The Unlikely Evangelist

Lectionary Reflections
Week: Ordinary 19 Year C
Genesis Chapter 15 verses 1 - 6
Hebrews Chap 11 verses 1 - 3, 8 - 16

Introduction

• Eating beef burgers in the rain will help build the Kingdom of God! (Reference to our church BBQ after the service, raising money for Committment for Life)

Point ONE: Hebrews

• The first Christians in the book of Hebrews had a Vision4Life
• They believed, like we may do, that their world was in a bit of a mess
• But they also believed, through faith, that one day, and one day soon, Jesus would return, and the world would be transformed,
• they believed in the Hebrew prophesies of old,
o that deserts would spring to life,
o that the lion would lie with the lamb,
o that poverty and hunger would be things of the past,
o that war and disease and death and dying would be no more
• They believed that one day, and one day soon, Jesus would return and the whole world would be at peace
• And the earth would be as it is in heaven!

The trouble was, they were wrong!

• Jesus didn’t return in their lifetime
• and the idea that he would, led some to indifference, why do we need to bother toiling when Jesus is soon to return and fix everything!

Their faith had lead to apathy and paralysis, not love and action. Things had gone terribly wrong.

Point TWO: Genesis

• Abraham had a Vision4Life, or rather God did, but Abraham had trouble seeing it.
• Years earlier, God had said to Sarah and Abraham, despite your advancing years, you are to have a child,
• Despite this seeming impossibility, your children will be the start of a great nation, who will be my people
• Yet later, here Abraham was again, trying to keep faith, but asking God, where are all these descendants you promised?
• Even older now, God’s plan seemed even more ridiculous
• But God said, look to the stars in the sky and count them … if you can count them all! Your descendants will be just as many!
• Abraham couldn’t see it, maybe didn’t even believe it, but he did have faith!

Point THREE: Faith

So let me try and explain this faith business as I see it! The Bible is a book of stories, of people like Abraham and Sarah, people like 'the Hebrews', … people like you and me, struggling with our faith, trying to trust in God’s promises, however unlikely they seem.

The trouble is, they seem to seem even more unlikely to us today, we’re much more sophisticated than the people of Biblical times, … at least we like to think we are! And we live in a world of science and reason, logic and knowledge, the spectacular and supernatural promises of the Bible, just don’t make sense to us anymore.

Yet, to take these stories literally, is perhaps to miss the point.

"Faith," doesn't mean intellectually agreeing with an idea, it means something more like "trust". Faith is not about what we usually call "belief" so much as it's about relationship.

Having faith is not about trying to convince yourself that you are convinced of something. As I’ve said before, sometimes we treat the Bible like it’s that book we know were supposed to believe, but if we are honest we struggle.

Knowing the bible, is not about belief, it’s about a deeper relationship with God.

Point FOUR: So What!

Today the world may be a bit different, but the struggles are just the same. AND SO ARE GODS PROMISES!

We long to see a world of justice and peace, and pray that the world is just like heaven, and we long to see a church thriving again, but don’t quite believe God’s promise.

And like the Hebrews, maybe we sometimes think it would be great if God were to come down and fix everything!

But maybe they learnt that is not what the promise was, Jesus won’t come again to fix it all, but it will be as if he is returned when WE have fixed it all and the whole world lives as Jesus did.

And it may not be done in our timescale, even in our lifetime, but we too have a story of faith to give us hope, that when Jesus realm is on earth as in heaven, that those that have gone before will share in God’s glory. And the deserts will spring to life, the lion will lie with the lamb, poverty and hunger will be things of the past, war and disease and death and dying will be no more, the whole world will be at peace and the earth will be as it is in heaven.

Conclusion

My journey, God says, it with a people of faith, and you know you've got faith when, you find yourself engaged in activities which the world says are hopeless and a waste of time, and when however your heart pounds as you do it and whatever fears you have, you take the next step forward into the desert.

When you work tirelessly for justice and peace, buying Fairtrade, telling others about it, using our shopping bags.

When we send money to Bangladesh, as much as we can spare, to give to people of another faith, who need our help. Knowing that it will be a drop in the ocean.

And when we gather with friends, with huge smiles on our faces, to eat beef burgers in the rain, to witness to the world to God’s glory, that’s when you’ll know you have faith and belief and a Vison4Life!