Doing What God Would Have Us Do

March 16, 2025 - The Second Sunday in Lent

Good morning, Epiphany! I never imagined I would be standing here at this part of the worship. Reading the lectionary is one thing, but this, well, it's different! So please grant me grace.

Interesting scripture passages today. I love the relationship between Abram and God... minus the animal sacrifice! Abram complains to God: he has no offspring to inherit his wealth, so it will go to one of his servants. In those days that was a big deal. It seems one's progeny was one's immortality. But God hears, God loves, God gives Abram a wondrous promise. He WILL have numerous heirs! And we know that he does.

And Paul writes a love letter to the Philippians.

But my favorite piece is in Luke, where Jesus must be beyond weary of Herod and his threats, his cruelty. It was Herod who beheaded John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, his friend. 'Herod wants to kill you," say his friends. And Jesus, so bold and self-assured, snaps, "Go tell THAT FOX I will do what I will do!" In other words, "As long as I am alive, I will follow my father's calling!"

Jesus speaks truth to power and goes about doing what God would have him do. We are called to do the same, whatever else goes on around us, whatever obstacles interfere.

I want to tell you one of OUR stories.

In the late 1980's, a very long time ago now, Stephen and I had joined with others in Kalamazoo, especially Quakers and Church of the Brethren folks, to find ways to help the people of Central America. Wars were ongoing to bring democracy to their countries plagued by despotic rulers. Our group had set out to welcome a refugee family from El Salvador. The couple had been arrested, separated, imprisoned, and their three small children taken... they had no idea where. After many months of prison hell, torture and rape, they were released. In a miraculous coincidence, a neighbor had spotted the children being taken into an orphanage in the city. They knew then that they must flee, and made their way north to the US.

A program had begun in some U.S. border churches called Sanctuary, designed to help people fleeing these wars in Central America. That program, not legal then or now, was crafted to shelter persecuted refugees who had escaped from countries at war and fled to the United States.

It was through that network that the Flores family came to Kalamazoo. The program involved legal help, frequent fundraising, so much much adaptation on their part... but it was a success. Some of the family still live in Michigan.

As the war in El Salvador ended and life began to return to a somewhat normal level, Luis, the dad, could travel back and forth to his homeland and remained in contact with the freedom movement. We as a group wanted to continue our support of the family, of course, but also for the rebuilding efforts in El Salvador.

Luis learned of a tiny rural village there that was raising dairy cattle and needed a way to transport milk and other products to market in the city... they had no vehicle. They needed a truck. So we set out to raise funds, mostly through celebrations and Salvadoran dinners.

Eventually, we had enough money to buy a used little red pickup truck. Through all the efforts of planning and fundraising Steve and I, separately, were thinking WE could drive that truck to El Salvador.

We were told, especially by the Salvadorans, that we couldn't possibly do this. They knew the potential dangers... we'd be robbed, kidnapped, extorted by la policia and border officials.

So we tried to hook up with a caravan of others taking truckloads of things. That was happening in those days. No luck. Luis would be in El Salvador on other business, but his brother, who traveled frequently back and forth, could ride with us. Oops, no, he was not available. No matter. We KNEW this was ours to do.

I cannot fully describe the ways God blessed us on this journey. The Kalamazoo church people we called the prayer committee... Our mothers, we called the worry committee. We were so very sure that this was right, that it was God calling us to it as surely as Paul knew his destiny, as Jesus knew his. And we knew that the Holy Spirit would accompany us every kilometer of the way.

We certainly had adventures and challenges. Just one story of many. The highways, especially the smaller roads and especially the farther we were from 'el norte' are very dark at night, so we always tried to find supper and a place to sleep before nightfall. On this particular night, it was fast falling! We were following a paper map with no idea how accurate it might be, and we'd seen no sign of civilization. Just dense forest, once in a while a small lighted cabin or tiny farm. Once, an old dump truck carrying a load of sugar cane up the mountain road. But no food, no shelter. Now we were in the mountains of Guatemala, heading for the border with El Salvador where Luis would meet us. We had visions, unpleasant ones, of driving all night and sleeping at the border. We surely did not want to rest in that dark landscape.

So on we drove in that red pickup... tired, hungry, cranky, uncertain about anything, even that Luis would be there or find us. It's impossible to describe the degree of darkness, the hill after hill and twisted curves, seldom a dark farm or house deep in the forest.

As we started down another mountain slope on a narrow country road, still many miles from the border, I thought I spotted a bit of brightness in the distance. Realize now how undeveloped, how very rural is the landscape. Hours since any sign of civilization.

Around more curves and the next hill we saw what was not our imagination...it was indeed a very first-world-looking hotel complex. Now don't think Holiday Inn. Think Mexico... white brick and tile, a beautiful older but well-kept building, a white-fenced parking area, banana trees and bougainvillea.

Awed, we pulled into the gated area, walked in the doors and were greeted by a lovely Guatemalan woman, the owner, who welcomed us... in English! She told us she'd spent time studying in South Bend! I can't adequately describe the loveliness of this place... the pristine swimming pool, the delicious supper, the breakfast in bed for me that Steve arranged, brought by a sweet young Guatemalan server while he wandered the grounds.

We rested there for the day, and while luxuriating in the pool I noticed what seemed to be a dump in the near distance and some smoke. I lamented, saying, "It's not right, we're here in this luxury while there's so much poverty and pain outside this place". Those of you who know Steve will recognize his response as just Steve...he said, "Don't worry, this is all a mirage!" That's his quirky sense of humor, but the reality is that we so clearly saw the hand of God in our travel. We were so hugely accompanied by the Holy Spirit and buoyed by the prayers at home. All in doing what we knew was ours to do, our directive from The Creator.

The best part of the trip was arriving at the dairy village in El Salvador and watching the men and kids surround and explore that truck. They were all over it. While the women were preparing us a meal!

Friends, I believe these kinds of experiences - rich and frequent - do come to us if we listen and follow. I have learned here at Epiphany that we are cherished by God. Our successes and our failures are seen by God the way a loving grandparent sees a toddler learning to walk... and this is pure Fr. Michael! When the toddler falls down, scootches up to try again, falls once more...the grandparent smiles and says, "Isn't that adorable!"

I have learned that God in Jesus became one of us not only to save us from our sinfulness - very important indeed - but also to show us how to endure being human and to join us, love us in our pain and in our joy.

God doesn't 'need' our worship. We are created to love God and WE need our worship. The very creation worships, is made for it, out of LOVE.

How we live our lives is what matters. I remember a bumper sticker that said, "Proud to be a Christian." I think it's the opposite. We are profoundly grateful, and our gratitude is shown, is actualized, in gifting one another, in service to one another and to all of God's creation.

Amen.