the Rev'd Jane Bearden
There are some particular religious communities that take living a life of simplicity very seriously. They shun modern conveniences like cars and electrical appliances. They wear very plain garments and value time spent at the family supper table or perhaps and evening of reading by the fire. They take very literally Jesus’ admonition to us today to sell our possessions and give alms. But once in a while even these faithful folks must venture into town to do business or to buy the necessities of life. Well one day one such boy and his father were in a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again. The boy asked, "What is this Father?" The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."
While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a rather rotund elderly lady moved up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened, and the lady moved between them into a small room. The walls closed, and the boy and his father watched the small numbers above the walls light up sequentially. They continued to watch until it reached the last number, and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order. Finally the walls opened up again and a gorgeous 24-year-old blond stepped out, The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son
"Go get your mother."
Now that’s faith - that is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen! Sorry – couldn’t resist!
The church to which Hebrews was written was a church that had lost its zeal. Paul’s letters and the gospels were written sometime before about 120 AD but Hebrews was not written until late in the 3rd century, so much time had elapsed since Jesus had walked among them. We know for certain that the church had suffered terrible persecution. Whether they had become disillusioned by the length of time it was taking for Jesus to return or the daily humiliation and abuse had gotten to them they were losing the focus on God and beginning to fall away in doubt and fear – we just do not know. But what we do know is that for whatever reason they were becoming a congregation of squabbling mal-contents who had lost the sense of community that had once characterized them.
Some of them had fallen off on attendance at the worship services, some had stopped participating in the activities and were described by the writer as having drooping heads and weak knees. And some were refusing to listen to each other and seek consensus with the community. The writer who was probably an itinerant preacher of some sort wanted those who read this letter to hear once again the stories of the faith of their ancestors in order to be renewed in their own faith. And so we get this great one liner “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” and then we hear examples of how faith was manifested in Abraham and how God responded with the blessing of children.
Big concepts are often described by little bitty words. Faith is one of those words. It is hard to describe exactly what it means to have faith and yet we seem to use it all the time in our everyday language. “Keep the faith” was a mantra for Boston as the Red Sox fell behind the Yankees by 3 games in the American League championship in 2004 before going on to win. What the author of Hebrews and in fact Jesus himself is trying to tell us today is first - why it is important for us to have faith in something beyond our immediate knowing and secondly - what that faith looks like in real life. One of my favorite writers, Verna Dosier had this to say about faith: “The opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear. Faith implies risk. I will cast my life on the possibility that God is for me. I do not claim to have any proof except my commitment.”
The opposite of faith is not doubt - it is fear… faith is a risky business. Loss of faith causes fear and fear causes anxiety and anxiety causes us to turn inward, to cut ourselves off from sustaining and supporting relationships, to hunker down for protection, to gather our things around us and in doing so to cut ourselves off from the very source of comfort and peace – to cut ourselves off from God. Rather than risk this ultimate isolation, Ms Dosier tells us that she will cast her lot with the possibility – no proof just possibility - that God was in fact in solidarity with her as she moved through her life.
The answer to the second question what does faith look like in real life comes not from a telling description but rather in a life well lived. Rarely are we able to convince someone to have faith in God by preaching and teaching. Rather we invite others to faith through acts of kindness, generosity, justice and peace-keeping. We are known by our love. I think that this is what Jesus is getting at when he tells us that ‘Where our treasure is there our heart will be also.” When I want to know where my heart lies I look at my checkbook and my calendar. Those two tell me the truth about myself. We spend our time, our energy, and our resources on those things that mean the most to us. If the things that mean the most are those things that draw us closer to each other and to God then we will be living lives of faith.
Jesus was not just telling us – Jesus shows us the way to faith, shows us the path to relationship with God. He knows that where our treasure lies, where our values become reality is the very place where our heart, our devotion, our love also lies. He knows through personal experience. His whole life was spent offering to us a model of what it looks like to place your heart and your treasure at the feet of God and to live in faith that what surrounds us not is not the ultimate reality but is only a passing moment in God’s plan for us.
This is heavy stuff for a hot August morning. But it is great stuff to begin a new program year. Now is the time for us to take our treasure to our prayer. Now is the time for us to invest our time in what matters the most to us. In Cursillo we talk about seeking God through study service and piety – a three legged stool. In down and dirty terms that means seeking God through prayer and scripture, by helping others, and by coming to church. All three are available in abundance right here, right now. This is what faith is all about. Let your heart lead you. Come and see and invite others to join you. We will all be better off for our effort.
Amen
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