Sermon Proper 7a “Stand in Angels”
In
the Gospels, Jesus is always speaking to all of us; his words are for all of
us. But sometimes, Jesus also seems to
be speaking to someone specific, someone in his or her own unique life
situation. Think of the occasion when
Jesus says to the rich young man, “Go sell all that you have.” This morning, this line from Matthew seems to
be meant for someone in particular:
28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a
penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are
all counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Jesus is probably speaking to a particular someone who had
bottomed out, who felt lost, who was suffering great anxiety, who had no sense of where his or her
life was heading, someone hopeless and full of sorrow. He was speaking to someone very afraid that life
would end in oblivion, and he was assuring a lost soul that he or she was
valuable in God’s sight.
I am thinking of a man who recently told us that he had been abandoned
by his parents at the age of 14 left in a motel room, or another person who
said his mom walked out when he was 2 weeks old. These two individuals were left so damaged and
so lost that you would think that there would be no hope for them. But hope does come. Hope comes because they are valuable in God’s
sight. They are more valuable than many
sparrows! And hope comes through you and me!
The same “comfortable” words could have been meant for Hagar the
slave girl of Abram and Sarai. As you
know, God had made a promise to Sarai that she would have a son in her old
age. 10 years had passed and Sarai was
childless and afraid. She was losing
patience with God and so she decided to take God’s promise into her own
hands. Forget God, I’ll do this myself.
Thus she arranges for her slave girl, Hagar, to sleep with Abram. The results were successful, perhaps too
successful, for Hagar conceives quickly and this further indicts Sarai as
infertile and less a woman than her lowly slave girl Hagar. But God is
true to his word: Sarai does conceive in her old age and she too bears a
son. No longer necessary, tossed out
with her son into the scorching desert to die with only a skin of water, Hagar
begs God to save her son. Think how
mistreated, abandoned, and worthless, poor Hagar felt. The Lord answers her
prayer. God bows down his ear and inclines
his heart to her prayer in the form of an angel. God is faithful and keeps watch over her,
because she is of more value than many sparrows.
God has pity on the dejected, the lost, those who are tossed out
into the desert of the modern world. And
God answers the prayers of the hopeless and lost by sending us. We are stand in angels sent to comfort, sent
to listen, sent to remind the lost that they are beautiful and worth more than
many sparrows. We are God’s stand in
angels. For the lost, we have to become
the gospel. In our very selves, we have
to become the good news for the hopeless.
We are called to be angels for all the modern Hagars. We are called to be the message that God
loves them, and when we hear their prayers, God hears their prayers. Never underestimate a kind word. Never belittle patient listening. This may require a lot of faith on our parts,
but God uses us to work miracles
every day. If our presence, our care,
our love, and our patient listening can give hope to one lost soul, then we
have done everything Jesus has asked and God’s will is done on earth as it is
in heaven. The lost sheep has been found
and there is rejoicing in heaven. The
prodigal son has been returned and the fatted calf has been offered for a
feast. By just listening, we have made all
the difference, and we have practiced resurrection even though we have never
used the word. By offering the thirsty a cup of cold water, we have made a heaven
on earth for the forlorn soul—even one who has never even heard of the Father,
the Son, or the Holy Spirit. We are God’s ambassadors, the ones God sends to
these lost souls. He sends us out to do
the work he has given us to do and he sends us out in peace, and grants us
strength and courage to love and serve him. He sends us as ambassadors for
these afflicted. Today and everyday let
us be Gospel, let us become good news. For all the Hagars, let us be stand in
angels.
Amen