The Congregational Church
1845 NORTHERN BLVD
MANHASSET, NY 11030
Tel: (516) 627.4911
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF MANHASSET (UCC)
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The Call from Fear to Faith
Rev. Lori Burgess - 03/14/10
Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your fathers house to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5Abram took his wife Sarai and his brothers son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, To your offspring I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. 9And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.
(Genesis 12:1-9, NRSV)
We finally felt settled. After all, it had taken us well over a year to locate the perfect suburb, the perfect neighborhood and the perfect house complete with a basketball goal in the driveway and a wooden swing in the side yard. One-bedroom apartment life near downtown Atlanta was way overrated, after all. That special time in every young couples life had come to us. We decided to commit our lives and more importantly, our finances to one of lifes greatest blessings and often one of lifes greatest burdens − home ownership.
The housing market was booming and it was a buyers market, indeed. Our weekends were spent driving the outside perimeter of Atlanta in search of our dream home. Well, at least in search of our dream starter home. In our search, I soon realized that a cynical perfectionist and an eternal optimist does not present an optimal pair when it comes to home buying. With ongoing arguments ensuing daily, I often wondered if we would ever find a home we could both love and agree upon. The odds were highly unlikely. With growing resentment towards the process, I often thought to myself, Well be retiring in this cramped apartment at this rate.
Miracles do happen − I am convinced. Pulling into the driveway of 821 Foxcroft Trail we knew without a doubt we had found our home. Although the flowerbeds lining the house were barren, our minds saw colorful pansies glowing in springs nearing sunlight. Although the kitchen walls were lined with the ugliest flowered wallpaper one has ever seen, our minds saw a Martha Stewart kitchen with clean lines and stainless steel appliances. Although the back deck was peeling and cracked, our minds saw a state-of-the-art deck that would make a Home Depot outdoor specialist jealous. The only thing this old house needed was some gentle tender loving care. And we were the perfect owners to give it the love it so deserved.
With mortgage payments to consider and a considerable amount of work needed on our new home, we took on the challenge of do-it-yourself home repair and cosmetic adjustments. From closing day forward, our weekends were spent with countless trips to the hardware store, late nights painting to the Rent soundtrack, and plenty of take-out food from our new neighborhood restaurants. The house was beginning to feel like our home. Painting the guest bedroom, I couldnt help but smile wondering if it might one day become a blue or pink painted nursery. I imagined long walks around our lush neighborhood with children in tow and perhaps even a dog one day. Our dreams were coming true.
Over the next 9 months we stripped wallpaper and painted every wall in the house. We stripped old paint from kitchen cabinets and applied new coats of dark stain. We pulled up old rotten laminate floors and laid beautiful travertine tile floors. We replaced old pergo floors with new soft and contemporary carpet in the den. We replaced all the miss-matched appliances with new gleaming stainless steel. We scraped paint on the outside of the house and repainted with new neutral colors − shutters and all. We replaced old boards on the back deck and my parents even purchased us our very first set of nice outdoor furniture. We planted flowers. We fixed the broken walkway. We put up a new modern front porch light. We put up a new mailbox, complete with our name printed in a beautiful font on the side. We were home at last.
I have often heard the saying, Its funny how quickly things can change, but I never understood it until a conversation that ensued one evening in the car, during our tenth month of homeownership, nonetheless. With a smile, but seriousness in his tone Jacob turned to me and said, Would you consider moving to New York? From this pivotal conversation in our car to this very moment, we are still in awe over Gods incredible sense of calling and movement.
I wonder if Abram and Sarai in the Genesis story experience some of the same emotions we did when God called them to a new place? After all, Abram and Sarai were not 26 and 28 years old at the time when God calls them to a new endeavor. Abram is 75 years old. Abram and his family have made a life for themselves in the land of Haran. I am sure they have been members of the same synagogue for some time. Perhaps they are quite involved in both their faith community and their extended families. I imagine Sarai enjoys the fact the she knows all the faces at the local market and where to get the best catch of the day. They know their neighbors and have parented countless neighborhood children over the years. By modern-day standards, Abram and Sarai should be downsizing to a condo on the beach, taking out life insurance policies and purchasing matching recliners, not leaving their country.
In the online publication Journey With Jesus, author Dan Clendenin describes Abrams call and the perplexities in his familys decision to follow God into the unknown. Clendenin states, Abraham left Haran in faith, not knowing where he was going, or even why except that God had commanded him. He acted whole-heartedly without absolute certainty. [1] In doing so he defied both the inner propensities of human nature and the outer pressures of cultural conformity to cling to the familiar, the self-serving, and the broad and easy road. Abraham journeyed from what he knew to what he did not know, from what he had to what he did not have, from the comfortable to the strange and the unpredictable. He journeyed like a stranger in a foreign country (Hebrews 11:8-9). Today, most everything in our culture, education and employment encourages us to journey in the opposite direction: from the unknown to the known, from what we do not have to what we think we want and need, making every effort to remove the strange and unpredictable in order to guarantee the safe and secure. We demand certainty and act timidly.[2]
I wonder if Abraham harbored any of the same doubts we might, should his story have taken place in 2010? Settled, secure and comfortable, God comes to Abraham and says, Leave your country, your people and your fathers household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. The text then reads, So Abram left, as the Lord had told him. [3] The text does not indicate a struggle of will or doubt. Abraham simply responds to Gods call without hesitation.
I, however, cannot say that my story of Gods call is like Abrahams. With an enormous hesitation and immense doubt, I struggled. But God, we just bought this house, and its so cute now. But God, we love our church, our neighborhood, our friends. But God, well be alone separated hundreds of miles from our families. But God, our connections and networks are here. We will know no one. But God, the North is so cold! But God! But God! But God! As Believers in the faith, we are good at excuses. With rationale, sensibility and the art of justification, we are pros at convincing ourselves to remain with what is comfortable and easy.
As we journey together this Lenten season, let us listen for Gods call in our lives. During this time may we downsize our schedules and the excesses around us that we sense the Spirits gentle nudging. Abrahams call is unique. God calls him to go, to uproot, to move to a new place where he will be blessed and bless others in the process. Though God may not be calling us like Abraham to a new physical location − perhaps God is calling us to places of renewal. Perhaps God is calling some of us to engage in a new opportunity. Maybe God is calling some of us to new ideas of what it means to be successful. Maybe God is calling us to see those we love in a new way. Perhaps God is calling some of us to new attitudes of love. Maybe the call for some of us is to deep, inward God-given peace. Whatever God is calling us to do, or to be, or embrace, may we listen with open hearts and open eyes, ready to respond.
The United Church of Christs most recent campaign is God is still Speaking. What an appropriate word of hope to us as we doubt, question, and strive to experience Gods presence. The God of Abraham is still speaking just as loudly today. The question for us is, Are we still listening? Are we finding moments in our day and in our lives to connect? Are we observing the world and those around us through Gods spirit of love? Are we putting more value on the things that we own and the things that we do, rather than in the person God has created us to be? Are we listening to Gods gentle spirit nudging us and loving us toward an abundant life?
In our listening and responding, we remember the promise to Abraham when God proclaims, you will be a blessing to others. We are not alone as we journey with God and as we make decisions that affect our lives. We are connected in a web of both humanity and the Holy. When we respond to Gods call to leave behind debilitating attitudes, we bless the lives of those around us. When we respond to Gods call to new ministries or service opportunities, we bless the lives of those we encounter. When we respond to Gods call to view success in a new way, we bless our families and those around us. When we respond to the call of seeing the world through Gods spirit, we bless those around us as we engage in justice and kindness.
One of my favorite modern-day heroines of the faith is a Baptist woman visionary named Fannie Exile Scutter Heck. Born in 1862, Fannie Heck was given the name "Exile" in memory of her birthplace to which her mother, Anna Callendine Heck, had gone for refuge from Morgantown, Va. (currently West Virginia) because of the Civil War. In later years Miss Heck herself added Scudder, the maiden name of her mother's grandmother, Jane Scudder Chadwick. She was proud to be a descendant of the Scudder family, famous for its American ministers and foreign missionaries.[4]
Throughout Hecks life, Gods call is evident as she believed in making a difference in the lives of those around her. She was one of the founders of the Woman's Missionary Union Training School, where young women combined their faith with efforts to bring about social change in their communities. According to historians, Miss Heck was a risk-taker and one who walked closely with God. A modern-day Abraham perhaps, I imagine that Fannie Heck listened often for Gods voice and direction in her life. Heck is widely known for one of her most famous quotes about faith. I have adopted it as my lifes wisdom quote and think about it almost daily as I pay attention to the Spirits leading. Heck once proclaimed, There is risk in change. But, there is greater risk in standing still. As we listen for Gods call, are we willing to take a risk, so that we might discover abundant life? Are we ready to see and experience life anew that we might bless those around us? God is still speaking. God is still moving. May we have the courage to answer when we are called. AMEN.
PASTORAL PRAYER
Loving God,
We thank you for your presence in our lives, and that there is no place where you are not. We ask that you would fill our lives with your love that we might be hope and light for those around us. Draw us closer to you during this Lenten journey, that we might become whole.
O God we seldom look beyond our own interests to the well-being of our sisters and brothers. We can see the wasteful acts of other people but not our own selfish habits. Make us instruments of your peace and justice in our world.
We pray for our world today. We pray for those who are victims of natural disasters around our globe. Comfort them and bring hope in the midst of devastation. We pray for those who are separated from their families.
Let us join together as a family of faith as we seek to experience your goodness in our lives and in this hour of worship.
Through Christ we pray,
AMEN.
8
[1] Warren Goldstein, William Sloane Coffin Jr.; A Holy Impatience (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004, p. 185)
[2] Daniel B. Clendenin; www.journeywithjesus.net; 2001-2010
[3] Genesis 12:1-4 (New International Version)
[4] James, Minnie, Kennedy. Fannie E.S. Heck: A Study of the Hidden Springs in a Rarely Useful and Victorious Life, 1939. (Catherine B. Allen; Laborers Together with God, 1987.)
Ordinary to the Extraordinary - Rev. Jimmy Only - 01/24/10
Does Everything Happen... - Rev. Jimmy Only - 1/31/10
A Holy Wandering - Rev. Lori Burgess - 2/21/10
Faith an Fear - Rev. Jimmy Only - 2/28/10
Who is the Greatest - Rev. Jimmy Only - 03/07/10
The Call from....- Rev. Lori Burgess - 03/14/10
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