Sermon 08-08-2010
Genesis 15:1, 5-6 & 17:15-17 Hebrews 11:1-3 & 8-11
“Faithfulness”
Great is thy faithfulness… we sing often, is it really great to wait faithfully?
How do you define the word “faith”?
What role does faith play in your personal life?
PRAYER
What is faith?
“When was the last time that you, or this church, did something bold, simply out of faith? What is an example of a time when this church saw things that were, at that point, unseen? When did you "step out in faith," as Abraham did, and yearn into a new reality, even if that dream seemed far beyond reason or expectation? Today's readings, of course, are about faith. In our passage from the Book of Genesis, we hear a little piece of the familiar story of Abraham and Sarah, who were old and without children – but who were promised by God that their descendants would be as difficult to count as the stars in the sky. "Look up toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. . . so shall your descendants be." Abraham believed the Lord, "and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness." The author of Hebrews, then, uses Abraham as one in a series of examples of faith in a "letter" that is really a sermon exhorting an early Christian community to stand fast in the midst of difficulties and challenges to their faith. Perhaps faith is so hard to define that it is easier or better to use examples than to write a lot of theoretical things about it. It's the experience of real people in a real relationship with God that can help us grasp the meaning of faith… The author of Hebrew defines faith as "…the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Notice if you keep reading the list of all the people before and after Abraham who acted by faith.
“…there is one example after another of people of faith who have trusted in God's goodness and the unfolding of God's plan, including Abel, Enoch, Noah and Abraham. In fact, the very first example is "we" – the community of faith – who understands that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible." Faith, then, is the ability – or the openness – to see the invisible in the visible, the eternal in the earthly. For faith is the willingness and the resolve to trust God – to trust in the goodness of God's purposes for us and for all of creation.
I know that each one of us here this morning can think of people we have known as people of faith. We could help out the author of Hebrews with some more examples of people we have known who trusted in God. Perhaps it was a parent, a grandparent, a family member, a teacher, a pastor, a friend, a spouse. Can we number ourselves among them? Do we trust in God and in God's infinite mercy and love? Do we believe in what we cannot "see" or – in modern, post-Scientific Revolution terms, in what we cannot prove with scientific certainty?
Trusting in God means setting out on a journey, like Abraham and Sarah – and so many other people in the Bible – a journey of faith toward a future where God's design for creation will be fulfilled – toward the "Heavenly City." Trusting in God means seeing God's goodness in the worst of times, and believing that God's blessings will outnumber the stars in the sky, even if we could count them. Trusting in God means seeing beauty and grace in what may seem like the smallest of wonders.
It is faith that gives substance to our hope. When it looks like life is just too hard to bear, when we struggle with that pain or loss or loneliness or doubt, faith enables us to reach out and feel the grasp of God on our lives, to know that we are headed on that journey to the heavenly city where all of God's purposes will be fulfilled. Faith is not agreeing to a doctrine, rather, as someone has put it, faith is a "sunburst of truth, it is the behavior of someone who allows God to be God, trusting in someone other than oneself." (Kate Huey, UCC.org/worship, 8-8-2010) Frederick Buechner explains that: "Faith is different from theology because theology is reasoned, systematic, and orderly, whereas faith is disorderly, intermittent, and full of surprises…. Faith is homesickness. Faith is a lump in the throat. Faith is less a position on than a movement toward, less a sure thing than a hunch. Faith is waiting." (Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons).
David Gray asks: “Do we live in an age of faith? There is much talk in popular religious circles about how America is approaching a new awakening in religious fervor. Religious historians write that the type and fervor of religious belief is often cyclical. Going back into our world history, the Middle Ages was referred to as an Age of Faith. During this period, intense belief reigned. The Reformation has been called an Age of Revelation, where religious people renewed their emphasis on the revealed Word in Scripture. The seventeenth century began the Age of Reason… The twentieth century has been called the age of Experience, as charismatic faiths have exploded and modern Americans have looked to experience religion. A well-known writer on the history of U.S. foreign policy stated recently that his next book will be entitled the “Age of Faith,” for he believes the twenty-first century will again be a time where intense belief reigns… In the Old Testament, Abraham and Sarah also waited a long time for an answer from God. They struggled to have children… Abraham obeyed God and stayed true to God so much that he followed God without knowing where God was leading.
It is difficult to follow God when we are not sure where God is leading. When we do not see evidence of action, we begin to wonder whether God is watching over us. We hope that God is watching. We see loved ones grow ill and pray in faith that God will hold their future. Then every once in awhile something positive happens in our faith, something special that restores our conviction, strengthen our hearts, and reminds us why we believe what we believe. (If “faith is the assurance of things hoped for,” Hebrews 11:1a.)
Our faith gives assurance that God has our best interests at heart, knows what we hope for, and holds our future. We can hope, but in faith we often have to trust God and other people with our future and find our assurance outside ourselves… The second part of the verse defines faith as “the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1b.) (David E. Gray, Feasting on the Word, Year C, vol.3, pg.328-332) How do you come to have faith? “Many come to faith, for example, by “seeing” something compelling in the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus or in the communal life of Jesus’ followers. Faith, then, is the perception that the way of Jesus is the way to become … a creature in the image of God. Faith includes the awareness that the meaning of life is not to be found in the accumulation of wealth, power, and privilege, but in loving God and neighbor.” (John C. Shelley, Feasting on the Word, Year C, vol.3, pg.330) What is faith? Our faith is a gift of God’s grace. It comes through God’s reaching out through the Holy Spirit to allow us to trust in Jesus… We know from Scripture and the Holy Spirit that God is watching over us. What gives our faith a firm foundation is that Jesus Christ is Lord and holds our future no matter what may come on earth. Faith is ultimately a gift of the Holy Spirit. Our opportunity is to respond to God’s initiative of such grace.” Amen!
BENEDICTION
Full of faith, we will work together for justice.
Full of faith, we will have hope for the future.
Full of faith, we will live together in peace.
Full of faith, we will move together in the world.
Full of faith, we will follow Jesus together. Amen!
