C Lectionary 20 – August 18, 2013
Text: Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
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May grace be with you, from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Last week, we began our readings
from the book of Hebrews – the letter that’s a sermon. Remember – the author of
Hebrews is writing to encourage those who are undergoing trials. We heard a bit
about Abraham and Sarah, who serve for us as examples of those who lived with
faith. You might remember that I said we are given a Who’s Who of the Faithful
in this part of Hebrews.
Well, today we have The Sequel! More
people of faith; more of their stories of faithful living.
We hear today a long list of
challenges faced by people of faith, and we hear about some of their sufferings
– horrible sufferings and incredible persecution. And yet, we hear also about
the strength won out of weakness – incredible strength, borne out of their
faith; borne out of the power that they receive from God.
Those of you who have come to one
of our Wednesday evening worship services know that we often remember the lives
of various faithful people – those whose lives are commemorated by the Church –
for instance, the apostles and others in the earliest days of Christianity. One
reason we do this – quite intentionally – is so we can hear together some of
the stories of the lives of the faithful.
Each saint or apostle that is
commemorated has a series of Scripture readings assigned to their day. These
readings often include some Biblical story about whomever it is we are
remembering. Last Wednesday, we remembered the life of Mary, the Mother of Our
Lord, and so our Gospel lesson was from Luke 1, when a pregnant Mary goes to
visit her relative, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary
shows up at Elizabeth’s house, and here is Elizabeth’s greeting:
“Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the
mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your
greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed
that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”[1]
Elizabeth recognizes that something
really special is going on here – that the mother of the Son of God is visiting
her – that a miracle has landed on her front step. Elizabeth also celebrates Mary’s great faith
in God.
Mary’s response is what we now call
“The Magnificat” – from the Latin for the first line:
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness
of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for
the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” [2]
Mary gets it, too – that God is
doing great things for her by having her bear the Christ Child – Jesus. Now, we
know the rest of the story – we know that Mary being called to great things
also means that she has to endure some things: having to travel to Bethlehem
when she is about to give birth, and then give birth in a stable; having to
move with her family to Egypt when Jesus is a young child; eventually, watching
her son be denied by his friends and then crucified.
But because of Mary’s great faith,
she has her eyes fixed on God. The author of Hebrews says it this way: “let us
run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the
pioneer and perfecter of our faith”[3] –
other translations say: “fixing our eyes of Jesus.” Whatever the wording, Jesus
is to be the center of our focus, and that is what keeps us moving forward in
faith.
When talking about faith, Bishop
Michael Curry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina gave this
encouragement in a sermon about this text from Hebrews: “Keep the faith. And
that faith will keep you because the source of that faith is the Living God.”[4] We
keep faith, and faith keeps us. What a beautiful idea – the idea of faith
keeping us – holding us – never, ever letting us go.
Not too long ago, I made a hospital
visit, and I walked by a family in the hallway. They were clustered together,
listening to a clergyperson speak. I didn’t catch the whole conversation – just
a snippet – but I heard the pastor say that when we say prayers for someone
right before they die, we are really saying that we commend them to God’s care.
I kept walking. But that snippet
stuck with me because, as a hospital chaplain, as a family member, and as a
pastor, I have said many similar prayers for people myself, commending them to
the care of a loving God. In the prayers said at this very holy time, we are
saying, in a way: “God, this is out of our hands, but we know – we have faith -
that this person you love is in your hands.”
And that, too, is keeping faith – it
is faith that keeps me, but also that strong faith which also keeps that
person.
Bishop Curry’s encouragement is
very good: “Keep the faith. And that faith will keep you because the source of
that faith is the Living God.”[5] May
God make us complete in everything good, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the
glory forever and ever.[6]
Amen.
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