March 7, 2004
Genesis 15:1-12, 17, 18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36
Genesis, the book of beginnings! This passage marks the beginning of a story which continues to unfold to this day. Abram, later to be called Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, came to believe that God promised specific land in the Mid-East to his descendants. When Abram complained that he really had no descendants by the wife whom he loved, Sarai, he came to believe that God promised him a son from Sarai from whom his descendants would come with numbers like the stars in the sky. The details of this story are unimportant from the standpoint of proving them to be historical or otherwise. It is a beautiful story told in a way that was consistent with the thinking of that day. What is important is what Abram came to believe. He believed he would have children. He believed that his descendants would number many. He believed that God wanted his descendants to claim the land which came to be known as "the land of promise" Because Abram "believed" and behaved in a manner consistent with his beliefs. He is remembered by the Jews as a spiritual father as well as a biological father. He is remembered as a man of faith. Faith came to be an important ingredient in the religion of Judaism and on the basis of that foundation, of the religion of Christianity. Scientific study has confirmed the important of a positive outlook on life. Although it is true that just because we believe something does not guarantee it will come to pass, when combined with human gifts and effort, the object of belief is much more likely to occur than would otherwise be true. There is power in positive thinking. Both Judaism and Christianity nurture a positive, rather than negative, approach to life. This fact, without doubt, is a major reason why both religions have thrived as they have, even in the face of much persecution. The perceived experience of Abram was the beginning of a process which would impact the world for centuries and continues to do so today.
The letter to the church at Philippi, known in the New Testament as Philippians, is another of those New Testament letters believed to have been written by the Apostle Paul. Paul is remembered as the greatest missionary Christianity has ever known. It was Paul who traveled widely in the world of his day with the primary purpose of spreading the faith he had so recently discovered among the early Christians. Wherever Paul traveled he was intent on either starting a Group for Christians, i.e. a church, or encourage and instruct a church that was already in existence. Paul, having come from a background in Judaism which placed great importance on obedience to the commandments of Judaism, we now emphasizing the importance of believing in Jesus as the Messiah, for whom the Jews had hoped for so long. While Abraham believed God had given to him and his descendants a "piece of earthly property", Paul believed that through Jesus Christ, God was giving the hope of heaven. The gift to Abraham was material and temporal. The gift which Paul believed came through Jesus Christ was "heavenly" and eternal. Paul believed that heaven was of a nature to accommodate a transformed human body equipped for a realm other than that which was earthly. Abraham had no idea when he embraced "the promise" how much persecution his descendants would suffer. He had no idea that a religion would emerge from that suffering which would impact the quality of life the experienced as they lived, and the hope they would experience for the future. Paul was asking the church in Philippi to imitate him in a faith which was not bound by earth or time, but which would provide them with the joys of immortality in the presence of God. The faith perceived by Paul in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah and the potential Savior for all humankind, was the early expression of a process which, in that day, began to change the world, and continues to impact the world in our own day.
This Gospel, written by Dr. Luke as part of a treatise along with the book of Acts, was intended to tell the story of Jesus from his birth through the beginning of the church following his death. The latter reference speaks of an experience shared by Jesus and some of his disciples in which the disciples came to see him are "more than mere man". The former scripture tells of an experience of Jesus in which he seems to have embraced a belief that regardless of how dark and foreboding the future appeared for him, good could come from it. Because of this belief Jesus determined to "stick by his principles" and move forward and leave the results of whatever occurred in the hands of "His Heavenly Father." The message came to Jesus that Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus sent the message back that it was important for him to do what he had to do regardless of the response of Herod or anyone else. Jesus was well versed in how prophets had been treated before him. He knew that religious zealots were capable of cruelty and violence which violated their own religious beliefs. He had come in peace and had hoped that the people and those who ruled over them might accept him and his message in peace. He was prepared for the opposite and could "see" it coming. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood and you would not!" A man of peace who wanted to bring peace within human hearts and among human beings, but he would be killed by those he loved! Still he believed that good would come forth from such evil. Jesus had some sense that in spite of the evil so evident among God's created children, there was a spirit within and among them which could bring forth good. It is important that we understand evil is not necessary for good to occur. We are part of a process in which we can justify the hope that one day human beings can live with themselves in peace without the experience of evil and violence. God is nudging us in that direction. Sometimes it seems that human resistance is overcoming the nudging of God. We need to remind ourselves that within our own society there are many who disagree religiously but there has been sufficient progress that human beings in our society no longer find it necessary to justify killing one another because of disagreements. We no longer crucify persons because of their religious beliefs. That is one indication of progress that is evident in the process of human evolvement.