfill that promise in the time most pleasing to God — not necessarily in a reasonable time which fits the normal scheme of life. What are God’s outrageous ideas for us today? What are God’s angels proposing as the fulfillment of promises in 2005? What should we be preparing for — even as we laugh about their possibility? Let me pose three possibilities – just to get our hearing tuned. I believe that one of God’s outrageous ideas is that all children on this earth could go to bed each night fed, not being hungry. That’s really NOT a laughable idea, but many scoff at the possibility because it seems so overwhelming. However, statistics indicate that we have enough food to feed everyone in this world. We just have not figured out how to get the food to all the people. We obviously are not committed to work through whatever we need to make it happen. While Tony Blair was in the U.S. this week, a newscaster asked if he was challenging President Bush to help with Africa’s food crisis because President Bush had challenged him to be involved in the Iraqi war. “No,” he said, “my challenge is really not political…it comes because feeding the world is the right thing to do…but also it is fully within our capabilities.” It’s not just Mr. Blair’s idea. It is an outrageous idea of God’s, and, if we are to believe it, we need God’s resources and energy to see it fulfilled. We will not just need to have our government involved in sending food and our congregations involved in filling food pantries, but we will need to find out who is hungry (in the world, in America, in Missouri and in our Holy Ground). Statistics in America say 13.5 million children are under-nourished. We will need to know how people are being helped now, and which of those programs are worthy to continue and which are not. We will have to become more informed about the systemic causes for hunger and poverty. We could become involved in advocating for better nutrition in school lunches and breakfasts. We could become advocates for our neighbors to work and therefore glean vegetables from the Clark School Community Garden. We could be helpers in the Saturday community farmer’s market. We could help Gayle Mason as she teaches nutrition to elementary children. All of this will mean time and undoubtedly money from our pockets, and that may be part of the outrageousness of God’s idea. Another outrageous idea of God’s is that all people would have access to good medical care. In a country that is exploding with medical discoveries and miracles every day, isn’t it amazing that the percentage of those who have no access to any of this is so high? This one may take more of our time to understand and become involved and probably more of our money. Bottom line on this outrageous idea is that our medical costs (as high as they are) might have to be higher IF we believe that all should have care. Here’s another one – more specific to Union Avenue. Is it outrageous to think that all the people in St. Louis could get the concept that we live and breathe and move creatively/artistically as an expression of God’s spirit within us? That’s why we sing in this sanctuary. That’s why the Union Avenue Opera Theater grew out of Scott’s heart. It isn’t just because this is a nice space for such art, and it certainly isn’t because anyone is making big money. That’s why John Coltrane wrote “A Love Supreme.” That’s why we install art shows in the Fellowship Room throughout the year. We know the connection, but is it so outrageous to believe we could help the rest of St. Louis' population to understand that art is God’s spirit being expressed? We’re the ones who believe that. Therefore, we’re the ones to share that and teach that and extend that outrageous idea. The night before C.S. Lewis knelt to become “the most reluctant convert in all of Christendom,” he spent long hours walking and talking with J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien — a committed Christian — was trying to do the convincing and Lewis was full of the objections. Finally, Tolkien said: “Your inability to understand stems from a failure of imagination on your part.’” (Ronald Rolheiser. Against an Infinite Horizon. New York: Crossword Publishing, 1995. P. 200) We know imagination was a great gift of C.S. Lewis' — but he needed to be challenged to stretch this into his faith. If we are to receive and believe God’s outrageous ideas — and I think they come every day when we are listening — we will have to have a great sense of imagination. We will have to have a good sense of humor. We will have to have a good sense of trust and willingness to believe in the unreasonable to get beyond what is in the normal scheme of life. Having a baby at 90 years old, that’s merely one of God’s outrageous ideas. Others will always outrun our imaginations, surprising us when we are least prepared but challenging us to listen and believe and work for what God would have this world to be. May we be hospitable to the angels of God as they present outrageous ideas for our life. SW |
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