There is a series of videos called Nooma, and they are short 10-15 minute videos with a man named Rob Bell. Rob shares throughout these videos new ways to think about and to experience the Christian faith and he does so in a way that is very accessible for people who are new to Christianity or who have struggled with it in the past.
In the first video of the series, Rain, Rob goes on a hike around a lake with his little boy – who is probably a year or two old. His son is in a carrier on Rob’s back and they are enjoying the sun and the beautiful weather and the whole world together. Before they realize it, clouds start to build in the distance and have soon overtaken them. A single drop of rain falls from the sky, and then another, and then another, and before long they are caught in a downpour. And at first the little boy is alright – but soon there is thunder and lightening and the wind is coming from all directions and that little boy gets scared. Rob says, from deep in his being, his son starts to yell and cry so loudly and with such passion and terror in his voice.
And so Rob takes him out of the backpack, and holds him close and wraps his arms around him… and for the rest of their journey back home, Rob whispers in his ear “I love you buddy.” “We’re gonna make it.” “Dad knows the way home.” “ I love you buddy.”
Knowing that we were going to have so many little ones here this morning, as I read over the scriptures this week, I was automatically pulled to all of those loving and parental images that we hear in today’s scripture readings. In Matthew, we hear about how the heavenly Father cares for even the birds of the air and the flowers of the field… and if it cares for them, how much more will he care for and provide for us?
And in Isaiah, even though the people feel utterly forsaken and alone, God reminds them that like a mother who will not forget her nursing child, God will not forget them…. God will not forget us – for we have been inscribed on the palm of God’s hands.
In the United Methodist tradition, grace is so abundant and amazing that we talk about three different kinds of grace. Perhaps the one that we all know the best is justifying grace – it is the grace offered when we stand before God and acknowledge our sinful nature. We also believe in sanctifying grace which keeps pushing us on after we have accepted God’s love and forgiveness… it is the grace that leads us on to perfection.
But in both of our scriptures from this morning – in Isaiah and in Matthew – we hear about prevenient grace. This is the grace from God that is supporting us, guiding us, teaching us and leading us…. all before we can even recognize it. This grace comes whether we ask for it or not. This kind of grace is there before we are aware it exists.
What do I mean? Well consider those flowers in the field. Consider those birds of the air. Consider all of these little tykes here this morning. All of them are loved by God, all of them are cared for BY God, whether they know it or not.
What flowers and birds and babies have in common is that they are completely unable to care for themselves and utterly in need of God’s love. A flower can’t make the sun shine. It can’t make the clouds sprinkle down rain. And yet with hope and faith the flower grows…. God provides what it needs… and it blooms.
These children depend not only on God, but also on us – to provide them what they need in life. They probably don’t understand who God is. They don’t understand the significance of their baptisms, at least not yet. But we bring them here and baptize them this morning because we believe God loves us and cherishes us before we can even respond. God is already providing us what we need… even before we know how to ask.
Listen to all of these promises of God’s gracious love from the scriptures:
Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV): “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…”
Ezekiel 34:11, 16 (ESV): “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out…I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak…”
1 John 4:19: “We love him, because he first loved us.”
Like a loving parent, God knows that we need love and God gives it… abundantly. In our scripture from Isaiah this morning, we hear the words of comfort given to the exiles from Israel…. The promise that they will not be forgotten, that God will lead them back home. He says to the prisoners “come out” and to those who are in darkness he says “show yourself” He provides food and drink along the road home… he makes the difficult roads easier to travel… Like a mother, God tells us that he can never forget his children for they are inscribed on the palms of God’s hands.
That promise is heard again today.. It is for these beautiful children. And it is for all of us here in this place. Whether or not we are ready to accept that love – whether or not we are ready to turn back from old ways – whether or not we even understand…. GOD LOVES EACH ONE OF US… and God’s gentle spirit is nurturing and guiding us home.
However, there is a difference between those birds of the air and the flowers of the field and who we as human beings. Because unlike those flowers and birds, we are able to respond to God and to seek our own good. We have been gifted with the ability to choose… to either love God back or to seek our own way.
And oh, there are so many options out there. There are so many things that we can turn to. We live in a society full of fear and anxiety… and a society that will try to sell us a million different things to make us feel safer and more content. While it may seem out of place, the first verse from our Matthew text this morning is important… “ No one can serve two masters…. You cannot serve both God and wealth”
Too often we forget about God’s sustaining and abiding love. Too often we try to make our own go of it. And our lives become full of anxiety and stress as we struggle to make ends meet and make sense of the world. If we think back to that little child, whose father carried him through the storm, we can see nothing around us but the wind and the rain and the lightening and forget that we are being carried by our loving parent.
The answer however is not to sit back and wait for God to save us. The answer is not to stop working and hope and pray that God will send meals to your table and put gas in your car.
No, the answer comes in the verse that is on the front of your bulletins this morning. Strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness…. And all of these other things will be given to you as well.
Put God first… put the kingdom of God and the message of the gospel first in your life… and the other things will fall into place.
As we nurture and raise these children, we have so many choices about how to raise them and what activities they will be involved in and what school to send them to. What should they eat? What should they wear? Who should their friends be? And as parents, as grandparents, as the family that is the church that surrounds these children, we will struggle as we try to figure out what is best for them.
But the one thing we need to remember is that we don’t need to worry about those questions. Those kinds of things tend to take care of themselves as we learn to trust and follow and seek the Kingdom of God. Put that first in your lives. Put that first in the way that you raise your children. Put God’s kingdom first when you ask “what will we eat?” and “what will we wear?” and the answers will come to you.
The scriptures don’t promise that it will be easy. God’s answers and God’s way rarely is. But in doing so, we will be close to the one who loves us. The one who encourages us. The one who is holding us close and whispering in our ear. “I love you buddy.” “We’re gonna make it.” “I know the way home.” “ I love you buddy.”
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