Marvelously Made - A Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Epiphany

A Sermon for the 2^nd Sunday after the Epiphany (RCL B) 1-15-2012

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for Trinity Episcopal Shared Ministry

Texts:              1 Samuel 3:1-10; Psalm 139:1-5,12-17; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; John 1:43-51

Themes:         God calling, God’s knowledge of us, the body as God’s temple
Title:               Marvelously made

It came upon him quite suddenly. The sadness, the feeling of loss mixed together with desire and longing. He began to pray, and without quite knowing why, he began to pray and ask for a son. And somehow, he already knew the boys’ name.

When he returned to his home, he spoke with his wife and his other children about this new prayer which seemed to rise up within him all by itself. He asked them to join him in this prayer, and they did.

Not too long after this, it became clear that his wife was pregnant. But this pregnancy brought pain and unexpected bleeding. There were a few times when it was so bad that they were certain the baby had been lost. Finally they decided to visit the closest doctor.

But this doctor did not bring them any good news. After examining the mother, the doctor spoke clearly and softly and said to her, “An abortion is the only way to save your life.”

But this man and this woman – trained as missionaries of the Gospel and now living in a foreign land – they were not about to abandon their prayer, their hope. They prayed and trusted in God, and they soldiered on. In fact, after they left this doctor’s office, they felt themselves surrounded by an incredible sense of God’s peace.

The pregnancy continued, as did the bleeding and the pain, as well as the hopeful praying. But as she neared full term, the bleeding subsided enough so that this mother, accompanied by her entire family, could fly to the capital city where she could give birth with the assistance of an American-trained doctor.

Surprisingly, the delivery of this baby boy went quite smoothly, only to be followed by a massive blood clot larger than the baby himself. The attending physician was amazed. He told the parents:

“This is a miracle baby. I can’t explain how it happened, but despite all odds, he beat them. Only a small part of the placenta was attached, but it was just enough to keep him nourished all these months.”

Both mother and newborn son struggled to recover in the ensuing weeks, but slowly they gained their strength and soon they were able to fly back to their home on the mission field.

And so Tim Tebow entered into this world. (Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow, pp. 3-5).

Please understand. I do not share this story in order to make a point about the morality of abortion.

The situations surrounding each woman’s life and each pregnancy are complicated and multi-faceted and opaque. It is foolish for some man like me disconnected from these circumstances to draw black and white lines of morality which must not be crossed. And never, ever do I wish to see the federal government involved in drawing such lines.

However, I believe that we must consider together the power of trust, and the strength that comes when we place our hope in the God who knows us and loves us.

All of us at times must face difficult moments when we are forced to make decisions, decisions that will have far-reaching consequences which we can only begin to perceive.

At those moments, we have to choose which path we will take.

Will we follow the path of fear, in which we try to seize control of our situation and force it to conform to our own will, to our own limited vision of reality?

Or will we follow the path of faith and trust in God? Will we – with patient trust – wait and see what God will do, and allow God’s will to be done?

Our readings appointed for this second Sunday after the Epiphany echo with a constant refrain giving voice to the truth of God’s intimate knowledge of each one of us.

Consider young Samuel, the boy who would one day be a great prophet. Now just a boy learning at the feet of the elderly Eli. The text states that “Samuel did not yet know the Lord”. But, without question, Samuel was well known by the Lord.

God called to Samuel. God had a plan, a goal for Samuel’s life. The boy had only to learn how to listen.

The apostle Paul writes to the believers in Corinth to encourage and guide them in their struggles. Here he reminds them of the truth of who they are: they are God’s prized possessions, bought with a price, a steep price, a costly price. Even their very bodies are treasures of the Lord, temples of the Holy Spirit!

When our Lord met Nathaniel, this new disciple was amazed that Jesus – somehow – knew him and had seen him!

“Where did you get to know me?” he asked. “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Under the fig tree, Nathaniel thought he was all alone. But, in fact, God was with him.

The words of the Psalmist are perhaps the most poignant of all:   

“Lord, you have searched me out and known me.

There is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, know it altogether.
For you yourself created my inmost parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your works are wonderful, and I know it well.”  

How often, my dear brothers and sisters, do we forget that we are never alone?

How often do we live as if God did not knit us together carefully in our mother’s wombs, as if God did not see us when sitting alone?

How often do we live as if our lives were our own, as if our bodies were not precious temples filled with the Holy Spirit, as if God was not calling to us with a plan and a goal?

How many of you have meditated on those words from the opening Collect of our liturgy, that prayer which we call the Collect for Purity?

“Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.”

For those who do not know God, these words might inspire anxiety and fear.

But to us who have tasted and seen that God is good, these words are cause for rejoicing!

God knows me. God knows everything about you. And God calls us each by name with a goal for our lives which is good and beautiful.

It is this loving and all-encompassing knowledge which allows us the freedom to choose the path of trust.

When life seems chaotic, when difficult choices confront you, do not allow yourself to become enslaved by fear.

Remember who you are. Remember whose you are. And rest in the peace which comes from trusting in the goodness of God.

We can say it no better than the words of this famous Psalm:

“I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your works are wonderful, and I know it well.” Amen.