Abraham on the Plains of Mamre, by Grant Romney Clawson.

WEEKLY REFLECTION | Second Sunday in Lent, March 5, 2023

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I don’t know what Lent is about for you personally: repentance, sacrifice, judgment, suffering, study, prayer, being active in giving/doing/being for others? 

For me, Lent is about change and obedience. Last week we saw how Jesus was obedient to God in many ways, including following the Spirit into the desert. And I can’t begin to imagine that 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, being hounded by the Tempter and cared for by angels, could fail to change him. Certainly, God wants us to change and grow throughout our lives and therefore, obedience is very likely to result in change.

Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. — Romans 5:18-21

That said, obedience and change can be terrifying. Reading the story of God calling Abram to pick up and GO, leaving behind his familiar country, his family, and his parents, and get himself off to a land that God intends for him, always makes me fearful. At least in the passage from Genesis 12 that we’re reading on Sunday, we don’t hear God telling Abram where to go or providing a map.  Abram had to trust that God knew best and was asking him to undertake this HUGE change, with the promise that he would be blessed. I wonder how terrifying that was for Abram to hear? And even more so to follow God’s orders, and head off into the unknown?

This passage reminds me of the time I left home, put some stuff in my car, and drove off to college, without knowing where I was going to live, how I would get a job to pay my expenses, or if I would be able to make any friends. It was scary, but I knew it was the right thing to do.  My whole career, and, indeed my life, might have been entirely different if I hadn’t done what I knew was the right thing. I also felt pretty sure that God would take care of me and found to my great delight that that was so—in spades!  Still scares me when I remember my audacity, though.

As we journey through Lent, the Abram story poses the question of whether God might be calling us to some kind of change? Maybe not the dramatic sort of change that involves moving to another land. Maybe something small that only you would notice: 10 minutes of grateful prayer before bedtime; collecting good, but unused, clothing from your closet to donate; visiting a nursing home to help provide spiritual presence for folks (this Sunday! At Legend with some of us). 

And maybe the change is simply to consult God, before making changes. A very helpful question to ask the Holy One in prayer is, “What is the next good thing you would like me to do?” Then, be sure you listen for a few moments for God’s guidance. Sometimes the change is stopping to catch your breath and rest, instead of constantly pushing onward.

Abram had the extraordinary courage and faith to journey into the unknown. His obedience led him to be a blessing to the world. It could happen that your obedience and willingness to change under God’s direction would make you a blessing, too.

Laura+


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