C Lent 2. 2010                                                             Christ Church , York

It seems strange to us in our modern world where the equality of the sexes is taken for granted and all legal rights are given to women as well as men, but in those days only a son counted for an inheritance. Only a son could carry on the family name and continue the family line. Only a son could represent the promise of a realizable future, even in the midst of clear and present dangers. Only a son could be the embodiment of hope and opportunity for future generations. Only a son could understand the meaning of sacrifice, fortitude, vision and courage. Only a son! And so for these reasons and more, Abram wanted a son; a son upon whom he could place his mantle and a son to whom he could leave his inheritance.

For Abram was not getting any younger. At age 75, he had set from his own country and his own people to follow a promise from God that he would be the father of a new nation. He traveled into Canaan and received the promise of God that this land would one day be his. Stepping out in faith, Abram trusted and believed his God. Through the famines which drove him into Egypt , to the wars in which he sought to wrest the land from his enemies, Abram sought to keep faith with the God who had made him a promise. But as time went on Abram seemed to grow tired of all this adventure and of the endless drifting from place to place and so he settles down on the plains of Shaveh, still keeping watch but now not so sure of the covenant promises that God had made with him. Still childless and seemingly no longer willing to wait for the fulfillment of that promise, Abram has appointed Eliezer as heir of his house, failing to acknowledge the call of the psalmist today that he was to “wait for the Lord and be strong. Take heart and wait for the Lord.” 

So God comes to Abram in a vision and reiterates the promise He has made - that Abram would have a son who would be his heir, a son who would come from his own body, a son who would fulfill the promise of the covenant and offer a promise of prosperity and protection into the future. The promise of such a son bolstered Abram’s hopes and renewed his energy and strength. And what a promise this was – that a son would be born from the body of a man and a woman who were both well past the age of childbearing and yet who would be their promise for a future. And so Abram believed and kept faith with his God. For if God could lead Abram into a land he could not imagine and give him a people to lead that were not yet in existence, then God could give Abram the son that he did not yet have thereby making the seemingly impossible a reality through the gift of His promise. But even more amazing was that, having made these promises, God did not break them for when God made a promise He sticks to it and if God promises something, He brings it to fruition. 

It was this promise of a son that would secure for Abram his legacy of faith and provide for a birthright that could be handed on as an inheritance. And such an inheritance was of first importance, for it meant the passing on of the mantle, the handing on of authority, the responsibility for leadership if the tribe was to survive. But Abram was concerned not simply about the physical inheritance but also the spiritual inheritance, for what Abram sought to pass onto his son was an inheritance of complete faith and absolute trust in God. This inheritance was far more important than any silver or gold, for Abram understood that faith in God is the greatest gift of all and a son would carry on this legacy and share it with the people who were to come, thereby making faith in their God the cornerstone of a new nation and a new people.

The promise of the son answered all the age-old questions that concerned Abram and his family – the questions of whether they would have a son at all to carry on the legacy and secure a hope for future generations; the question of what good the land would be without a son; the question of what good an inheritance was if there was no one to whom it could be passed; and the question of what good is the present without a hope for tomorrow. A promised son symbolized hope for the future because a son carries and transmits the seed of future generations while realizing the hopes, the dreams and the visions of those who had gone before and those who would come after. A son would embody and make real the covenant promise of God’s people and would instill within future generations, the strong values of the past.

My sisters and brothers, if Lent is about anything, it is about understanding what the Son has come to do for us. For God sent His Son Jesus so that we might have a future hope that cannot be vanquished by sin and death and evil or even by the sorrows and trials of our lives. Our hope is in Christ, the Son who gives us the power to look upward and outward to a yet more glorious day and it is because of Christ that we have a legacy of hope for future generations. It is because of Christ that we have a seed that will bear the imprint of future generations. It is because of Christ that we have a son who is the promised hope for the future. As Christians, this promise of a Son means God’s continued favor. In ancient times, a son was seen as a sign of God’s favor for health, wealth and prosperity for the whole family. But as long as Abram was without a son, he had to question whether God approved of his faith and his obedience. Without a son, Abram would always doubt about how he actually stood with God. What Abram needed was confirmation that God was still pleased with him. Knowing that, God granted Abram his deepest desire with the understanding that the birth of his son would be a sign of God’s continuing favor of Abram’s obedience, his commitment and his faithfulness.

Meanwhile in our lives we also look for signs of approval. We look for proof that what we are doing pleases God. We seek some external confirmation that God is in favor of those things that we do. And also like Abram we are not patient, willing to wait upon God for His plan to be revealed to us but instead look for signs of approval, of external proof that in our good deeds, God favors us. But this is false thinking and it is a poor way to properly understand our righteousness in faith before God. For it is in this Christ, this One whom God sent as a sign of His continued favor for His people and in Him alone, that we have our righteousness, in Him alone that our future is secured and in Him alone that we have a legacy of faith to pass onto to those who come after us. Jesus Christ is the Son, sent by the Father as a sign of His continuing favor toward us. Unlike Abram who was totally deserving of his son because of his faithfulness and obedience to God, we however are called to acknowledge that we are undeserving for we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, as Paul so rightly tells us. But out of His love and concern for us, God still sends us a son, His Son to give us eternal life.

For Abram, the son and his seed would continue into the future. For us as Christians, the Son Jesus and His seed continue through eternity. It is this promise which God makes to give us that Son that secures our hope for the future, solidifies our faith and assures us of God’s continued favor toward us. We are sinners, flawed and imperfect. But the promise of the Son and the gift of the Son is our sign of redemption and hope. That God would give us His only Son to die for us, is a continuation of that covenant promise He made to His people so many generations ago when Abram first stepped out into the desert night and tried to count the stars which would represent his future promise. The gift for Abram was the promise of a son and the covenant promise that went with it. For us as Christians, the promise of God’s Son is the promise of the new covenant. God promises to give Abram a son as a sign of His continued favor and prosperity. God gives us a Son who promises to fulfill all that God has promised through His spiritual lineage. The promise of a son cheered Abram, renewed his strength and bolstered his confidence in the future. The Son, Jesus Christ, promises to each and every one of us strength and power that will help us face the future with confidence. For in this Lenten season, it is not only the promise of a Son which is important but what that Son promises to us, forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life through baptism. In our Lenten journey to the cross that it the promise we hold on to more tightly than ever. Amen.