WEEK OF THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, 2011
SAYING YES TO GOD'S CALL AND WILL
When I first visited Gracie in her home, Pete said, “Watch this,” as we got ready to go out. He told Gracie she had to go to her crate. Gracie suddenly laid down, rolled over, and became, with legs pointing up in the air, tongue lolling out and eyes closed, absolutely still. “Gracie, time to go to your crate.” Nothing, absolutely nothing from the dog.“What’s the matter with her?” I asked.
“She doesn’t want to go to her crate,” said Sophia. “She’s playing dead. She thinks nobody can see her if she closes her eyes and doesn’t move.” Dogs are a lot smarter than non-dog owners think! We literally had to carry her to the crate, her acting as if she wasn't there.
Saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” really says more about people than dogs. It’s code for not having to learn new things, an excuse for the aging to avoid tough learning curves of new knowledge. You don’t have to be old to employ this strategy, either. You just have to drag your feet, or like Gracie, to roll over and act like nobody can see what you’re up to, when you’re really just afraid or too proud or blindly refusing to get with the program.
In this morning’s Old Testament God calls out to Abraham in the desert land of Mesopotamia, and says, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great - but you’ve got to go a great distance, and endure many trials.” The reading makes it sound as if Abraham just nodded and said, "Great, fine, which way do I go, God?" But you can bet Abraham thought about doing a Gracie. To Sarah, Abraham’s wife, God says, “You will bear a son.” The fact that Sarah was old, probably in her sixties at this time, made her doubt God’s promise. Sarah laughed at God.
In the Gospel reading, Nicodemus, a scholar and aristocrat among the Jewish people, has heard about Jesus, his wisdom and works. Nicodemus is curious, he's a scholar after all. His religious self secretly wants to believe the good news he is hearing. Yet like Thomas the Doubter Nicodemus must see it to believe it for himself. He equivocates. So Nicodemus sneaks a visit with Jesus in the dead of night, not wanting to be seen in public with him. Jesus calls Nicodemus on this cowardly behavior and confronts his attitude of disbelief.
Abraham, Sarah, Nicodemus, Thomas, you and I all have this much in common - our inability to give full assent to God’s call and will for our lives. We equivocate. Why, because the world doesn’t see God through the eyes of faith, and we are worldly people. We like to get the facts, negotiate, get the best deal possible. Our flesh does this to us, making us worldly wise.
Abraham though said yes; through him the people and nation of Israel, ancient and modern, came into being. Sarah did give birth to Isaac, symbol of God’s promise to those who believe in spite of themselves. Thomas falls down on his knees, having probed the wounds of the risen Lord, and proclaims, “My God, and my all!” Nicodemus goes away that night his soul in turmoil, yet tradition tells us he was with Joseph of Arimathea for the burial of Jesus and a witness of the resurrected Lord. That's the way it is with the spiritual life, you say yes, and blessings abound, and God can be very persistent in response to our foot dragging!
Is it possible for us, too, that we might be reborn, made new as if from our mother’s wombs, and become the spiritual children God has destined us to be? I hope so. I know this much, I have no intention of being a dog like Gracie, refusing to get with the program. I welcome the adventures of faith and obedience. I hope you do, too.
Lord, help us to be obedient to your call; and remain faithful in whatever you would have us do, wherever you would have us go, O God. Amen.
