“To Be a Blessing” – Sermon on Genesis 12.1-9

Commanded by God, Abram became an immigrant.  

The one whom Jews and Christians throughout the ages have claimed as the “Father of Faith” was an immigrant.  

Let that sink in.

Whether he was in an untenable situation (as Jewish midrash suggests – that he was living among infidels, the odd man out) or he was in a perfectly content situation – living with family, among kin and country (scripture does not tell us his state of mind), Abram – at the age of 75! – leaves behind the only life that he has known, at God’s command. “Go!”

By the age of 75, many of us have already lived in 2, 3, 4, or even more places.  

But, can you imagine, at that age, having lived in only one place for your whole life,  pulling up stakes and setting out on a journey into the unknown?

Who among us would willingly, readily move out of our homes at the age of 75 without a clear plan for the journey or destination? Many of us use Google Maps just to go over the bridge.  For a bigger road trip? We’ve likely plotted out every stop along the way. 

Whether Abram was eager to leave his home or never imagined it, he is told to do something that most of us would find overwhelming, something that requires complete trust: “Go to the land that I will show you.” 

I don’t know about you.  But, I’d have about a thousand questions.  Starting with, “Exactly where is this land? What will I need for the journey? What will I need where I am going? What do you want me to do when I get there? Is there someone who will show me around?” Traveling through the desert, I’d want to know where there will be food and water. A journey in that time and place presents formidable challenges. 

There’s only one way in which any of this makes sense.  And that is if Abram and God already have a tight relationship.  If they already know  and trust  each other. 

Last week, while I was in Wisconsin, my friends Melissa, Maribel, and Tom were eager to show me around.  Each said, “Do you want to see this place or that place?”  Not knowing any of those places, I had no idea if one would be better to visit than another.  

Instead, I heard myself repeatedly saying, “I trust you. Sure! If you think this is someplace worth seeing, let’s go!” My agreement to follow their lead had nothing to do with where we were going. It had everything to do with trusting the people I was with in completely unfamiliar places. 

To be able to hear God’s call in our lives we need to be in relationship with God.  We can cultivate this relationship through prayer, contemplation, study of sacred texts, worship, through music, nature, service – really through any activity where we consciously open ourselves and attend to God’s presence.

When we are being led into the unknown, especially when one chapter in life has ended and we don’t know what’s in front of us, it can make all the difference to have a sense of God’s presence with us. It can make all the difference to feel that we are loved by a God who sees more than we can ever see, a God who knows more than we can ever know.

Consider God’s claim to Abram that “I will make of you a great nation.” It would be completely laughable, if God couldn’t see beyond Abram’s present circumstances.  How is God going to make of Abram a great nation when at 75 he doesn’t have any offspring yet? 

We might think that by the age of 75, Abram and Sarai would be done working, probably done procreating, and perhaps be ready to slow down, to enjoy the fruit of the lives they’ve created together.  

But, God has other ideas. God still has a holy purpose for them: to be a blessing for others. 

That’s our purpose, too.  No matter where we find ourselves in life, we are called to be a blessing for others. 

This is no small theological point. 

The Creation story in Genesis that was read last week suggests that our God blesses us with all we need to live and thrive.  But, the story doesn’t end there. 

Today’s reading suggests that the spiritual life is about more than looking to God so that we can be blessed, so that our own prayers can be answered. Yes, we are to be grateful for our blessings.  It is the beginning, the foundation, of the spiritual life. There is a great deal of meaning and peace to be found in thanking God for our blessings.  But, the spiritual life doesn’t end with “thank you.” It isn’t only about what our God can do for us. It is not a one way relationship. 

There is always a next step.  God’s blessing on our lives reaches fulfillment when we share our blessings with others.  The spiritual life has two equally important dimensions – to love God and to love our neighbors. 

At the center of Judeo-Christian spiritual understanding is that our blessings are not for us alone.  

This is not a mere academic point. Those who embrace the “Prosperity Gospel”- including the President’s spiritual adviser, Paula White – claim that our blessings are a sign of God’s favor; and a lack of prosperity or success is a sign of God’s disfavor.  They believe that “those without material or financial success on earth only merit a limited measure of human assistance, because God has already chosen not to bless them as much as he blesses others. The poor become unworthy by virtue of being poor. “ That type of theology justifies the policies that reward the rich at the expense of the poor.

Genesis 12 suggests otherwise. To fulfill God’s purpose, Abram is to live in such a way that is beneficial “for all the families of the earth.”  As we contemplate what this could mean for us today, we might hear a call to sustainable living – that we are to live in such a way that is beneficial for all the families of the earth, including those of other cultures and other nations and even other species. We are blessed to be a blessing for others.  

I want to return to where I started – that Abram was an immigrant.  

Throughout Judeo-Christian history, the exemplars of faith are people who must leave their homelands, including Abram, Moses, Ruth, and Jesus.  We should not see this detail of their stories as superfluous.  

Whether we are moving across town, across state lines, across national borders – being called to move is part of the human condition.  The boundaries we set up are ours – human imposed – not God’s.  In fact, our God often calls us and other people to leave our homes, to set out on a new beginning – sometimes because it is a matter of survival and sometimes because God sees that we can more fully live our purpose in a new place.

Our journeys expand us. Our interactions with people of different cultures and religions expand us.  As we are welcomed in foreign places, we sense God’s presence.  Likewise, as we welcome others – wherever they have traveled from – we become a blessing.  This is why across Judeo-Christian tradition, it is central to our faith to welcome the stranger, to be a blessing – not an impediment – to the immigrant.

May we take to heart the example of Abram – that grounded in a relationship with the living God, we listen for how God is calling us  to be a blessing for others.  Amen. 

SOURCES:

“The Prosperity Gospel’s Shallow Preaching,” by Michael E. O’Hanlon and Anne Turner, The Brookings Institute, Feb. 5 2017.