This is a new sermon, the basis of which will be preached to a congregation of young families at Townline Lutheran Church in Alden, NY, a suburb of Buffalo. I will be guest preaching there next Sunday, March 16, 2014 for an LTSP seminary trip. There will most likely be variations, using more references to the immediate area (I am a native of Rochester, NY) and less about Philadelphia, as well as my perspective of what it's like to be a second-career seminary student.
I hope to convey that God is able to call each and every one of us to places we could never think of or imagine on our own, and that He will be with us throughout the process even though visibility might be less than zero.
Texts: Genesis 12:1-4a; John 3:1-17 (Lent 2, Year A)
Those of us who know the Philadelphia sports scene know better than to wear a hat like this. For me, this is unprecedented for a number of reasons. For starters, I'm not too sports savvy, but I was always impressed by preachers that were. Ordinarily I would insist there be a piano nearby that I could run behind for cover if the need arose, so that we could all just break into "Shine, Jesus Shine" in a pinch, but today we're talking about going into uncharted territory without a map, so why not bring baseball into it for the first time?
I should have done my homework and worn this cap out in public last week in an effort to crowd source and gather some reactions, but I'll admit I didn't have the courage. Philly sports fans can be ruthless. They have become more notorious for their senseless behavior than for their major sports accomplishments. Besides not having experienced a sports championship since the 2008 World Series, Philadelphia sports fan have become known for their bad behavior. A day after the Phillies saw their first fan tasered for running on to the field, another fan jumped the fence and ran around the outfield, led out in handcuffs.
It's not like the Phillies are really alone when it comes to long waits for championships. Take the Boston Red Sox. I took pity on them one summer in New Hampshire, when a pink hat similar to this one caught my eye at a convenience store, of all places. What attracted me to this specific hat were the words embroidered on the side saying, "Reverse the Curse."
Some of you may be aware of this story, known as "the Curse of the Bambino."
In 1918 the Red Sox won their 5th World Series, the most by any club at that time. One of the stars of the Boston franchise was a young pitcher by the name of George Herman Ruth, aka The Babe or The Bambino. The Red Sox had been one of the most successful professional baseball franchises.
In 1920, however, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee needed money to finance his girlfriend's play, so he sold Babe Ruth's contract to the New York Yankees for $100,000. After the sale they went without a title for decades, as the Yankees became one of the most successful teams in professional sports. The curse became a focal point of the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry over the years. For 86 years, the Sox had not won a single world series, until they managed to face the St. Louis Cardinals -- in 2004 and, finally winning at home this past year in 2013.
Needless to say, by the time I bought this in '07, the Curse had already been removed three years earlier, so I could truly say this was "old hat." But in some strange way, when wearing it, I felt like I at least temporarily "belonged" to this summer community in New Hampshire. It gave me a sense of solidarity.
Be it the Red Sox Nation, the Nation of Israel, or our world today, nations are often called to a place beyond themselves without necessarily knowing where they are going. It happens all the time, throughout the Bible, when people are called to "hope against hope" at times when the end is far from sight, if it can be seen at all. Abram was certainly no exception. God simply told him, "Go from 
your country and your kindred and your father's house to find the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation." Contrary to our contemporary story, here Abraham has a blessing rather than a curse hanging over him. Abraham, Sarah, and their offspring actually serve as God's last hope for the world. If the blessing fails to work -- the alternatives are unthinkable, even for -- and especially for -- God. Things fell apart at Eden. This is the chance to reverse that curse.
Though all kinds of things seem to be in store for him, we really don't know all that much about Abraham. We know nothing of his pedigree, his credentials. Was he a righteous man? The text is silent, but we do know…because of the ways God works through our experiences today. We also know that Abram was obedient, both to God's command to "Go," and later, when he was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac. We know that later, God changed his name to Abraham and his wife's to Sarah, reflecting His promise toward them and the fact that God has called them as His own.
But let's go back to where we were a minute ago. God just told Abram that he would become the father of nations. Mind you, he was 100 years old at the time. We all know the scenario, we all remember how Sarah laughed. Whether in ancient times or today, for a person to be 100 years old and have a child is OLD.
My 6-year-old son just had to dress that way for his one hundredth day of school and with all the walkers, canes, plaid pants, grey hair and glasses that day these youngsters had transformed their classroom into a veritable retirement home.
100 is old. Having babies at that age just doesn't compute. But Abram and Sarai trusted God, and it came to pass.(It was unprecedented). God "blessed them to be a blessing." He already destined them for good, to bring forth nations that numbered as many as the stars in the heavens.
This continued on to Moses, whom God meets in Deuteronomy and declares, "See, I have set before you blessings and curses…" Here we go again. The nation of Israel was established, along with an extensive set of laws and regulations designed not only to protect their society, but to get as close as possible to restoring that close relationship with God that had originally existed in the Garden of Eden. Even though it was a fractured relationship, God AND the people took great pains to hold on to that relationship, though many times, they were unable to hold up their end of the bargain because of their failing human natures. In order to atone for their sins, a system of sacrifice was set up -- from the time of Abraham and Isaac and on through the rituals of the Levites -- so much so that the Law was firmly established. God's people felt safe. He was on their side in times of war, IF they kept His Commandments. It was a strong safety net for the people. But it became so strong that it was inflexible. So strong, that they couldn't see what was coming. After all, the way they lived their daily lives was their way of reversing the Curse. All good -- but THEY were doing it, not God. All the while, playing into the Enemy's clever plan to convince humanity they are destined to fail unless THEY do the work to better themselves.
The time was right, the stage was set. The stars literally aligned themselves -- and the Son of God was born. Soon after, people were called outside of themselves, into the unknown - Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the twelve disciples, the saints throughout the ages, right up to you and me.
In his famous prayer, the late Archbishop Oscar Romero wrote, "The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision." This does not deter us from responding to our call.
In today's Gospel we come to the Nick at Night story. Since he was a temple official, he must have found it difficult to seek Jesus in the light of day. He didn't want to be seen with another hat on, consulting Jesus, so he goes to Him by night. He calls upon the Teacher, he wants to know how he can be saved, how to reverse the curse upon his life. Jesus responds, telling him he must be born again. Interesting, how Jesus doesn't take things literally. Nicodemus had a similar problem to Abraham's. Maybe he didn't laugh, but he asked, incredulously, "How can a man re-enter his mother's womb?" just as Abram and Sarai laughed at the fact that they were too old to bear children. With God, all things are possible.
But we live in a broken world. A lot of times we struggle because we think we can't "see" God in our daily lives. Yes, we can see evidence in Creation, in the small and large miracles we witness. But these tend to become hypothetical in the face of other things, like accidents, planes disappearing over Vietnam, families breaking up, cancer, heart attacks, unexpected deaths, or expected ones through disease, unrest in the Ukraine, misappropriations of justice. There is pain, there is agony that feels all too real. We can't do it on our own.
And then we come to John 3:16. That verse we often see as posters in the stands of baseball and football stadiums. God, out of infinite love for His creation, sent His only begotten Son to us that we might have new life -- and in that sense, yes, we are born again, if you take the term for what it is and not the many things it has become over the years. This life comes freely to us when - not if, but when -- we believe. We can rest and rejoice in that love - the same love that brought Jesus down to us in human form, clothed him in flesh, healed the sick and brought sight to the blind -- is the same love that is with us each and every day, guiding us in blessing and loving us through life and death, because of what He did through Jesus' death on the cross.
God is not sitting up there somewhere, waiting for us to stumble and fall over the next obstacle heading our way. As the Creative Source, he is not about to destroy something He made with His own hands. He is our advocate, and moves throughout the earth today as the Holy Spirit, who guides and comforts us and reassures us of this great blessing that has been with us since the time of Abraham.
So it is during quiet time, perhaps in worship on Sunday mornings, or time spent relaxing with friends, sharing our stories, that we feel God breaking through. Many times this is all we have to find the clarity we need to move beyond ourselves. Time to reflect during the quiet and the praise, time to consider the nearness of our Lord when we celebrate Holy Communion…that indeed Jesus' very body and are blood shared with the entire world…over and over reminds us that we ARE one body, the Bride of Christ.
Suddenly it's no longer a small matter. Suddenly we're no longer small, and we do matter. We are loved -- that much. The stakes are high -- high enough to meet the curse of the accidents, death, and disease. The Curse has met its match, and we CAN "hope against hope," and GO -- "blessed to be a blessing" -- into areas of uncertainty knowing we are called by God "into ventures of which we cannot see the ending" because our Lord has promised to be with us, bringing us abundant life through the Holy Spirit each and every day, for you and for all. Amen.
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