"A Portrait of Faith"
Sermon Presented August 8, 2004
(Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16)
My thoughts of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand connect entirely with Christopher Columbus' expedition to the New World in 1492. However, in that same year this royal couple expelled all Jews from Spain. They wanted to establish their hold over a newly united Spain by means of the Catholic Church and the Inquisition and so they gave the Jews a choice: be baptized or leave.
Forfeiting their homes and taking neither gold nor silver, 165,000 Jews left Spain with only their faith. They settled in North Africa, Greece and Turkey. Some of their descendants, now numbering 2 million, still keep the enormous, ancient house keys that opened locks in Spain more than 500 years ago - symbols of hope that someday their people would go home.
That is the kind of faith that supported Abraham in his wilderness wanderings as he moved his family and livestock toward an unknown land. It's the faith that brought me to Milwaukee and the faith that caused you to decide that Roundy Memorial Baptist Church has a future here in Whitefish Bay. It's the faith of our ancestors - a faith that now belongs to us.
The author of the book of Hebrews writes a great deal about faith. We don't know who he was, but this writing that resembles a sermon, is addressed to Jewish Christians who are becoming discouraged because Jesus hasn't returned. Our text is from the 11th chapter of Hebrews, verses 1-3 and 8-16.
We describe the Bible as a faith history. What is faith? The author of Hebrews says it is the "assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Abraham is the primary subject of this treatise on faith. As you probably know, Abraham is considered the father of the faith of Jews, Christians and Muslims. At the age of 75, he leaves his homeland for an unknown land because he believes this is what God wants him to do. He has faith that God's promises are true, but he has no proof! His faith is tested further when God promises that he and his wife Sarah will have descendants as numerous as the stars, but they still have no children and Sarah is way past the age for childbearing. Faith ebbs and flows - even for the biblical giants of faith!
Both Abraham and Sarah die before they can settle in the land of promise. They wander in a strange land - with only promises to accompany them - no city, no houses with foundations and no descendants. This appears a sad story of an unfinished journey. It appears a story of misplaced hope, as they leave the past and embrace an uncertain future, and it would be if we didn't know the rest of the story.
What gives people the faith to start fresh - with a new spouse, school, community or job? How do we acquire an attitude of patient waiting when we believe we are on the right track and yet see no results? Is optimism the same as faith?
During this presidential campaign we are hearing a great deal about optimism. Both major candidates tell us over and over again that they are bullish on America! No one wants to be labeled a pessimist. Optimism puts the best light on the future, while faith has a basis for optimism. People of faith latch onto past experiences of God's faithfulness in order to move forward or change directions.
What is your past faith experience? Who was your Abraham? Who helped you to feel connected to a Christian community? When you find no hope on your own, whose faith do you appropriate? Your answers to these questions can help you ascertain the beginning and strength of your faith.
Many Christians have a spiritual mentor - someone either past or current who helps them nurture their relationship with God - someone who helps them to be grounded in their faith. We need this because there are many charlatans pretending to be messengers of God. The message of "Claim it and possess it" streams from pulpits, radio, television and books and when people don't receive what they request from God, they lose faith. These proclaimers equate unanswered prayer with lack of faith. We need to discern the true prophet of God from the false prophet. A good test is to discern if the message being proclaimed run true to the life of Jesus.
Faith doesn't calculate results, and our faith can't be measured by our success in life. We sometimes hear comments or inferences that "If you live a Christian life, you won't get a divorce. If you are a good parent, you won't have an out-of-control child. If you live in a right relationship with God, you won't be sick or poor or jobless - (or whatever word you would like to use to complete that sentence)." But as we live a life of faith in God's promises, we experience both triumph and tragedy, success and failure. The book of Hebrews gives both portraits of faith in the lives of God's people. Abraham didn't arrive at the Promised Land. Sarah had only 1 child. The text says they died in faith without having received the promise, but they kept their eyes on a city built by God. They kept their focus on God.
You've probably seen the TV commercials for the new reality show "Amish in the City". It is expected to be a monumental hit! People want to know how young Amish adults who have always lived a primitive farm life will react to a radically different culture. Will they be changed by the experience and refuse to go home? What will happen to their faith? We will have to tune in and find out. Pray for them!
Our nation is becoming more secular. The Christian community is dwindling. Non believers want proof for the existence of God and we have no scientific proof to offer. Our faith - our relationship with God -is experiential - based on expressions of God's faithfulness in the past. We can't measure the inner peace and joy that comes from that relationship. We can't explain the radical change God makes in our lives, or how our faith connects us to the world in which we live.
This brings me to a topic I would like to avoid but in good faith, I can't. It's the fact that the faith of some Christians leads them to support certain social issues and theological interpretations that are decried by other Christians as being un-Christian. How can we explain that we worship the same God, and yet we interpret God's will and direction differently? How can my faith cause me to take one side of a social issue and the faith of a brother or sister a different stance?
I don't know! How's that for an evasive answer? I do know that what a person reads and who she listens to makes a difference. I also know that deeply held convictions can change over time - as evidenced by yours truly - but change comes slowly, if at all. I know that a sermon delivered by different ministers on the same text will have different interpretations. And I'm sure we all pray for the right message to deliver to our congregations.
As further insight, I believe that Frederick Buechner is right when he says that faith is better understood as a verb than a noun, as a process than a possession. It's on-again-off-again rather than once and for all. Faith is not being sure where you're going but going anyway. It is a journey without maps. Almost nothing that makes any real difference can be proved. We can't prove love is better than hate or that life is better than death. When faith is considered to be a process, our ideas and ideals will change. We are in the process of growing in our faith.
So in the reality of life when does our faith come into play most prominently? From my personal experience and from the shared experiences of others, I find that faith comes when we most need it. When we haven't anything else to grasp and hold onto, God is there. Faith in the reality of God's presence helps us through our trials - not eliminating the trial, but giving us strength to endure. Faith discerns realities and prospects not visible to the naked eye.
Thomas Long said in a commentary on Hebrews: "Inwardly faith moves hearts; outwardly faith moves mountains." Given the harsh realities of our world, we can see with our inner eyes what can't be seen with our outer eyes. Faith begins on the inside as the ability to see that work done to feed the hungry in Calcutta - or Milwaukee - will make a difference. It's the ability to see that opening our hearts and homes to those who are different or displaced will make a difference. It's the ability to believe that a move that appears to be foolish has merit and will make a difference. It's the ability to keep going when all signs point to turning back. It's the ability to move mountains by taking small steps or giant leaps.
Faith squeezes into prisons, cancer wards, depressed lives, and homes wrought with divorce, separation, death and poor health. When we have nothing else to grasp, we take hold of that thread of faith that is present because of our past experiences with God's faithfulness. We hold on to that faith for dear life.
Our key to future hope isn't an ancient key that opened a door to a home in Spain 500 years ago. Our key is God's past faithfulness to our mothers and fathers in the faith and to us. I invite you to hold onto your key, take it out and test it on a regular basis, and recall the story that it represents. Feed your faith and not your doubts as you move toward a deeper relationship with God.
Resources for Sermon:
" Interpretation: Hebrews by Thomas Long, p. 113 ff.
" Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, Faith, pp. 24-26
" New Interpretation: Hebrews… p. 131 ff.
" Christian Century, July 27, 2004, p. 21
" New Proclamations: Year C 2004, pp. 170-71
BENEDICTION: Go forth in peace to feed your
faith and the faith of another.
