2nd Sunday of Lent

Readings: Genesis 17v1-7&15-16; Psalm 225v23-end; Romans 4v13-end; Mark 8v31-end.

Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

A Word: In Genesis we hear God’s promise to Abram and Sarai, that God will make them the ancestors of a multitude of nations and kings, and God will be their God forever. This is an extraordinary promise because Abram and his wide Sarai are already old, and Sarai barren. As was the custom, as a sign of this promise from God, Abram and Sarai’s names are changed, and they became Abraham and Sarah. If you read later in Genesis, you will find that this couple met with angels, they became the parents of a son they named Isaac, the son who God asked Abraham to sacrifice, the son who Abraham would have sacrificed had God not stopped him and given him a ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac. And, from this father and son, the Bible tells the story of the growth of a nation; for God kept his promise and Abraham and Isaac became the ancestor of the Israelites, the people of God, the ancestor of King David, the ancestors of the people to whom Jesus the Messiah was born.

The letter to the Romans, tells us that the belief and trust that Abraham had in God’s promise was counted to him as righteousness. For Abraham believed, without wavering, that God would fulfil his promise because God was capable of doing anything. It is this kind of faith and trust – when we believe that Jesus died to take away our sins from us – that the letter tells us can be reckoned to us as righteousness too.

For Jesus died for everyone, and In Mark, we hear Jesus teaching his disciples that he was to suffer, be rejected and die, before being raised back to life 3 days later. Sadly, Peter took offense at what he heard and tried to stop Jesus; but Jesus would not be stopped and he warned Peter to move out of the way, to stop seeing things from a human point of view and called what he was doing, the work of Satan. Jesus then went on to teach the crowds that we are all called to deny ourselves, to carry a cross and to follow where God is leading us to. For, if we give up our lives for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, we shall be saved; but if we refuse this call and live any other way, Jesus warns that we shall lose everything – when Jesus returns with his father and the angels.

Today as I think about Abraham’s confidence in God and Peter’s shock at being likened to Satan, I feel compelled to acknowledge that we all have a choice to make. Dare we trust in God’s promises and follow Jesus’ example and have this counted to us as righteousness? Or do we refuse to do God’s bidding and condemn ourselves? For, from time immemorial, God has called all people to him, calling all of us to be the kind of people we hear about in the psalm. A people of worship and witness in a world so in need of God’s love. A people called to turn to the Lord. A people called to tell God’s salvation plan to the generations still to come. A people who praise and glorify God because he hears and responds to the cries of the poor and suffering. A people who believe and trust in the promises of God. Today, my choice is to believe and trust that what God says is true and that what God calls us to is to be his people, a people made righteousness by Jesus.

Let us pray: Almighty God, father of Jesus, you know we have no power to help or save ourselves. Show us the light of your truth and the error of our ways. Return us to the way of righteousness. Help us to reject sinful ways. Guide us to live in line with your ways. Defend our hearts, souls, minds and bodies from all that would hurt and harm us. Keep us in your flock as people of your sheepfold. Amen

Thank you for joining us.