Readings of the Day:
Sermon:
This week at Colonial Haven, our retirement home here in Greensboro, I had the pleasure of talking to several people after
the service I led there. One woman told me of her experience of prayer with God.
That she would pray to God, even before a test in school. And that as she got
older, she would bring anything on her mind to the Lord. In a way, I think God
has been a constant companion for her throughout her journey through life.
And what she said made me reflect on my own experience. In seminary, I was blessed to spend a semester abroad in Cambridge, England. But before I began, I spent some time traveling. Mainly to Ireland, since I had never been there before. And with a name like “Kennedy” I felt it important to connect with some of my heritage.
It wasn’t my first time traveling on my own. But it was my first time traveling to a different country on my own. And in many ways, that was very scary.
And what she said made me reflect on my own experience. In seminary, I was blessed to spend a semester abroad in Cambridge, England. But before I began, I spent some time traveling. Mainly to Ireland, since I had never been there before. And with a name like “Kennedy” I felt it important to connect with some of my heritage.
It wasn’t my first time traveling on my own. But it was my first time traveling to a different country on my own. And in many ways, that was very scary.
But I always felt safe. Because I felt just what this woman I spoke to felt. That
God was my constant traveling companion. Because just as I would listen to Him
to figure out the best way to go about my journey, I would also talk to God. And
while listening and speaking didn’t really involve words, at least not all the time,
it did involve a closeness. A comfortableness with our Lord.
From the beginning of my time among you, our readings have focused on listening to God. But that’s only one part of what God desires from us. He doesn’t just desire for us to listen. He wants us to talk with Him too. To share what is going on in our lives with Him. To have a relationship with Him.
That can seem daunting. Having a relationship with The Lord. The Creator of all that Is. It might seem a little arrogant to say that God wants us to basically be friends with Him. To say we can bring our thoughts and concerns to one who has everything in the world to worry about.
But the reading from Genesis this morning shows us something different from what we might expect. This story comes after God’s visit to Abraham to bring news of the coming birth of Isaac. And in this moment, God reveals that He will destroy Sodom and Gomorra.
The thing is, Lot, Abraham’s nephew, lives there. So destroying that city puts Lot in danger.
From the beginning of my time among you, our readings have focused on listening to God. But that’s only one part of what God desires from us. He doesn’t just desire for us to listen. He wants us to talk with Him too. To share what is going on in our lives with Him. To have a relationship with Him.
That can seem daunting. Having a relationship with The Lord. The Creator of all that Is. It might seem a little arrogant to say that God wants us to basically be friends with Him. To say we can bring our thoughts and concerns to one who has everything in the world to worry about.
But the reading from Genesis this morning shows us something different from what we might expect. This story comes after God’s visit to Abraham to bring news of the coming birth of Isaac. And in this moment, God reveals that He will destroy Sodom and Gomorra.
The thing is, Lot, Abraham’s nephew, lives there. So destroying that city puts Lot in danger.
And so, from his fear for Lot, Abraham approaches God. The Creator of everything. And asks that if 50 righteous can be found, will God please show mercy.
Now God didn’t have to allow Abraham to do this. He could have easily smote Abraham for daring to ask. But that is not the sort of relationship God wishes to have with Abraham. And so He listens. And grants Abraham’s request.
And even then, Abraham continues to beg for the lives of Sodom and Gomorra. What if it’s just 45 righteous? 40? 30? 20? 10?
And even though this may sound like impertinence to us, God still allows Abraham to speak. To plead for the people He has said He will destroy. And God grants it to Abraham. That if only 10 righteous can be found in the city, the whole place will be spared.
Unfortunately for Sodom and Gomorra, there weren’t that many righteous people living there. But God grants to Abraham what it was that he was really hoping for. God sends His angels to save Lot and his family, and to bring them out of harms way.
God wanted Abraham to bring his concerns to Him. He wanted to have a close bond with Abraham. And He wants that same bond with each of us, as we see in the Gospel reading today.
At the very beginning of this lesson, even, Jesus gives us a way to talk with God, to talk to Himself, through the Lord’s Prayer. A way to be in conversation with Him. A way to tell Him our needs.
And at the end of the lesson, Jesus says “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Basically, God wants to know what our problems are. He wants to help us. He wants to be close to us. He wants to be with us, always.
And if that is not enough, this lesson ends with Jesus saying “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
God does not want to limit our access to Him. He doesn’t want to wait until we
are supposedly worthy. God wants to have a relationship with each and every
one of us. Right now. And that is why He wishes to pour out His Holy Spirit
upon anyone who would ask for it.
And why does God want to be in relationship with us? Because He loves us. And He loves us so much He was willing to come down and be with us as a human being. And He was willing to die as a human so that we all might be able to live again.
From this love that is willing to sacrifice itself for others, we know that God wants to be in relationship with us. And to truly be in relationship with God requires more than just listening. Like any good relationship, it involves a back and forth. A conversation.
And as Martin Smith in his book The Word is Very Near You states, this is what prayer is. What we are all called to do. Mainly to be with God. To listen but to also talk. To talk but also to listen. To make God our constant companion as we travel through life.
Because that's what God wants: to be our constant companion. Because He loves us. And that is why He wants to be in relationship with us. And for God’s love and grace, and for His desire that we would move to be ever closer to Him, we can truly say, Thanks Be to God!
And why does God want to be in relationship with us? Because He loves us. And He loves us so much He was willing to come down and be with us as a human being. And He was willing to die as a human so that we all might be able to live again.
From this love that is willing to sacrifice itself for others, we know that God wants to be in relationship with us. And to truly be in relationship with God requires more than just listening. Like any good relationship, it involves a back and forth. A conversation.
And as Martin Smith in his book The Word is Very Near You states, this is what prayer is. What we are all called to do. Mainly to be with God. To listen but to also talk. To talk but also to listen. To make God our constant companion as we travel through life.
Because that's what God wants: to be our constant companion. Because He loves us. And that is why He wants to be in relationship with us. And for God’s love and grace, and for His desire that we would move to be ever closer to Him, we can truly say, Thanks Be to God!