Year C
Luke 12:32-40
The Very Rev. Denise Vaughn
Live By Faith
What does it mean to live by faith? Do we even live in an age of faith? I ask that because, to live by faith involves a radically different way of looking at the world. Faith serves as a set of spectacles through which we see the world as God wants us to see it. People of faith think differently because we see differently. Because we see differently, we are suppose to live differently. In our texts today, faithfulness to God, means our lives, our actions, the very depth of our hearts are to be focused on the God we follow. It involves a wholehearted trust in the One whom we love and worship. Last week, we heard Jesus tell us that faith involved deciding what we will invest our lives in, and what we will commit them to. Then it is a matter of asking: what are the things most important to God? We are to “Live now what matters forever.”
The writer of Hebrews today gives us his experience of what it means to live by faith, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” According to this author, faith gives substance to things that are neither present nor visible. In other words, faith makes real in the present God’s things, often thought of as eternal, such as God’s own faithfulness. Faith is the courageous persistence in the service of God’s vision. The author illustrates this by presenting us with portraits of those who lived faithful lives: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob. They stepped out in faith looking beyond the present, moving forward in God’s call on their lives, to the future fulfillment of God’s promises. The book of Hebrews was written to encourage Christians who were having trouble holding on to hope when Christ did not return immediately after the resurrection.
One of the earliest crises in the life of the church was the fact that Jesus had not returned. He had challenged his disciples to be like servants awaiting the imminent return of their master. They were to keep their lamps lit and be ready at any moment. Therefore, the first generations of Christians did just that. They sold all of their possessions. Many stopped working and devoted themselves to prayer while they waited for Jesus to return in the clouds and judge the world. They waited but he did not return. Then they began to worry because some of their sisters and brothers in Christ had died. What would happen to them? Would they be saved? So Paul in his early letters wrote words of comfort to remind them that Christ would eventually return and that those who died were indeed in the arms of God.
Yet with each passing year, it became more and more difficult to maintain that sense of anticipation. The people turned their attention from the master who was to return from the wedding banquet, and focused again on the cares and concerns of this world. Much like the people of Isaiah’s day whose violent and unjust actions failed to do what the Lord requires: “to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.” Isaiah of Jerusalem today launches a memorable assault on an Old Testament version of “cheap grace.” The prophet contends that Israel has made a mockery of God’s mercy through showy and empty acts of religious practices intended to bring about their forgiveness. God is angry and is neither fooled nor placated by empty worship. True worship according to Isaiah is about how we live our lives before God.
God looks into our hearts and recognizes true faithfulness. We cannot just go through the motions, for the God who loves us also sees if our lives, our actions, the very depth of our hearts are focused on the God we follow. We are asked, “Where is your treasure?” “For where your treasure is, Jesus says, there your heart will be also.” At the heart of the gospel text today is a call to have treasure in heaven, that our hearts focused on God may be there also. True riches come from confident trust in God’s loving care. Our faith is grounded in God’s future as we seek a faithful perspective on this present life. Jesus invites us to see this future. He invites us to see the world the way God wants us to see it. Seeing the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms us by calling us to larger lives. Instead of being consumed by worry and fear, we are “to strive for the kingdom.”
Power comes from a transformed perspective. In other words, whenever you find yourself drained by personal concerns, go out and do something for someone else. Get ready, by personally giving of yourself in service for others. There have been many examples through history of relatively powerless persons became empowered by the Spirit of God in the service of others who brought about a shift in history? The author of Hebrews gave us some examples of those from the scriptures. Closer to home we might think of Rosa Parks who in refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, sparked the beginning of the civil rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s. She was a rather inauspicious person to take such a critical action but she was ready. Or Nelson Mandela who was sentenced to life in prison. He was released to bring a shift in the politics of South Africa at a critical time when many thought that change would never come or if it did, it would be accompanied by a vast bloodbath.
The transition to a more just society came relatively peacefully under his leadership. Or what about Mother Teresa, a rather unpretentious nun, who was given sainthood for her simple act of trying to rescue people from the streets who might otherwise die. She was ready! Dressed for action and lamps lit. Alert, this is the way we are to wait for the return of our master who may arrive as unexpectedly as a thief, but for us there is no threat in his coming. Jesus is coming to serve a midnight banquet to those found alert and ready. With hearts set on an “unfailing treasure in heaven,” we can live without fear. We can sell our possessions and give alms because we are trusting to God the future as we serve God in the present. This is a vision that empowers. This is a vision of living faithfully, differently from the world because we see the treasure of God’s kingdom. We live by faith!