Sun. Mar. 8, 2009 (Janice Kreider)

Janice Kreider spoke last Sunday on the faith of Abraham, the progenitor of three world religions. From the regional gods Abraham first knew, to the single voice of God, through to the profound contrariness of God as expressed in Rowan Williams’ faith message, this is a God who emphasizes relationships. How did Abraham come to benefit from God’s attention? Though in his dealings Abraham sought to give others the benefit, he was also led astray when he passed off his wife as another. So how does Abraham merit the promise shown him in Genesis? The Romans passage from that day makes plain God’s method - take those who do not merit it and bless them. Hagar recognizes this when she names the God who saved her and her son Ishmael in the desert as “The God who sees”. Though God’s promise to modern-day Jews is often seen as one of land, Janice notes that this land is important only symbologically. The land was important in different ways to Abraham, not for his sense of ownership of it, but how it was the site of God’s promise to him as progenitor of a people, not owners of a land. Janice wonders if this thought might be used more profitably in recontextualizing modern-day problems in the Middle East. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday Mar. 8th, 2009 using your browser's preferred media player.