Loving God, you ask us to believe and trust in things that we cannot see, but also provide us with many witnesses to the faith.  Help us to continue to grow in our trust in you, and grant us experiences of your love and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    If I could figure out how to actually show you a clip from a movie, here’s the one I would show: There is a scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where Indy reaches an opening in the side of a cliff.  As he looks out, it appears to be a sheer drop, with no way across to the other side.  His father has just been shot, and he is being told to hurry.  At the same time, he has a clue in his hand that says, “Only in the leap from the lion’s head will he prove his worth.”

    As he stands there, looking back and forth between the lion’s head above him and the abyss down below, Indy finally realizes that he needs to make a leap of faith.  As he slowly steps out, his foot lands on an invisible bridge.  After walking all the way across, Indy tosses out some dirt and pebbles that show up on top of the bridge.  However, without this it is invisible to the naked eye.  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

    You might recall that over the past few weeks we have been hearing portions of a letter that was addressed to people who were starting to lose hope.  It seemed as though Jesus’ promised return was taking far too long, and the persecution that they were enduring certainly didn’t make things any easier.  Thus, many of the Jewish Christians were tempted to give up their faith in Jesus and return to their Jewish faith.  Thus, in today’s reading we hear encouragement through remembering all of the people of faith who have gone before them.

    We hear about Abel, who gave to God the first and the best from his flock as an offering.  Abel was able to do this because he had faith that God would continue to provide.  We also hear about Enoch, who is mentioned only briefly in Genesis 5.  Have any of you actually heard of Enoch?... [If so, what do you know about him?] Enoch is named as the father of Methuselah, and then most of what we know about him is all in one verse: “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him” (Gen. 5:24).  He is the only one mentioned in Genesis who did not die.

    Then, of course, we hear about Noah - of whom you have probably heard.  Noah believed what God had told him about an impending flood and built the ark as it had been commanded.  It was not raining when Noah was working on the ark, but he believed that the flood that he could not yet see was, in fact, coming.

    And then there are Abraham and Sarah, who were asked to have quite a bit of faith, all things considered.  They were asked to leave their homeland and to travel to a land that they had not yet seen.  They were promised many descendants, even though both of them were old, and they didn’t have any children of their own.  They were also promised that through them and their descendants, all the families and nations of the earth would be blessed.

    In the New Testament, Abraham is often raised up as an example of faith and of how it is faith that is most pleasing to God.  For we read in Genesis 15 that Abraham “believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness” (15:6).  At the same time, it is especially true of Abraham and Sarah that they died before actually seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises to them.

    By the time that they die, a son, Isaac, has been born to them – their miracle baby.  They have seen in him only the beginnings of God’s promise of many descendants.  As for the promise of a land of their own, Abraham owns only a burial cave and a field at Machpelah by the time that he dies, and neither he nor Sarah live to see the blessing of all the nations through them.

    Actually, with respect to this promise of land, it is interesting how Hebrews shifts the focus from an earthly promised land to a heavenly one.  The writer points out how Abraham and Isaac and Jacob lived in tents and how all of these people of faith lived as “strangers and foreigners on the earth” (Heb. 11:13).  He points to the heavenly Jerusalem as the city that actually has foundations, and the heavenly country as the one to be preferred over any earthly one.  He concludes that “God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them” (Heb. 11:16).  What if those who are in the Holy Land today regarded themselves as strangers and foreigners on the earth?  What if they focused on their heavenly home, rather than trying to own every inch of land here?... [something to think about!]

    What is the point, then, with all of these stories of faith?  Certainly, all of the people mentioned believed in things that they could not see, and their hope was not disappointed.  In every case, God’s promises were fulfilled, even if people didn’t see the fulfillment before they died.  In the same way, we have reason to trust in God’s promises to us: of forgiveness and salvation; of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit; of Jesus’ final appearing; and of the heavenly place that has been prepared for us.  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

    If I were to ask you today to think about the people of faith who have inspired and encouraged you on your faith journey, we could probably come up with a long list of people from many different times and places.  Some might be from your own family.  Some might be Christians you have known who have really encouraged you in your faith.  Some might be people from other times and places that you have heard about or read about.  Some might even be people that we find in the Bible.

    All of these would be part of the “cloud of witnesses” that Hebrews invites us to imagine – a cloud of witnesses gathered in a stadium as a race is going on.  As it turns out, we are part of that race, and all of these witnesses are cheering us on, encouraging us not to give up and to keep on looking to Jesus, who has not only shown us the way, but has opened the way for us into the kingdom of God.  “Let us then run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2).  For even though we often cannot see the finish line, we know that the one who travels with us is faithful - Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Pentecost 15 (NL summer)                    Hebrews 11:1-16; 12:1-2
September 6, 2015
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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