Tempered by Grace

Text: Genesis 12:1-4a and John 3:1-17

February 17, 2008

Aldersgate UMC

Mike and I have been considering a religious pilgrimage for our congregation a little like the journey that we read about this morning in the Old Testament lesson. We’ve been talking about co-leading a trip to Israel! We thought it would be a unique experience if Mike who is Jewish and I, who am firmly of the Christian persuasion, could lead this trip together. So I was wondering, how many of you would go? Would you actually sign up this morning?

Now this would not be your typical tourist excursion; it would be a pilgrimage, an experience that would impact your internal life as well as your external life. About 150 million Christians make a pilgrimage each year looking “… to deepen their faith, express their commitment, receive a blessing or vicariously participate in the great events in the history of their religion.” (Homiletics, Jan./Feb., 2008, p. 59)

Abram and Sarai’s journey is like these pilgrimages for they experienced an inward journey even as they listened to God’s voice calling them outward. The Hebrew word translated here as “Go from” is lalecha. It has a dual meaning signifying an inward journey at the same time as an outward journey. Lalecha is only spoken by God and only used in two places in the whole Bible; here and when God calls Abraham to go forth and offer his only son for a sacrifice. Both occasions call for a response of faith possibly only because Abraham’s faith has been tempered by grace.

Years ago, when I first began to hear a voice calling me with words similar to the lalecha that Abraham hears, I found many ways to resist that voice. I was married with two young daughters and I could not just pack up and leave home behind. Believe it or not, I was a pretty traditional woman: how could I ask my husband to follow me wherever my journey led? So I took baby steps thinking I could go here, but not over there. Then I could go here or here, but that still wasn’t over there. The next step was to go here, and then it was just a lateral move to get me over there, the place where I could not go five years before.

My experience is similar to Abraham and Sarah’s yet it is quite different. They did not have a clue as the where they were going! Sarah did not even have the benefit of hearing the voice. I am amazed that Abraham and Sarah had the faith to follow. We read this passage with hindsight; we know God is calling Abram out to the promised land of Canaan. We know that he spent some time in Egypt before eventually returning to the home that God set aside for father Abraham. But Abram and Sarai did not have the gift of hindsight when God called to them. What allowed them to respond to this call into their future?

Perhaps they realized that there was nothing there for them in Haran. I think there’s something going on in the previous chapter that we miss if we don’t go back and review it. Now this is not a wonderfully narrated story. It’s one of those begats chapters; you know Shem begat Arpachshad and Arpachshad begat Shelah, etc. The important aspect however is that for seven generations the men have begat those first-born sons between the ages of 29 and 35. Abram, on the other hand, was born when his father was 70 and now Abram is 75 and no children. We are told that Sarai is barren, so usually we lay the blame on her, but perhaps Abram felt some despair over this lack of off-spring, especially as he grieves his father’s death.

Could this passage be a model for our own families as we try to move from despair to hope? Abram’s father had moved the family from Ur to Haran and then died. Terah, Abram’s father had been predeceased by his third son, a great tragedy in the ancient world as well as today. Perhaps Abram knew, as he took over leadership of his family, that his way lay only in the future. He set off without a clue as to his destination, daring to embrace hope when all evidence said that he would never be father of a great nation as promised by God. Perhaps his faith was tempered by grace, his knowledge of the presence of God in all.

John Wesley teaches about three types of grace: Prevenient grace works in our world before we are even aware of it. Grace is universal and available to all of creation. Grace exists independent of our recognition of it. Justifying grace, the recognition that our relationship with God has been restored, offers the possibility for new creation. Justifying grace means that we know our sins are forgiven. But there’s much more to grace. Sanctifying grace equips and enables us to live the life of a child of God.

I read this week that an “…African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. Yet these magnificent creatures can be kept in an enclosure in any zoo with a 3-foot wall.” I wondered how that would be possible? Certainly they would jump over such a low fence? But no, it seems that these animals will not jump if they cannot see where they are going to land, or more specifically where their feet will fall. (Homiletics, Jan./Feb., 2008, p. 62) We are like the African impala when we fail to recognize God’s grace in our lives; when we are afraid to be who God has truly made us to be.

This morning, Nicodemus from the gospel of John offers contrast to Abram’s faith and character. Nicodemus is more like the impala, unwilling to go where he cannot see. He is unable to see where this dialogue is taking him so he’s unwilling to follow. This narrative actually begins in the closing verses of chapter two, emphasizing the danger of believing in Jesus because of his signs and miracles. Nicodemus’s faith relies on knowledge; he accepts the miracles and signs as evidence of Jesus’ mission. Nicodemus wants to weigh evidence and draw logical, sane conclusions. But this is not faith; it is knowledge. The apostle Paul teaches that faith is about believing in something we cannot know for sure.

“Nicodemus’s problem is that he lives in a one-dimensional world, a world of ‘flesh.’ The term ‘flesh’ denotes human existence lived in terms of its own power, organized according to norms and rewards that seem plausible, but an existence immune to the renewing power of God. … The term ‘Spirit’ denotes an entirely different world, where the blowing of the divine breezes brings a new creation. It is a world vulnerable to the untamed wind of God, a world where the windows and the skylights are open to the incredibly new.

“[Humanity] cannot give birth to Spirit.” (Texts for Preaching, p. 199) It’s only when we recognize the power of God’s grace that we are able to open to the Spirit of God in our lives. Being always open to God’s prevenient grace tempers our human nature opening us to the divine nature.

I was surprised that this story of Nicodemus comes so early in the gospel of John. If we review the other two encounters with Nicodemus, it appears as if there is a development of this character. There may be a lessening of his dependence on knowledge and his connection to the world of ‘flesh’ and a deepening of his reliance on Spirit and God’s grace. Wesley might call this the action of sanctifying grace.

In chapter 7:50-52, Nicodemus argues with the other Pharisees for fair treatment of Jesus. His defense of Jesus leads to their accusations that he is as confused as Jesus: “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” Often defending one who is the focus of scorn leads others to lump the one who is defending with the scorned one.

By the end of the gospel in 19:38-42, Nicodemus is no longer fearful of what the other Pharisees say about him. Unable to prevent Jesus’ crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus care for the body and prepare Jesus for his burial. They are willing to risk their reputations perhaps because their faith has been tempered by God’s grace.

Over these last few months, I have heard story after story of courage, hardship, and faith from recent immigrants to the United States. Most come for the same reasons that my ancestors came; they are searching for a better life. In many cases that better life means the difference between life and death by starvation or violence. These immigrant stories are very similar to the Abram and Sarai story. The faith of these immigrants has been tempered by grace.

My colleague at a local UMC shared her story at a clergy gathering back in October. She left her native country and a relatively comfortable life style with her parents in the middle of the night. At the age of 17, she traveled by foot through several countries being searched at every boarder crossing making her way to the U.S. Family members died along the way, but her father knew they had no choice but to make this journey. This was a pilgrimage, an inward journey just as much as it was an outward journey.

But when the family finally reached the boarder, they had no way to enter the U.S. Arrested as they tried to sneak into the country, it took her ten years before she could return to school. It was not just a question of finding the physical resources to go to college, it was also finding the spiritual resources. I believe her faith was tempered by God’s grace.

Tempering is the process of strengthening. When we are tempered by God’s grace we are able to maintain a holy temper. Temper in this phrase is not related to anger, but rather attitude. God’s grace in our lives leads us to Maintaining Holy Temper. Grace means that we are willing to step out in faith not sure where God is leading, only trusting that leadership. Unlike the African impala, we are willing to jump without being able to see where our feet will land.

We know that grace surrounds and abounds.

We know that grace renews and restores.

We know that grace empowers and strengthens.

Thanks be to God. Amen.