Worried about your life? Look at the ravens and lilies.

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

Lectionary 19, Year C – 7 August 2016

Texts: Luke 12:22-34 and Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Yesterday morning, I went outside to get some work done before the heat of the day set in. I’ve been putting off some of this work, so some of our container plants were looking pretty scraggly. One by one, I went over each plant, deadheading the spent flowers and removing the dead leaves.

I got to one plant – I can’t remember what it’s called and it’s a new one for me this year. I really thought this plant was done for, but I cut away a couple of dead blooms and peeled off the dead leaves, and then I plucked out a weed that had sprung up in the pot. As I worked, I was thrilled to discover plenty of new growth underneath all those dead leaves. When I finished, the plant looked healthy and strong, so I gave it a good drink of water and moved on to work on the next plant.

As I worked on my plants, I realized that some of my life as a person of faith involves a similar process: peeling away that which is dead, that which no longer gives any life, that which is no longer healthy – and when I am done with all that, I am left with a stronger faith, a faith which is deeper because it is rooted in the very love of Jesus Christ.

At first glance of today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is telling us to do something that seems impossible: “Do not worry about your life.”

OK, Jesus, you got it. I won’t worry. I’ll give up worrying.

But then I start thinking about family members or friends or parishioners who are ill, and I worry. I start thinking about my to-do lists, and I worry. I start thinking about finances or time or Steve falling off a ladder or the dogs eating something ridiculous – and I worry. Then, I remember that Jesus told us not to worry, and I stop worrying for a while. And then…

It’s a cycle. And as long as I’m caught up in this cycle of worry/not worry, I’m not focused on work I need to do, whether here or at home. I’m not focused on those I love. And I’m certainly not focused on God or God’s love for me or sharing that love with others.

And the leaves begin to wither and die, and then I remember again what Jesus said about worry. I peel off the dead leaves of my life so that – once again – I can grow in faith and develop even deeper roots.

Because I really think that what Jesus is talking about is choosing our focus more carefully. Worried about your life? he says – well, take a look at the ravens. They don’t sow or reap – they don’t produce any food of their own, and they don’t store anything up for the future. They simply land on the ground and eat what is there, and – watch! God provides for them.

Worried about your life? Jesus says – well, take a look at the lilies. They don’t do any work whatsoever, but look at how God clothes them in beauty.

The nations of the earth, Jesus says, focus too much on what we eat or drink and what we wear. We are called to something else. We are called to focus instead upon all the ways that God provides – and not only how God provides for me and my family or my friends or even just for humanity. Look at how God provides for the lilies! Look at how God provides for the ravens! (Did you know that the ancients despised ravens, kind of like some people now despise grackles? So think about that – God provides for creation – even the parts of creation that we despise!)

If lilies and ravens aren’t your thing, then turn to Hebrews 11. We heard part of it read today as our New Testament lesson – but the whole chapter focuses on the faith of the people of God throughout history. Worried about your life? Remember that many other people of faith have struggled on – and they probably worried from time to time. But, remember, too, that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. God provided for them, and God will provide for you, too. It may not happen in expected or easy ways, but God will provide for you, too.

British statesman Sir John Lubbock once said, “A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.” When we are worried, we are not focused on our work, or our families and friends, let alone God or God’s love for us, or sharing that love with others.

Worried about your life? Remember the work that God has given us to do. What is this work? The prophet Micah says it well: “God has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you - but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

When we are constantly living in fear, constantly living in worry – how on earth can we be concerned about justice or kindness or humility? Fear and worry throw justice and kindness and humility out the window. And if there was ever a time in history in which we need to be focused on the things of God: focused on justice and kindness and humility – this is the time.

I made a little gift for us – bookmarks seen in picture above.

This gift is for your bathroom mirror or refrigerator or wherever you’ll see it and remember that worrying does no good. When you are worried, consider the ravens and the lilies and – most importantly – consider the ways that God takes care of them. And consider that if God takes care of birds and flowers, God will most certainly take care of you.

But God does not take care of us for just our own sakes, but for the sake of the world, so that we may do justice, and love kindness, and walk humbly with our God.

Amen.

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Remembering...

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

C Palm Sunday – 20 March 2016

Text: Luke 19:28-40 and Luke 22:1-27

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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What do you do to remember the special days in your life? In our lives, we have happy occasions that we celebrate in various ways: birthdays, anniversaries, congratulations, to name a few. Some of us also have difficult memories, but they are important to us, and so sometimes it is helpful to commemorate those, as well.

My mom died on a September evening in 2005, at hers and my stepdad’s home in southern New Hampshire. Steve and I had been up there the week before, and so we were in Austin on that evening, having dinner with friends before we got the call from my stepdad. Even though that was now over ten years ago, we still go out for dinner on the anniversary of her death. We often go with friends, and I share stories about Mom, and it helps me remember her. It also helps me remember the many ways in which God has taken care of me in the years since she died –surrounding me with loving people, many of whom have surrounded me with loving prayers.

Remembering helps us live more fully as people of love.

So we begin Holy Week with its powerful stories, and their contrasts of devotion and betrayal, honor and humiliation, life and death. We spend this week every year looking at the events leading up to Jesus’ betrayal and arrest, his crucifixion and death, his burial, and his resurrection. Each year, we tell the stories again: observing and paying attention to the details. And so in the case of Holy Week, remembering helps us live more fully as people of faith.

Our Palm Sunday narrative for today is found in Luke 19, and it tells us of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a colt. This was a very humble mode of transportation, but in this case, it was a fulfillment of what the prophet Zechariah had written so long ago about the Messiah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

The crowds of people who are welcoming Jesus to Jerusalem are jubilant, laying down their clothes to make a pathway for Jesus. (Notice in Luke’s version, there are no palm branches! Those appear in John’s version.) In this scene as Luke writes it, the crowds call Jesus “blessed” and they praise God for the mighty acts that Jesus has done during his time of ministry.

In terms of chronological time, we are far-removed from these people and their lives. But in terms of our deep need for Jesus, we too need this Messiah – this anointed one – we need him to heal us. For we are still sinful, and we still live in a broken world, a world that is desperately in need of healing.

As people of faith, we have Holy Week now ahead of us – including Maundy Thursday, upon which we remember Jesus instituting the Lord’s Supper. The story is familiar to us – we just heard Luke’s version, but we also hear it each week, as I say the words over bread and wine. Jesus takes the bread and breaks it, and he takes the wine and offers the cup to his disciples. In this supper, Jesus tells them that his body will be broken, and then on Good Friday, we devote an entire day to this one important event. Remembering helps us live more fully as people of faith.

It is in Holy Week that we remember that the yelling of the crowds changes from shouts of blessing and praise to shouts of taunting and ridicule. Today, on Palm Sunday, Jesus is praised as a king, but on Good Friday, the words change as we hear the horrific accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus – the king who has come to us, triumphant and victorious, humbly riding on the foal of a donkey – we remember Jesus on the cross, his body broken.

And then, of course, next weekend – just one week from now – we spend the Easter Vigil and Easter Day remembering and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead – his new life becoming our new life.

It’s very easy to skip over all the remembering in between today and Easter. It’s easy to go from the jubilant shouts of Palm Sunday to the triumphant Easter shouts of next week. The harder thing is to remember. The harder thing is to observe, and to pay attention to, and to remember all these stories of Jesus that we hear again during Holy Week.

I challenge you to do the harder thing. I encourage you to hear these stories of Jesus that are so difficult to hear, and to pay attention to the details of these stories and the meaning found in them: the hands of Jesus as he breaks bread and pours wine, the bewildered disciples, the devoted women at the foot of the cross. And Jesus, on the cross and in the tomb. And Jesus, risen and alive!

These are the stories of God’s love becoming flesh for us – God’s love, with flesh put on it, living and dying, and rising to life again, so that we, in Christ, may have new life. Come and hear and live the stories again, and remember, for remembering helps us live more fully as people of hope.

Amen.

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What if Faith is Just the Size of a Mustard Seed?

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

Lectionary 11, Year B – June 14, 2015

Marks of Discipleship: Bible Study

Texts: 1 Corinthians 13; Mark 4:30-34

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Here we are in our second week of looking at 1 Corinthians 13. As I said last week, though this chapter has been co-opted to refer to romantic love and is used at many weddings, Paul wrote this chapter as part of a larger letter to the church in Corinth, addressing the division that had crept into that church’s life together.

Corinth was a crossroads in the First Century largely because it was on a major trade route between Italy and Asia Minor (what we now call Turkey). Lots of different cultures mixed there – lots of different types of people – lots of different religions, too. In Corinth, they didn’t just worship one god, they worshipped many gods, and into this hodge-podge of religious life arrived the Gospel of Jesus Christ, thanks to Paul and others missionarie, such as Peter and another man named Apollos.

As a missionary to Corinth, Paul was most successful in reaching the Gentiles with the good news of Jesus Christ. Over time, house churches formed, largely centered around whichever missionary had shared the gospel with any particular household. So, one house church would follow Paul’s teachings – another would follow the teachings of Apollos – another the teachings of Peter, etc. And while the basic message of the love of Christ was there, there was disagreement in how that love was lived out.

These disparate groups would meet all together periodically to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together, and in these larger meetings is when the division was really apparent. The more “moral” believers would shame the “immoral” believers. Gossip prevailed. Some members wanted to disallow others from being a part of the Lord’s Supper.

And so, Paul writes this epistle, lambasting them at the beginning for their divisiveness, asking them to remember who it is that their faith is based upon - not Paul, not Apollos, not Peter – but their faith is based upon Jesus Christ.

Knowing this background makes 1 Corinthians 13 all the more meaningful. When Paul says that love is patient and kind, he is calling them out for bad behavior – for their lack of patience and kindness with one another. When Paul says that love rejoices with the truth, he is encouraging them to speak words of truth (as opposed to gossip) about one another. When Paul says that faith, hope, and love abide, he is reminding them that faith, hope, and love - these three - are the lasting parts that really matter.

Moving forward from here, we will look at these three lasting parts of the Christian life: faith, hope, and love, focusing today upon faith. And if we want to talk about faith, there are plenty of examples in the Bible, and today we have a great example in Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed.

Here, I read an excerpt from a sermon of my mother's (The Rev. Diane W. Bragg), preached in 1996 in Houston:

Faith is like a mustard seed. It begins as something very tiny, and takes time to grow, and eventually leaf out, blossom, and produce fruit; as well as spreading its branches and providing a place for others to come and build their nests, within those branches of faith.

As we live out our daily lives, we may see our faith as being minuscule, like a mustard seed. When we go through touch times, through challenges, through pain and loneliness, these can be times of growth for our seed of faith.

Faith is more than something which 'gets us through a moment or a couple of days, or even a few months,' though. It is a trust that says, I believe God will bring about good, and I wasn't to be a part of that.

Story: The gorge was one thousand feet deep with jagged protruding rocks anchored in its walls. A thin strong wire was tightly stretched across the three hundred-foot span which separated the two banks. A tense crowd watched an cheered as an acrobat walked the slightly swaying wire. Then, putting on a blindfold, he walked back along the wire and the crowd cheered even louder. They gasped in astonishment as they saw him cross the gorge again, pushing a wheelbarrow full of sand, with the wire sagging almost to the point of breaking. The moment his feet touched solid ground, the terrified people went wild with excitement.

One young mans threw his arms around him. "You are the greatest!" he shouted. "I've never seen anyone like you."

"So, you have faith in me?" said the acrobat, emptying the wheelbarrow with a shovel.

"Faith in you?" exclaimed the young man. "I'd depend my life on you!"

"Well then," replied the acrobat, "Why don't you sit in the wheelbarrow and we'll cross the gorge together?"

The young man's faith immediately evaporated.

Mature faith does not evaporate, rather, it holds firm. However, the Parable of the Mustard Seed reminds us that mature faith is not something we are born with and it does not happen quickly. It wakes time to nurture our faith, which is a gift from God, and like all gifts from God we can choose to refuse it or we can choose to accept it, and if we choose to accept it, then, in order to facilitate its growth, we must nurture it through prayer and Christian worship, such as we are doing here this morning. We can nurture our faith through using opportunities for Bible Study and fellowship with other Christians -- that is, providing an environment which fosters growth and fruitfulness.

So, the Parable of the Mustard Seed teaches us that we born with a "seed of faith" which must be nurtured in order to sprout and grow, and eventually to bloom and be fruitful. And, that, somewhere after that, when our faith has grown mature like a tree with branches, others may even find solace and strengthening in the midst of our faith. Such is the ultimate goal of our growth in faith -- sharing it with others.

As I said last week, the main goal of Bible Study is for us to learn how we can better love God and love our neighbor. When Paul writes about faith, hope, and love, he’s not simply talking about abstract concepts that mean nothing for our day-to-day lives. Paul is encouraging us to bring faith, hope, and love into every relationship, every decision, every action, and even – here’s the tough one – every thought we have.

May God take that which begins so small in us – the size of a mustard seed – and make that grow. May God grow our faith. And may we be open to this growth, trusting the Spirit’s work within us.

Amen.

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"Doubting" Thomas, and Our Faith

The Rev. Kathi Johnson
Second Sunday of Easter, Year B – 12 April 2015
Text: John 20:19-31
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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What is perfect faith? Is perfect faith required in order for Jesus to find us?

In today’s Gospel lesson, the disciples are hiding because of their fear. This story is set in the evening of Jesus’ resurrection and remember - all they know at this point is that Jesus’ body is missing. They don’t know why. They don’t know how. They don’t know if someone will be coming for them next, and so they are living in fear, hiding behind locked doors. 

And Jesus just…shows up, and bids the disciples his peace.

The incarnation of Jesus takes a different turn, then, for the disciples as Jesus shows them the wounds in his hands and shows them the wound in his side. 

Now, Thomas has gotten a lot of grief through the centuries. We call him “Doubting Thomas” because when the other disciples tell him, “We have seen the Lord!” he’s a bit dubious. He wants proof. He wants that flesh-and-blood experience with Jesus that the other disciples have now had. 

But really, is that so different than what we want, too?

Some of you will remember these rocks. I gave them out last summer, when I preached about Genesis 28 and the story of Jacob using a stone for a pillow. I encouraged us all to place these stones in places where we encountered holy moments.

Right after the morning I preached that sermon, I left on a road trip to Iowa, stopping in south-central Kansas about halfway up. My stopping in Wichita was strategic – not only is that a good stopping point for the long drive to Iowa, but my family roots run deep in that part of the country on my mom’s side of the family. 

And so, on the way up and on the way back, I drove on the back roads around Wichita – not all of which are paved – and I visited three different cemeteries. I visited the graves of my great-grandparents and my great-great-grandparents, and I placed stones similar to this one at each gravestone. 

Even though I couldn’t touch the flesh-and-blood people who were my relatives, I walked on the earth they walked on. I drove on the roads they traveled. A place that, before, had only existed for me in the stories of my grandmother and mother, became incarnate for me, and it was holy.

My point is that when “Doubting” Thomas asks to touch the wounds of the Risen Jesus, he simply wants that same incarnational experience that the other disciples have had. 

Back to our story: A week passes. And then, Jesus just…shows up, and, again, bids the disciples his peace. This time, Thomas is there! And Jesus very directly says to him, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 

Just as he meets the other disciples in their place of fear, Jesus meets Thomas in his place of doubt. Perfect faith – whatever that means – isn’t required.

So, back to the questions I asked at the outset: What is perfect faith? And is it required in order for Jesus to find us?

Honestly, I’m not sure what perfect faith is. I’ve never seen it. I know people who have great faith: they have strong faith, faith that carries them through every day and every difficulty. But everyone falters, even if it’s just a little bit. For myself, I’ve been walking along, quite confidently moving forward in my strong faith, only to trip over some little obstacle.

Even though we are called to be faithful people, I don’t think that the goal of Christian life is to have perfect faith. I think the goal is to have…faith. 

Is your faith big or small? Is your faith weak or strong? Maybe your faith resembles that of the disciples, who were cowering behind locked doors in fear. Maybe your faith resembles that of Thomas, who needed a little flesh-and-blood time with Jesus in order to believe. Maybe your faith is greater. 

I have a homework assignment for you. One of the greatest passages about faith in Scripture is Hebrews 11, and I’d like you to read it this week, preferably once today, before your week gets too crazy, and then later in the week, too. 

Hebrews 11 begins, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen…” and then it goes on from there to describe the faith of the people of God throughout the centuries. Now, the author of Hebrews really focuses on the positive parts of these peoples’ lives. He leaves out a lot of struggle and heartache; he leaves out those places where these people of faith tripped over obstacles.

But they walked in faith, even with the obstacles. They did not do everything in perfect faith, but they walked in faith.

We, too, are called to walk in faith. Sometimes, the path of faith will be easy and will present no obstacles for us. Sometimes, the path of faith will be covered with rocks and brambles. We are not called to walk in perfect faith. We are called to walk in faith.

Whatever your faith looks like today, or tomorrow, or the day after that, Jesus meets you there. Jesus just…shows up, and he bids you his peace. 

I pray that God strengthens you in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (see Ephesians 3:16-17).

Amen.

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God is faithfully active, in spite of our doubt

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

Trinity Sunday – June 15, 2014 - Year A

Text: Matthew 28:16-20

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Grace and peace be with you all, from God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Today’s story from the end of the Gospel of Matthew contains what we call “The Great Commission.” The disciples go to the mountain to meet up with Jesus, he comes to them there, and he says to them, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”

It sounds so grand: The Great Commission.

Maybe it seems to us that in those moments, the disciples have it all figured out. They have Jesus there, telling them what to do, giving them further instructions, and sending them off to do the work of God. And yet there’s this one little phrase in today’s lesson right before the Great Commission itself, and this one little phrase changes the story just a bit:

Verse 17: “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.”

“But some doubted.” What do you mean, some doubted? They have Jesus there with them – these are disciples who presumably have walked and talked with Jesus and laughed and cried with him, they’ve shared meals and listened to his teachings. And even though today’s story takes place after his resurrection, they’ve already seen and talked with him since his resurrection. So, why on earth would there be any doubt in their minds?

Lest we judge them too quickly, I offer the following to you: doubt is a perfectly natural part of our Christian faith. I have a feeling that if I asked us all to close our eyes and raise our hands to indicate that we’ve ever doubted God, my hand would not be the only one to go up into the air.

But – where doubt is concerned - there are three things that I find particularly hopeful in today’s gospel lesson from Matthew:

First, Jesus doesn’t seem concerned in the slightest about any doubt that the disciples might be feeling. Instead, he simply speaks clearly and directly to them – “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” he says. Well, OK then.  

In saying this, he is firmly stating his case for why they should trust and obey him. Also, though, their doubt doesn’t change the fact that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him – that authority simply is. And all the doubt in the world doesn’t change Jesus’ authority one little bit.

Second, their doubt doesn’t keep Jesus from sending them out to get to work. “Go and make disciples, baptize them and teach them…” he says. And do they ever! The book of Acts is filled with examples of them doing the work that Jesus has given them to do.

And that gives me hope because it helps me see that sometimes, we can do great work for God, even in the midst of our doubting, even when we don’t quite see what it is that God may be up to.

Third, I find hope in the very last words out of Jesus’ mouth in the gospel of Matthew: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Always. The presence of God with us is not based on the level of our faith or the amount of doubt we do or do not have.

It is important to note that Jesus is saying these words to a community – to those first few followers of his, so a small community, to be certain. But a community – a group of people – all the same. And so while this is a promise in which we certainly can find joy and comfort as individual Christians, we most certainly can and should find joy and comfort in his words as a community of Christ-followers.

The Bible study we’re doing on Wednesday evenings began in earnest this past week and in the video segment, the teacher was leading us through our reading from Genesis and Exodus. He made the important point that these first couple of books of the Bible, as well as the books that follow, are all about the presence of God with humanity.

But more than simply being present with us, God is active with us. God the Father acts – in creating us, providing for us, and protecting us. God the Son acts – in redeeming us and freeing us. God the Spirit acts – in calling us, enlightening us, and making us holy.[1]

Though we may doubt at times, that doesn’t mean that God is not at work. God is faithfully active, in spite of our doubt. And, in spite of our doubt, God calls us to do great things in his name.

Amen.

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[1] A nod to Luther’s Small Catechism.

Keeping the Faith

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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[1] Luke 1:42-45

[2] Luke 1:46-49

[3] Hebrews 12:1-2

[4] Sermon found at http://day1.org/5103-keep_the_faith.

[5] ibid.

[6] Based on Hebrews 13:20-21