Lent 2 (B) + The long view + 2.28.21

 

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Psalm 22:22-30; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38)

At Genesis’ school’s elementary section this past week, the kids celebrated one hundred days of school by asking themselves what they would be doing when they were one hundred years old. One child said that when she is one hundred, she wants to teach- hopefully she can do so much before then! And another child replied with wisdom beyond his years- “I will be retired!”

I thought of this exercise in taking the very long view fit pretty well with our first scripture this week. Abram was ninety-nine years old when God changed his name and changed his life, giving him a family. This struck me as sort of poignant in light of our current situation as this week we remember Haydee Sarti, someone who seemed so vibrant and still in the prime of life until she got so sick and eventually died from her maladies. In many ways we felt like Haydee had some good years ahead of her, but her body had a different take. And we know we should rejoice, and we do, that Haydee is with God and reunited with Eduardo and all those who have gone before, but every year we miss our friend, too.

In the same way, President Biden honored the over 500,000 who have departed this life due to the complications of COVID-19 this past week and he mentioned that each was in their own way extraordinary. In each case a life was cut short. Perhaps only by months, but perhaps by years. And we wonder, where is the promise to Abraham in all of this?

Another question is, after a whole year of thinking in the short term and in terms of how we can protect ourselves now, how can we connect to the long term hopes we have as people of faith? How can we take the one hundred year view?
I think there are two possible insights in these passages that help me take heart and take the long view. One piece to remember is that even though God came to Abraham at such a late date, God blessed Abraham with many descendants, and spiritually we are all a part of the Abrahamic family. Thus this survival becomes not just about us individually but us preserving each other as a family. We hope and pray that as the virus rates drop, fewer and fewer and eventually no more of the family of God will perish from this disease. And at the same time, as with any loss, it is for the rest of us to keep enjoying life, in the same full-fledged way that Haydee did, not in spite of our loved ones who have gone before or in spite of those who have died from COVID-19 but because in being reminded of all of our mortality, we are reminded to live life fully here. Not because this is all there is, but because this life that God has given us is beautiful, and to be enjoyed when possible.

Secondly, the gospel passage imparts a different wisdom for those of us who have been fighting to preserve our lives and those of others around us. Jesus uses this time with his disciples to acknowledge the sinfulness of the world. Because it is not that God wants Jesus’ suffering and death. God just knows and Jesus knows in the Godhead that when you preach about love and heal people on the wrong day and just generally do renegade things, some people will not be able to handle it. And the fear that is behind hate will rear its ugly head and people will get hurt, or die. Did we not see a similar fearfulness turned to hate and violence at the Capitol last month?
In other words, Jesus is stating the facts. And Peter can’t handle it. It doesn’t fit with his neat understanding of God- and I get it. How often do I want to put God in a box, and have God my way? But God is not a happy meal. God is above anything we can imagine. God is able to lavish upon Abraham a covenant that spans generations, like the sand in the desert or the stars in the sky. God is too big for us to box up. And Jesus reminds Peter of this. Human sin will lead to his suffering, but that is not the end of the story.
We know the end of the story. Jesus will go through all of that, but God, by amazing grace, will use the worst thing that ever happened to bring about the best thing that we could dream of – redemption, forgiveness, grace. By the mercy of God we are saved, and we can never be condemned again!

In the meantime, we live in a world. A world in which evil still exists, and disease. A world in which, although the numbers are looking way better and praise Jesus for that! – we still need to take good care. And yet, at a certain level, it is not about saving our individual lives. I don’t mean people shouldn’t take care. But there come times when we might feel called to take risks for the greater good. Risks such as those Officer Eugene Goodman took in drawing a crowd of angry protesters away from the members of Congress. He might have been injured or killed, but he thought about the greater good. And much smaller risks. Time was earlier in this pandemic when I was petrified to go into the hospital, and was told I was not allowed. But the other day, when Reid was going to have surgery, I gladly went in with assistance from the chaplain’s office. I wasn’t afraid at all. In part because the hospital is following good precautions and in part because it just felt like the right thing. I wanted to be there for Reid. And I took precautions, but I also felt covered somehow. Because we don’t live for ourselves, we live for Christ.

So to take the long view today, I would like to remind you that as much as you must take good care of yourselves and others- and that is very important- that paradoxically we cannot forget that we are God’s, one small part of God’s huge family, and that, whether we live or die, we are part of Christ. May that knowledge help you take the long view as you move forward into this time when we will soon enter a different phase of this time, and so that we can serve others and God and enjoy life in all of its fullness. Amen.