THINGS NOT SEEN
Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-34
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen.”
In 1967, I was in the
second grade, and way back then prayer was still a daily part of the opening of
the school day. During one of those opening exercises, I remember being, for
the first time in my life, embarrassed by my faith. Perhaps you remember the
routine? After pledging allegiance to the flag and singing a patriotic song, we
would sit down and “the voice” coming out of that black box high on the wall of
the classroom would tell us to pray.
On
that particular day, I bowed my head, folded my hands, and prayed… and prayed…
and prayed. Pretty soon, I began to hear soft giggles; my classmates were chuckling.
I opened my eyes to see what was so funny…and everyone, including my teacher,
was staring at me. They
were laughing because I was praying too long. I did not hear the command to
stop praying. The children laughed at me; but I have kept the faith all these
years.
If
I said we are going to go around the room right now, and I was going to ask
each one of you to answer the question, What is faith? Some of you would think that
was just fine; you’ve got some ideas about what faith is—trust, belief,
confidence, hope.
However,
others of you might have quite a different reaction. Even though you know the
answer, you might panic anyway, look quickly down at your feet. You might begin
to pray exceedingly hard, “O Lord, O Jesus, please don’t let her call on me;
please God. Please God! I’ll do anything you want, just make her not see me
even though I’m sitting right in front of her! Let George answer…or Marion…or
Frank or anybody! Please God! Make me invisible! Please God! Please God!” I
know well that prayer of supplication; I used to pray that prayer in seminary a
LOT! It works only about 50% of the time. Smile; today the odds are with you!
The
book of Hebrews has the best definition of faith that a Christian could ever
want: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen.” Well, what does that
mean? Faith is trust; faith fills us with hope; faith convinces us of a reality
that though we cannot yet see it, we trust that it is as real as if it were standing
right in front of us, 12 feet high and bright green.
God
calls us to be faithful, and to prove this point, the author reminds us of
Abraham who was called by God to leave his homeland, his father, his family,
and everything that was familiar to Abe to go, as God said, “to a land that I
will show you.”
God
did not ask Abraham if he wanted to go or if he thought it was a good idea or
if he might want a change of scenery. God said, “Leave, go, and I will show
you. I want to give you all that my kingdom has to offer.”
It
seems to me that Abraham exhibited the kind of belief that Jesus was teaching
his disciples in our passage from Luke: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it
is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” There’s a reason to
have faith in God—he’s got plans to give us all that the kingdom has to offer.
What an awesome thing to live knowing that God has good gifts in store for us
when we are faithful!
How
appropriate this passage about faith is for us today. We are on the boundary of
new territory because we made the difficult decision to go to a ¾ time
pastorate at annual meeting. Instead of being downcast, sorrowful or
embarrassed that we have had to take that step, let’s go another way: let’s
dedicate our journey in this unfamiliar territory to the future God has planned
for us.
We
agreed to begin a formal venture toward transformation called “New Beginnings,”
a program from Disciples of Christ denomination. The church council has a
conference call this Tuesday night at 7:30 to learn more about this opportunity.
Let’s join together in faith pursuing New Beginnings and the benefits it can
bring to our congregation. Do not be afraid, my friends; join in no matter who
you are or where you are on your personal faith journey: skeptics, bring your
doubts; wonderers, bring your questions; curious, bring your inquisitiveness;
enthusiasts, bring your energy; and believers, bring your assurance of things hoped
for, your conviction of things not seen.
Are
you ready for a new beginning? Are you willing, like Abraham, to step out of
the familiar, to leave behind the struggles and weariness we’ve become
accustomed to? Are you willing to become completely dependent on God, trusting
that God has every intention to be with us on our unknown sojourn to a new
beginning?
I
am well aware that there is some grumbling among the congregation about this
new program. “We’ve tried this before; it never works; nothing ever comes of
it,” etc. I’m not letting that reaction stop my conviction in its tracks,
neither am I going to give in to any negativity.
What
I am doing, without any embarrassment for my faith, is to urge, cajole, beg,
encourage, affirm, appreciate and plead with you to commit yourself to the
future of our church, whether or not you’re a fan of the particular direction
we are taking. I am praying, “Please God, please Lord, please Jesus, help my
beloved congregation have faith in things we cannot yet see!”
By
working together, doing whatever it takes, walking the walk and talking the
talk, grumbling, mumbling, stumbling, side by side, until we reach the Promised
Land that God longs to show us, we shall be triumphant, we shall live into the
new beginning that God so wants to give us.
So
now I am going around the room and asking each and every one of you to do the
following, not for me but for the good of the kingdom:
·
never stop praying, even if
people are laughing at you-- it’s impossible to pray too long or too much.
·
Never be embarrassed for
believing in God’s promises of what is yet to be;
·
and always, always, always seek the kingdom of
God first, for it is God’s good pleasure to give us all good things not seen. Amen.
August 11, 2013
First Parish Federated Church
of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise,
Pastor
