A NEW TIME

 

March 1, 2015

Lent 2

Psalm 22:22-31

Genesis 17:1-7; 15-16

(prayer)

My paternal grandfather, Thomas Ward Gregg, immigrated from Northern Ireland and raised a family of eight children - including my father: also named Thomas Ward Gregg.  To keep things straight, since my grandfather was known to all as Tom - my dad was called by his middle
name. 

I am the oldest of the two children of Ward Gregg and Dorothy Stevens: my name is Terrence Blaine Gregg.

Hi.

My parents wanted me to be known as ‘Blaine’, but also wanted my name to include Terrence, after my dad’s friend: Terry Olsen.  My only memory of my namesake is that he nicknamed me ‘midnight’ - I was Blaine, Blaine the 'midnight' train.

Before you ask, the story I have been told is that Blaine Terrence did not roll off the tongue as nicely to my parents as Terrence Blaine - so I have lived the past 51-plus years confusing people by what to call me - especially when you add the fact that my last name is also a common first name.

The records at the Edmonton Public School Board still list me as Blaine Terrence.

I eventually had to change my name at the bank from Terrence B. Gregg to T. Blaine Gregg, when they did not want to cash a cheque made out to Blaine Gregg, concerned that I might be trying to defraud a relative.  Automatic deposit has made my life easier.

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Is there a story behind your name?

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Giving someone a name is usually taken very seriously. Parents of a newborn can sometimes think for months of what the child might be called; other parents need to meet the baby before an appropriate name becomes obvious.

Most of us deeply identify with what we are called. It can really bother us if people mispronounce or forget our names.

For some people, the name they were given is inaccurate to who they are, so they choose a name for themselves – occasionally involving a complex process of a legal name-change.  And in these instances, the name almost always has significant meaning for the person.

In general, I think we all want to identify with how we are known.

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Today, we read the Bible story from Genesis about the giving of new names. Prior to chapter 17 of the first book of our Bibles, the person called by God to bring his family out of Ur with the promise of a new life in a new land is known as Abram.
Abram’s wife is Sarai. As we

heard earlier, Abram was given a new name: Abraham; and Sarai was given a new name as well, Sarah. More than that, God self identifies as El-Shaddai

(God Almighty) - a name that has not been used for God prior to this point in Genesis.

Both the call-er and the call-ees are re-identified at this point in the story.  New names abound!

Just from a literary perspective, this has to be significant!

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The names matter – they define not only those involved, but how they relate to each other
and the world.

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Part of the promise that God made to Abram was that God would be the god of Abram and his descendants forever.  This lasting legacy was the carrot that God hung in front of Abram to coax him to set out on this undefined journey to a new land:  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  To your offspring I will give this land. (Gen12:2,7)

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The story of Abram is one of seemingly impossible surprises - according to the text (Gen12:4), Abram was 75 years when the journey began.  Sarai was younger - a spring chicken at 66.

Abram prospered and amassed a large estate.  He certainly was going to leave quite a legacy for future generations.
What bothered Abram was that those future generations will not include any of his direct biological heirs.  Sarai and Abram had never been able to have children - quite ironic, given that the name Abram literally means, Great Father.

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This small detail did bother Abram.  In Genesis chapter 15, he complains to God that his estate will pass to one of child of one of his servants - Abram had likely given a lot of thought to choosing his heir - he must have felt Eliezer was a good choice.  
But, clearly Abram would have preferred to produce his own heir.

Yet, God tells Abram that he will pass on his possessions to his own child.  God says that Abram will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.

How that might be possible was a little less clear.  The text says, Sarai had a plan - in spite of her barrenness.

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And so, eleven years after the journey had begun, Abram did have a child - a son - named Ishmael. The story is that Sarai had encouraged her husband to produce an heir with her maidservant Hagar.

Okay honey.  If I must, I must.

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That is where we pick up our reading today.  Abram has an heir from his own seed - so to speak.

At this point God repeats the promise: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations.
God announces that Abram will now be known as Abraham - which means “Father of Many”.  It is a subtle but must have been a nice and significant change: great father to father of a multitude.

The name change for Abram’s wife may have been even more appreciated.
Her given name, Sarai, has a less than positive connotation - it means quarrelsome or argumentative.  It makes you wonder what kind of a kid she was.  To be fair, it also implies one who speaks their mind - and throughout the story, Sarai does feel free to share her opinion.

Even so, she probably really appreciated it when God called her ‘princess’: Sarah!

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This couple - the beginning of a lasting covenant - become the father of many and the princess, who are in relationship with Almighty God. 

The names themselves point to the nature of this legacy that gives rise to the Hebrew people.

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There is one more major twist in the story, but I will leave that for you to read about on your
own.  Hint - it involves some laughing.

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The story of Abraham and Sarah is one of trust and tragedy, of deceit and promise.  What remains consistent is God’s commitment to the covenant.  Over and over again, God gives Abraham new opportunities to express a similar commitment - even when Abram complains and Sarai argues, the El-Shaddai keeps the covenant.

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The other reading I chose this morning is from Psalm 22.  It expresses a similar sentiment of God’s commitment.

The psalmist has come to the temple to praise God - having felt heard by God. 

We only read the second half, but this psalm (in its entirety) gives us a wonderful picture of the twin towers of Hebrew Prayer - lament and praise.  There are two distinct parts to the psalm: verses 1-21 and 22 to 31 - lament and praise.

We will read again from Psalm 22 in the coming weeks.  Jesus is said to have quoted the opening verse during his crucifixion.  And early Christians found words to describe Jesus torture and crucifixion in the first half of Psalm 22. 

The same psalm that offers such bold encouragement for people to praise God in our reading today, begins with: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?  O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.

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Although some preachers might call it an act of doubt or disbelief, I think that it is a deeply prayerful experience to challenge God - to question God’s commitment - to seek God even amid the silence.  The prayer of lament is one of the most honest prayers we can hold.

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The psalmist goes on... I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth is dried up like a broken pottery, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.   For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled; I can count all my bones.  They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.  But you, O Lord, do not be far away!

To lament is far from expressing doubt.  To lament is to hold strong to a faith that God can and will be known in our midst. We believe it so strongly - we demand it of our God!

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Last Sunday, when I was preaching to the congregation at Jasper United Church.

I mentioned that many people know that it is very hard to imagine a time of hope and promise while we are in the midst of the struggle.
Sometimes it is only possible to see where God has been when we are able to look back after the struggle - but in that moment of deep lament, it is sometimes hard to know we are blessed.

To paraphrase another Old Testament author - there is a time for lament and a time for praise.

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Lent is a time we work into our church calendars - to allow ourselves some focused time to seek to know and understand Jesus' struggle as he progresses toward his eventual arrest and crucifixion.   And to place ourselves among Jesus' followers in that time.

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With the birth of an heir Abraham's family was entering a new time.

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When the psalmist felt some relief, praise emerged out of lament.

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I believe it is human nature that - while in the midst of deep struggle - our outlook becomes shorter and shorter sighted.  It is hard to imagine a time of praise, as we are lamenting.

And yet... there are often a few - in our midst - who get the first glimpses of hope and promise.  They can be the ones who can help guide us through the struggle.

Those parts of Jesus' life that lead up to Easter represent the heart of struggle within the Christian story.  Lent is our opportunity to move into and through this struggle so that a New Time can emerge.

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A little later in this service, we will recite the United Church Creed together.  We will remind ourselves (and each other) that 'God is with us, we are not alone.'

In the old time and in the new time, Almighty God is our constant.  Even before any hint of promise or hope
emerges, we can hold to the strong faith of the psalmist in lament - that God must be held accountable to the Covenant: I will be your your God.

The promise is that God's grace reaches back into the past and forward into the future.  We are not alone as we move through this time.

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Over the next five weeks, we will explore the depth of the hope of the Christian gospel - that God moves with us in all of this life's journey - in times worthy of both praise and lament.  Over these next five weeks, we will listen to Jesus teach - through word and action.  And we will begin to imagine a new time - when ...

·        Jesus will invite those who know him best to live out a compassion similar to the love Jesus showed them,

·        (When) the followers of Jesus will find a new covenant even in the midst of the deepest imaginable grief,

·        (When) the good news of Jesus will emerge from a tomb of defeat to inspire new generations of followers who would believe that there is no partiality in God - in Christ, we are one: no slave or free, no male or
female, no jew or greek.

That time is coming.

Together, let us go meet it.

Let us pray:

Almighty God - el Shaddai - we are part of your story, and you, our’s.  We are grateful for the gift of this life.  We long to know you deeper.  Amen.

***offering***