Musical Prelude and Service.

Hebrews 11:1-3; 8-16 & Luke 12:32-40
As something of a fan of science fiction; although I haven’t followed it closely in recent years, there tends to be two overriding themes – Utopian and Dystopian visions of the future.
It’s difficult to find Utopian visions in popular stories. In part because it is not easy to develop narrative tension when everything is content. Furthermore, most of your readership sees the author as naïve at best.
On the other hand, Dystopian tales are very popular. It seems to be where everything is already headed, so they seem more grounded in reality. Lots of tension. You can work towards an optimistic ending. That’s actually the general theme of most biblical apocalyptic writing. It’s a response to the general anxiety of society.
It is found in art what Jesus is warning against in today’s parable in Luke – stop anticipating the coming of the son of Man. Stop trying to figure out when God’s kingdom will be made real. You can’t know the answer. Instead, start working to prepare the way for that eventuality. Have some faith that God is there, and God is at work and start living like it. Treat the people around you like you are a part of God’s world and trust that God is there already.
Faith is one of those big words that tends to create a great deal of debate over what it actually means. In fact, it is so big a concept that what I am about to say will likely seem to not capture what everyone considers when they think about the word.
The writer of Hebrews starts today’s scripture by describing faith as the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction of things not seen. As I’ve reflected on these two passages of scripture, I have been struck by the notion of faith as not looking back, but of looking forward. We may find reassurance in looking at the past, but it is about how we look forward and work towards what we desire or need. That is where our faith lies. We can be grateful for what came before, we can be inspired by stories from our history, but we live to make tomorrow what it can be.
I mentioned my appreciation of science fiction. I also adore fantasy writings and television and movie projects. Naturally, the work of Tolkien is prominent on the list of favourites. One aspect of the Lord of the Rings trilogy that always struck me is the recollection of the legends of old, is the vision that the world is in decline that no one can measure up to the heroes of old. And yet, the people inhabiting the land of these stories must fight and struggle to defeat the evil that is alive now and remake the world they wished to inhabit. That as much as they might look back and wish for the ancient heroes, they needed to look forward and work on themselves to prepare for a new world of kindness and compassion.
You don’t get to know when the Son of Man will arrive, but it is up to you to work and prepare for that time.
What are you doing with the time you have been given?
Faith is not just an intellectual agreement or conviction about the nature of our world. Faith is what we do. It is how we act. The writer of Hebrews dedicates a great deal of ink to what faith is and how it is lived. Our lectionary reading jumps over descriptions of Noah and others and focuses our sights on Abraham and Sarah. Through their faith they leave their homes and make their way to a new country. But as the author makes clear, they do not settle down. They remain on the move, as do Isaac and his family and Jacob and his family. They continue to journey, to stay on the move seeking that anticipated new homme. They continue to live in faith of what is to come. Live with hope of what has yet to be seen.
Hebrews makes clear that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob all remain strangers and foreigners in the land. They are outsiders; never truly comfortable in the land on which they live.
They are never settled, and they never get to feel fully secure.
Spiritually, these are our ancestors. These are the people we trace our roots back to. We are inspired by their conversation with God, their struggles with God, and finally their faith in God and God’s promises. They trust that the new, longed for country is in their future, even if they cannot see it. They have faith in a God who can call forth new life out of what is as good – as our writer describes the life of Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah. A reassurance echoed in Christ’s own life, death and resurrection.
To quote one of the people I read this week, Professor Erik Heen, God’s invisible work of new creation becomes visible (incarnate) in the life of the one who trusts God. Through our faithful living, we make visible God’s love, God’s peace, and the hope we have for the world to come. We don’t know; we can’t know the timing of God’s kingdom. But our faith keeps us looking forward and continuing our journey.
I find this a compelling illustration of faith – that of the stranger and the foreigner. As much as we might have accomplished as a community of faith, we remain restless. We recognize in our souls that we have not yet reached our destination. We may as individuals have found our places where we reside. Where we feel secure and at home. Where we can rest and fell secure. Places we can call our own, our home. But as a community of faith, as children of God, we recognize that this world is not what we were promised. We are still in search of that better country the writer of Hebrews speaks about.
We reside in a land that has yet to reveal its promise. We have work to do. We are not able to say, we have arrived; we can end our journey.
We are invited to join those who came before us in this unfinished pilgrimage to a better country.
And I am not talking about Canada or the United States or wherever. I am talking abut this world, this society. There is work to do and we are not called to settle in and wait.
Jesus tells us to be prepared. To continue the work put before us. Make good choices in how we treat the house. And as much as we should be on the look out for thieves and burglars, don’t be afraid to answer the door, it might be Jesus knocking.
And don’t forget that we ourselves have been strangers and foreigners. How will we welcome those who approach us for shelter and warmth on a cold dark knight?
We do not see the fullness of God’s kingdom yet. We trust it is coming, some time. But we have a responsibility as people of faith to be God’s agents of love; of generosity; of welcome.
It is by being people filled with hope and living out that hope that we continue to approach that better country; that Kingdom of God. By living out this hope, we make visible to others and our selves, God’s work and commitment to God’s world.
In Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes, and now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.
We are called to be people of faith because it is faith that makes our hope visible. But neither of those means much if we do not also live lives of love.
Faith is our trust in what God prepares for us.
Hope is the imagination we have for what God’s world can and will be.
Love is how we make that world more visible.
Thanks be to God.
Rev. Warner Bloomfield.

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789