Sermons for the Month
If It Is Not Broken, Break It
DATE: August 8th, 2004
SERVICE: 10th Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
She … the woman Dineen portrayed in the dramatic monolog … is lost. She longs for a feeling that lingers from her childhood, a sense of security, of being valued, that she experience just by seeing a picture of Jesus, carrying a lost lamb home. She saw his love for that little sheep and the emotion was transmitted off the page to touch her heart. But then, somehow, she got lost.
That feeling of profound grace offered by Jesus faded away and she seeks for something to believe in, something to have faith in, something to give her a sense being valued and having something valuable to offer. The problem is that she's looking in all the wrong places. And she's not the only one - getting lost, taking the wrong path - loosing faith - is a common human struggle. So many people are, as the song proclaims, "Looking for love in all the wrong places…." They all need to hear and to grasp the words of Jesus that begin today's Gospel lesson, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
I have a personal story that illustrates this "getting lost" reality; I'll explain how after I've told it. The two young ladies in this account are now in their early 20's. Elizabeth is married; I presided at her wedding last summer and alluded to this tale in the wedding sermon. Josie is headed for seminary after she finishes college. But, at the time, they were 15-year-olds. I was vacationing at a state park in West Virginia with them, and Elizabeth's mother, my friend Anne. We decided to go for a long hike that descended into a valley, and was made more attractive by the fact that you could ride the gondola back up.
The description in the trail guide made it clear that the trail was steep and rugged, and that crossing the river was required. After making sure the water was only knee deep rather than being chest high, we set off. The girls, carrying our lunches in a back pack, were ahead of us and it wasn't long before they were out of sight. We were not too worried; besides it took considerable concentration to walk rather than slide down the trail.
When we reached the river, where we assumed the girls would be waiting and enjoying the water, they were no where in sight. The only reason I didn't become more concerned is that I was focusing on the slippery rocks in the river bed, and on remaining upright as we walked across. Once on dry land we did being to question our charges' whereabouts. We were relieved when, as the lodge and gondola came into sight, so did the girls. The closer we got, though, the more it became apparent that there was a problem. They were dirty, and wet, from head to toe. Their legs were covered with scratches. You could ring water out of the lunch. The story came out in bits and pieces.
Somehow they had gotten off the trail. By the time they realized it, they could not find their way back. So, they forged ahead toward the sound of the water, falling and rolling numerous times, until they reached the river, which they tried to cross. They turned back several times until they could swim and wade through the chest-high water. During this account I did an admirable job of keeping my mouth shut. And, as a matter of fact, this was one of those situations for which a parent hopes. The kids learned a lesson, having been bruised and scratched, but not seriously hurt. They didn't need a lecture.
Besides, the necessity of a lecture was lessened when we go on the gondola and one of the workers said, "Did you girls have a nice hike?" He then paused for a minute and went on, "We saw you coming down that hill; I don't suppose you saw any copperheads, did you? They really like that area where there is no trail." In case you are unaware, a copper head is a poisonous snake. After that, they were never out of our sight during a hike.
As I mentioned when I began that account, I think it's a good illustration of life and faith. We are all on a hike, a journey. As we walk along, we never know for sure what lies ahead. Sometimes the walk is level and smooth, sometimes it's challenging, sometimes even treacherous.
As we make that journey, it is SO important that we stay on the trail. The trail is our faith. As long as we trust in the power and presence of God; as long as we remember we are forgiven, that we are precious to Jesus; as long as we strive to follow his example and as long as we acknowledge the Holy Spirit's power within us, then life's journey may take us many places, but we'll always be headed in the right direction. Oh, it may not be easy, but we'll be helped along the way and end up where we need to be.
It's when we get distracted and get off the trail that we get into trouble. It's when we seek satisfaction and a sense of value and belonging from someone or something other than our faith that we falter. It's when we ignore our relationship with God, because we're too busy, or when we take being forgiven for granted and start to live in ways that do not even resemble what Jesus taught us, or when we rely on our own flawed power, it is then that a feeling of emptiness overwhelms us, as it did the woman it the monolog.
Suddenly we find ourselves lost and stumbling and falling and confronting the poisonous snakes and the troubled water. And there is no one to blame but ourselves because the trail is carefully laid out before us, and we just got wrapped up in our own little worlds and somehow took a turn for the worse.
Luckily, it's always possible to get back on the trail because through the power of the Holy Spirit God gives us the gift of faith. We do not have to acquire it on our own, we just have to allow it to grow and flourish in our lives. Faith, the writer of Hebrews says, is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seem. In other words, because we have faith, we are assured and convinced that God's love is at work in our lives even though it may at times be difficult to see how that's true.
I think the story of Abraham and Sarah that is mentioned in the passage from Hebrews is a great example of this. I especially like verses 11 and 12, "By faith Abraham received power of procreation, even though he was too old and Sarah herself was barren - because he considered God faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born…."
You see, Abraham and Sarah stayed on the trail. In Genesis we read that he was told by God to leave his country and the people who had always been a part of his life to journey to a land that God would show him. With only a verbal guarantee that his family would become a great nation, and would be blessed, he gathered up those nearest to him and set out. At the time he and his wife Sarah were childless and were advanced in age.
Oh, they made mistakes; they veered off the trail of faith every now and then. In fact, when God told them they were to have a child soon - at the ages of 90 and 100 - they laughed because it seemed so impossible. Yet, they did not wander away completely, even though the promises were not perfectly attained in their lives and at times the journey seemed futile. They believed without proof that God's promises would come to pass. And that's why the scripture says, "Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed God has prepared a city for them."
Life is a journey, our faith is the trail which keeps us moving forward, heading in the right direction. It is the sure foundation under us. When we forget that, when the image of Jesus carrying us, his sheep, no longer moves us and we begin to look elsewhere for hope, that's when the ground gets shaky. That's when we need to hear the voice of Jesus saying, "Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Think of that … God wants us, longs for us, to enjoy, as a gift, the perfect kingdom. God wants us to experience it as much as possible in this life and fully in the next, and because of the gift of faith we can. What could be better than that? So … let us continue on the journey, always careful to remain on the trail of faith. AMEN