Genesis 12:1-9

(sermon note: 09-20 sermon note)

1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a lady who was at her desk one day and received a phone call from someone unknown. She went ahead and picked up the phone and heard a man say, “This is the Viper, I am coming in one week.” The lady hung up and seemed pretty confused. Six days went by and the same lady received another call. She picked up the phone and heard the same man from before say, “This is the Viper, I am coming tomorrow.” She started to become a little worried now. She had no clue who this “Viper” person was. The next morning, the woman got another phone call. Hesitantly, she picked up the phone and heard, “This is the Viper, I am coming this afternoon.” Now the lady was getting very freaked out and spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out who this person was. When the clock finally struck two o’clock, the lady got a knock on her door. She carefully walked towards the door and slowly opened it and outside was a man who then greeted her by saying, “Hello, I am the viper. I have come to vipe your vindows.”

Aaaah, get us in the mood for spooky season right around the corner. The old familiar refrain from our friendly vampire, “I vant to suck your blood!” I guess Dracula found a new hobby “viping vindows.” Well, good for him! And still striking fear in the hearts of poor, unsuspecting women…

Of course, you might be wondering what our friendly vindow viper has to do with our passage about Abram being called into unknown lands at the ripe old age of 75. Well, Abram likely shared a common emotion with that poor, unsuspecting woman—fear. Both Abram and that lady were faced with an uncertain future with potential harm. A random phone call from a man named the Viper has great potential for harm. Vipers aren’t the friendliest snakes out there! And unknown lands are inherently dangerous. Unknown people, unknown customs, unknown foods, unknown lifestyles, unknown languages…there is great potential for harm! Especially for a man in his later years, when his body and his familiarities are the only things that keep him going. Yes, both Abram and that lady had great cause to be afraid of the situations in which they were being called.

And yet they both didn’t allow their fear to get the better of them. Like Noah from last week, both of them summoned up enough courage to boldly walk into their unknown, fearful situations. In the case of Noah and Abram, God encouraged them with pretty good incentives. Either build the boat and gather your family along with pairs of all the animals onto it or DIE with the rest of the world. Oh, and Abram, you’ll become a great nation with a great name, both blessed and a blessing. For a man with no children late in his life, such a promise is hard to resist. We want to know our legacy will be carried on through our children. We need to know it! For many older people, securing the future of our children is our purpose and you can’t fulfill that purpose without children. So God’s promises of life and a future are pretty enticing carrots to dangle in front of Noah and Abram! It’s no wonder neither of them hesitated in taking God up on his offers. God sure knows how to butter up his deals!

If only all callings into the unknown had such enticements. Unfortunately, they don’t. in fact, most of us aren’t necessarily “called” into the unknown at all. We’re cast into the unknown whether we like it or not. Sure, we can put an angle on it and say that God “calls us into the unknown” but it doesn’t feel like a calling. Calls can be answered or not answered! Callings into the unknown seem voluntary; being cast into the unknown is more involuntary. Well, regardless of how we feel about entering the unknown, called or cast, we can and should take comfort in the wisdom of scripture. Yes, the unknown can be a frightening place but only if you think you’re alone. And guess what? We are most certainly NOT alone in the wilderness! When we find ourselves in the unknown, the wilderness, we should simply turn our hearts and minds to God who always walks beside us. Recall the words of Isaiah who says, “Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” (30:21) The Spirit speaks to us all the time, gently guiding us along the way. The beautiful thing about the unknown, wilderness times of our lives is that they can be quiet times. And the quiet enables us to hear the Spirit better, more clearly. Listen and heed the Spirit’s direction. Why? Because it reveals God’s purpose and hope. The Spirit’s direction reveals the truth of Jeremiah’s words, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” (29:11)

We are all called (or cast!) into the unknowns of life. Sometimes God dangles some good enticements. Most times He does not. But be assured that we are not alone. Our God walks with us and guides us and protects. We can and ought to go into that unknown unafraid. Simply obey God’s calling (or casting!) and appreciate the quiet time. We can sing as David sang, “You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.” (Psalm18:28-30) Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.