Rev. Dr. Bary R. Fleet - Pastor
July 20, 2008 – 9th Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 28:10-19a
Romans 8:12-25
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

A Spirit of Adoption

My daughter Christy was somewhere between two and three. My wife, at the time was an R.N. and she loved her work as much as I loved mine – but we also wanted to have a family. So, we set things up so that I would get my work obligations done in the morning and early afternoon, and then be home so my wife could be at work in time for her 3 pm to 11 pm shift. That meant Christy – and later, Tyler – and I spent lots of time together. I did supper … changed diapers, did the bedtime rituals … all the things a good parent would do. I would even take her with me on pastoral visits.

With that as background, Christy had infinite faith in me. She knew I would protect her and provide for her. We spent lots of time outdoors gardening and playing. I can remember one time when she found a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest – and died. Christy had so much faith in me that she brought it to me and asked me to “fix” it … with complete trust that I could – and would!

Last week we talked about families … about the limitations of families, about the idiosyncrasies of families … about the difficulties of family relationships.
Today Paul invites us to think beyond the notion that we are all brothers and sisters and to focus on God – our parent.

Most of us grew up with the idea that God is “Our Father.” That’s how we begin the Lord’s Prayer each week. But that image doesn’t work for everybody, because if God is like the father I grew up with – only in a bigger and more powerful way – then I don’t want any part of him. Some of us here this morning perhaps had fathers who were abusive – physically, emotionally, sexually; some of us grew up with fathers who abandoned us. Maybe they actually left us when we were young, or maybe they lived with us but just weren’t emotionally present. Some of us had fathers who preferred to be with “the bottle” than with us. So, if God is anything like our fathers, then … well, we just can’t imagine even wanting to be close to someone like that.

There are lots of us, however, who did have fathers who were present, who were nurturing, who loved us unconditionally – and let us know. And for us, the idea that God is like our fathers is pretty comforting.

The same is true for mothers. Some of us had good ones, who were there for us, who nurtured us, who kissed our “boo boos” and who tucked us in at night, who cooked wonderful meals for us, and was always there when we needed her. But others of us didn’t have anything close to that experience.

That is why so many of our hymns refrain from referring to God as either Father or Mother … or use both references: because God is bigger than, and different from, our parents. But, to the extent that we had good parents -or we can imagine what a good parent would be like - then we are invited to think about God that way.

God is the parent who maybe can’t fix everything, but certainly can wipe away every tear from our eyes. God is the parent who has provided for our future, who has promised never to leave us alone … even when we pretend not to be related to God. Remember the story of the Prodigal Son? That’s really a story about God’s love for us, even when we go off and do our own thing and waste our spiritual inheritance.

There are really two things that Paul wants us to remember, to believe:

That God is like the best parent we could ever imagine. While God might not be able to fix everything that is broken, God will always be present … and nothing will be able to separate us from God. God can take the brokenness and make something good out of it.

The second thing Paul wants us to remember is that our God … our Parent in Heaven … has included us in the will. We have an inheritance … we get to inherit the very same thing that our brother Christ inherited.

We are all hoping for good things to come. Sometimes that hope is for our own situation and sometimes it is for our children and our grandchildren. We have a promise from God: To the extent that we place our hope in our heavenly parent, our hope is not in vain.

Because we have been adopted into this family, we have nothing to fear … nothing … not even death. That is the Good News for today!

SERMON IN A SACK: A “Mama” stuffed bear and a “Baby” bear. Talk about good parenting … and that God is even better than our parents are – loves us even more.