Pentecost 11: Hebrews 11:1-16; Luke 12:32-40
August 8, 2010
The news this week was very interesting. After weeks of watching the oil spew out of the broken well deep under the Gulf it turns out not only is the leak now stopped, but even more astounding is that a major portion of the spillage is now gone. And how is that possible? Well, it turns out that in addition to the human efforts to burn, skim and disperse the oil with chemicals over the last few weeks, there has also been another force at work that has done even more.
Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press writes: "Much of the reasoning behind the disappearing oil has to do with the natural resilience of the Gulf itself which is teeming with microbes that eat oil." Apparently oil in seawater has a natural tendency to evaporate and dissolve to half its volume in about a week. And even critics of the report acknowledge this as fact. Overall it is estimated that human efforts gotten rid of 35 million gallons of oil. But Mother Nature gotten rid of 84 million gallons which leaves an estimated 53 million gallons still around, somewhere.
Regardless of the good news, of course, it still would have been infinitely better for this accident never to have happened and one hopes that something will be learned so that it never happens again. But nonetheless, the doomsday scenario that many feared is not happening after all thanks to the hidden resiliency of Mother Nature and those microbes.
Isn't God's creation amazing! That long before any oil had formed from the sludge of decaying matter eons ago, God had already embedded a solution for a problem like that witnessed in the Gulf. But then again none of this should surprise us. Whenever there is an overwhelming crisis we learn again that God is still bigger.
This fits in with the author of Hebrews definition of faith this morning as "the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen." (He 11:1) He goes on to recite a long list heroes throughout the bible who through faith overcame great obstacles. He cites Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah in today's reading. Later in the same chapter he adds Moses and Israel at the Red Sea, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets.
"All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them and confessed that they were mere strangers and foreigners on the earth." (He 11:13f) But while they lived the author goes on to say that 'through their faith, they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war and put foreign armies to flight.' (He 11:33f) In other words they left a mark to show for their lives. They were faithful and obedient disciples who believed more in the invisible power of God than in the adverse circumstances they had to face and overcome.
Abraham and Sarah are representative of all the heroes of faith because they set out for a land they were to receive as an inheritance even though they didn't know where they were going or how they would get there. By faith they were given the power of procreation even though they were too old and Sarah was barren. Yet they believed more in the power of God than in the odds stacked against them. And as a result of their obedience their "descendents became as many as the stars of heaven and as innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."
This is the essence of faith in every age and circumstance. When we look at the state of the world with all its oil spills, wars, corruption, sickness and death it is hard to imagine how things could ever be better. Based on the visible evidence alone we can easily look upon ourselves as being too puny and insignificant to make much of a difference. Indeed the human factor is most often the problem. But faithful people understand God to be bigger than themselves and greater than the limitations of their circumstances. Therefore through obedience to God's calling they rise above of where they are in the hope of reaching a better land and life that God has promised.
Faith doesn't give in to what is then. It reaches out and beyond what is to what could be and will be because of God's invisible power and because God can be trusted to deliver what he promises. Faith is not sitting back and waiting for God to act. God is already acting. Faith is committing ourselves to join up with God and contribute our own efforts small and great to the Kingdom that is to be.
Every generation is challenged by the odds. As mentioned the scripture of Hebrews was written was probably written during a time of intense persecution of Christians when their religion was illegal. To follow Jesus openly was dangerous. Many, no doubt, wondered if this new faith would be worth the cost of self-sacrifice and pain. Many, no doubt, turned back from following Jesus and sought the safety and comforts offered by Rome. But many others did not. Not Peter, not Paul and their brothers and sisters in faith who bravely accepted the cross of following Jesus. Like the heroes before them, they did not live to see the promises of God fulfilled. But because of what they and many generations following did, they left their mark while they were here. Truly we can see further and do more now only because we stand on their shoulders.
Their witness is both a reminder and an inspiration to us. We too can be like small Christian microbes who are sent out into the world to gobble up the sludge of sin and death and all the debris left over from the mistakes and disasters of the past. But where do these tiny Christians come from and how are they born?
Truly they come from families and homes where the Lord is revered. Where God's love is the guiding light. Where mercy is practiced. Where following Jesus is taught and modeled. They come from faithful churches who assist families in raising little ones in the faith, from after school programs and preschools like we have here to vibrant youth programs and Sunday Schools that equip all ages to be servants of Christ. They come from churches that bond together and sacrifice for mission projects in the wider community like at Asbury Children Supper Hour, Kumler Ministries, Habitat for Humanity and who assist generously to help the victims of hunger, disease, earthquake, flood and strife to recover and rebuild. From both family and church we learn how to gobble up sadness or heal hurts simply by listening and praying and caring for one another as friends and neighbors.
Sometimes we see only the limitations of our pocket books or the General Fund and think this is all we can do. But this was not the FAITH of those who went before us. They understood that God was always bigger than the challenges. Therefore they dared to stretch themselves trusting that they were not alone in their efforts, but God's hidden power was at work through and beyond them. Their dream was not for the comfort and pleasures of the moment, but for a heavenly commonwealth beyond what could be seen.
How big then is the God of our faith today? Do we measure God by the dimensions of our own limitations? Or is our faith in a God who is always greater and bigger than anything we see?
Like the earliest Christians we are still waiting for Jesus to come back nearly 2000 years later. Like them we are tempted to settle down in the world and make all that we have and enjoy here the primary preoccupation of life. And so like those servants in the parable Jesus encourages his followers not to give up against the odds nor to give in to lazy habits, but to always be "dressed for action and to have our lamps lit." (Lk 12:35) Doing all the things that Jesus did is like setting the table, cleaning the house, stocking up food and supplies for a wedding banquet. "Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes."(Lk 12:37f)
The ministry of Jesus is ongoing through and around us all the time. Faithful disciples keep on doing the things Jesus did with the expectation that he is coming back even though they will never know when. Like those before us, we also may die in faith without receiving the promises, but while we are here we can leave our mark for the sake of those promises that we see only in the distance. We can confess that we are only strangers and foreigners while we are here for those who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a better place and life than what they see and know now. Those who are committed to that better life and are willing to sacrifice for it now are those of whom God speaks that "he is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, God has prepared a city for them."(He 11)
And so once again, how big is the God of our faith today? How big are the dreams that we can imagine and undertake by faith in the invisible power of God? According to God's Word, if the past is prolong to the future, then the best is yet to come.