Second Sunday in Lent
Sermon by The Reverend Loree Reed

Genesis 17: 1–7, 15–16 Mark 8: 31–38
Lord, may we hear your voice in the words spoken in your name.

You probably remember Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, Pied Beauty, which begins:
Glory be to God for dappled things –
For skies of couple–colour as a brindled cow,
For rose moles all in stipple upon trout that swim –
And then, after reciting a long list of spotted, speckled, freckled things, the poet cries out, “Praise Him!”
Hopkins was praising God because God had created a perfectly beautiful world that is seldom pure white or pure black – or pure anything, for that matter.  Instead, we are all spotted and speckled and freckled – not just in our appearance, but morally and spiritually as well.  And Hopkins, seeing the beauty in the mix and realizing God has called it all ‘good,’ praises Him and gives Him glory.
And so can we, this Second Sunday of Lent – even if we’re not doing as well as we’d meant to in our Lenten vows and resolutions, even if we fall far short of anything like perfection.  We know our own flaws and weaknesses.  We know we’re not perfect – without spot or freckle.  And we’re not trying to persuade anyone that we are.  What some of us might not realize is that God finds our imperfections absolutely beautiful.  For in our weakness we depend on his strength.  In our need we cry out to him; we draw close.  And in our acknowledgement of our faults and failures, we find humility.
This way of looking at things helps a lot when we look at Abram and Sarai this morning.  Usually, when their names are mentioned, they’re being praised as paragons of faith – a couple who believed the promises of God and whose faith was counted to them as righteousness.  And it’s true.  In twenty–four years of following God and believing his promises to them – the promise of land and the promise of a child – their faith has not wavered.  Even so, they are deeply flawed human beings.  Abram allowed Sarai to persuade him to conceive a child with Hagar, her maid.  “Maybe that’s what God intended all along,” she said.  And Abram convinced Sarai to lie to Pharaoh, telling him that Abram was her brother, to protect his own life.  So they’re hardly perfect.  They’ve made some mistakes.  But they’ve also followed God at quite a cost to themselves.  In leaving Haran they left family, land, inheritance, and other gods – all to bind themselves to this God, the God of all creation.  And in response, this God, in the twilight of their lives, promises one more time to bless them with their hearts’ desire – with children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.  And he does it, not ignoring their faults and weaknesses but accepting them and blessing them just as they are.  They’re not perfect, but they are beloved, spots and all.
This perspective also helps when we hear the sharp exchange between Peter and Jesus in Mark’s Gospel this morning.  Up to this point in Jesus’ ministry Peter has seen Jesus in just one single dimension.  He has seen him as an unqualified success, as one favored by God and anointed to bring God’s kingdom to this earth.  That is why he’s ready to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth . . . as Jesus teaches cheering crowds . . . as he performs one miracle after another . . . as demon after demon obeys him and — “pouf!” – disappears.  To Peter, Jesus is a superstar, and he never wants that show to end – not ever.
What Peter has missed is that Jesus has come to earth not to live out the world’s idea of success, but to live out God’’ plan.  What Peter has missed is that Jesus has come not just as Son of Almighty God but as son of flawed man, as well.  He’s the Suffering Servant of all.  What Peter has missed is God’s love for his speckled, spotted, freckled children – and his willingness to give to the uttermost on their behalf.
So Jesus corrects his disciple – sharply.  He identifies the impulse within Peter to turn Jesus into an unqualified success as a Satanic temptation.  And he tells Peter in no uncertain terms to get back in line, back into the ranks of those of us who don’t get it – but follow, as best we can, all the same.
Abram and Sarai hadn’t understood – but they had followed – faithfully – year after weary year.  And they had hoped – not just for what God was promising them – but they’d hoped in God as well.  And when your hope is in God you are never disappointed.  It’s all about need.  It’s all about trust.  It’s all about relationship.
When you hope in God, when you trust in God – you may not have any tangible token to show the world that you rest in his favor.  You may be praying for something.  You may be praying earnestly for something your heart desires above anything else.  But while you wait with empty hands you are proving that you trust God utterly.
That’s what happened with Abram and Sarai.  It was their faithfulness despite their weakness, despite their mistakes, despite their need, that qualified them in God’s sight.  And he finally rewarded them with the son they had longed for.  So they named the child Isaac, which means laughter.
Of course, the ultimate example of hope and trust and faith is Jesus himself.  At one point, when he is still in heaven with God, Jesus is full – full of glory, full of strength, full of power.  But he empties himself of all that power and strength and glory to come to earth and join us – weak and needy, spotted and speckled though we are.  Just to show God’s love for us.  Just to model how we are to relate to God – full of trust, full of hope, full of need.  Just like Jesus we are fragile in our lack of strength.  Just like Jesus we are vulnerable in our lack of understanding.  And just like Jesus we are spotted and speckled in the eyes of the world but absolutely beautiful in God’s sight.
Glory be to God for dappled things.
Amen.
 
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