Faith Stories
A Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
August 7, 2022
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old-- and Sarah herself was barren-- because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
And there is your definition of faith. Clear as mud, right? And on Sundays we affirm our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed as we say, “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.”
We say these words every week and might not think about them too much as long as things are going well in our lives. Faith is a nebulous thing, and we may think we are being attentive to our faith if we say some prayers, attend church from time to time, and do good deeds for others as we can. But what happens when the rubber meets the road, when there is a crisis in our lives? Then what can we say about our faith? Christians don’t receive a special pass that protects them from experiencing failure, violence, suffering, or broken relationships. Real life has real problems.
Many of us have lived through times of great challenge. Numerous wars, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, riots, assassinations, terrorism, natural disasters of every kind. Those of us who are veterans of these kinds of struggles have learned something about faith. We are ordinary human beings who have lived through extraordinary times, and we are still here, still standing, still believing. In being a part of history, we have made history, and our life experiences have taught us something we never forget: come what may, love is always stronger than hate and faith is always stronger than fear.
Every generation has faced fear, loss, and pain, and we are not exempt today. Our faith is always being challenged to grow and to be strengthened to endure. We are called as Christians to faith and hope, we are called to be resilient exemplars of our faith. To be resilient, by definition, is to be capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture; to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. It takes some effort to be resilient, especially when it seems like every day brings us some new violence, some unexpected event from which we must recover, some new change in our lives. We are exhausted from the pandemic, and weary of the dissention all around us. We may have no idea what the person next to us is dealing with right now. We may wonder if it would just be easier to walk away from the challenge.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews was writing to Christians who were being persecuted for their faith so much so that they were tempted to abandon Christianity. The author tells them, and us, to be assured of things we hope for and to have conviction in things we cannot see. It all sounds very nice, but does what we hope for always comes to pass? And isn’t life a series of those things not seen, those things which always show up unannounced when we least expect them, those things that sabotage all our best-laid plans?
The lives of Abraham and Sarah are an example. They did not live a life of ease. The truth is, God called Abraham to get up and go; to leave a stable life behind. Abraham packed up his family and set out on a journey to an unknown destination. He had no access to Google, not even a paper map, and God did not give him a travel itinerary. They lived in tents in dangerous foreign lands, waiting for the inheritance of land and children that God had promised to them. And it did not look promising. Many miles and many years went by until Sarah and Abraham were old, or as they are described, they were as good as dead! How’s that for honesty? If there was any hope, they sure didn’t see it.
And if you need another example, in our Gospel reading today Jesus tells the disciples, “do not be afraid… sell your possessions, and give alms.” Why is this so hard for us when Jesus makes it sound so easy? What do Abraham, Sarah, the disciples, and the great cloud of witnesses all have in common? They have faced the reality that life in this world is not easy, and they have made the decision to hope anyway.
Authentic faith decides to hope and it addresses the truth. What is really going on in your life? What are your biggest struggles and pains? Can you be honest with God, with others, and with yourself about the reality in your life? We think we might offend God with our honesty, but God is bigger than that. God can handle it. Honesty about who we are, and how we struggle, is no easy thing and can be the basis for so much family and institutional dysfunction. We dance with avoidance and fill our lives with whatever it takes to just keep that elephant under the rug, because if we don’t talk about it then we can just pretend the elephant is not there and go on living in our world of wishful thinking.
Wishful thinking however is not the same thing as hope. Wishful thinking is wanting things to be like we remember they used to be. Wishful thinking is waiting to see if things will get better while we do nothing and ignore them a little longer. But hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is a vital part of faith and is what keeps our faith growing and strong.
Abraham and Sarah could have said, no thank you, we will just stay right here, but they did not. The disciples could have said no thank you, we will keep all our stuff and our lives just as they are, but they did not. Because these faithful ones said yes, because they made the decision to hope anyway, we have the stories of how these people lived their faith; the risks they took, their courage, and the obstacles they overcame against all odds. Their lives were testimony to God’s promises, and it was hope that kept them moving forward through the harsh realities of their lives to the promise they had been given of new life in the Kingdom of God.
In its truest form, the Church is the place where we can come to experience the beginning of the Kingdom, here and now. This is where there is forgiveness, compassion, and the love of God given to us at the communion table. Church is where we hear the stories of God at work in the lives of the faithful, both in scripture and in our community. Church is where we practice our faith as we participate in the life of Christ, learning to see and then imitate the actions of Christ’s love all around us. This is the simplest, truest form of evangelism, not demanding memorization and adherence to creeds and doctrines, but helping one another experience what is in and under and all around those creedal words…. the unfailing love of God.
Jesus’ ministry was powerful precisely because it addressed people directly where they were. Jesus did not leave any elephants under anybody’s rug. He didn’t placate them with wishful thinking; he gave people hope that strengthened their faith, so that they could change, reconcile, forgive, and start over. He showed them a way of life that brought the kingdom alive among them.
What are the things hoped for in your life? What are our hopes for Immanuel? What are the hopes we have for this world, one that is not looking very much like the Kingdom of God these days?
As Christians, we are invited to hope in what is, seen and unseen. As the community of faith here at Immanuel we will spend some time with Abraham and Sarah in our adult forum this fall. Just as we learn from the stories in scripture, we will learn from the stories in our parish, and we will even pull a few elephants out from under the rug, so that the light of God’s love will bring healing and hope for the future of this church.
No matter what age we are, no matter if our faith is the size of a mustard seed, or so great we can hardly contain it; whether we have been here a long time or are new to this community, we are invited to participate in faith on this journey toward God’s promise of new life.
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