Christmas Eve Meditation 2018

Christmas Eve Meditation 2018

Preface to the opening of worship:
We are here because we have heard a promise of
peace and we have faith its day will come we have heard a rumor of justice and we
have faith its day will come we have heard a whisper of hope and we have faith its day will come we have heard a hint of love and we have faith its day will come we have heard of the birth of the
Christ-child and we have faith his day is here. Welcome to Christmas Eve.

We are arriving at the space of where heaven and earth intersect.
It’s here where we listen to those familiar words that bring us comfort. The story one more time brings us hope.

If we hear it again, then perhaps it will be true for us again throughout the coming year.
Perhaps, it will be true that peace and love exist.
Perhaps, it will be true that God loves us.
Perhaps, it will be true that God really did come down in love for me and for you and for everyone we know and do not know.

Because tonight we choose to believe even if every other day of the year we choose not to believe. Because tonight the mystery of the amazing love of God enfolds us all.

Tonight, the angels are singing for the shepherds and they are singing for us. They are
telling us that Jesus Christ is born, they are telling us that we must go to Bethlehem and
we must see for ourselves that Jesus Christ is born today.

Tonight, we choose to believe the power of God to save us from ourselves and from the
warring, raging world.

Tonight, we come down to receive this Savior who was born into an unwelcoming world to teach all of us to become welcoming people for one another.

Tonight, we choose to believe that God has enough power to bring heaven to earth so the
whole world will be filled peace.
We will become instruments of peace because the Prince of Peace has been born in us today. And this year, perhaps for the very first time, we really believe it and so we choose to live this truth from this day forward.

Tonight, there is the intersection of humanity in suffering and despair with the wonder
and joy and celebration of new life arriving and eliminating all suffering, releasing all
despair and bringing everlasting life. Bringing the fullness of joy born in each of us as we
share life with one another-this is everlasting.

You see, each time we visit and see the face of another person we experience in that the
visit a moment of the Holy with us. 

This moment when we touch the face of another we touch the face of God,
for God is with us and in us.
The Prince of Peace has been born in us this night.
There is an eerie power of peaceful presence in times such as these.

And so on this most wonderful night of nights as we witness the intersection of heaven
and earth through the touch of God come down in the incarnation-Jesus Christ born to
us today-perhaps, you as well as me are wondering if there is a touch from God for me?

And yes, dear friends, God is here for you and for me.
Believe the words, trust the story,
allow the mystery
to enter in.

God is here!
Jesus Christ is born in us today! Amen!

Jesus is Alive, Surprise!

Sermon Matthew 28:1-10 April 16, 2017 Easter Sunday

                                                Sermon: Jesus is Alive, Surprise!

A friend of mine (Jo Ann Staebler) said,

“The Easter gospel begins with great grief.”

At first I thought, “No way. Easter is a time of joy. There is no grief.” And then I realized, “Just a minute-of course it begins with great grief.’

The women were on their way to the tomb where Jesus lay. And these women were deep in grief. The women have gone into muscle memory mode. They are going through the motions of grief that all do when tragedy, death, destruction or trauma strike.

And it is also true that it is darkest before the dawn.

And our greatest fears rise up in those darkest hours.

Everyone was in shock and they did not know what to do without their Lord.

Their faith had been crushed, beaten, and dismantled by the death of the Savior. And they were very afraid of what would happen next.

In our journey of faith we too have faced times when everything we believed was crushed, beaten, and dismantled.

We have been in dark hours where we did not know what to do or what to say.

We too were functioning in muscle memory mode.

We too were going through the motions just to get through the day only to have to repeat those motions for more days than we could remember.

The gospel lesson of Easter pulls us into all the

grief and drama of the power of loss.

And then while we are still caught in the challenge of grief,

God astounds us with the BIG SURPRISE!

Jesus is not here.

He is ALIVE!

It is a surprise beyond our imagination.

It is a surprise that once again startles our faith!

He is alive shocks us as much as his death did.

It is too much to bear.

Now what do we do? He is ALIVE!

How do we act? He is ALIVE!

And how do we share this news? He is ALIVE!

Jesus said he would return again, but how many really believed it would happen like this?

He said it over and over again.

But how well did they listen?

I know my husband is always trying to get me to listen-to really hear what he is saying.

I know I’m told things for my own good over and over again-but I don’t seem to hear it-even when my life depends on it.

Jesus spoke in riddles. Some we can give the disciples a break-maybe not judge them so harshly. The parables of Jesus were hard to follow…

Remember the one when he was telling Nicodemus about being born again. We, like the disciples, scratched our heads wondering how this renewal of life can actually happen. We know our bodies don’t go through the birth process more than once. So how can new life be born in us?

Jesus was full of surprises alright.

He had a way of making food appear out of a couple slices of bread. He touched people and they were healed. He taught the leaders of the synagogue things about God no one had ever known. He walked on water.

He raised Lazarus from the dead…wow, he really was full of surprises.

He really did do things beyond anyone’s imagination.

He really did do miracles.

Perhaps, then his rising from the dead is true too.

And if this surprise is true then we can remember all the things he did.

We can talk about them to people.

Jesus didn’t do all these surprising things to entertain us.

He did them to transform us; to change us; to make us new.

Just as the caterpillar crawled into the tomb of its chrysalis and rose from it as a magnificent butterfly; so Jesus has risen-magnificent from the depths of his tomb. Transformed. And so he declares we are too.

You see, in dying, God is making sure there is rising!

For if God goes down to the dead and rises to new life;

rest assured God has made the way for us who die

                                              to rise to new life!

We can be assured and raised up with strength as we witness the surprise and wonder of the Resurrection;

of new life;

of a new creation!

This is our hope!

Believing in this surprise, this miracle of God, fills us with new life.

We rise up today filled with joy and wonder.

God makes all things new through the power of the resurrection born in us.

Jesus has risen to new life so we too rise to new life.

It is the miracle that grants us the power to change not only who we are but the world around us.

SO we wonder again,

what do we do?

How do we act?

What news do we share?

We go out from here today rejoicing in the strength and courage of the Savior born anew in us.

We go out from this place nourished and fed at Table so we can do the things Jesus did.

We can make the abundance of food appear from two slices of bread. We have the capacity to offer our extras to others in need.

We can share the abundance of our joy with our neighbors.

We can take the abundance of our knowledge and offer to help others learn and live. Just like those who volunteer with the literacy council, we offer the abundance of our knowledge through tutoring, mentoring, teaching.

We can take the abundance of our courage and stand in the gap for those who can’t.

The list goes on and on of what we can do.

And how can we share this great surprise?

Through sheer faith in believing. We may not understand it, and we may not be able to explain it, but, we can believe it by the evidence of God’s love within us. It is real because God’s love is real.

Friends let the warmth of love flow through you today.

Let the love you cannot imagine surprise you.

Let the power of the resurrection surprise rise up in you.

Go now and live. Go now and give.

Jesus is alive-surprise! Amen.

This is the good news which we have received, in which we stand, and by which we are saved, if we hold fast: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, and that he appeared first to the women, then to Peter, and to the twelve, and then to many faithful witnesses. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end; he is our Lord and our God

Wave the Palms

Sermon Matthew 21:1-11 April 9, 2017 Palm Sunday

Wave the Palms

Our anthem begins with Wave the Palms and throw the branches at his feet, Wave the Palms.

Palm Sunday is our chance to shout and sing and dance in church.

It is our loudest Sunday of the year.

No other Sunday in our church calendar calls for as much festivity as this one.

So, let us get together and begin our celebration, our joy, and our party!

Let’s see what do we need for a parade and for a celebration?

Oh, I know we need noise makers,

and we need decorations,

and we need lots of color,

and we need a reason to celebrate.

For two years now our churches have marched in the St Patrick’s Day parade as the Makemie Marchers. It has been our purpose to march for fun. We like being part of the parade and we like being together to celebrate the day with the other parade goers.

We also march to let others know about us.We want people to know about our church and to join in the fun we have together. Think about what those things are for you, should someone ask you. 😊

There is something very special about a parade.

It has a special energy that seems to build among those in the parade and with the parade watchers. It begins slowly and then as the event gets closer the excitement grows and the enthusiasm is contagious! And everywhere you look you see a smile on people’s faces.

And isn’t that what we hope for, strive for, live for?

We seek a life of smiles and joy.

We seek a life where trouble does not exist.

We seek a life where peace is at every turn,

where the hungry are fed,

where disease is a myth,

where war and hatred are long gone,

and the world is in full bloom.

That’s why we have this Sunday of celebration.

So, we do not forget what we hope for.

When around the world children are dying a horrible death

and in our own neighborhood houses are being robbed,

and where disease is at our doorstep,

and discord is in our homes-

                                    we need a moment like this to find our hope again.

Some might get angry at us for taking a day to rejoice.

Some might say to us, “but there are poor around us how can we pause and shout, sing and dance?”

And our response is to say, “we have not forgotten the suffering that surrounds us. The suffering is here and we are well aware.”  “Yet, this day is for us to receive our strength for the journey of the week ahead. That is why we wave palms today.”

You see, if we fully invest ourselves in the events of Holy Week

we cannot go through it unless we have gained the strength

that comes from the rejoicing together today.

Today, we recall the story of Jesus entering into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The crowds were crying out to him, “Save Us!” They were recalling the words of the prophet Zechariah. Jesus was to be the new king!

The crowds were filled with hope

for a new beginning,

a new way of life,

one without oppression.

They were seeking freedom from the realities of the harshness of their lives.

Jesus was the one to make that happen.

As we raise our voices in song today, we still believe that.

Jesus is the one who must save,

who must bring peace to all.

Jesus is the one who has filled our hearts with promise and with hope

                                                    and today we expect those dreams to become real!

But, what about tomorrow,

when the streets have been

 swept clean from all the

confetti and the banners?

Will we still be chasing

after Jesus with hope?

Or will the reality of

his journey through Jerusalem

dash our dreams and

our expectations of who he really is?

Why didn’t Jesus accept a political crown and fix the problems and heal everyone?

Why did Jesus let things keep happening?

Why didn’t Jesus fight?

Why didn’t Jesus do what I expected him to do?

Isn’t he my Lord and shouldn’t he fulfill what I believe are his promises?

This is where the faith of the crowd suffered. When Jesus no longer acted like the king they expected, they lost hope and they not only turned away but turned against him.

Maybe, just maybe, we do that to Jesus too?

When Jesus doesn’t get the job done that I expect: Jesus, you were supposed to get my best friend the job of her dreams and you didn’t do that. I prayed every day, three times a day, and I gave you plenty of advance notice of when she would be interviewing, and you blew it Jesus!

 You didn’t answer my prayer like you promised you would.

I’m done!

I’m walking away from this believing in Jesus stuff!

I’m walking away from this church stuff!

It’s all fake!

None of it is real!

How can anybody believe that junk anyway?

We cannot remake Jesus into the God we want him to be. 

We can only share the news of the God he is. 

He is not a super star. He is not an earthly king. 

He is not a money tree. He is not a magic man. 

He is not a genie in a bottle or a fairy godmother fulfilling all our wishes. 

And if this is the Jesus to whom we wave our palms today, 

then we will be like the crowd and we will turn away from him and also against him tomorrow.

Today, we wave the palms and lay the branches at his feet and we see his face.

Today we recognize the Jesus who has saved us and has given us new life. Today we feel his touch as he reaches out to us and calls our name. We hear him say we belong. We hear him say we are his children. We are claimed as children of God and he does not let us go-ever! Today we recognize his voice and at the sound of his voice we believe.

We believe because somewhere along the path of our life the miracle of faith has been born.

We believe because even though the one we call Lord and Savior

goes down to the grave, we witness his rising in the end.

We believe because we know that even if we

go down to the grave, we too will rise.

We believe this because this is our hope and this is our promise.

The one whom God sent to walk this world walks with us today. Friends, his words are true-“My peace I leave you, my peace I give you…do not let your hearts be troubled, do not let them be afraid.” “I am with you always even unto the end of the age.”

We wave the palms and we celebrate for today we rejoice in our king

and tomorrow we will continue to sing.

Hosanna, Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen. 

At the Crossroads-Pilate

Sermon Matthew 27:11-26 March 12, 2017 2^nd Sunday Lent

At the Crossroads-Pilate

In this Lent, we travel the crossroads of people who were faced with a difficult choice. Today, we meet Pilate. We heard in the gospel of Matthew, Pilate was faced with a difficult choice. He could choose to do what was right in the eyes of justice, or he could respond to the pressure of the crowds and the religious leaders. He chose to bend to the will of the crowds and the religious leaders. He knew his choice was not a fine one nor was it a fair one. But, despite the turmoil within him, he chose to free Barabbas and send Jesus to his death.

In Matthew’s presentation of Jesus’ passion story, God is present and active for the salvation of humanity. Jesus struggles at the face of death just as much as any human has in history. M. Eugene Boring.

Jesus faces the trial that sends him to his death. God is fully present in him and with him.

Pilate asks Jesus the question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” This is the only question Jesus answers in this Roman trial. The next time we hear Jesus speak, he is speaking from the cross. And Jesus makes the choice to seal his fate at the cross with his answer. Jesus says, “you say so.” That is the same as saying. “Yes, I am.”

Pilate, in an effort to get Jesus to say something that is less condemning, tells him there are a number of accusations against him. Jesus doesn’t budge. Pilate is left with the struggle of his choice. He is the judge of this man. Jesus has verified the charge of treason against Rome with his answer. But, even if he had said something different, the result of his trial would be the same. Yet, Pilate seems to try every turn to set him free.

Imagine being a judge in charge of the fate of another. I don’t think I can-it’s too scary.

I think that’s why I really didn’t like serving on a jury. I was always worried that perhaps we didn’t hear the whole story. Perhaps, my judgment was in error. Perhaps, my decision was based on my prejudice-perhaps even an unconscious prejudice-and that’s the scariest of all to me.

Being a judge takes a lot of discernment and character. It requires being able to do the job without letting emotion take control. Yet, judges are faced with decisions every day that affect the lives of others.

Even though we don’t wear a judge’s robe and sit on a bench each day, we are faced with decisions that impact the lives of others.

In this reading, today we learn of Pilate and we also learn about the crowds. Pilate throws the question of which prisoner to release to the crowd. His choice point to throw the decision over to another ended up with an outcome he did not expect. They called for the release of Barabbas! Pilate who thought Jesus could be freed through the voice of the crowd, heard instead, for him to be crucified! How, can it be that people turn against someone so quickly?

How do we fall in love and follow someone for their ideals, only to turn away just as quickly through the influence of voices from the crowd?

The questions we struggle with are the ones that get at the core of our belief.

What are the basic principles that keep us on the way for good?

How do we make a choice point, a judgment that is for the best?

The best for others, and the best for us?

Perhaps, this telling story of Jesus before Pilate and the crowd is a start.

If we were to become members of a crowd, we best be sure we understand the purpose of the crowd.

Whether we were part of the women’s march on Washington,

or the crowd at a Trump support rally,

we should have known the reasons for being there.

If we were caught up in a crowd to chant slogans or campaign cries, we would hope the words that came from our mouths were ones we really believed.

Often when people are gathered in crowds they are swept up with the emotion of the moment. And in the emotion, core principles can somehow be left behind.

The crowds that followed Jesus were perhaps ones who were intrigued by his popularity, and his view on the world and his counter cultural ideals were appealing. Yet, when the crowd was faced with the need to shout out their support, they would not do it. They hid behind the words of a few and then yelled the opposite of how they had behaved over the last few years.

In this season of Lent, we come to the choice point; to choose whom we will follow. Joshua said it so well to his people so long ago. “Now therefore, revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness…now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your ancestors…or the gods …in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

I really believe that the choice of whom we follow becomes the core of our faith. I also believe that this then grants us the basic principles to handle life in the crowds.

It is the center of our judgment seat. Once we know who we put our faith in, we are then able to learn, know, seek to understand, and put into action those principles for life.

Christ’s premise for life was based on grace, love, truth, and service. John 13:34- A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you  Matthew 22:37-40- “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Bob Hoekstra puts it this way: Centuries before the Messiah (Jesus) came into this world, the Psalmist prophesied of the words of grace that would flow from His mouth. "You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips." God's grace guided and poured forth through the words of Jesus and set His speech above that of every other person. Those who listened to Him during His earthly pilgrimage testified of this fact. "All bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22). One of the distinctive aspects of Jesus' words was the unique authority this grace imparted. "Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority"

When we choose that our speech will always be filled with grace, perhaps sometimes also seasoned with salt, we can know we are speaking through the wisdom of God.

We must choose that our purpose for speech is for the edification of others, not to hurt others. We must want our words to be ministering God’s grace in the lives of others as well as in our own.

Pontius Pilate had the opportunity to speak the way for good. The crowd had the same opportunity.

We have choices every day. Let us live remembering the solid rock of faith on which we stand. Let us choose grace, love, truth, and service. Let the power of God’s love flow through us and from us. Amen.

Walk to Emmaus

Sermon Luke 24:13-35 April 3, 2016 Easter 2 communion

Walk to Emmaus

The road to Emmaus is a road to revelation.

It is a road of discovery.

It is the road we take for one purpose and recognize along the way something entirely new and different.

The two followers of Jesus have left Jerusalem. They have left the Passover feast duly completed and this was the ‘first day of the week’ and it has been three days since these things took place. As they were traveling they were deep in conversation with each other.

They were deep into getting away from where they have been.

They were deep in disappointment and perhaps even disillusioned.

They were in disbelief of the events of the past few days.

What roads do we travel as we find ourselves in deep disappointment and grief or disbelief about the events that surround us and the events of our lives?

Frederick Buechner points out that our road to Emmaus might be going shopping or for a drive or drinking or whatever method of escape where we throw up our arms and say, “Forget it, what difference does it make anyway?”

“Emmaus is whatever we do or wherever we go to make ourselves forget that the world holds nothing sacred: that even the wisest and bravest and loveliest decay and die; that even the noblest ideas that men have had-ideas of love and freedom and justice-have always in time been twisted out of shape by selfish men for selfish end.”

We travel roads to places healthy or unhealthy when life is too much for us and we become absorbed in the travel and oblivious to our surroundings.

For some, the revelation and news that Jesus has risen from the dead and is alive is incomprehensible. And it is. None of us who believe it can explain it.

So, how can we expect others who have not heard and have not seen to believe it if we can’t explain it?

Luke as he finishes out this gospel provides several encounter stories of Jesus the risen Lord as a segue to the accounts of the early church in the book of Acts.

This story of the road to Emmaus is a story about us.

How these men, who were followers of Jesus, had so many hopes of who Jesus would be for them.

They had determined in their mind that he was a prophet and he would fulfill the Scriptures for them, yet he died.

They could not imagine as they walked the road and shared their story with the stranger that anything good could come to them after this great grief of the loss of all their hope.

The person that joins them in travel does not impose himself upon them about who he is. He merely joins them to listen and accompany them along the way. He appears unassumingly and yet remains throughout all the discussion.

And then when they tell him they did not ‘see’ the Lord risen, the traveler begins to share the words of Scripture to them.

We discover from this story that Jesus the risen Lord accompanies us on the roads which we travel.

God’s presence is fully with us as we go our way,

whether we are taking the road to get away

or the road that takes us back,

God is there.

As I mentioned to the children in the children’s time, we all see Jesus in a variety of ways. In the picture when they close their eyes they could see an image of the picture they had been focusing on.

In the roads we travel our encounter with the risen Christ will be experienced in a variety of ways and we will see Jesus in a variety of ways.

As Cleopas was processing out loud all the things that had taken place, Jesus was listening to him as he unloaded his burdens of expectations. How do we process our burdens of expectations?

Do we have a companion that joins us on the road to hear our words, do we have someone who comes alongside and shares some words of wisdom,

do we have someone who will join us for a meal if we invite them?

When invited, Jesus enters in and joins the meal at the table.

And when he does he becomes the host and takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it and in his actions he is revealed.

In the actions surrounding us,

Jesus the risen Lord is revealed.

It cannot be explained.

But it can be believed.

Their eyes were opened in the breaking of the bread.

After this event their lives were never the same.

They ran to tell the others about the actions that brought the risen Lord to their view.

The events of Easter become a series of Easter events,

a series of actions and encounters that stretch across the rest of our lives.

The moments of actions as we travel the roads to Emmaus

or back to Jerusalem

are ones where we are accompanied by the risen Lord and his presence is revealed to us in ways we may never be able to explain, and yet we believe.

Amen. 

Humble Heir

Sermon Genesis 15:1-12, 17, 18 February 21, 2016 Lent 2C

Humble Heir

Lent is a time of reflection and a time of opportunity. In Lent we intentionally choose to think about those who have influenced our life of faith. We take the time to think about all the people who have influenced our lives.

We think about how the courage and fortitude of others has impacted who we are today. We think about those people who mentored us, those people who changed the course of our lives just by being faithful to their principles and their understanding of what mattered.

We think about those who we know followed the call of God. Often the people that influenced us most were not the ones getting the accolades and fame, but the ones who quietly and humbly walked through life, steadfast and true to their calling.

                                         Who were or are those people for you?

Abram was the heir to all the promises of God for a future people. He was an heir to a promise that he would not see until the fourth generation. Abram was granted righteousness because he followed God, believed God, and listened to God.

Abram, we consider a humble man, not because he blindly obeyed, but because he had the courage and boldness to follow through even in the midst of uncertainty. He was promised much from God but remained as true as possible to who he was. He messed up, he did some dumb things, he wasn’t perfect, yet he kept going with the promise God had given him as his hope for the future. A future he was not sure he would see.

And so when God comes to him again in this chapter he begins to speak and ask questions.

Here is the question of faith for us:
Can a person who has doubts, and questions God be an example for us about faithfulness?
If a person asks questions about God’s plan and God’s actions in their life does this make them unfaithful?
If a person is in this situation are they having a crisis of faith?

This story of Abram-and perhaps many more Biblical stories-demonstrate for us that his journey is our journey and the doubts, the questions, and the uncertainty are not a crisis but an element of faith.

Frederick Buechner says, “Faith is better understood as a verb than a noun, as a process than a possession. It is on-again-off-again rather than once-and-for-all. Faith is not being sure where we are but going anyway. A journey without maps. Tillich said that doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.”

 

Brian Peterson-Night Sky

As we look to this story of Abram we notice three elements of his faith as he converses with God.

1.       This first element of faith we witness is that God speaks and Abram listens.

In our time alone with God do we give God room to speak or are we the ones doing all the talking. Some of the ways we give room for God to speak is by sitting quietly with God’s Word and allowing the words from the text to sift into our minds. We pause and maybe we fall asleep, or maybe our mind wanders to all the distractions around us. Can we sit long enough with God to allow God to speak to us in the silence that surrounds us? If we like to fish or hunt or garden or cook or sew or knit or clean; can we allow the words from God to filter into those activities of our lives to offer us guidance and peace?

2.      The second element of faith we witness in this story is that God promises and Abram believes.

Abram trusts God’s promises. I think most of us trust God’s promises of love and life too. The promise of God that I believe Abram trusted was God’s power and presence. He recognized in hearing God that God was with him even in his questions and doubts. Abram knew God enough to ask God the how and even the why questions. He trusted God’s presence enough even to challenge God about God’s purposes. When we struggle to understand the direction or the course of life we are on, it only makes sense to ask God what this means and if there will be something revealed to help us know we are still moving in the right direction. We face many struggles and in our struggles we are faced with anxiety, fears and doubts.

I find it a comfort to be able to reach out to God and question it all.

It is not our lack of faith that puts us there but our desire to be faithful!

Show us God!

Help us see!

We read that Abram believes God after he is shown the stars in the sky.

But, is it the stars he believes, or the future, or the existence of God?

Somehow Abram finds assurance of who God is and who he is in this exchange of words and dreams. Yes, it’s in his exchange with God, his connection, his conversation, that he finds his assurance. In his exchange with God he is affirmed and that brings him to belief.

And perhaps when we exchange our doubts and fears with God we too can find assurance.

Hebrews 11:1 Says faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

3.      And the third element (I’m certain there are many more, but these we observe today), God commands and Abram obeys.

Abram doesn’t have answers to all his questions. he doesn’t have the details of the future spelled out for him and he certainly doesn’t have a blueprint, excel file, or map of where to go or what to do next. Abram doesn’t even fully understand what God meant.
But, he forged forward anyway.

These elements of faith sustain.

And so do the prayers of faithful people.

This past week as you know has been difficult in our family’s loss. Yet-we have been carried by your prayers as if being raised up on wings of eagles.

Prayers are our life blood.

And they hold me now as I try to talk about Abram and faith.

The thing that hurts is Faith is the name given to our granddaughter and in her loss,

Baby Faith-Tiny Feet

it hurts just to say it.

Perhaps, that is the truth about our faith and our walk with God

sometimes it hurts just to say it.

And sometimes it hurts to live it.

And sometimes it hurts to know its truth-faith in God is from everlasting to everlasting. And when we or I remember that, then
saying,

living,

speaking

Faith
is joy

and the hurt is mingled with wonder and love that fills our hearts with peace.

Faith is this mystery that carries us from day to day.

It is the hope we have in the promises given to us in Jesus Christ.

The promises of love to sustain through all things.

The example and person of Jesus Christ renews the promise that we are heirs to all God has for us.

In this Lent let us open our hearts and minds to listen, believe and be led forth not only for ourselves but for future generations.

Amen.

Resource: Feasting on the Word-Dan Debevoise; Wishful Thinking-Frederick Buechner.