Hebrews 11: 1-3, 8-16
What is Faith?
The first reading may be familiar to you: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”. Maybe you’ve been hearing that since you toddled around your grannies house and learned to read that phrase off a needlepoint on her couch. Maybe it is the first time you are hearing it. The First Nations Version reads, “Trusting Creator is the solid ground our hope rests on. It means we can be sure of the things we do not yet see.” If we go with the IHB translation – the Ingrid Hartloff Brown translation – fun fact I studied ancient Greek and Hebrew – it sounds like, “Faith is the firm foundation on which we place our hope, our expectation, our love, even when we cannot see or discern what is ahead.”
Ok, ok, this sounds ok – on paper. This is a theory right?
Let’s go back into the Word for some context: this tiny little book in the Bible is a letter actually, probably written to a wee little church operating in or around Rome sometime between the years 60 and 95. So it is one of the later things written in the New Testament which meant that enough time had passed after Jesus that word was getting around and people were becoming disciples, followers of Christ, and long enough that those in power were not happy about it. Remember – at this time it is illegal to follow Jesus, it is illegal to be a Christian.
We don’t know who wrote this letter – the Greek and the style is not in keeping with Paul’s letters – Paul who wrote Corinthians, Romans etc. So we don’t know a ton, but we know that this community was not doing great. They were facing some big challenges: many of them had been in prison, their community had been robbed, likely more than once. And folks who had previously been friends and neighbours were showing them hostility, ridicule and trying to shame them, for living together in this new way, in this new forming community.
Now, we don’t live in first century Rome. And though some of us do face things like ridicule and shaming from our neighbours, theydon’t get to just call the authorities to have us beaten if they disagree with what we do. But it is not like we are living in the easiest of times either. On a very large scale, there is the climate crisis: its hot where it shouldn’t be and hailing when it shouldn’t be and whole lot of the world is on fire right now. Not to mention the last two and half years of a global pandemic and oh yeah, monkey pox now? And that is global – right here in our own communities, the cost of food and fuel has many of us making some difficult choices and housing. Pfft.
How could that community all those years ago keep faith in the God of Love and generosity and forgiveness and promise in the midst of all that? How can we keep faith in the God of Love and generosity and forgiveness and promise in the midst of all of this? This unknown writer of Hebrews points them, points us, to tradition. To the prophets, to the ancestors.
They write, “Because he trusted the Great Mystery, Abraham left his homeland, not knowing where he was going, to go to another land: he took faithful action. He followed the voice of God’s Great Spirit even though he was going to a place he had never been before: trust. By trusting in this way, he lived as a stranger in a strange land: he became vulnerable. With his family he waited – the spiritual principle of patience – he waited, looking for the place with a foundation poured by and a city designed by God.
Because they trusted the Maker of Life, Abraham and Sarah, they trusted God and through them God kept promises. And through them, through Abraham and Sarah, though their bodies were “as good as dead”, many descendants were born, as many as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” When in doubt – when fear creeps up and the road ahead is dark and impossible to see, these words prompted the community to first take a look back. Those who were hearing these words all those centuries ago knew the story of Abraham. Knew it, not just in their minds, but it was the story of their bodies, of their people, of the land they walked on. The writer of this letter turned them to the past to give them hope for the future.
And so, we can receive that same hope, because we too are previous and beloved children of God – we too are some of those grains of sand and stars in the sky. We too are given guidance from our ancestors.
So right now, I invite you to bring into your minds eye, the Abraham or Sarah of your life. The person who was steady, present, who held love in them and shared it, even when things were not going so well. Even when fear and uncertainty were nipping at their heels. Maybe for you it is Abraham, it is Sarah – folks whose faith you read about on the crinkly delicate pages of your Bible to keep you going in challenging times. Perhaps it is your maternal grandmother who fled Latvia because of Russian occupation and persecution, eventually making it to England and then Canada – strangers promised a new hope in a strange new land. If this is difficult, if no one comes into your minds eye – just look outside: to the forest, to the sea, to the amazing Created world all around you. The land gives us teaching as well. Consider the 1,000 year old cedar your ancestor, with wisdom held, wisdom to share. Jesus gives us this very guidance: when worry crept in, clouding the view of his friends, he told them to look to and learn from the birds of the sky, the lilies of the field, for guidance, assurance, perspective.
So whether your ancestor is blood related, comes to you through inspired pages, or you pass each morning on your way out the door. Let’s pause for just a moment. If you are willing, close your eyes or just soften your gaze – who has been steady? Held wisdom? Been a beacon of hope to you? Picture your ancestor. Let their memory reassure you right now. Do they have something to tell you? Listen, and expect to hear in the silence of the room. Feeling content with this assurance, Offer them a word of thanks. Let your gaze and attention return to this space with these people humans gathered together.
We know this – Our days are not always going to be easy – and sometimes the hope we hold is apromise to be fulfilled in a generation yet born. But we are not discouraged from hope. We are enthusiastically encouraged to keep the faith – to hold onto
Love – to maintain the promise that was given by God to Abraham, that walked around among us and taught us and showed us the way in Jesus, a promise that is underway but not completed yet, not fully realized. If we are losing hope because the way forward is scary or unknown we are invited to pause and look back. Like the rings of the trees that have stayed through drought and flood and fire and development, we are a ring in the story of God’s hope and love in the world. We too will be ancestors for future generations. Even if you have no offspring, there is wisdom and hope held in this very place by all of us. And so friends – new ones and ones we have known for years, do not lose hope. Do not lose faith. Though the road seems rocky and full of danger, believe the promise that you are held in the Love of the one who tossed the stars in the sky, set the rivers on their course and breathed life into you. Trust that whatever you are facing you are not alone. And when things seem overwhelmingly dark and difficult, all you need to do is pause and look around. Scripture tells us that our faith gives us hope even when we cannot see but I wonder if our faith gives us eyes to see what is already present.
The trees are present, steady, assuring. The birds soar in freedom and glee. The flowers dance un self-consciously in the breeze. The ocean sparkles with delight in the day. The church – this church – holds the prayers, laughter, tears and hope of generations who stayed, even when it was hard. The church holds promise that God calls us, claims us, and loves us no matter what.
May we have the courage to live our faith, each day: learning to trust our ancestors of faith and live more fully into God\s hopeful future. Amen.
