Shedding Our Sins

​2nd Sunday in Lent – A                                                                                   LSB #s 419, 423, 918
Text – Genesis 12:1-2
 
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country & your kindred & your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation, & I will bless you & make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”
 
SHEDDING OUR SIN
 
 
How many of you know anything about lobster?   I don’t mean the food people eat, but the creature’s life as it lives in the ocean.  How does a lobster grow bigger when its shell is so hard?  The only way to grow larger is to shed its shell at regular intervals, but its shell is its main form of protection.  The lobster needs to risk its life in order to grow. 
When its body begins to feel cramped inside, the lobster looks for a reasonably safe spot to rest while the hard shell comes off.   The pink membrane just inside forms the basis of the next shell, but no matter where the lobster goes for this shedding process, it is vulnerable.  It can get tossed against a coral reef or eaten by a predator. 
Sometimes, the circumstances of our lives make us feel cramped in.   Have you ever found yourself in a rut where you’re doing things you just hate to do?   Maybe you have a sneaking suspicion that you’re not living up to your potential, that what you’re doing with your life is lacking meaning or purpose.  It might be that your shell has gotten too tight. 
In a world corrupted by sin, people can end up being smothered by an old shell that’s no longer useful or productive.  We can deceive ourselves into thinking we’re safe by avoiding change.  Satan loves to trap us in a prison of our own making.   Our thinking is always being corrupted by sin, which leads us to fear even the good that God might do through us. 
When our circumstances change to something entirely new, we feel vulnerable because we have no experience of our own to lean upon.   And we definitely value leaning upon our knowledge & our ability to control our circumstances.  The book of Genesis, up to today’s reading, has been dealing with the universal history of mankind.   At chapter 12, the focus narrows down in a major way to the kingdom of God.  With the call of Abram, the Lord begins to reverse & undo the fall into sin.  The plan to rescue mankind – entirely an act of grace on the part of God – will be fulfilled through Abram & his offspring. 
Yahweh chooses Abram & sets the divine plan into motion.  The history of salvation, like that of creation, begins with the spoken word of God: “…Go from your country & your kindred & your father’s house   to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation, & I will bless you & make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”  (Genesis 12:1-2 ESV) 
Talk about change & the vulnerability it brings, Abram was asked to leave behind everything that he knew.  He’d have no way to lean upon his own wisdom or ability to control his circumstances.  God was calling Abram to leave his comfortable old shell & risk his life in order to grow.    Have you experienced that kind of unsettling call of God? 
How did you respond?   Even if you took the leap, were you able to determine what it was that trying to hold you back?  Satan loves to hold us back, to turn our thoughts & activities completely inward.   The heavenly Father blesses us against Satan’s will, but if the devil can cause us to hoard those blessings then they will not be beneficial to others as God intends. 
At this moment in life, the Holy Spirit may not be calling you to leave behind everything you know, yet He most certainly is calling you to be vulnerable so that you can grow.   To repent of my sins, to repent of your sins, feels incredibly vulnerable, but shedding our sins is the only way to grow.   Wallowing in them counteracts everything God desires for us. 
As Martin Luther wrote, the Holy Spirit “…calls, gathers, enlightens & sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth…”  (LSB p. 323)  He enlightens us, among other things, when He shows us our sin.  He sanctifies us, among other things, when He empowers us to repent.  As the Bible records it, both John the Baptist & Jesus began their public ministries with the words, “Repent, for the reign of heaven is at hand.”  (Matthew 3:2 & 4:17)   Yahweh is reigning even when it looks like everything is going wrong.   Things were certainly going wrong with Abram’s family when God called him to leave.  His family was practicing idolatry. 
Effectively, God was calling Abram to shed the family sin, no matter how comfortable it had become.  If Abram didn’t leave, he was going to die in that sin.  From an earthly perspective, there is strength in numbers, so going from his country & his kindred & his father’s house, put Abram & his family in harm’s way by leaving it all behind. 
Still, the Holy Spirit called, gathered, enlightened & sanctified Abram.  The reading from Romans 4 told us, “Abraham believed God, & it was counted to him as righteousness.”  (4:3 ESV)  Abram trusted that Yahweh would save him & keep the promise of blessing him, no matter how vulnerable he seemed to be.   “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…”  (Genesis 12:4a ESV) 
What is your shell made of?   What is it that gives you comfort or a sense of security here on earth?  What is it that you would find very difficult to lose?  Many of us have had our parents die.  Some   have had children die.  We have changed jobs, moved away from homes, pets have come & gone, marriages have come & gone, churches have changed. 
All those things, & many more, can effectively be a shell we have lived in & outgrown.  Some, were blessings from God, that we ended up elevating above Him.  Others were a rut we got stuck in – like the sin of idolatry.   As God’s Spirit has called us on, we have had to deal with fears of feeling vulnerable, lost or uncertain.   Should I stay,    or should I go? 
Accepting change can literally feel like putting our lives at risk.  It’s a well-known fact that most people hate change, even when it is our sin that is cramping us in.   Other shells cramping us in are blessings, but once we’ve outgrown God’s purpose for them, clinging to them will hinder our growth.   It can hinder the will of God.   In 1993, I really   did not want to be a pastor.    By 1994, the entire life I was living was blown to pieces by God’s love for me.  Then, I couldn’t wait for the summer of 1995 when I’d begin my studies at seminary. 
Some changes God offers to us.  There are others that He forces upon us.  Whether we go along with them or not, the heavenly Father will not love us any less.   However, if we reject the changes that God offers, our family, friends & community will be poorer for it.  If we resist any of the changes the Holy Spirit brings, we will be the poorer for it. 
God the Son came to earth in human flesh because He knew man could never accomplish the change needed after Adam’s fall into sin.   For all the times you & I have rejected or resisted the changes our Lord offered to us, there is forgiveness.  The blood of Jesus has washed away the stain of our sins.  Our resurrection, the ultimate change, is guaranteed. 
For life on this earth though, it is only Christ’s love that can empower us to accept the changes our Creator has in store for us.  Those changes will still bring feelings of vulnerability.  Shedding our sins through repentance is always uncomfortable because our sinful nature is strong.   Yet, in leaning upon Christ, His Spirit will get us through to the other side. 
The truth is repentance always makes us more safe, not less.   The feeling of vulnerability that comes with it is a lie from our sinful nature.   Rather, repentance is what restores our opportunity to be all that God would have us to be.   Though repentance can feel like death it actually is the Holy Spirit calling us to life, to shed our sin & to grow. 
As St. Paul wrote in the Epistle lesson, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, & whose sins are covered.”  (Romans 4:7 ESV)   St. John assured us in the Gospel lesson, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”  (John 3:17 ESV)   Our Creator is not out to get us when He calls us to change.  He came to rescue us from sin, death & the devil.  If your life is feeling cramped by the suspicion  that you’re not living up to your potential, remember that, as the Holy Spirit calls you,  it is His call that makes your life significant.  It does not matter what God calls you to. 
Shedding our sins through repenting of them can feel like a drastic change that every fiber of our being seeks to avoid.  Yet, repentance is a gift from our Lord.  He earned that gift for you & for me on the cross.  The reign of heaven is at hand & God is promising to bless us.  He’s inviting you to join Him?  Amen. 
 
 
 
Jesus, refuge of the weary,  blest Redeemer,  whom we love,  fountain in life’s desert dreary,  Savior from the world above:  Often have Your eyes, offended,  gazed upon the sinner’s fall;  yet upon the cross extended,  You have borne the pain of all.     Do we pass that cross unheeding, breathing no repentant vow, though we see You wounded, bleeding, see Your thorn encircled brow?   Yet Your sinless death has brought us life eternal, peace & rest; only what Your grace has taught us calms the sinner’s deep distress.  Amen.  LSB 423:1-2.