The Zero Milestone
By Rev. Daniel Smith
June 08, 2008
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Lessons: Genesis 12: 1-9
In Washington, D.C., just south of the White House, there is a small monument called the Zero Milestone. Erected on June 4th,1923 and modeled after ancient Rome’s Golden Milestone that still stands in the Forum today, it was intended to be the starting point from which all road distances in the United States could be reckoned. We might imagine this milestone becoming a useful thing to Obama and McCain as they try to measure the distance they still need to travel on their respective roads to the White House. Even better, we might all imagine the hopefully long distance our departing president will soon be traveling on his road from the White House. As the hymn goes, “Bless now oh God the journey that all your people make.”
In our Biblical story today, we find another kind of zero milestone where the Journey of Abraham begins, and along with it, the journey of three faith traditions that have shaped the course of history. Daughters of Abraham and Sons of Sarah, Jewish, Christian and Muslim can all trace their journeys back to this starting point. From here, as the story goes, Abraham “journeyed in stages” to as yet unknown places. We know next to nothing about Abraham before this passage, except for that he was a descendant of Noah through his son Shem and his son Terah, Abraham’s father. We don’t know why God chose him to be the ancestor of nations or to make of his life a blessing though scholars suggest it had something to do with Abraham’s faithfulness, that this is what set Abraham apart from his family. Apparently, his father and brother Nahor were known to worship other Gods, but Abraham for whatever reason was uniquely devoted and so uniquely blessed by Yahweh.
We might wonder why, if God so loved Abraham, and God made him his chosen one, would God make him wander and leave his home. The call comes seemingly out of nowhere. Go from your country that I will show you. Go from your kindred. I will promise you great things. And so Abraham and Sarah, faithful and devoted as they were, journeyed on by stages toward the Negev.
At least one thing we can learn from the story of Abraham is that being human is not about being safe or comfortable. Being human is about being uncertain and often uncomfortable. Walking with God, indeed “walking the Bible”, means stepping off the map into uncharted territory, being on the way to unknown places; being on the way to God. Henri Bergson once noted that “every human action has its starting point in a dissatisfaction, and thereby in a feeling of absence.” In GBIO, we say more simply, that every action has a reaction. The human action of Abram and Sarai begins in absence and in desire, and not only the absence of offspring, but the absence of blessing, the absence of a call to purpose, a covenant, a community and a journey. Indeed, this is the starting point for so many of our journeys, no? This absence and desire is our zero milestone as well. And yet we too, like Abram, journey in stages, individually and collectively, on the way to unknown places and on the way to God.
This community marked a significant milestone in our collective journey last week. We said farewell to our much beloved Senior Minister. And, today, we feel her absence. We marked an end to one stage on our journey and, later today, we will seek to discern what are some next steps into another stage. Whether or not I am called to be with you, we are on our way to unknown places. And, we are still very much on our way to God. As we take whatever steps, small or large, we can do no better than to find our bearings in this zero milestone of our Bible, finding there models of the deep and abiding faithfulness in Abraham and Sarah who stepped out unsure of next steps, trusting in the words of the Psalm, that God would see their feet on a higher place, and that God would be their rock and their salvation. As we ponder the starting point of all our journeys, we can give ourselves some measure that we’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord.
Of course in the midst of this meta-journey of our community, our individual journeys also carry on. It’s the seasons of graduations, of end of the year performances, of comings and goings. I watched my step daughter Nellie in a gymnastics show yesterday. Before her group came up, there were a few very little ones, ages 3 or 4, called Tumble Tots, doing their thing on the mats…fumbling and tumbling with giant smiles every step and misstep of the way. If only we could also be so grace filled in our falling. Indeed, the individual milestones we mark and celebrate as Christians are not only our successes, but also our failures, not only our achievements, but our huge mistakes as well, those moments that remind us of our reliance on the grace of God and of God’s continued companionship every step along the way.
In a moment, we will welcome you forward to acknowledge and celebrate some of the great and not so great milestones on your own journeys and also some special ones in the life of this community. As we do so, I invite you remember Abraham and Sarah. Through their story, consider the starting point of your own journeys of life and faith. By their faithfulness, recall that God is with you and with all of us, at every stage of the way. Though they may not always give us a sense of clear direction for our collective and individual future, they do provide a starting point, a sense of how far we’ve come, and finally an assurance that God’s presence will never leave us, no matter who we are or where we are on the journey.