Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-4a
Gospel: John 3:1-17
Epistle: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
We are entering into our second full week of Lent and by now
the things we are giving up might be kind of dragging on us, but hopefully we
are also gaining something as well as we spend more time in reflection and
prayer. This week, we reflect on the
person of Abraham, or Abram, as he is called in Genesis 12. The calling of Abram is such an interesting
passage because it just comes out of nowhere.
If you were reading through the first 12 chapters of Genesis for the
first time, the calling of Abram is something different then what has come
before. God had a relationship with Adam
and Eve and he placed them in the garden.
He called Noah to build the Ark and rescue his family from the
flood. But here, the Lord speaks to Abram
uniquely out of his lineage and chooses to bless him and his descendants to be the blessing for all the families of the earth.
Abram is apparently as normal as could be. Nothing sets him apart at this point. In
fact, anybody else in the lineage of Adam or in the line of Noah, through Shem, which Abram came could have had this call given to
them. Yet the call came to Abram and he immediately
was obedient and left his country and family to follow the Lord.
Paul picks up on this understanding of Abraham in Romans chapter 4 and latches onto the idea of righteousness through faith or belief. Abram was a righteous man not because he followed the Law, which Jews thought was so essential in Jesus and Paul’s day, because there was no Law when Abraham was living. Rather, as Genesis 15:6 says, “Then [Abram] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Paul appears to be arguing against certain Jewish beliefs that that the Jews would be saved purely because in the flesh they were decedents from Abraham. They, or Gentiles who followed the Law, could somehow do enough of the right works to be saved by the Lord, those Jewish beliefs asserted. But Paul argues here that faith in Jesus is enough to bring about salvation.
This theme is also echoed in the passage from John 3, which is
the account of Nicodemus being told that unless he is born again, he cannot see
the kingdom of God. Those who are saved,
or a part of the kingdom of God as Jesus says, are those who have been born
again of the Spirit. It is not those who
are only born of the flesh of Abraham who will be saved. In fact, it is a requirement that one be born
again into the Spirit.
This is just a broad outline of a major theme as I see it
this week. Abraham, was obedient in his
beliefs and actions in following the Lord and it was accounted to him as
righteousness. This is a pretty
straightforward message for us. We are
saved through faith, and not because we are descendent from Abraham or because
of any actions we can do. Until I wrote
that sentence I was struggling with how this related to Lent. But now I see it: our sacrificing as fasting
during Lent doesn’t save us. We are
still only saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ by the Spirit. Fasting and sacrifice are not the means of
our salvation, even if they are important.
Maybe there are some other connections between the readings
this week and themes of the Lent. Maybe
you feel like an ordinary man, just like Abram in Genesis chapter 11. Before chapter 12, Abram was just a normal guy
minding his own flock. Maybe you are
like some in Paul’s audience trying to get into the Kingdom through works
alone. Or maybe you are like Nicodemus trying
to question Jesus and figure out just what it is he is trying to teach. In any of those cases, there is a lot of room this week
to explore these four passages.
May we continue to seek God during this time of fasting and
reflection and grow closer to God.
Grace and Peace.
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