Becoming Faith-full: reflections on Faith that has been...
In the midst of many things, my attention was caught on
Friday by a headline about a 104 year old survivor of the Auschwitz death camps
who gathered at the wailing wall to celebrate her birthday by reciting
traditional prayers with more than 400 descendants. Let that sink in…one survivor and 400
descendants. This is an image of the
family gathered.
What a beautiful testament to faith. A woman who watched her parents hauled off to
the gas chamber, a woman who lived through the horror of day-to-day survival in
the death camps, also lived through the rigors of life after Auschwitz to have
four children and raise that family, who raised families, who raised families,
who have raised families.
An for her 104th birthday, they gathered…all of
them. To pray. And to celebrate.
Thanks be to God.
I wonder how many times in the course of her life she was
exasperated with her circumstances. I
wonder how many times she looked up at the sky and said, “why God?” or “How,
God?” or “Are you really there, God?”
But at 104, she was surrounded by the exponential growth of
her family. Gathered in an act of
worship and faith. Evidence of things
hoped for…the faith in the unseen revealed slowly, but significantly over time.
We will spend the next three weeks exploring faith…a concept
unpacked in the Letter to the Hebrews.
This seems important and timely because we are, after all,
named Faith. I understand it is a named
selected unanimously, even if the story of its recommendation was as simple as,
I once attended a church named Faith and I liked it…” Somewhere, that word resonated with those
gathered. They claimed it. They claimed the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen.
Today we stand at a threshold between what was and what will
be. So our exploration of FAITH as it is unpacked for us in the Letter to the
Hebrews will be rooted in the mystery of faith as we speak that mystery at the
communion table…Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Let me explain. As
Christians we hold a common believe that Jesus was, is and will be. We can read and learn about the Jesus that
was. My prayer is that each of us
experience the Jesus that is. And we
imagine with faith and HOPE the Jesus that will be.
What does that mean for us as a community? Can we explore what Faith (this church) was,
what Faith is here and now and what Faith will be? Can we look at our past experiences, can we
live deeply into our present experience and look forward WITH HOPE to what Faith
UMC will be? And can all of that be rooted in an understanding that FAITH is
the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Can we hope and trust in what we cannot
currently see?
The title given the “Letter to the Hebrews” is misleading,
because it is NOT really a letter. It is
instead a sermon – a very long sermon that covers a lot of ground, one topic at
a time, weaving together a series of important concepts for a newly formed
faith community living in the wake of Jesus’ life…likely written before any of
the gospels. And so part of the purpose
of all of the things we know as “epistles” is that these writings record the
work of leaders and followers working out what is meant by following Jesus the
Messiah. What did it mean that Jesus died? that he was resurrected, that he was
the son of God, that he had not yet returned.
And so much of this work is taking what these communities
already knew – in the case of unpacking the word “faith,” it was important to
recall the story of Abram waiting on God’s promise of a child who would carry
forward his family line.
In the passage read from Genesis as our first reading, we
hear Abram’s frustration that God’s promise has not yet been fulfilled. This is a theme throughout Abram’s story –
his is story about having to wait for what God has promised to come true. His is a story of learning NOT to take
matters into your own hands. His is a
story of living with moments of failed faith – failure to have faith in what he
cannot yet see…
We all live stories of faith – stories of waiting for what
God will do. We here at Faith United
Methodist Church have been living the story for more than 50 years now…and
compared to Abram’s wait, that feels like a drop in the bucket.
Can we, in this season, rest in our faith – rest in the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.
If you have been here very long, of course you know the history.
And if not, perhaps you and I can learn this history together!
Perhaps you know that in the midst of a building boom in
Montgomery County, conference leaders approached the builders of this
neighborhood to talk about making sure there was a Methodist Church in the
midst of the expected growth. Because in
the mid-60s Methodist churches were booming, riding the wave of the baby boom
bubble made a lot of sense.
The Methodist Church was strong and growing throughout the United States. Baby boomers had boomed and were still booming – and they were buying houses, settling in for block parties, creating lifelong neighborhood bonds. And this spot right here, nestled between new pockets of suburbia was the PERFECT place for a Methodist church.
Having spent time now with many of our “seasoned” members, I
know that there are still founding members in our midst. There are people who came here as children in
that special season and have grown up here and raised families here.
What a testament to faithfulness over many years.
Let’s be clear that there were challenges.
There was the challenge of having a building to meet the
growth of the community. There was the
challenge of having the money to meet the growth of the
community. There was the challenge of
helping people grow in their faith so that they would support the community
with their prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
There were pastors coming and going.
There was the audacious vision of having a bus to transport
the growing youth group and other groups to events.
There was the audacious vision of a new organ.
There was the audacious vision that 50% of tithes and
offerings would be given away.
There was the audacious vision that everyone would be in a
small group.
Some of these visions were achieved. Others were
aspirational. All of them fueled a
commitment to being a vibrant presence in this part of Rockville….a vibrant
presence that was about the work of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the
transformation of the world.
Those earliest members were gazing at a sky full of stars,
hearing a promise of what their descendants would be and would do…
Our challenge, in changing times and changing circumstances
is to keep our eye on that sky full of stars.
Because while things have changed since the heydays of the mid-70s, the
promise is still there. It may not be
shaped exactly the same way. The way
things were is NOT the way things will be.
We cannot expect our future to look like our past because the world is
different and changing oh-so-rapidly.
But…in my prayers, I hear God’s promise still
In our conversations, I hear your DEEP longing.
Deep longing for fruitfulness.
Deep longing for devotion.
Deep longing for abundance.
Deep longing to see what God has yet to do.
Because God will do.
Faith has been fruitful.
Faith has been devoted. Faith has had enough.
Perhaps you have sung the Gloria Patri in this congregation
over the years:
As it was in the beginning, is now and every shall be…world
without end…amen.
This is the mystery of faith – God was, God is, God will be
and there is not one thing we can actually do about it except play our role.
A prayer by
Rev. Deborah Vaughn, Assistant Minister – Twinbrook Baptist Church, Rockville
Holy One,
The way ahead seems lonely at times, and I fear the unknown…
But You sing,
I am with you, I am with you always. I will not leave you
abandoned.
The silence is awkward at times, and I worry I am missing
something…
But you whisper,
I am calling, I am calling to you in this wilderness. I will
make your paths straight.
I am impatient at times as I peer ahead to see what is just over
the hill, just out of sight, wanting the future NOW…
And you say,
I AM, I am the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And I know that I know that you ARE, you are with me.
Thank you. Blessed be.
Amen.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Sources: The New Interpreter's Bible Volume XII, The Letter to the Hebrews commentary by Fred B. Craddock; Working Preacher (workingpreacher.org), August 11, 2019 Commentary on Hebrews by Mary Foskett.
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