Not Seeing Is Believing - Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost Year C

Not Seeing Is Believing

Pentecost 11C Lectionary 21

August 21, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Hebrews 12.18-29

A few months back, someone asked me why we were using the Nicene Creed in worship instead of the Apostles’ Creed. I explained that there are certain seasons of the church year where one or the other is suggested and I tend to follow that practice. (By the way, did you know there is a third creed, the Athanasian Creed? It was generally reserved for Holy Trinity Sunday and was in the old green hymnal, the LBW. If you can find a copy and read it and you’ll see why it’s not used much anymore.) As you know, the Nicene Creed is longer than the Apostles’ Creed as it develops in more detail each of the three articles. Since the question I’ve been meditating on the Nicene Creed, especially the First Article, “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.”

In addition to stressing that God has created everything, I’m struck by the inclusion of “unseen” in the. No doubt the creedal authors wanted to emphasize otherworldly things, such as angels and other heavenly beings, but I think there is more to it than that. (Could they have foreseen atoms, molecules and black holes?) In any case, the unseen things is something the writer of Hebrews would be comfortable with as we see in our lesson today. There’s a lot going on in the reading that looks confusing, so let’s step back a minute and parse it out. As a review, this is the last in a three-part mini-sermon on Hebrews (I should have stopped at two), the un-letter written by not-Paul. Hebrews is most likely a sermon or series of sermons written by a second generation apostle to a people going through hard times.

Because members are falling away due to stress, the difficulties are threatening the health of the community. So, the preacher goes through an extended explanation of how Jesus is the Christ and why this makes a difference in their lives, both individually and collectively. In the previous two weeks, the author digs deeply into the nature of faith, telling us that what we do follows from what we believe. The preacher then offers up examples of great faith from the Old Testament to encourage the listeners. This “great cloud of witnesses,” as the writer calls them, cheers them on as they run their own races. Therefore, the community of faith is urged to endure with perseverance as it follows Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

In today’s text, the author shifts from exhorting the community to endurance and perseverance to exhorting the community to holiness and worship. The preacher does so by comparing Israel’s experience at Mt. Sinai with what he calls Mt. Zion, God’s living city. In the former, God’s people didn’t listen to God’s voice, partly because it was so terrifying, but also because they were tempted to chase after gods of their own making. But, Hebrews says, the situation has changed now, that something they can’t see is more real and important. Whereas what was before could be seen and shaken, what is offered now is unseen but is also unshakable. So, the author inspires the community of faith to give thanks, encouraging them to worship with reverence and awe.

A parishioner stopped by the pastor’s house to tell the pastor that he wouldn’t see him in worship any more. The pastor invited the parishioner to sit down in front of the fire in the fireplace and just listened as the parishioner gave him the usual litany of complaints. When the parishioner was finished, the pastor didn’t say anything but instead got up and with the fireplace tongs, removed one of the glowing embers from the rest, setting it to the side, and then sat down again, watching the newly removed ember. Slowly, the ember turned from hot and glowing to cold and dark. Presently, the parishioner said, “I understand, I’ll be in church Sunday” and left. The pastor returned the ember to the fire where it began to burn brightly once more.

I love seeing the “glowing embers” of Good Shepherd who gather both for worship and after worship on Sundays and Wednesdays. Whether you know it or not, you are catching heat from each other, building community. This is not easy in today’s world and if you are worshiping with us online, please know that I’m not criticizing you for not being here in person. This has been difficult post-pandemic, but it is so important as Hebrews reminds us. We need to figure out creative ways to continue to keep connected. One way we strengthen that connection is through the sacrament of Holy Communion, where Jesus shows up in, with, and under the bread and wine, and where we come to the table by faith, for faith. For God is maker of all that is, seen and unseen and for that we give thanks with reverence and awe. Amen.

My written sermons often preach differently "live." To watch the video, click here.

For All the Saints - Sermon for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost Year C

 For All the Saints

Pentecost 10C (Lect. 20)

August 14, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Hebrews 11.29-12.2

Faith is not for the faint of heart. 

Last week I told you about how my Grandpa Johnson was forced out of a business that he owned and operated by his two brothers, packing up from Rice Lake, WI and heading all the way to Spokane, WA. He was a very strong Christian, a man of deep faith and rather than fight his brothers he turned his other cheek westward. I didn’t know Grandpa very well growing up because we lived so far away, but I knew him well enough then and through stories in later years to respect him deeply. He’s a role model and person of faith. Even so, I don’t think I could have done what he did.

We are in the second of a three-part mini-series from Hebrews the un-letter written by not-Paul. The book of Hebrews doesn’t have the format of a biblical letter. Instead, it is most likely a sermon or series of sermons, it does a deep dive into faith and the Christian life. What we believe impacts what we do and what we do flows out of what we believe. In chapter 11, the preacher expounds a virtual Hall of Fame of the faithful, a Who’s Who of biblical characters. The aim is to tell his parishioners (and us) that we can endure suffering for our faith just like them. But my reaction is the opposite: I can’t do that! I can’t be like those people. It’s like telling me, a hacker golfer, to be like professional golfers Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, or Arnold Palmer. No way.

But when we examine the list more closely, we realize that many, if not all of them, had feet of clay. They were “mixed bags” who were not even close to perfect. By faith, the Israelites who crossed over the Red Sea constantly complained, one reason it took them 40 years to enter the Promised Land. Though a woman of faith, Rahab was a prostitute. Gideon tested God not only once but twice before he would accept God’s commission. Barak, an army general in a highly patriarchal society, refused to do anything without the prophetess and judge Deborah. Samson was manipulated several times by Delilah and literally had blinders where she was concerned.  Jephthah sacrificed his daughter through an ill-advised oath. David, a man after God’s own heart, impregnated a married woman and had her husband killed to have her for himself. The great prophet Samuel raised two conniving sons. The list goes on.

When I realized this about this great “Hall of Shame” (Scripture is brutally honest at times), I thought about this list differently. I began to think of those in my life that I would include in my “great cloud of witnesses” who may not have been perfect but who strengthened my faith. There’s a biology teacher, Mr. Michel, who taught me that the human body is a miraculous wonder and it’s okay to be nerdy about it. There is Gerry, who was a second mom and loved this Lutheran Scandinavian boy despite being Irish Catholic herself. Then there’s Michelle, a former colleague who taught me how to be gracious in difficult conversations, something I’m still learning. I’ve also learned much from Mr. Rogers, the children’s television host, who has reminded me to be fully present with people. What more should I say? Time would fail me to tell of many others.

So, who would be in your “Hall of Fame,” your “Great Cloud of Witnesses?” Who has helped you grow in faith in Jesus Christ? Maybe it’s a family member, co-worker, friend, or even a pastor. It could be someone who cuts your hair or bags your groceries. Maybe they are dead or maybe they are still alive. Whoever it is, I’m inviting you to come forward and light a candle in their memory as thanksgiving for their faithful witness. After everyone has done so, I’ll say a prayer and we’ll sing the Hymn of the Day, “For All the Saints.” But one last thing: as you light the candle in memory of those special people and give thanks for their witness, ask God that you might be that witness for someone else to be included in their Great Cloud of Witnesses, cheering them on.

Feel free to pause and light a candle here.

Let us pray. Good and gracious God, we give thanks for those who have strengthened us in our faith, to enable us to live the life you are calling us to live. Help us be witnesses to the great love you have shown us in your Son, Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, so that we may live. Amen.

“For All the Saints”

1 For all the saints who from their labors rest,

who thee by faith before the world confessed,

thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

3 Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine,

we feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

5 The golden evening brightens in the west;

soon, soon to faithful servants cometh rest;

sweet is the calm of paradise the blest.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

7 From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,

through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,

singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Text: William W. How, 1823-1897

My written sermons often preach differently "live." To watch the video, click here.

Faithful Restlessness - Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Year C

Faithful Restlessness

Pentecost 9C - Lectionary 19

August 7, 2022

Good Shepherd, Wells, MN

Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16

My grandpa Johnson owned and operated a milk can re-tinning business in Rice Lake, WI back in the early 1900s. When World War II started, he transformed it into a truck body business, which continued after the war. (Those Schwan's trucks you see all over the place were made by my grandpa’s business.) Business was so good that he brought his two brothers into the business, but it didn’t work out. They were forcing him out of the business and, as a strong Christian he turned the other cheek. He and grandma packed up six of their eight children and headed west to start a new life. The family story that is told says he would have gone all the way to the Pacific Ocean but at Spokane, WA, grandma said, “No farther.”

I thought about my grandpa and grandma, their stepping out in faith to begin a new life, as I worked with the text from Hebrews that lifts up the story of Abraham and Sarah’s faith. This is the first of three sermons on successive texts in Hebrews, a most unusual book. Hebrews is not a letter as it claims, because it doesn’t contain the usual elements that New Testament letters contain. And it probably was not written by the Apostle Paul for the same reason. Most likely it was written by a second generation apostle. Hebrews may be a sermon or collection of sermons because it appears to be a theological treatise on Jesus as the Christ followed by exhortations to Christian living.

In today’s text and following, the author unpacks the meaning of faith in Jesus Christ and how important that is for how we live as followers of Jesus. In other words, what we do flows out of what we believe. Faith is not something that comes out of nowhere; it is really real. But neither is it timeless, unchanging doctrines that we can check off a list. Faith is dynamic because it is in the final analysis about a living, loving relationship with a God who is perfectly faithful to us. Faith gives rise to hope and it is that which hope rests upon. But hope also nourishes the faith upon which it depends.

In the example of Abraham and Sarah, and by extension my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, faithful people set out for new places because God has stirred up in them faithful restlessness. Our God is an active God who is continually on the move and propels us to attempt bold things. This faithful restlessness makes us willing to stretch our imaginations, to dream of possibilities even in the midst of seemingly impossible situations, and to see life in the midst of barrenness.

This isn’t as impossible as it sounds, for we all have stepped out in faith, not knowing what will happen or where we’ll end up. By faith we go to school hoping for a career that we’ll love, not knowing where we’ll end up. By faith we fall in love and get married trusting we’ll spend our lives together. By faith we start a family not knowing what kind of future they’ll have. By faith my wife married me thinking she got a businessman for a husband and ended up with a pastor. 

Back in the 1800s two immigrant Lutheran congregations were started in Wells, one German and the other Norwegian, not knowing what the future would bring. Those two congregations came together in 1963, stepping out in faithful restlessness to do something that was very unusual at the time. Germans and Norwegians; who would have thought?

So, what faithful restlessness is God stirring up in you today, the good people of Good Shepherd? The Wednesday night folk suggested these things. Maybe God is calling you to faithful restlessness to grow by welcoming people from our community who don’t look like you. Perhaps God is prodding you to help members and the community make connections with each other in a time of disconnectedness. Finally, perhaps God is stirring you to (gasp!) remodel the sanctuary, turning the pews, so you can feel more like a community. Abraham and Sarah, my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, and your forebears in the faith were stirred up. What do you think, people of Good Shepherd, where is God stirring up faithful restlessness to follow him? Amen.

My written sermons often preach differently "live." To watch the video, click here.