Loading...Sermon January 3, 2016
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, LSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen, Newport, PA
He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will…. Ephesians 1:5
Please be seated
During these holidays, I’ve spent lots of time with my grandchildren, which has meant watching lots of kids’ movies. We went to see the most recent Alvin and the Chipmunks movie one day. My granddaughter likes the movie, Annie, and I was able to record both the 1982 version, which we watched once, and the most recent, 2014 version, which we watched and watched and watched, nearly every time it was my granddaughter’s turn to choose what we’d watch on TV.
By the end of the week, I was struck by the common thread in these movies… that of orphans being adopted. Especially in the story of Annie, the drive to find one’s birth parents is so strong. Yet in the end, being chosen for adoption…being included in a family…was an occasion for joy and celebration.
In my youth, I remember hearing about orphanages and knew an older woman who’d grown up at Scotland School. We lived close to the Methodist Home in Mechanicsburg for awhile and I knew it was an orphanage. Mostly, we don’t hear about orphanages as much.
When I traveled to South Africa in 2008; however, there were many children whose parents had died, especially from HIV/AIDS. I visited some drop-in centers and an orphanage. I also heard about children as young as 6 and 7 being heads of households! It’s hard to even imagine such a situation and what the children must go through growing up. Adoption would be an important help to these families of children. Yet, adoption is difficult. Often families are raising many children already. In addition, adoption confers inheritance rights upon a child and certain claims upon the parents. Finding families for these children who are orphans is quite a challenge.
In our epistle for today, the writer of this letter to the Ephesians notes that we are adopted as children of God through Jesus Christ. God has no trouble providing an inheritance for us. God has no qualms about claiming us. And because we know we are adopted by God, we have a more secure and stable relationship.
In both the recent Annie movie and the new Alvin and the Chipmunks, the “kids” aren’t sure of their place …aren’t sure their home is truly their home. They can’t trust that the adult who’s taken them in, will always be there, especially if they behave badly or if life circumstances change. Being legally adopted provides the assurance of a home…of an adult who will care for them and be there with them, regardless of their own behavior.
And the same is true of God. When we are adopted, we can be assured that we are enough. We can be assured that even when we fall short and act in ways that are contrary to God, that God will still be there for us.
In both movies, when the adults make the commitment to the children, the whole relationship changes. That is true for our relationship with God, too. Because God has adopted us, we are part of God’s family. All of the barriers we create to divide us, fall apart. We are all brothers and sisters. Oh, yes, I’m sure we’ll have our spats and disagreements like brothers and sisters everywhere, and yet, we have this connection with God through Jesus Christ that binds us in a new way.
We have a new relationship with God. God is our model for living in the world. God will provide an inheritance. And the way God structures family and the way God wants us to live as family is different from society. Loving our neighbors as ourselves, rather than loving our neighbors as they love us, is just one difference between God’s ways and society’s ways.
Because God has adopted us, we rejoice and praise God. We have a way of living that gives us peace and assurance. We have a way of living that gives us confidence to live our lives.
Amen
