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Divine Interruptions

Sermon by Rev. Doug Pratt — May 4, 2008
 

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Introduction
When we watch the news on TV or the Internet, or read the daily newspaper, it almost seems that life is just a sequence of unrelated, random and isolated events, with little connection to one another and no greater meaning or purpose. That’s how it all seems to come at us: just one thing after another, without any context. From last Friday’s paper, for example, we learn about a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq during a rocket attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad, about another pop singer who checked himself into rehab after a drunken driving arrest, about Senator Clinton’s attack on Senator McCain for his health care policy, about a legal investigation of the disgraced former governor of New York, and so on. Isolated incidents.

But are they? When we look deeper, we can see trends and lessons and bigger issues behind the stories. There are issues of how America should fight against terrorism and whether our nation is willing to pay the price to build a democratic nation out of Iraq; issues relating to the dangers and consequences of substance abuse and America’s obsession with celebrities; issues of our nation’s future direction and leadership; and issues of the corruption that comes with power. We can focus on the details only, or we can see life in a broader perspective, with greater wisdom and understanding, and find truths and lessons and insights wherever we look.

The latter approach is, I believe, how God wants us to read not only the daily newspaper but also the Bible. Scripture is not just a collection of isolated and disconnected stories to occupy our kids in Sunday school or provide fodder for VeggieTales cartoons. These are real people, making real moral choices, and we can learn from both their successes and their mistakes.

Last week we began to look at the famous patriarch Abraham in this way. We saw Abe and his wife Sarah commit a whopping blunder with painful consequences. We learned that we have to be careful to never try to “help God along” by seeking a righteous goal through unrighteous methods; we were reminded of the importance of trusting God in all circumstances.

Scripture
In this message we’re going to move on a bit in Abraham’s story, to another interesting incident. Let’s try to read it with understanding and discernment. It’s found in the Book of Genesis, chapter 18.

The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. ²Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
     ³He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. ⁴Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. ⁵Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
     “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
     ⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
     ⁷Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.

Genesis 18:1-8

An Unexpected Guest
Just suppose you were to hear a knock on your front door one summer Sunday afternoon. You open the door, and standing before you is the most powerful man in the world: the President of the United States. Flanking him are two huge men in sunglasses, with bulges under their armpits—his Secret Service detail. And the President says “I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to visit with you.” What a shock! What an honor! And, of course, you would invite him to come in with his bodyguards; and you would be thrilled to spend as much time with him as he would give you.

Well it was a hot summer day in Genesis 18, and our friend Abraham was relaxing in his lounge chair in the shade, sipping an iced tea, when something even more dramatic happened to him: the great “President of the Universe,” the LORD Almighty Himself, showed up at his doorstep. This is actually the seventh time that Genesis records some kind of encounter between the LORD and Abraham, the man He has chosen to use as the spearhead for His planned liberation of sin-enslaved Planet Earth.

We don’t know exactly what physical form God took in previous encounters—some of them were likely just a disembodied voice. But here in Genesis 18 it is obvious that the Lord has actually borrowed a male human body to make a direct, visible appearance. And Abraham recognizes the Lord instantly, though He’s in disguise as a traveler. Was it the Lord’s voice that Abe had heard before? Was there a supernatural glow emanating from Him? Or was it the two bodyguards flanking Him, two guardian angels as His security detail? We’re not sure. But the fact that these visitors were super-human was obvious, because they were traveling along in the middle of the hottest part of the day, unaffected by the brutal summer sun (which routinely tops 100° in the Middle East). Nobody—not Abraham or any of his servants—would be out walking in the midday heat; they would all be lounging or napping in the shade somewhere, enjoying the afternoon siesta. But, of course, heavenly beings aren’t affected by the heat and don’t get tired and sweaty under the broiling sun.

Abraham’s Response
The fact that Abraham recognized immediately he was being visited by none other than the Lord of all is demonstrated by his humble servanthood. He calls himself “your servant” over and over, bowing his forehead to the ground the way you would only do for a King. And remember that Abraham was no slave, no low class blue-collar worker; he was a phenomenally wealthy man by this point, the chief of a large tribe, the sole owner and CEO of a business employing hundreds of workers. He was used to being the Boss, used to being served and waited on and obeyed. But now he knows he’s in the presence of One much greater.

And along with his humble submission, Abraham also offers all the hospitality and gracious entertaining that was culturally appropriate in the Middle East. Whenever an honored guest arrived, ancient nomads would “roll out the red carpet.” And that’s what Abraham scrambles to do. Hospitality is a very important part of many cultures around the world. When I participated in a mission trip years ago to Kenya and Ethiopia, along with other Americans who were visiting projects sponsored by World Vision, we experienced the repeated custom of lavish hospitality. One day, after a hearty breakfast at a hotel, we boarded a Land Rover and drove for several hours into the desert-like region of northern Kenya. We were there to visit a tribe of nomads—who live today very much as Abraham did 4000 years ago.

When we arrived at their settlement, the chief of the tribe invited us into his tent. The floor was just the packed dirt of the desert; the grass mats we were invited to sit on weren’t exactly cushy La-Z-Boy recliners; the pottery bowls that held the tea we were offered looked like they’d never been through a proper dishwasher; and the food we were offered had a name I couldn’t pronounce—and I did not want to know what was in it. But our World Vision hosts had cautioned us to be gracious guests, and to eat and drink whatever we were offered, because of how vitally important hospitality is in that culture. It’s important to us in America as well, though we might do it a bit differently.

If the President arrived at my door on a Sunday afternoon, I’d probably respond exactly as Abraham did—only in our American way. I’d invite him to come into our family room and relax in front of the TV for awhile—watch ESPN, or the Golf Channel, or FoxNews, or an old classic Hollywood flick on AMC. Meanwhile, I’d ask my wife to whip up some lemonade for our guests, and I would head to our local Fresh Market to load up my cart with their most tasty gourmet treats. And we’d do our best to serve them a tasty, lavish, all-American meal. That’s just what Abraham and Sarah did in Genesis 18.

How God Uses Divine Interruptions
But what is the spiritual point of this story? It’s a reminder that God is active and involved in this world—and that He and His angelic messengers can surprise us and bring situations to us when we least expect them. Let’s call them “divine interruptions.” The Book of Hebrews in the New Testament drops an intriguing hint of this. Hebrews 13:2 says: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” What an interesting thought.

As we plow through our days, our heads down, focused on our tasks and responsibilities, God sometimes brings unexpected opportunities and interruptions to us. And how often we can miss them, unless we keep our eyes open to what the Lord is showing us. There are divine moments that pop up all the time—and the Bible urges us to grab these opportunities as they appear, and use them for godly purposes. Here are some examples:

• A possible “teachable moment” appears as you’re helping your children get ready for bed, and they ask you one of those profound questions only kids can ask. Rather than just dismissing it, take the opportunity to talk with them.
• You’re in a checkout line or waiting for an airplane to begin boarding, and a natural opportunity presents itself to have a conversation with a person next to you.
• You see something in a TV show or movie that strikes you as an echo of a truth in scripture, and you feel the nudge to talk about it with your spouse or friend.
• One morning in church a person you don’t know sits down next to you and says hello; it’s your chance to welcome them on their first visit to your church, and to help them feel comfortable here.
• You’re at work or at lunch and an opportunity arises to say something about your faith and your values.
• A person pops into your mind—someone who is battling cancer or has lost a spouse—and you recognize it as the prompting of the Holy Spirit for you to pray for that person, or call them up, or send them an encouraging note or email.

Divine interruptions, God-appointed opportunities to do His work in this world, can blossom in the most unexpected places and the most routine days. There’s an invisible, unseen spiritual world all around us. And sometimes that realm breaks into our own natural, physical world—just as it did in Genesis 18, when God and His angels came to pay a visit on Abraham and Sarah. Let’s be open to those surprising possibilities.

An Unanticipated Change
Before we close, let’s peek a bit further ahead in the story of these two. We pick up the account at verse 9 of Genesis 18:

“Where is your wife Sarah?” [the LORD] asked him.
     “There, in the tent,” he said.
     Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
     Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.

Genesis 18:9-10

Sometimes Divine Interruptions come in the form of God asking us to do something for Him—as we’ve already talked about. But sometimes Divine Interruptions come in the form of something God decides to do in us. And that’s what we see here. The surprises haven’t stopped with God knocking on their door this summer day. Wait till next summer, when He appears not with two bodyguards, but in the form of the gift of a son!

God has actually interrupted Abraham’s life before this. The whole sequence of Divine Interruptions began years—actually decades—before. Just as Abe was settling into his life and career and marriage in the Aramean city of Haran, God showed up and said, “It’s time to pack up and move south.” And so he did. In Genesis 12 we read how he essentially loaded everything in the moving van and hit the highway towards the Promised Land. Some of us have experienced this kind of interruption: a surprise, unexpected move. It happened to me four years ago: settled comfortably into a suburb of a northern city, I suddenly heard God telling me to “move south,” to Bonita Springs. And I’ll bet there are many people here today who, at one point in their careers, got an offer they hadn’t expected.

Now God warns Abraham and Sarah to prepare for another interruption: baby Isaac is on the way. I’ll bet there are some women here today who thought their child-bearing years were over (as Sarah did), and then God sent you a surprise.

To be completely accurate, sometimes the surprises and unexpected interruptions God brings to us are not pleasant but painful.

• I assumed we’d have many more years to spend together, but now he’s gone.
• I planned on being able to play 18 holes of golf every day once I retired, but I never expected my shoulder [or knee, or back, or hip] to stop working correctly.
• I assumed I’d have a job here for life, but I never expected that the company would be bought and downsized and I’d be out.
• I figured that once my kids moved out of the home they’d be successful and happy, and would then take care of me, but I never counted on having to keep on helping and supporting them.
• My adviser told me that my investments would be totally safe and make me a lot of money, but my last statement shows my 401(k) has become more of a 201(k).

This is the reality of life, isn’t it?

The Big Question
Sometimes our advance assumptions and expectations prove to be incorrect. And the most important question is this: How will you handle it? The next time the Lord interrupts your comfortable life, your secure environment, and your plans for the future, what will you do?

I have to admit that I’m not a big believer in the theory that random chance and chaos rule the universe. When I read the Bible, I don’t find too many cases of something happening by pure luck or accident. I don’t see too many things that God didn’t know about and take into account in His plans. To me, everything in these pages has the invisible fingerprints of God all over them. And therefore I have to believe that, since we’re living on the same planet in the same universe as these people, the same truth applies to us. What happens is not accidental or meaningless. The Lord is with us in the midst of everything, showing us the way.

So, the question remains: How will you handle the next Divine Interruption that comes to you? Will you turn your back on the Lord in disappointment that He didn’t follow your script? Or, will you say, like Abraham, “Okay, Lord, show me what you want me to learn or do in this situation; help me to respond to this interruption in the right way.”