Pentecost 10, 2019
Hebrews 11:17-31; 12:1-3
“By Faith”
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
A priest, an evangelist, and a minister were in a rowboat in the middle of a pond fishing. None of them had caught anything all morning. Then the evangelist stands up and says he needs to go to the bathroom, so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He comes back ten minutes later the same way. Then the minister decides he needs to go to the bathroom, too, so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He, too, comes back the same way ten minutes later. The priest looks at both of them and decides that his faith is just as strong as his fishing buddies and that he can walk on water, too. He stands up and excuses himself. As he steps out, he makes a big splash down into the water. The evangelist looks at the minister and says, "I suppose we should have told him where the rocks were."
Did you pay attention to all those people mentioned in our Epistle lesson? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses’ parents, Moses, the Israelites, and Rahab. They all did some incredible things. No, they didn’t find rocks in the lake to make it look like they walked on water. Abraham offered God his one and only son. Isaac blessed both of his sons: Jacob and Esau…even after being fooled by Jacob. Joseph instructed and spoke concerning the Exodus that would take place in the future, Moses’ parents trusted that God would protect and provide for Moses as they placed him among the reeds in a basket. Moses rejected Pharaoh’s household as he saw his people enslaved and suffering. The Israelites passed through the sea and would later see her small army cry out as the walls of Jericho tumbled. Rahab would hide God’s people from her own townspeople to protect them as she risked her own life.
And all of them shared something in common. Do you know what that is? They are all patriarchs and pillars of faith. Faith. They had faith in common. They achieved all of these remarkable things by faith.
Often you and I share something…a desire to have faith like that. We are often like a short comic strip I saw recently. It depicts a Father sitting on a bed as his son says his prayers. The child says, “God, make me like my Daddy-big and strong and smart.” It then shows the Father leave the room and pause in reflection. The last scene shows the Father kneeling at his bed in prayer saying, “Lord, make me like my child, obedient, faithful, trusting.” I still have prayers like that. Lord give me the patience of my Father. Lord, help me to be as good of a Father as my Dad was. Lord, help me to be as faithful as a pastor as my dad was.
Maybe you’ve prayed like that too. Maybe you’ve prayed during times of sickness… Lord: I’m hurting. I’m suffering. I don’t have the faith of Job…I can’t go through this. Help me. Give me the strength. Lord my child needs you…give me the faith of Moses’ parents to trust in your love. Lord, this life is troubling. Things aren’t going well…I feel boxed in with no escape…let me put my faith in you like that of the Israelites. Maybe you cry out the words of a father in the Gospel of Mark whose child was possessed “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
Those wonderful patriarch’s and pillars of the faith…they have something else in common with each one of us. They struggled. They prayed. They were poor miserable sinners in need of a Savior.
Abraham lied and passed off his wife as being his sister. Isaac, Abraham’s son, also lied and passed off his wife as being his sister as well. Jacob stole his brother’s birthright by lying to his father instead of trusting God’s promise. Joseph spoke badly of his brothers while sharing his dreams conceitedly…annoying his brothers more and more. Moses doubted his ability and God’s decision to use him to save the Israelites and would go on to glorify himself by striking the rock and giving the Israelites water. Rahab was a prostitute. The people of Israel would continually fall away from believing and trusting in the true God.
Those certainly aren’t the qualities we wish to share. So how could sinners like that be such pillars of the faith? It is a gift. It is a gift given and sustained in this place. The gift of faith is given to you and your children through the waters of Holy Baptism. It is a gift sustained and nurtured through hearing God’s Word proclaimed each week. It is a gift sustained and nurtured through Jesus’ very body and blood sacrificed on the cross for you.
That faith that you were given…whether the size of a mustard seed or as strong as any of the Patriarchs…can and does do great things. The faith given to you at your baptism does great things.
By faith you may be the father or mother, son or daughter, sister or brother you should be. By faith you may lover your neighbor as Christ loves you. By faith you can “stand firm.” (2 Corinthians 1:24) By faith you are God’s beloved child (Galatians 3:6). As God’s child by faith you “are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:5) “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20) Your faith can do these things because your faith rests on God’s power! (1 Corinthians 2:5)
By faith you are the father and mother your children pray to be like. By baptism you are like your child: obedient, trusting, faithful.
By faith in Christ Jesus you are saved. Faith is God’s gift to you and your children. It is given to you by His grace. And we trust that this faith given to us is always enough for the one giving it to us is always faithful. Christ was faithful unto death…even death on a cross…to save you. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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