In Praise of the God who Prods us.
In today’s readings, we have God giving two people a bit of a prod. Abraham and Matthew are nudged out of their comfort zones and asked to go somewhere else, do something else and BE someone else. To take up new tasks and different work. The Almighty is really good at this nudging business. When this happens, the prodded ones are often given a new name to signify new responsibilities and a fresh start. Think of Saul becoming Paul.
Today, we have Abram, who becomes Abraham. When you read over his call carefully, you begin to understand that this nudging and prodding business often does not seem very fair. In fact, God seems more like a friendly irritant than a gooey comforting God.
There’s Abram quietly minding his own business; he’s now 75 years old, so he’s of pensionable age; he has built up his superannuation with a wise and diverse portfolio of sheep, goats, cattle, oxen and maybe a few doves for good measure. He’s been in the same country all his life, the country of Haran, and it was his dad’s country before him, so he knows how it all ticks. As well as his lovely wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, he has probably built up a goodly number of friends and relationships over the decades.
It all seems pretty tickety-boo, snug and delicious.
Then God, seemingly uninvited, says Go, leave your country, your father's country and depart to a new land that you haven’t seen, but I’ll show it to you and give you the 3-point sales pitch. It’s called Canaan; don’t worry about the stinky Canaanites; you’re going to love it, and we’ll throw in the lands of Bethel and Ai as well.
In all of this, Abraham doesn’t seem to say much. He just calls on the name of the Lord and builds a couple of altars for good measure. I think Sarai and Lot might have had something to say… but we are not told.
Matthew’s call seems equally abrupt and disconcerting. It’s just another quiet day at the office. The Master comes along and says just two words, and Matthew gets up and follows him.
It immediately gets him into trouble when he throws a late-night dinner party at his house. Jesus, some of Matthew's tax-collector work colleagues and some sinners are having a great time when some Pharisees challenge the guest list and the security arrangements. This riff-raff shouldn’t be socialising with your teacher. And if we think about it, the challenge is not against the tax collectors and sinners, the barb is against The Master Himself. What sort of Teacher can he be if this is the sort of company he keeps?
Matthews’ new job, working alongside Jesus, will not be as easy as collecting taxes and getting rich on the profits. Living out mercy as a compassionate way of life is much harder than ticking the boxes on your spiritual wellness list. Mercy is an inner attitude that finds expression in every action and word. It requires the constant perception of what the other needs. It is not necessarily something you do; it is something you are. To be merciful (mercy full).
The good news. It is sinners that the Master calls, and we rejoice that even when we are a bit grubby, you and I are the ones he wants on his team. The soiled and squalid perfectly fit the key selection criteria to be a disciple.
The teacher looks to our future and potential, not back at our troubled and murky history. Like Matthew, we have to get up from our past, stand tall, leave our comfort zone and walk with Him to a new land and a new way of living.
When we are gallant and gutsy enough, two things happen.
First, we are blessed out of our socks. In ways that we sometimes know and often we are unaware of, and frequently we don’t realise until much later. Both Abraham and Matthew were blessed in their own space, in their own time, and we still read about them and are inspired by them today.
But something else really important and exciting happens. When God shoves us into a different place, he says
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
So we are not only called to be blessed, but to be a source of blessing to others.
Sounds terrifying and unachievable, but it is true.
Part of our vocation when we are nudged from our happy place is to be a source of blessing for others, and I can speak from personal experience that you are just that. You have been and continue to be a bubbly fountain of blessing for me.
And for that undeserved and thrilling blessing, I kneel with you before the throne of grace today and give you and our prodding God magnificent thanks.
In praise of the God who prods us.