Faith. In Context. And Context Changes Things. But Not Our Mission.


Hebrews 11: 29 - 12: 2
Luke 12: 49 - 56

Wooo….sometimes the scriptures deliver hard things.  In the world of pastor’s discussion groups, this week’s text was dreaded by many.  Especially that part about people sawed in two…

But we have a mantra at our house: We can do hard things. 

So let’s dive in together.  Because I believe that we can do hard things.

Today we are sandwiched between reminders that there were those who risked a lot because God set a task before them and those stoned and flogged for their faithfulness AND Jesus’ harsh reprimand for our failure to see the signs and wonders  right in front of our faces.  It is difficult stuff.

And it is difficult stuff that happens alongside the reminder that in faith, the race we run is not a sprint. It’s not even a 5K out and back….it is a full on marathon, a duration event for which we need perseverance and stamina… We can’t see the finish line from where we’ve begun, but we know by faith that it exists.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus talks about the fire that he wishes was already kindled…and the baptism he brings. And the hard task ahead of him.  Perhaps here he is talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit that will enliven the church after his ascension.  He also talks about the division, as opposed to the peace, he brings to the earth.  It’s a troubling passage, and when something doesn’t quite fit as a few verses dropped into the lectionary, should look at the passage in the context of the full arc of the story told in Luke’s gospel. Thematically, Luke’s gospel begins with proclamations of justice to come and of peace.  (Check out Mary’s song of thanksgiving and Zechariah’s prophecy about what is to come in Luke 1. In particular, Zechariah’s song ends with the “By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.”) It also ends with a benediction for peace as Jesus speaks his last words to the disciples before the ascension – peace be with you.

And so, we have to look at this particularly hard set of scriptures and wonder what they might mean in light of the peace that seems promised in Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection. One of the best commentaries I read suggests that this is Jesus describing current circumstances rather than circumstances that are to come.  In other words, Jesus is describing division that already exists…and that makes sense to me. Jesus was teaching some hard things.  He was suggesting that the systems of the Temple that had ordered Jewish society for millennia weren’t “all that.”  He was suggesting that maybe sinners weren’t to be shunned by leaders.  He was suggesting that God loved the poor and the weak and people other than Jewish people.  All of those things would have been difficult for friends, families, communities to bear without some disagreements.

I think one of the things Jesus is doing in this passage is highlighting that his teachings will divide people. 

And isn’t that true today? Isn’t it true that we are divided about what it means to love our neighbor.  Isn’t it true that we are divided about what it means to love God? Isn’t it true that we are divided about who God is for and who God will judge?

I find this a fascinating backdrop to the wandering that I have been doing with these texts from the Letter to the Hebrews about faith.  Last week we were reminded that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen.  And we were reminded of how this community of Faith Church went from 42 people in a basement to 500 people in this amazing building in a matter of 10 years.  And today, as we are reminded of all the hard things people have done for faith throughout the scriptures, we are also encouraged – encouraged to run the race that is before us because Jesus is cheering us on, shaping us by the power of the Holy Spirit, waiting for us to do what it is we have been called to do.

Jesus calls us to make hard choices about how we will live our lives.  Those choices will cause division, and yet, Jesus is also cheering us on from the sidelines.

What do we do with that?

I think we do with that what we are called to do – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. To love God and our neighbor. The same thing we were called to do as the Family of Faith 55 years ago.  As it was in the beginning, is now and every shall be…

But…
or AND…

Things just aren’t the way they used to be…

The context in which we do the work of the church has changed dramatically. This is a race run on a very different course than it was 55 years ago.

Let me offer just a few glimpses of how life has changed since Faith was chartered.

(And let me apologize…this is a dizzying rapidfire tour of statistics and headlines. But really, the last 55 years has been dizzying…)  I invite you not to try to connect each of these sound bytes to one another, but rather…let them sink in.  Let the impact of each of them seep into you – particularly as you think about how it is that we are called to be about bringing forth the kingdom of God right here in Rockville, Maryland, the place we were planted 55 years ago…Let them become the backdrop of the work we do, the conditions we are called to live into.

I am a product of GenX, sometimes defined as those born between 1961 and 1981..sometimes the start date is more like 1965.  GenX is a small generation. And we happen to be nestled between birthrate booms – the Baby Boom and Millennials.

While GenX is small by itself, counted together - GenX, Millennials and GenZ outnumbered Boomers and the GI generation at the polls for the first times in both the 2016 presidential election and the 2018 mid-term election.
Millennials, born between 1982 and 2000, now outnumber Boomers. 

As generations, millennials and GenZ (those born after 2000) are far more diverse.  44% of millennials in the US identify as non-white.  For GenZ, 48.5% identify as non-white.[1]

22% of the US population is over aged 60, and of those, about 1 in 4 live alone.  According to the Pew Research Center, these older adults report spending an average of 10.5 hours alone each day.[2]

In 1957, the USSR launched the first artificial satellite. In 1969, the US succeeded in having the first human on the Moon. In 2015, lettuce was the first food eaten that had been produced in space. 

In 1990, we set out to map DNA – the very code for our biological diversity. 

That work has led to genetic testing for cancer, for birth defects, and for diseases like Alzheimers.  It has also led to breakthroughs in understanding mental illness, heart disease, diabetes, disease resistance, longevity and human sexuality.

Cell phones and home computers didn’t exist in 1964.  Today, 96% of adults in the US have a cell phone…and 81% of adults have a smart phone.  Among 18 – 29 year olds, 99% have a cell phone and 96% specifically have a smart phone.[3]

In 1960, 25% of two-parent households had dual incomes.  In 2012, 60% of two parent households had dual incomes.[4]

In the 1950s, 20% of marriages in the US were interfaith marriages. Today, 45% of marriages are interfaith.[5]

Let’s go back to those generations that we started with.  In 2015, 61% of baby boomers indicated that they pray daily.  39% of younger millennials indicated they pray daily.  59% of baby boomers indicated religion was very important to their lives.  38 % of younger millennials claimed religion was very important.[6]

According to a 2017 study by PRRI, “There are 20 states in which no religious group comprises a greater share of residents than the religiously unaffiliated.”[7]

And we referenced the last two elections earlier, but let’s talk just a bit about our politics.  This from the Pew Research Center:
“In both political parties, most of those who view the other party very unfavorably say that the other side’s policies “are so misguided that they threaten the nation’s well-being.” Overall, 36% of Republicans and Republican leaners say that Democratic policies threaten the nation, while 27% of Democrats and Democratic leaners view GOP policies in equally stark terms.”

This is a significant shift from 20 years ago…and I would imagine a monumental shift from 50 years ago.

Things are different these days…

And yet, our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

And we are still called to love God and love one another.

And the reason we are to love one another is to be living evidence of the God of Love.

I think I’ve mentioned to you that I am tenaciously hopeful.  Some would say I am painfully optimistic.  But here’s the thing.  I really do believe God is in the midst of ALL OF THIS.  I really do believe that while not moving the pieces on the chess board, our God continues to move in and among us by the very presence of the Holy Spirit, counting on us to adapt and adjust, promising to be with us and love us in the adaptations. Counting on us to stay the course in the midst of all of the changes.  Because there has been radical change in every generation.

All of this change – all of the tension and confusion created by all of this change –
is exactly why we must learn to have hard conversations with one another. 
is exactly why we need to focus on the vitally simple message that God is with all of us day in and day out and God is full of love and grace. 
is exactly why we are called out into the world day after day after day to bear witness to the difference God’s love has made in our own lives SO THAT others see that radiance, that goodness, that hope and in spite of all the ways we might be different CHOOSE to ask – how might I get just a glimpse of that in my own life?

The backdrop against which we run this race by faith has changed significantly over the years.  But the call has not.

The call has not. 

I receive a devotional email each day from the Society of St. John the Evangelist.  The brothers take turns sharing a brief reflection on one word. As I was preparing last week’s sermon, a word arrived that I knew was meant for our conversation today.  The word is “responsibility,” and Brother Geoffrey Tristam shares this:

How we live our lives – our commitment to worship, to private prayers, to mission – is not just about us and our relationship to God. We have a responsibility to be bearers of the light – a responsibility to those who are still to come. We have a torch to carry for a while, and then we pass it on.

The torch is ours right now.  It has been carried thus far and we are called to carry it further.

Remember that mantra I mentioned that we have at our house? 
We can do hard things.
We can do hard things. 
We can do hard things.

May it be so.
Amen.

Sources: Beyond the data cited below, I am grateful for the daily word from the Society of St. John the Evangelist. I commend to you research from both the Pew Research Center and PRRI, excellent sources of insight about the changing landscape of faith in our society.  

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