Sermon on 2013.10.06
·
Grace, peace, and mercy to you from God, the
Father, who is the source of faith, from Jesus Christ, who is the shape of our
faith, and from the Holy Spirit, who continues to uphold us in our faith. Amen.
·
I want to start today by talking to you today
about milestone moments of faith
o
What do I mean by a “milestone moment of
faith”?
§ Those
moments when you knew you believed, when faith was a solid a definite reality
at that moment in your life, when you knew completely that you were a beloved
child of God.
o
For me, I experience those moments with a
handful of accompanying sensations. Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience.
§ A feeling
of warmth that runs from the top of my head to the tips of my toes
§ Sometimes
my fingertips tingle a little
§ Sometimes
the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
§ In
all those cases, I know, without a doubt, at that moment, that I am a beloved
child of God
o
Do you remember one of those moments?
§ What
was that moment?
§ Your
first communion?
§ Confirmation?
§ Maybe
something mundane?
o
Sunday school story, Mrs. Brown – 3,
with my parents, meet me in my pew, warm and welcoming, greet my parents, and
take me with her, she’d hold my hand, while I don’t remember what she looked
like, I remember the feeling of being found and chosen. I remember the feeling
of her large hand enclosing mine with love and care, I remember her leading me
while walking beside me, I felt so safe, and I was excited about the journey
and the destination. I remember that she smelled sweet, and I remember the warm
light of the sunshine coming through the windows shining around us.
o
Vance – first communion hand extension and
correction by the pastor- a learning moment – we receive the body of Christ –
we don’t take it – shapes his approach to communion to this very day
o
Some other milestones
§ Listening
to a Bach cantata? Performing in a Bach cantata?
§ Maybe
sitting with a close friend or family member during a time of grief or joy?
§ Serving
at the MLM Christmas store?
§ Maybe
you’ve had numerous experiences like this, and it’s too hard to pick just one
o
The point is that you remember that feeling,
that all-over rush of warmth
§ Do
you remember that feeling?
§ That’s
certainty
§ That’s
hope
§ That’s
faith that is alive through the working of the Holy Spirit in you
§ Do
you remember that feeling? The smells? The sounds? The textures? The sights?
All of it. Do you remember?
§ [pause
and give brief time to remember]
o
Now, I need you to set that memory aside for
just a moment. We will be returning to that in just a moment.
o
But first we need to acknowledge that it is
hard to live in that feeling all the time.
§ There
are forces that constantly try to eat away at our faith, that try to erode it
and make it smaller.
§ These
forces try to extinguish that spark of faith that is so dear to each of us.
§ Some
of the names that we have for these forces are fear, doubt, cynicism, and apathy.
Perhaps you have names for some of these demons as well.
§ They
constantly confront us and challenge our faith
§ They
constantly seek our attention and try to become the loudest messages we hear
·
Fear says, “I can’t do it.”
·
Doubt says, “I’m not good enough.”
·
Cynicism says, “It doesn’t make a difference
anyway.”
·
And apathy says, “Whatever.”
§ It’s
very easy to listen to these forces, to give them an opportunity to take hold
given their constant assault on us.
§ And
in the process, it becomes easy to subordinate those moments of faith to the
message of those forces of darkness, possibly even to forget those moments of
faith altogether.
§ The
real tragedy is that we then forget God’s promise to each us.
§ But
God says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
§ Remember
that milestone moment of faith?
·
God, in the Holy Spirit, was there with you
·
God was there are that moment
·
God was there at your baptism, God is with
you right now, and God will be with you all the days of your life to come,
“even to the end of the age.”
·
God, in the Holy Spirit, is still at work in
you keeping that spark of faith alive
·
Do you remember?
§ Imagine
what it would feel like to remember that God’s words of promise are the final
and ultimate words to us, that the forces of darkness are real, that the power
the manifest is real, but that the word they speak is not final. Remember, God
is the faithful one, and promises to be with us always.
o
Okay, it’s time to bring that faith memory
back out.
o
Imagine what it would feel like to live every
day dwelling in that milestone feeling of faith
§ What
do you think that would be like?
§ Can
you imagine it?
§ Can
you imagine being moved by that spark of faith?
§ Can
you imagine what it would be like to live with the constant remembrance that
God is always with you?
o
Now comes the hard part of the sermon
o
I want you to consider your neighbor
§ The
person next to you
§ The
person in front of you, the person behind you, the person across the aisle, at
the coffee table, in the parking lot, and the person you’ll meet on Tuesday
afternoon
§ God
is with them, too, always
§ The
spark of faith is in them, too
§ The
Holy Spirit is moving in them, too, keeping the spark of faith alive and
glowing
§ More
importantly, the Holy Spirit is moving in and through each of us to share that
spark
§ The
Holy Spirit is trying to ignite our faith and the faith of others into a fire
of love – imagine – gentle blowing of the Spirit, I’ve seen my dad blow on
campfire embers to coax a larger flame – not hard in order to extinguish, but
slow and steady to give the fire oxygen
§ Just
imagine what that would be like – if the Holy Spirit were gathering the faith
we each bring together, and gently coaxing it to shine brightly, creating a
warmth that can not be extinguished
o
So thinking about that person next to you, or
behind you, or the one you’ll meet on Tuesday afternoon
§ How
will they ignite your faith? And how will you ignite their faith?
§ Will
you be ready for it? What will it be like?
§ Will
it be a remembrance that you are a beloved child of God?
§ Will
it be the sharing of the peace with one another?
§ Will
it be spending time with them in grief or in joy?
§ Will
it be with prayer?
§ It
could just be another milestone moment of faith, for you or for them or for
both.
o
Here’s what I imagine; here is what the Holy
Spirit has ignited in me
§ I
imagine that we look on one another, all of us, and see one another as
beautiful and glorious children of God radiant in love
§ I
image that we have put the demons of fear, doubt, cynicism, apathy, and any
others that may assail us to rest
§ I
imagine that we remember God’s promises always
§ I
imagine that we all believe
§ And
that means that I believe we are all gifted by the Holy Spirit
·
Gifted with a spirit of hope
·
Gifted with a fullness of faith that is not
small like spark but that is a strong fire
·
And that we are gifted with a fire of love
o
A fire that lights the way for those in
darkness
o
A fire that bakes the bread for those who are
hungry
o
A fire that warms the hands and feet of those
who are homeless
o
A fire that cleanses and purifies us of all
that would keep us from God as we encounter God in one another
o
I imagine that we can be that fire of love
§ I
believe we can be that fire of love.
§ I
believe we can be that source of hope.
§ I
believe we can be that wellspring of faith.
§ Most
importantly, I believe we have that faith already.
o
The little children in Sunday school sing,
“This little light of mine.”
§ They
sing that they are “gonna let it shine.”
§ They
sing that they are not going to hide it under a bushel.
§ They
sing that they are not going to let the forces of darkness blow it out.
§ And
they sing that they are going to shine their light all around the world.
o
I believe we can sing that song with full
faith and confidence, and that we can sing it together in beautiful harmony
§ From
the youngest to the oldest, from the first floor up to the balcony, from the
pulpit side to the organ side, women and men, rich and poor, and all the
various diverse ways in which we meet one another
§ All
of us together, singing in harmony and praising God together.
o
I imagine and believe that when we all let
our light shine together, when we all have this kind of faith together, we will
be able to say to that mulberry tree, “Get up, walk, and be planted.”
o
And it will be done.
·
Let us pray
o
Almighty God, you are the architect of our
faith. Quiet the forces of darkness that confront us. Keep us mindful of your
promise to be with us always. Open our eyes and ears to witness your Holy
Spirit at work calling each of us, calling from one another to one another in
faith. And help us to believe in the strength of your faith in us. In the name
of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray.
·
AMEN
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