Proper 6 (A) + God's safety net + 6.18.17

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Genesis 18:1–15, (21:1–7); Ps. 116:1–2, 12–19; Romans 5:1–8; Matthew 9:35–10:8, (9–23))

The other day Adriana shared a joke with some of us at coffee hour. It went like this: a man heard a prediction that he would die in an airplane accident. He decided that was not going to happen. So he went through his whole life riding the bus, taking the train, driving in cars, but avoiding airplanes at all costs. Then, one night, as he lay sleeping in his house, an airplane passing overhead had a malfunction. It crashed into his house and he died. The moral being that we cannot live our lives in fear of what might happen, because often what we think may occur may not occur the way we expect. We just have to live.
And, I would say, trust God. And know that at some moment we will have our last breath, but at least we will have lived fully.

The scripture today features Jesus telling the disciples this advice: “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (Matthew 10:19).” Do not worry. It is not you who speak… The context here is interesting. Jesus is telling the disciples something rather frightening. That they will go before the authorities on his behalf and to proclaim the truth. But he is also telling them that they can trust God.
Did you ever participate in a trust fall at camp as a kid? You fall back blindly into the waiting hands of your friends, and they catch you! This is how I envision God here. God will catch you.
Today we celebrate fathers- those among us, those who have gone before, and those who are father figures to us. We also acknowledge that not all fathers are superheroes. Many fathers disappoint or hurt us at times, but at their best, they show us something about God. Something about how God is always there to catch us. Some of us experience this through our biological fathers and some through other people in our lives, for example, seeing how the really good dads in our midst care for their kids.

Which brings me to a very early memory I have. It is a single image of my father’s thumb. I was about three or four and not yet a very good swimmer. And over the Christmas holiday my parents, my brother and I were staying at a condo complex that had a pool. And that pool looked very enticing. As a young girl, I was an early riser. So one morning I got up with the sun at about 5 am and managed to open the screen door and go try out the pool. Only I really didn’t know how to swim yet! And I was still quite small. So all of a sudden after I got in I panicked. That pool that had looked so inviting was scary. How was I going to stay afloat without my floaties or my mother to carry me on her back? I began to flail. And all of a sudden, a thumb came into my field of vision. It was the hand of my father, and as I grabbed it, it lifted me to safety.

That is kind of like what God is for us. Who nudged my Dad to get up and go looking for me early that morning? I truly think God was looking out for me. Who nudged Abraham to approach the three visitors at the oaks of Mamre, the ones we now believe may represent the triune God? Well, I imagine it was that same Holy Spirit, along with his ancient, honed practice of hospitality, a true survival skill in the desert cultures.

God nudges us, gives us the words to say, or the actions to take, when we trust, and we listen. And God cares for us, as we will hear about in next week’s gospel passage.
Abraham knew what to do, and Sarah too. She had almost given up on God’s promise. But here, a tired and skeptical older lady is promised joy. Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? Indeed, the answer is no.

Many of you may have watched the film “Wonder Woman” recently, and I wonder if you were struck, as was I, by the powerful decision the main character must make in the film. At first she, raised on an idyllic island, must learn about how humanity chooses both good and evil. And then she must decide to love humanity anyway, and to fight for the world.
There is so much sin in the world. We know, as Jesus says, that is probable that at some point in our lives that we will go through suffering. Just this past week we saw examples of sin in the shootings in Alexandria and San Francisco and in many other events around the world. Because humans can choose good or evil, bad things can and do happen as a result of the effects of evil in our world. And not just in expected scary places, like when dragged before the authorities, but sometimes at something as everyday as a baseball game or a workplace.
But the good news is that we do not have to live in fear. Because God has this. God, the ultimate parent, will guide us. Will tell us what to do. And ultimately holds us in the eternal safety net of God’s love.

Sometimes God guides us as God guided the capitol police in Alexandria, giving them the knowledge of what to do to neutralize the shooter to minimize the damage done. It has been said that if they had not responded as they had, many more would have been wounded and/or potentially killed.

Sometimes God just reassures us that it will be OK in the still, small voice in our hearts. When we are scared, whether that is a moment of outright fear, or a moment of existential crisis. When we are alone at night after a long day.

God says, you are precious to me.  I got this.

And this makes us brave. Brave even when bad things can happen in the world, and people can be hurt. Brave to love and serve others whether we agree with them or not. Brave to live as God intends us to.

Amen.