On Wednesday March 15th, I was invited to lead worship and preach at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Valley, Nebraska. For their mid-week Lenten series, they are reflecting about people of faith, and the focus for the evening was on Abraham. I was invited to preach on Hebrews 11:1, 8-22, and to share thoughts about stewardship. What follows is the majority of the manuscript that I preached from. 

Grace and peace from our God, the God of Abraham, who knows you, claims you, and loves you, Amen.

It is a great privilege to be with you this evening, and I bring greetings from your 100,000 sisters and brothers in Christ across the Nebraska Synod, from Bishop Maas and Assistant to the Bishop Pastor Juliet Hampton, and from the whole synod staff. Thank you to Pastor Barbara for the invitation, and to all of you for your warm welcome. I am excited to be with you this evening, and to think together a little bit about having faith like Abraham, stewardship, and what God might be up to here.

Father Abraham- a man of faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…”

If there was ever a person of faith who rested in the hope and convictions of God’s promises without necessarily seeing them to their fulfillment, it was Abraham. Abraham, the great father of Israel, the man of faith from whom three different faiths trace their lineage, is a man of faith who sometimes doubted and sinned, just like us, but who trusted in God.

Abraham received the land as an inheritance. Abraham journeyed not knowing where he was going, but trusted that God was present and leading him. He believed that he and his future descendants, as hilarious of a thought as that was at his and Sarah’s age, were heirs of the promise. When Sarah gave birth to Isaac, much of Abraham’s doubt about who this God is was washed away. All human understanding of how things are supposed to work went out the window with that experience.

God invited Abraham to look to the stars, and pointing to the vast infinity of them said, “so shall your descendants be.” Infinite. Beautiful. Unique. Scattered. Signs of hope. The same stars that are made of star dust, the dust and ash much like we are all born of, and will return to someday as we remember on our Lenten journeys this season.

But we also know, and trust with Abraham, that God is our God. God has prepared a place for us at the heavenly banquet. And God has raised his own son from the dead, and promises us the hope of such resurrection, and abundant life.

To be honest though, I have always thought Abraham must have been a bit crazy. But since you heard about Noah last week, I imagine everybody thought Noah was crazy too for thinking it would rain and to build such an ark. But Abraham, trusted God even to the point of nearly sacrificing Isaac? I honestly don’t think I could do that. And thankfully, God did not allow that to happen, nor ever asked again for such ridiculous sacrifice except perhaps from God’s own self.

What’s this got to do with Stewardship?
What I love about Abraham most though is his stewardship. Before I say more, I need to probably define stewardship. Stewardship is an idea that some people think has to do only with money, well, friends as the Director for Stewardship, I have the opportunity to set the record straight. Yes, stewardship has to do with money, but it also has to do with so much more.

If we believe as Children of God, that all that we have and all that we are, are gifts from God, then stewardship is really about how we use all that we have, and all that we are in response to God’s good gifts, and promises. Put another way- our health, our bodies, our ideas, our dreams, our hopes, our stories, our questions, our money, our time, our passions, our talents, our treasures, our vocations, the beautiful creation that is all around us, and our relationships are all part of our stewardship- as we steward all that we are and all that we have; and recognize that these things have all been entrusted to our care to manage or steward by God. Stewardship then is about our response to all that God has done and continues to do for us.

In Abraham’s case, how did Abraham respond to God’s promises and covenant? How did Abraham respond to the gift of the birth of a son, Isaac?

Legacy
Abraham, like many people, was concerned about legacy. Legacy is a stewardship thing. How do you want to be remembered? What do you want to be remembered for? What impact or story do you hope inspires those who come after you?

Although at his age, Abraham probably had come mostly to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t have any descendants, he still likely pondered what kind of legacy he would leave. However, when given a promise of descendants, he would misunderstand or take it upon himself to do something about this, and hence, he would go to Hagar, and Ishmael would be born. Even with this, God still loved Abraham and fulfilled the promise of descendants. Through Isaac and Ishmael both God would make Abraham’s descendants like the stars, beautiful, unique, and scattered. This is quite the legacy, to have so many descendants, who are signs and part of the promise God made with Abraham in the covenant.

Promises- Stories, Sharing, and Faith
The way Abraham lived his life… through his faith in action, also said something about his stewardship. He wasn’t afraid to share of his faith in God with those he met. He did so, because he trusted the promises God made with him, so this was another way that Abraham lived out his faith, and stewarded it. I wonder, how does the way you live your life show how the good news and promises of God have impacted you?

Thanks
Though it’s never directly mentioned in Genesis, I believe that Abraham was grateful for all that God has done. I imagine he was a man filled with great thanksgiving to God for living 175 years of abundant life, full of mystery, unexpected adventures, and faithful journeying, I believe Abraham died a man thankful for the covenant and relationship he knew with God. And as much as asking and telling the story are crucial parts of a life of stewardship, obviously thanking and living a life of gratitude is equally a part of it.

Invitation to God’s Promises- What does this mean for us?
So, like a good Lutheran, I have a question. What does this mean? What does this mean for us today, here at St. Mark’s? What does this mean in this 500^th anniversary year of the Reformation?

Not only do I think Abraham in this case is an example for us, of what faith in action and depth looks like. I think he is an example of one of God’s stewards, a steward of the mysteries, love, and promises of God.

Since moving to Nebraska last fall, and in my first year in this call as a deacon in the church, serving as the synod’s Director for Stewardship I have seen and heard stories of congregations filled with great generosity, of stewards who know that they have unique callings and passions to respond to the needs of the world. They do so, out of joy and gratitude for all that God has done and continues to do- like for Abraham, providing life, hope, and purpose. And as we know through Christ, in our Lenten journey, providing hope, resurrection, and life eternal and abundant.

I have been struck by the way congregations support the work of the larger church through their Mission Share contributions which go to support building up new leaders and pastors, like your own wonderful pastor, Pastor Barb Oshlo. These contributions also make other work of the church possible, such as the work of the church’s many serving arms like Mosaic, Lutheran Family Services, and Lutheran World Relief; as well as the creation of new, transforming, and redeveloping ministries, sensing that God is up to something and feeling called to be a part of God’s on-going work in the world.

Summing it all Up
Abraham was impacted in ways that even he could not have imagined by God’s promises. We too are impacted by the promises of God, of a God who has come near to us, and meets us where we are, out of love for us. This love leads us out from here into the way we live our lives, and meet our neighbors. This love guides us forward, like it did Abraham in faith, not knowing where we might always be going but trusting, that in our journey, God is with us, leading us, and supporting us, as stewards God has called and entrusted with this work.

Thank you for being a part of this work, and for journeying faithfully hand-in-hand with your sisters and brothers across this synod, the larger church, and all around the world. To close, let us pray.

Journey prayer
O God, you have called your servants like Abraham to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils and joys unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.