Faith in Uncertainty, Sermon
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
August 12, 2007
Luke 12:32-40
We learn at a very young age that fear is a great motivator. One of our first fears is to fear our parents. Young children when tempted to do something wrong, will commonly say: “My parents are going to …kill me”. Every parent soon learns to leverage that fear to his or her advantage.
While fear can motivate us, it can also debilitate us. A Fear that is typically described as irrational, unreasonable, and based on unrealistic expectations is called a phobia. Anyone with a phobia knows how debilitating it can be. We are familiar with some of these phobias:
Claustro phobia is (the fear of being trapped in small confined spaces)
Aero phobia (the fear of flying)
Acro phobia (the fear of heights)
Necro phobia (fear of the dead)
Carcino phobia (Extreme fear of cancer)
Recently gephyro phobia that has been brought to our attention. This is the fear of crossing over bridges. Since the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed many people have given crossing over bridges a lot more thought. Recently the newspaper had a story on gephyro phobia, and how one woman manages her fear of crossing over bridges. When I read about that, I thought, I think I have a touch of gephyro phobia. I hate to drive over long and high bridges.
Most of us likely have a touch of some kind of phobia.
The most common fears we seem to have are related to the everyday situations of life, however. We are afraid of what can happen to us. Parents have fears about the care and safety of our children. Students getting ready for school have fears about their classes and how they will fit in. We have fears about starting a new job; moving into a new neighborhood; about reports from our doctor; and about relationships. These fears are not phobias. They are not unrealistic. They come with trying to manage our life and finding stability. Although these fears are about managing life, they absorb a considerable amount of time and energy about our own self and our own well-being.
To the vast majority of us who are trying to manage the everyday things of life we hear the teaching of Jesus: Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid…And he gives us an alternative. The alternative to fears about even the everyday things of life is to trust God. Trust of God is called faith.
The Bible says: faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Assurance is as good as a 100% money back guarantee. Assurance is a sure winner. Conviction is to stake one’s life on something. Conviction is about what we believe to be true. Faith is assurance and it is conviction about God.
So, Jesus says to us: Have no fear, little flock. You can be assured and you can live with the conviction that the life and the future that God desires for you will come to be. Have no fear, little flock.
As many of you know I was in Turkey this summer. It was a surprise to me just how fertile the land in Turkey is. Throughout the countryside there are fields of wheat and vegetables, and groves of olives and oranges. The land was patched with the colors of the fruits of the land. But there was something missing that you see in the fields of the United States. There were no fences. Farmers did not fence off the area of land they owned in order to keep it separate from that of his neighbors. Neither did they build fences to protect it from anything or anyone coming into the field.
No fences. There was a reason for that. There were no fences so that shepherds could lead their sheep through. Where the fields of wheat had been harvested and removed from the field, you might see the field scattered with sheep, feeding on the land. It was the shepherd who led the sheep to where that field was. And the shepherd knew where there was water. And the shepherd knew how to lead them through danger. The sheep went where they were led. They didn’t need to have one thought about what they would eat or drink.
It occurred to me that Jesus saw something similar, and it gave me deeper understanding when he says to us: Have no fear, little flock. It is the pleasure of your Father in heaven to give you. Fear is a fence we construct and it keeps us from going where God our Shepherd, could be leading us.
There are many fences erected by fear, even among people of faith. There are people who even have fear about what will become of the church. Will the church survive conflict? Will the church have enough money? Will people worship God? These also are fears about the everyday things of life; these are fences we build even though Jesus assures His church that not even the gates of hell, not even a fence erected by the evil one, can stand against God’s mission with God’s church.
Jesus tells us: Have no fear, little flock. What Jesus says does not make sense apart from faith. He isn’t saying to get a grip. He is saying to have faith. Assurance. Conviction. Trust in God. How do we get this faith rather than fear? How do we take the lead from God and trust that God will provide what is needed?
First of all, Faith is a gift that God gives to us. Faith is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the will of God to give faith to any and all of us.
But secondly, I think Jesus is teaching us that faith is also something we need to work at. Faith is not about ignoring our fears but it is to face our fears with the confidence that God will provide even through the darkest and scariest times of life. That takes some work on our part. Working at faith is as the Bible says: to humble ourselves before God (rather than to humble ourselves to the things we fear), casting all our fears on God.
We have to work at this. Naming our fears, and, then, rather than thinking that we have to be brave enough or courageous enough to face them, humble ourselves before God and give those fears over to God. Jesus goes on to teach us, then, that when we cast our fears upon God that something changes in us. Jesus tells us about the transformation of life that happens when we trust God. Because of this transformation we engage life differently. Rather than giving our attention to securing things for our own life, we give attention to what matters to God.
This morning we have shared in an awareness event about what matters to God and that is the God-given right of every person to have food. There are a whole lot of things we can say about how the gathering and distribution of food happens or fails to happen. The concern for justice about these things should be enough to motivate people. But for we, who are Christ followers, this is for us a faith issue. It is about our convictions and our assurances that God will lead us to work at this.
The Bible says: "What does it profit if a man says he has faith but has not works? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
This week the ELCA churchwide assembly was in Chicago. One brief report said that within the ELCA we raised $20 million last year for World Hunger. The challenge for the coming year is $25 million. That is a lot of money, one would think. But when you start putting the numbers together, it comes to about $4 a person. And for the coming year, $5 a person. That might be amazing to some but I think it is pathetic. People who live by faith can do much better! And we will when the things that break the heart of God also break our hearts.
Jesus tells us that people of faith are prepared for our master to make himself present at any time. Will he find us doing the work of faith? Or will he find us managing just our own daily existence? Will he find us building our fences? Or will he find us working at faith…working with assurance of things hoped for; working with the conviction of things to come…working with trust of God?
Jesus says that if the master finds those of faith doing the work of God’s kingdom; the master will invite the servants to sit at the table while he serves them. He will provide for their needs. When our master, who is Jesus Christ, finds us motivated by faith, he honors the conviction he sees; he serves us with the abundance of his grace and mercy; He serves us by helping us to see where value for life is found.
Have no fear, little flock.
Your Father in heaven is deeply overjoyed to give you life that matters.
Live by faith. Do the work of Faith with assurance and conviction and trust. Amen.
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
August 12, 2007
Luke 12:32-40
We learn at a very young age that fear is a great motivator. One of our first fears is to fear our parents. Young children when tempted to do something wrong, will commonly say: “My parents are going to …kill me”. Every parent soon learns to leverage that fear to his or her advantage.
While fear can motivate us, it can also debilitate us. A Fear that is typically described as irrational, unreasonable, and based on unrealistic expectations is called a phobia. Anyone with a phobia knows how debilitating it can be. We are familiar with some of these phobias:
Claustro phobia is (the fear of being trapped in small confined spaces)
Aero phobia (the fear of flying)
Acro phobia (the fear of heights)
Necro phobia (fear of the dead)
Carcino phobia (Extreme fear of cancer)
Recently gephyro phobia that has been brought to our attention. This is the fear of crossing over bridges. Since the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed many people have given crossing over bridges a lot more thought. Recently the newspaper had a story on gephyro phobia, and how one woman manages her fear of crossing over bridges. When I read about that, I thought, I think I have a touch of gephyro phobia. I hate to drive over long and high bridges.
Most of us likely have a touch of some kind of phobia.
The most common fears we seem to have are related to the everyday situations of life, however. We are afraid of what can happen to us. Parents have fears about the care and safety of our children. Students getting ready for school have fears about their classes and how they will fit in. We have fears about starting a new job; moving into a new neighborhood; about reports from our doctor; and about relationships. These fears are not phobias. They are not unrealistic. They come with trying to manage our life and finding stability. Although these fears are about managing life, they absorb a considerable amount of time and energy about our own self and our own well-being.
To the vast majority of us who are trying to manage the everyday things of life we hear the teaching of Jesus: Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid…And he gives us an alternative. The alternative to fears about even the everyday things of life is to trust God. Trust of God is called faith.
The Bible says: faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Assurance is as good as a 100% money back guarantee. Assurance is a sure winner. Conviction is to stake one’s life on something. Conviction is about what we believe to be true. Faith is assurance and it is conviction about God.
So, Jesus says to us: Have no fear, little flock. You can be assured and you can live with the conviction that the life and the future that God desires for you will come to be. Have no fear, little flock.
As many of you know I was in Turkey this summer. It was a surprise to me just how fertile the land in Turkey is. Throughout the countryside there are fields of wheat and vegetables, and groves of olives and oranges. The land was patched with the colors of the fruits of the land. But there was something missing that you see in the fields of the United States. There were no fences. Farmers did not fence off the area of land they owned in order to keep it separate from that of his neighbors. Neither did they build fences to protect it from anything or anyone coming into the field.
No fences. There was a reason for that. There were no fences so that shepherds could lead their sheep through. Where the fields of wheat had been harvested and removed from the field, you might see the field scattered with sheep, feeding on the land. It was the shepherd who led the sheep to where that field was. And the shepherd knew where there was water. And the shepherd knew how to lead them through danger. The sheep went where they were led. They didn’t need to have one thought about what they would eat or drink.
It occurred to me that Jesus saw something similar, and it gave me deeper understanding when he says to us: Have no fear, little flock. It is the pleasure of your Father in heaven to give you. Fear is a fence we construct and it keeps us from going where God our Shepherd, could be leading us.
There are many fences erected by fear, even among people of faith. There are people who even have fear about what will become of the church. Will the church survive conflict? Will the church have enough money? Will people worship God? These also are fears about the everyday things of life; these are fences we build even though Jesus assures His church that not even the gates of hell, not even a fence erected by the evil one, can stand against God’s mission with God’s church.
Jesus tells us: Have no fear, little flock. What Jesus says does not make sense apart from faith. He isn’t saying to get a grip. He is saying to have faith. Assurance. Conviction. Trust in God. How do we get this faith rather than fear? How do we take the lead from God and trust that God will provide what is needed?
First of all, Faith is a gift that God gives to us. Faith is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the will of God to give faith to any and all of us.
But secondly, I think Jesus is teaching us that faith is also something we need to work at. Faith is not about ignoring our fears but it is to face our fears with the confidence that God will provide even through the darkest and scariest times of life. That takes some work on our part. Working at faith is as the Bible says: to humble ourselves before God (rather than to humble ourselves to the things we fear), casting all our fears on God.
We have to work at this. Naming our fears, and, then, rather than thinking that we have to be brave enough or courageous enough to face them, humble ourselves before God and give those fears over to God. Jesus goes on to teach us, then, that when we cast our fears upon God that something changes in us. Jesus tells us about the transformation of life that happens when we trust God. Because of this transformation we engage life differently. Rather than giving our attention to securing things for our own life, we give attention to what matters to God.
This morning we have shared in an awareness event about what matters to God and that is the God-given right of every person to have food. There are a whole lot of things we can say about how the gathering and distribution of food happens or fails to happen. The concern for justice about these things should be enough to motivate people. But for we, who are Christ followers, this is for us a faith issue. It is about our convictions and our assurances that God will lead us to work at this.
The Bible says: "What does it profit if a man says he has faith but has not works? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
This week the ELCA churchwide assembly was in Chicago. One brief report said that within the ELCA we raised $20 million last year for World Hunger. The challenge for the coming year is $25 million. That is a lot of money, one would think. But when you start putting the numbers together, it comes to about $4 a person. And for the coming year, $5 a person. That might be amazing to some but I think it is pathetic. People who live by faith can do much better! And we will when the things that break the heart of God also break our hearts.
Jesus tells us that people of faith are prepared for our master to make himself present at any time. Will he find us doing the work of faith? Or will he find us managing just our own daily existence? Will he find us building our fences? Or will he find us working at faith…working with assurance of things hoped for; working with the conviction of things to come…working with trust of God?
Jesus says that if the master finds those of faith doing the work of God’s kingdom; the master will invite the servants to sit at the table while he serves them. He will provide for their needs. When our master, who is Jesus Christ, finds us motivated by faith, he honors the conviction he sees; he serves us with the abundance of his grace and mercy; He serves us by helping us to see where value for life is found.
Have no fear, little flock.
Your Father in heaven is deeply overjoyed to give you life that matters.
Live by faith. Do the work of Faith with assurance and conviction and trust. Amen.
posted by Faith Lutheran Church at
5:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home