The Journey
Sermon on Sunday, March 1, 2026
Dear church,
I have visited and revisited the story of Abraham many times, especially the very beginning. There remains a mystery around Genesis 12 that can probably never be seen in the light of day, ancient as the story is and based on oral tradition. Don’t you wonder… what made this settled man move from a place of relative comfort, a place where he could retire, into the wilderness to follow a mysterious call and some spectacular promises? Did Abram have a midlife crisis? Reading Genesis 12, it would also not be far-fetched to wonder whether Abram was a victim of fraud. Yes, yes, we know better, hindsight being 20/20, we know what happened afterwards, but when you only listen to the beginning of this story and pretend not to know the outcome, it sure sounds fishy, doesn’t it? “I will make you into a great nation…”
Maybe it’s just me and how I experience life in 2026. I have become extremely suspicious of promised lands. We are constantly confronted with fraudsters, aren’t we? We get those messages that our computer has been hacked and needs to be fixed right now. Call this number! These hackers are after your personal information! Your cyber safety is compromised! Before long, the people who pose as your saviors are revealed as the real hackers, trying to lure you into their sophisticated trap. Or: you get a message. “Pastor Wagner needs your help for a family in need. Can you send a gift card or wire some money for this worthy cause?” And 100 out of 100 times it turns out that the message did not come from Pastor Wagner. It likely came from a fake email address. Someone is fishing for you and trying to take advantage of the good intentions, care and generosity of people. Other frauds promise us great deals and then the old advice is as relevant as ever: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably ain’t true.”
When Abram heard the words, which are recorded in Genesis 12, it sounded too good to be true, didn’t it? I mean, a narcissist would immediately fall for it. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Wow! That sounds good, that goes down like honey. Well, well, Abram, it may be too good to be true… Be careful, Abram!
So how did Abram figure out that this voice that reached him out of nowhere was trustworthy? What made him leave his house and home in the fertile Euphrates Delta of Mesopotamia to follow this dream, this calling, this vision? Abram could not trace the voice to any visible source, no known god or cult. The voice came from the unknown. Just like in the beginning of the gospel, when John, the Baptist is thus introduced: “A voice calling, ‘in the wilderness make a path!’” … A path for some as yet unknown Messiah.
What inspires people like Abram to radically change their lives when their lives have been perfectly good or at least decent and safe? What inspires people to go on a journey of discovery when there is no obvious urgency? Something must tell them that the call they hear is real, trustworthy and important, which can never be proven without reasonable doubt but is a discernment that happens in the human heart and soul.
Here is my take on it. I believe that most calls of the vocational variety, calls that change lives and sometimes turn them upside down, come over a longer period of time. It’s more like a constant drip of water that carves out a small basin in our hearts where this unknown God communicates with us. We don’t read that in the original text in Genesis but I imagine that something was stirring in Abram for some time.
Also, let us pay attention to the fact that Abram doesn’t hear the voice say, “You must leave your home, or else!” God does not treat us like that. He respects our free will. Most of the time, when fraudsters approach us, whether it’s the kind I mentioned earlier or fraudsters of the religious variety (like cults), they have one thing in common: they always come to us with tremendous urgency. “You must do this… you must do it now, or else!” I don’t hear that kind of message and energy in Genesis 12. Abram can freely decide whether he wants to follow the mysterious call from a mysterious divinity or not. There are no ill consequences if he doesn’t, at least not that we know of. It’s a call that has been stirring in his heart for a while. He is ready to move now.
In many ways the entire story of Abram is a story of faith, which is what Paul emphasized in the Epistle reading. Faith is never about knowing for sure. When people say to me, “I am not so sure about my faith anymore. I have some questions…” I’m thinking, “Great!” You are probably closer to real faith now than you were before when you thought you had it all figured out… On our faith journey, we almost certainly will not make decisions that are as dramatic and life altering as Abram’s, but we all face many unknowns in life. Developing trust and comfort in the midst of life’s unknowns, relying on God’s presence and guidance, allowing doubts without succumbing to them, all of that is part of the great journey of faith. Wherever you are at this point on your journey, do not be afraid. The great “I am,” the God of Abraham, our Father in heaven, is with you, and at every turn, something precious will be added to your soul, the accumulation of which is an inner life where milk and honey flow. Be blessed on your journey! Take heart! Trust in God.
Amen.
