Lent 2, 2007
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35
The Promise of God
Here’s a favorite poem by the New England poet Robert Frost, published in 1923, entitled "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Whose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow. My horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.Sometimes the only thing that keeps us going, when we would like to stop the world and get off, is the promises we have to keep. Perhaps Frost was frustrated by the human pressures that prevented him from enjoying the snowy scene for long. But some promises are positive, and positively worth keeping.Consider the promises of God. Our God is a God of Promise. Consider His promises to Abram:
Of Protection: Abram had just won a great victory over several kings and had rescued his nephew Lot. These kings are still alive and probably eager for revenge. So God addresses Abram’s first need, and assures him he will be safe: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ To Deliver on an Earlier Promise: Back in chapter 12, the Lord had promised to make of Abram a great nation. Ten years on, Abram did not have his own offspring to show for it. 15 more would pass before God’s promise would be fulfilled. God’s time is not human time and his purposes are above ours, but he shows to Abram that the God who could fashion the heavens, an put the stars in the sky, could provide Abram children. ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ To Make a New Promise and Give Ritual Confirmation of it:
Abram divides up some sacrificial animals. And at sunset, Abram falls into a deep sleep. In vv 13-16, Abram has a nightmare about how his descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and be slaves for 400 years. But God will deliver them. God will even provide this wandering tribe with a Promised Land. The strange appearance of a smoking fire-pot and a torch which pass through the midst of the two halves of the sacrificed animals is a bit of a mystery. Fire is often a symbol for God. Maybe this is a sign of God’s presence with his people in danger, like when He leads them out of Egypt by parting the Red Sea, and then leads them by a pillar of fire by night through the wilderness. Maybe the torch signifies God, like the burning push, and maybe Abram, the human, is the pot , that has the fire of God within him, but is protected from it, nonetheless. Who knows? But Abram has witnessed a ceremony that confirms God’s promises. We, too, have one: the Eucharist. And it, too, involves sacrifice.Paul to Philippians: We Christians have a promise & are a promise.
Like Abram, we yearn for security. We yearn for a place of peace. A homeland where we can take rest. In this world we get glimpses of that homeland. But it cannot yet be found in the world. Our homeland is heaven, and until heaven and earth are one, we should not settle for second best. Christians are citizens of heaven, Paul insists, and we should therefore live our lives in the light of that fact, and in the expectation that Christ is coming. This is should not give us some sort of fanciful or otherworldly attitude such that we are of no practical use here in this world. To the contrary, this vision of our future is to drive us, motivate us to serve God in the here and now and prepare for his Kingdom. This is no theory, it is to be the fulfilment of God’s great plan of salvation. The new creation. Where heaven and earth are one. And our poor and frail and failing bodies are renewed in the likeness of the risen Christ. It is living in this deep and wondrous hope that helps us get out of bed in the morning. That helps us get through the day. That helps us take up our cross, and follow our King.This is God’s promise. And he calls us, in a way, to be a promise. Each of us has promise. Each of us have gifts to help God help this world of His. Each of us also testifies to the promises of God, or can do, by living like we believe God’s promises. Abram believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. All righteousness is from God, but if we believe His promises, then we can live a promising life that will be fulfilled in Him.Jesus lived his life in the promises of God. He had some extraordinary days, when God showered wondrous signs and miracles, when crowds sat spell-bound listening to him teach the Gospel. But he also had lousy days, just like we do, and some, far worse than anything we will ever know. One of those days, some of King Herod’s emissaries came and told him he’d best not plan ever to set foot in Jerusalem. In fact, he’d better cease and desist from his teaching tour and his miracle-working because he had aroused the ire of the religious authorities. But Jesus declares his independence from the ways of this world. He will not settle for second best, even if the first prize, the heavenly one, has the greatest cost. He is not going to rush to Jerusalem. He is not going to be drawn like a moth to the flame to that big important Holy City before it is time. Even though Jerusalem so desperately needs its rightful king. Jesus has work to do before he goes to Jerusalem. But Jesus is also not going to avoid Jerusalem. He’s is not going to run away from his promise to his Father, even if he knows it will cost him his life.“Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. [What might that mean?] 33Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.” 34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” ’Jesus has miles to go before he sleeps, and promises to keep. To God, to us. And he keeps them. Because God does. Now it is our turn. A prayer of St Ignatius: Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to seek for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will. Amen.
Any questions? Contact:
The Chaplain, Revd Sam Van Leer, 026 495 0620,
