Pentecost 11
Year C
August 8, 2010
Genesis 15:1-6
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
A friend of mine and her husband like to take turns planning “mystery vacations” for one another. One summer she plans the trip, and then the next summer it’s his turn.
One summer, she took her husband to a ranch in Wyoming for a week of trail riding.
The next summer, he took her snorkeling in the Caribbean.
Each of them tries to be creative… and sneaky… in planning their trips. The goal is to keep the destination a mystery until they arrive.
The year he took her snorkeling, he told her to pack warm clothes and wet-weather gear and then snuck her swim suit, and lighter clothes into his luggage. He even routed their flight through a northern city to throw her off the track.
They have a lot of fun with these trips.
Around their household as spring turns into summer, there is a lot of curiosity, excitement and expectation on the part of the spouse who will be receiving the mystery trip that year.
I would say my two friends have a lot of faith in one another.
They trust that the other person has things worked out and is not going to take them somewhere they do not want to go.
I think the reason my friends can trust one another so completely is because of the relationship they have with one another.
Though the years, they have developed a track record with one another and have proved themselves reliable and trustworthy again and again – not just on “mystery vacations” but in lots of other areas of their life.
According to the writer of Hebrews, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
That’s the kind of faith my friends have in one
another… and the kind of
faith our lessons this morning encourage us to have in God.
Often, our lives can feel a whole lot like a mystery. Frequently it feels like we don’t know where we are going or how we are going to get there.
The question is, as people of faith, do we trust God to get us there anyway?
Our lessons this morning demonstrate exactly why we can.
Each lesson provides us with an example of the kind of faith Hebrews describes.
In the first lesson, Abram and Sarai need to trust that Yahweh will make good on his promise to give them a son.
In the Gospel, Jesus encourages the disciples to trust in the Father even as he prepares them for what lies ahead as they approach Jerusalem… and the cross.
And, in both cases, God proves to be trustworthy. In both cases, God’s goodness, grace and love prove to be steadfast.
Though they face a lot of trials and a few false starts along the way, Abram and Sarai are given a son.
And though the events of Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem must have been horrible for the disciples, in the end, Jesus is raised from the dead.
I suppose there had to have been moments for Abram, Sarai and the disciples when the future must have seemed impossibly bleak…
And yet, God came through.
Sometimes, the future can be a pretty scary place for us too.
The world is a risky place and always has been.
Our futures are always shrouded in mystery.
We never know whether tomorrow will bring us blessings and joy, or struggles and challenges.
The truth is – both are probably waiting for us on the road ahead.
Sometimes the future can seem impossible to face.
And so, we can identify with Abram – wondering how God can give him an heir when he and Sarai are so old.
We can relate to the disciples as they approach Jerusalem – wondering about Jesus’ confusing words about the suffering and death waiting for him there.
When we face uncertain futures Jesus says the same thing to us as he did to them:
“Do not be afraid little flock, for it is the Father’s pleasure to give you the Kingdom.”
God’s Kingdom is still coming.
God’s Promise is still unfolding.
And, because of that, as followers of Jesus Christ, we have every reason to be expectant and even excited about the future.
Sure, the future might not be easy. In fact, it probably won’t be.
But we don’t need to look into that future with fear. Because of all that God has done for us, we can look into that future with faith.
Because faith is still the assurance of things hoped for and our conviction in things not yet seen.
Faith is our trust that the future is secure because it is in God’s hands… even if it is always shrouded in mystery.
And we can trust in that promise for the very same reason my friends trust one another – we have the long, long relationship between God and his people to rely on.
And God’s got a pretty good track record!
That’s important for us to remember as we move forward in our individual lives… but it is also important as we move forward as a community of faith.
In the next months, we will be making some pretty big decisions as a congregation as we continue to move forward with our plans to expand both the building and our ministry here at University Lutheran.
We’ve taken some pretty big steps already – and, you know, I am convinced that God has been with us, guiding us along the path we’ve been following.
The future that’s before us is going to present challenges to us – there is no doubt about that. It will mean taking some risks – like taking on a mortgage, for example. It will almost certainly mean things will change around here, and that’s not always easy.
But, most of all, it will take faith. A faith that is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.
Sure, we might not know exactly where we are going, or exactly how we’re going to get there (God can be creative and a little sneaky too).
But, I think we can pack our bags with confidence and then step into the future God is preparing for us with both excitement and expectation!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.