Sermon - Trinity 10

No idea what happenned to last week!

Here is this week....

Sermon

Trinity 10

Genesis 15.1-6

Hebrews 11.1-3,8-16

Luke 12.32-40

Today, we are looking more closely at the reality of ‘faith’ and how it forms part of our journey – our pilgrimage – with God.

Each week there is a prayer that we don’t use, because of the way the service works in the benefice. Each week the collect changes, so do the readings. There is sometimes an invitation to confession and a ‘Gospel acclamation’. However, each week there is always a ‘post communion prayer’.

This week, it is this…

God of our pilgrimage,
you have willed that the gate of mercy
should stand open for those who trust in you:
look upon us with your favour
that we who follow the path of your will
may never wander from the way of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God of our pilgrimage…

In the reading from GENESIS, we have God speaking to Abram in a vision “Do not be afraid Abram, I am your shield, your very great reward”. To be the father of great nations.

In the letter to the Hebrews, we see the story retold – with Abram (now Abraham) being told to go to a place and receive his inheritance.

In the Gospel reading we have the injunction “do not be afraid”, and then the reminder that we must prepare to meet God at the end of our pilgrimage of life.

In a real sense we are being invited to focus far beyond our treasure today. Putting no trust in things Temporal – but seeking those things that are Eternal.

So what about the pilgrimage of faith?

The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu is quoted twice regarding journeys. Apparently he said;

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

And this is right, we must start our journey with God somewhere – and that lifelong journey is something that will take us to the gates of glory and beyond.

However Lao Tzu also said;

A journey of a thousand miles starts under one's feet.

I suppose that reminds us that the opportunity to start the journey is in our control. We can say no to God, just as easily as saying no to sugar in our coffee, we must make that conscious decision to give our lives over.

This doesn’t mean that God turns his back on us – but we, almost unthinkingly sometimes – can turn our backs on God.

So what about the journey when we choose life?

Faith is not always an easy experience based on obvious security. We are being asked to think about the foundations of our faith.

There are times when the darkness and insecurity seems to overwhelm us, sometimes things are really demanding of our faith – when fidelity to the word of God and following Jesus turn out to be almost impossible.

As the letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.

Faith isn’t something we win, nor is it the absolute certainties we sometimes seek. Instead, as in Abraham’s case, it is obedience to God’s call, trust to set out on the journey “without knowing where he was going” (as it says in the reading), relying solely on the fidelity of God making the promise.

There are two stories about faith…

The first is about a man who got the idea of walking on a tight-rope over Niagara Falls. Other people had done it, but this man had a new twist. He was going to do the walk whilst pushing a man in a wheelbarrow. He began at once to prepare for the event, even though he hadn't yet found anyone willing to ride in the wheelbarrow. He set up a tight-rope near the Falls and every day he could be seen pushing and balancing the wheel barrow filled with stones.

One day, a young man came up to him to wish him well. "Good luck," he said. "I've watched you practicing and I have confidence in you. I know you can do it." The tight-rope walker answered. "Do you believe I can do this?" And the young man replied, "Yes, of course!" Again, he said, "But do you really believe I can do this?" "Yes, of course," the young man repeated. "Then you're my man. Get in the wheel barrow!"

In the second story, a man fell off a cliff, but managed to grab a tree on the way down. Desperate the man turned to prayer:

"Is anyone up there?" he asked,
"I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe me?"
"Yes, Lord, I believe. I really believe, but I can't hang on much longer."
"That's all right, if you really believe you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Just let go of the branch."
A moment of pause, then: "Is anyone else up there?"

So what is this faith?

One of my favourite theologians Gustavo Gutierrez says that…

Faith gives encouragement to believers and sufficient strength to live the dark present with faithfulness.

In speaking about Moses further on, that same letter to the Hebrews makes it very clear: “By faith…he persevered as though he saw him who is invisible”.

Faith makes us persevere as if we see God – as if we personally know God – as if….it is important to us…

Faith does not give believers guidelines to live more tranquilly and comfortably. Knowing the will of God gives us a much greater responsibility to the Lord. As it says…“From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.

Faith in God’s promises, in the kingdom, implies a commitment to take responsibility for history.

As Christians we have our weaknesses and imperfections – all too many of them at times, but in Jesus we have a Saviour who was prepared to come amongst us, live for us, die for us, but rise again, so that we can have new life through him. In baptism we receive the outward symbol of that love, and that new life.

Faith is impossible to really explain… It is personal to each one of us, because our individual experiences of God in our lives will be different, but faith can’t be kept to ourselves. We know a God who has changed and is changing our lives, and we can’t keep him to ourselves. We know a God who can help to transform darkness into light, conflict into peace, despair into hope and misery into joy, and we must share him by living our lives devoted to his service and his vision not just for a wonderful kingdom in eternity, but for a wonderful world today – in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN