08/10/2025 ~ Ninth Sunday after Pentecost ~ Proper 14 ~ Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Isaiah 1:1, 10-20; Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23; Genesis 15:1-6; Psalm 33:12-22; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 ~ YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDr5Hzyv9-8 ~ VIDEO OF FULL SERVICE: https://vimeo.com/showcase/7960701/video/1109706864

Worry

“But Abram said, ‘O my Sovereign, my God, what will you give me, what good are these blessings to me, so long as Sarai and I will die in disgrace?’” — Genesis 15:2.

I am something of a throwback. You see, while I was still a student at Bangor Theological Seminary I was called to be an Associate Pasror at a five church cooperative in Waldo County. So while still in school I was already a working pastor.

To be clear, what happened was what we Congregationalists label as a “called” pastor, meaning this was not simply a student position. And being “called” while still in seminary made me a throwback because, whereas this kind of thing happened regularly in the mid to late 1800s, it’s rare these days. So here’s a story about that time in my life. (Slight pause.)

Did you ever feel like you needed to be two places at the same time? I had a scheduled visit with a couple in one of those churches. But— still a student— I also knew I had to complete a paper due the next day. And so I needed to be in two places at once— writing a paper while at the same time fulfilling this commitment.

What happened is still a vivid memory for me. The folks I was visiting greeted me graciously, invited me to sit and have tea and cookies— why yes, thank you.

As we sat, chatted and nibbled, the paper which was due was prickling the back of my mind, sometimes the front of my mind, worrying me. As we sat, chatted and nibbled I noticed the husband in this couple was quite taciturn— let out only an occasional grunt.

The woman, on the other hand, needed no prompting. She told story after story, talked about everything from the weather to the local High School sports teams.

And throughout all this chitchat, I was still being by far too self centered. I kept thinking, ‘I am sitting here listening to this small talk when I really need to be back in Bangor doing what I need to — get that paper done!’ (Slight pause.)

Well, at one point she excused herself. A silence encircled the room as the husband and I sat staring at each other. I sipped some tea and smiled not knowing what to say. Finally he broke the silence.

“She has cancer, you know.” (Long pause.)

“No,” said I. “I did not know that.”

“She never brings it up. It does not seem to worry her. She has hope. And you just found this out— she does… like… to chat.” (Long pause.)

We find these words in the Hebrew Scripture in the Torah in the work commonly called Genesis: “But Abram said, ‘O my Sovereign, my God, what will you give me, what good are these blessings to me, so long as Sarai and I will die in disgrace?’”

We get worried about all kinds of things. I was worried about that paper. Because of that, it felt I was wasting my time listening to small talk. Was I? I think not.

But in that moment, that’s not what I was thinking. And yes, I probably needed to be sitting there with them rather than worrying about what I had to do. (Pause.)

In some ways this story was about how we interact with each other so let’s look at a different aspect of how interacting with each other happens. Suppose you’re introduced to someone for the first time. Often, not too far into that conversation one or the other of you will say, “Well, what do you do for a living or if retired, “what did you do for a living?”

Question: does saying what you do or did really say anything about who you are? No. It only says something about what you do or did. Too often we confuse the two— what we do or what we’ve done as opposed to who we are.

That leads me to a question: Who is God? Notice, the question is not what does God do? The question is Who is God?

I think often we relegate God to a function. We offer a job description as if that was making a claim about who God is. We even have the audacity to ask God, ‘What have You done for me lately?’

That is, effectively, the question Abram asks God (quote:) “…what will you give me, what good are these blessings to me, so long as Sarai and I will die in disgrace?” And yes, that question does come from how the culture of ancient times functioned.

Ancient cultures thought of the gods— that’s gods plural as ancient cultures thought there were and believed in multiple gods— they thought of the gods as fulfilling specific functions. And the ancients thought to die childless was a disgrace and usually attributed that producing of children function to some god. We know that concept leaked into the Hebrew culture.

Indeed, if a question about supplying an heir is not about a function, not about asking God, ‘what have You done for me lately?’ I don’t know what is. So the very question a) comes from the culture and b) says very little about Who God is.

Please notice, I am at least suggesting the appropriate question here is Who is God? And one of the things I think we fail to realize about the story Scripture relates— all Scripture, not just this story— all Scripture comes down to a very simple concept we find in any story. So let’s ask the question which needs to be posed: in this story who is this particular character we call God? (Slight pause.)

God, you see, is the main character in Scripture. And there is a second main character— Israel. Further, I would argue those two— God and Israel— are not just the main characters in Scripture. They are the only two characters in Scripture.

All of which is to say— to use very traditional language— God is a Person. Or as the language of Trinitarianism states, God is three Persons but One God. I think one reason we forget about the concept of the personhood of God is because too often instead of asking about our relationship with God we ask this question of God: “What have you done for me lately?”

We thereby turn God into a function rather than someone Who lives, someone to Whom we need to relate, someone with Whom we need to be in relationship, someone with Whom we need to be emotionally involved. And that leaves yet another question: what is the overall story we find in Scripture really about? (Slight pause.)

To me this is clear: the stories in Scripture are not about results, results like producing an offspring, a child. The stories in Scripture, this story in particular, is about hope. And God is a God of hope. God the person is about hope. So who is God? God is a character Who expresses hope.

After all, what is it God is really promising? God is not promising a baby. (Quote:) “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can! As many stars as are in the sky so shall your descendants be.” That is a promise framed in poetry and because it is framed in poetry that is a promise about hope. (Slight pause.)

When it comes to the story of God I think it’s up to us— as the new Israel we are one of the two characters in Scripture— it’s up to us to tell the story about the other character in Scripture— God. It’s up to us to say who God is and to say how we relate to God. And the story told of God in Scripture says God is a God of hope, about hope, about hopefulness. That’s who God is.

Why would I say that? The story of God is a story about someone who loves us. And since God loves us there is no better reason than that for us to hope. Why? Love is, I think, the ultimate expression of hope. Amen.

08/10/2025
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “Several weeks ago I quoted Anglican theologian Nicholas Thomas Wright. This quote is also from Wright and I take the topic to be hope. (Quote:) ‘Western Christians tend to think of going to heaven or going to hell as the framework of the Bible. But the Bible is not a story about us going somewhere. It is a story about the Creator God coming to live with us.’— Nicholas Thomas Wright. I think God coming to live with us defines hope. Perhaps what is up to us to do is to be disciples of God, disciples who spread the word of hope.”

BENEDICTION: Through God’s grace, by being attentive to God’s will, our deeds and our words will change our world for we will discover ways to proclaim release from the bondage of narrowness. Let us seek the God of hope Whose wisdom is endless. Let us go in peace to love and serve God. Amen.