Sermon preached by the Rev. Richard Lampert
The Second Sunday in Lent
Gen.22.1-14,Rom. 8.31-39
his Lent, if you’ve tried everything else; “Why not try God?”
Listening to the National Weather Report last Monday and smugly watching the Nor’-easter “Mega Storm” roar up the Eastcoast, I thought about past winters in Boston and New York City (worse in Syracuse and Minneapolis-St. Paul). I remembered many past Lent’s: snow storms galore; Palm Sunday blizzard Processions; Good Friday White Out’s. Then I rediscovered an old friend, Slow Down ,written one stressful (snowy?) Springtime in Syracuse, N.Y. by Fr, Joseph Champlin, Rector of the R.C. Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception. I bought his book three years ago at the Tampa Franciscan Retreat Center. Turns out that Fr. Champlin had written a series of short Lenten pieces for the local neighborhood newspapers which focused heavily on the topic of stress. A creative advertising executive picked them up on the local radio station three days a week, throughout the day and at 5:43 P.M. right when all the listening audience were driving home in the ice and snow. At the end of each sixty-second “public service” spot, the following tag line message was repeated over and over again: “You may have tried everything else; why not try God?”
So, recalling Fr. Fred’s words last week about dying to self so that we may live for others and for Christ; seeking to find our own real selves once more; picking up Fr. Champlin’s Lenten sound bite phrase “Why not try God?”; and looking at today’s powerful lessons, let us begin!
Today’s Old Testament Genesis Lesson is the indomitable story about Abraham’s plan-ned sacrifice of his son Isaac and God’s last minute intervention on Mt. Moriah; which is seen as the prefiguration, preview, of Christ’s (God’s only begotton Son) Passion. In the Epistle to the Romans Paul shouts out that nothing (no matter how hard) can ever separate him or us completely from the love of God. In Mark’ Gospel chapter 8 we hear again the fundamental truthful words of, “The gospel within the Gospel”: ‘…whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.’Mk. 8.35 So, how do we gain back, find our life again? By giving it up to Christ and all those around us and then receiving it back in spades and re-discovering our true selves! Let go! Let God! Find self! These stories are the Bible’s, but they’re also my stories (“my real stories” as I told Jay Crouse Friday morning at the “Y” ) and perhaps they’re your’s too! Then, we hear today’s Collect’s piercing words:“……. bring us again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchange-able truth of thy Word, Jesus Christ thy Son; …..!”
Over the years you and I have all climbed our share of “sacrificial mountains”, often to be saved at the last minute up on the top by God. We all know too that after all is said and done, no matter how tough the going gets, when we remain faithful and endure, God will always be stead-fast with us; never forget us nor leave us alone. And we have also learned again and again that the Christian key, the life key, TO LIFE is letting go and giving away and then receiving back more than we ever gave out in the first place. And so the words of these three commanding lessons today call us back to Fr. Champlin’s compelling Upstate Syracuse, New York wintry words: Dear broth-ers and sisters in Christ, this Lent, why not try God again, even more than before?
Of course our dilemma is that we’re all like Peter! What do I mean? Look a moment at The Gospel! Three verses before today’s story Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” Peter replies, “You are the Messiah!” Then Jesus begins to teach that He must suffer, be rejected, cruci-fied. Peter is aghast, thinks He’s insane, rebukes Jesus. Messiahship does not include suffering! Then Jesus’words, “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus proclaims, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me!”Not words Peter or we really want to hear!
The sermon today: (1) urges us to trust God and remain steadfast in our faith.(2) It re-minds us that the best way to find and/or rediscover the true meaning of life is to Let Go, Let God, then Find Ourselves! Finally, (3) we are encouraged this Lent by the snowbelt Upstate New York words of Fr. Champlin, “You may have tried everything else, why not try God?”
We’re called today: “to embrace and to hold fast to the unchangeable truth of God’s Word!” With God’s help, let us all try to do so this Lent once again! AMEN