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RECENT SERMON

Here, you'll find recent sermons from Trinity Lutheran Church. In addition, you may find up to four prior sermons on the link below.

LENT II SERMON
by Pr Fred S. Opalinski

Did you hear those readings? Get a look at those characters? We've got an old codger and his over-the-hill wife longing for a child; a fiery missionary/teacher writing letters from jail; and a young rabbi with a price on his head, bad-mouthing the king.

It's some company we keep!

If you think that faith is reserved for nice, respectable people who quietly mind their own business, take another look!   God has Abram and Sarai thinking outside the box, with many, I'm sure, thinking they're out of their minds. At age 75, the Lord called them to leave a nice, comfy home for who-knows-where. Like "Airstream" retirees, off they go! (Except I don't think that Airstreams come equipped with a nursery.)

God promises them descendents at age 75. By the time they hit 90, they're still not parents. We heard Abram's chutzpah today, questioning the Lord, pressing for a sign that the promise will be kept. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, as some think. It's rather the lively, growing edge of faith. Not 'til 99, with biological clocks long kaput , does bouncing baby Isaac come along!

And then there's Paul. Follow his journeys on a Bible map, and you get a sense of how frenetic he must have been...a capital "A" achiever. He's all over the known world, establishing churches, challenging the Establishment, suffering shipwrecks, hunger, imprisonment, ridicule and his mysterious 'thorn in the flesh.'

Perhaps next to Jesus, no other human has had a more profound effect on the lives of so many. But, both Jew and Roman citizen, he rattled the cages of religion and politics, and he was finally executed for it.

Lastly, we encounter Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem for his death. He begins the journey at the end of chapter 9 in Luke, and the trip takes the rest of the gospel, more than ½ the book. In spite of threats and warnings about Jerusalem, Jesus is deter-mined to follow through with God's plan. In today's poignant scene, he calls King Herod a fox, then depicts himself as mother hen, wishing to gather his chicks and protect them. But they reject him.

Abraham and Sarah, Jesus and Paul...they're separated by many centuries from each other and, of course, from us. And yet there are some intriguing similarities--connections--which I hope might be for us compelling as well.

First of all is the source of faith. It's not something they can 'whomp up' for themselves. Faith never is.   It is always a gift that comes from one who has the capacity and desire to share it. How is it possible that Abram and Sarai could believe they'd bear a child? Not because of biological likelihood, that's certain. Not because of their romantic activities. (Remember, Sarai laughs at the thought of it! Isaac is aptly named; it means 'laughter'.)

They become nomads, in Frederick Beuchner's description, "with one foot in the grave and the other in the nursery," because God has made them this promise. Unlikely, unreasonable (some might add 'unfortunate'), but the promise grabs them, creates faith, and keeps them going. They don't give a fig what others think. It is the Lord God who writes their script. God is their focus, their strength, their goal, no matter the odds against it.

It is the same for Paul, of course. His life as esteemed Pharisee and supreme persecutor of Christians is completely undone as the Risen Lord channels his zeal and energy in quite the opposite direction: establishing churches and building up Christ's body.

It's only by God that such a transformation could take place. With the might of Rome breathing down his neck, it is only by God's grace that what he planted could sprout and grow so dramatically all over the empire. (Jesus was right about the power of the seed and the yeast!)

So, even from that dank prison cell, Paul is able to write these incomparable words of hope and trust:   "Our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior." (Reminiscent of Abraham's star-gazing!) "He will transform the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory." It is Jesus, of course, whom Paul imitates.

Facing humiliation and defeat, Jesus is not deterred from the road before him. Herod's threats, in fact, seem to embolden him. "Today, tomorrow and the next day, I must be on my way." The powers, the plans, and the politics of the day don't intimidate him in the least. Because he trusts that God's word will ultimately determine what takes place and what will last.  

In all these readings today, notice that faith is more than just belief in a certain set of propositions. Faith is rather a perspective : a God's-eye view of the world and of life. That perspective creates trust in the One who makes the promises and sets the course, trust in the One who can accomplish all that he purposes.

It means that faith is more than just a quiet feeling which 'helps me get by' from day to day. Faith is more, I think, a frontal attack on the old to make way for God's new. Faith becomes the resolve to live by what will be rather than be held back by what is or has been.

Abram and Sarai left comfort and security behind. Paul's life was completely turned around. Jesus challenged the mightiest powers on earth--even death itself--for the sake of God's promises. Faith means beings drawn into something far greater than ourselves, far beyond human capacity, into God's kingdom.

Abram and Sarai dared to become 'aliens' in a strange new world. Paul talks about having 'heavenly citizenship' while grappling with both earthly and earthy issues. Jesus' life, death and resurrection are all about ushering in God's order and rule.

In our own day, when the issues of 'aliens and citizenship' and the relationship between 'faith and politics' are always before us, we need to come to grips with what faith means for us in this time and place.

The early Christian really saw themselves as 'resident aliens,' people of God who were in but not of this world. They knew they marched to a different beat from music of a different place.

I think it is a really important question: Who or what provides the compass of our lives? Who or what sets the course we take? Is it the vagaries of Wall Street that determine our choices? Or is it the occupant of the White House who sets our stage? Does a medical report have the power to undo us? Can the loss of a loved-one crumble the foundation beneath our feet?

Or do we see beyond those things to a reality--to an Author/Ruler/Judge/Savior--who is in control and whose words hold sway? Today's Psalm 27 has sung it marvelously for thousands of years: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? My heart speaks your message, 'Seek my face.' Your face, Lord, will I seek." It brings to mind today's gospel image of the mother hen, wings outspread, offering herself, giver her all, risking her life for the sake of those she loves. It is an amazing maternal image of Jesus--arms out-stretched to embrace, to give life and love, even to those who have rejected him.

Our mission as faithful people and faith-filled church is to witness to the reality of God's power and promise above all others: in the way we live our lives and spend our time and money, in the activities and ministries of our congregation, in all things really, to show that our true citizenship is beyond Reading, PA, USA, World. We belong to God and God's kingdom.

In countless ways, you and I are called to demonstrate that reality...that deep and abiding truth: to be people of welcome, especially to the stranger; to be people of trust who are willing to risk; to be people of hope in the face of dismal situations. All this, and who knows how much more, is possible only because our hearts are tied not to the past, not even to what is, but most profoundly to what by God will be.

Two wizened nomads,

one persistent jailbird,

and a rabbi on death row.

I know that to some that assemblage may sound horrific to some. But from God's perspective--from the view that counts--you and I are in absolutely splendid company!

Amen.

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