Proper 14

Preparation

    Please begin by reading Hebrews 11, verses 1-3 and 8-16, in your Bible. If you do not have one at hand, we have provided that text for you at the end of this reflection.

Reflection--A Journey Without Roadmaps

    “Give me ambiguity, or give me something else,” goes a tongue-in-cheek slogan. In some ways, this might be a description of the Christian life. Christians are at the same time the most certain and the most uncertain of people. From our human prospective, the Christian life is a little like setting off on a journey without any roadmaps. We may have confidence in our guide and a general idea of our ultimate destination, but we can not be sure exactly how our guide intends to get us there or where our stops will be along the way. One biblical scholar calls faith “a confident wandering.”

    The biggest jumping off point in our Christian journey, one without which we can never grow, involves exactly that -- starting off, like Abraham, without a clue where we are going next and exactly how it will all turn out, but trusting that somehow God has a plan and a direction and that somehow it will all turn out OK.

    This does not mean that the Christian journey is a passive, aimless process. While we don’t have those clear roadmaps that tell us exactly what our future will look like at each step along the way, we do have God’s general directions and promises available to us in the Bible and we have the stories of people who have lived faithful lives that can serve as our examples. This is a major reason why familiarity with the Bible and listening to the stories of other Christians are so important. Both give us insights, goals to set our sights on, and landmarks that help us assess whether we are on the right track while we are on the way.

    Expect doubts too. That is part of the Christian reality of having one foot on earth while the other is already in heaven. Sarah laughed in disbelief when God promised her a child in her old age. (The name of that child, Isaac, comes from the Hebrew word for laughter.) God’s time is not our time and sometimes doubt and fear come with waiting for God's plan to unfold, but then we experience some promise fulfilled and faith is renewed. Doubts are normal. They have been described as the seeds of faith.

    So, step out on the journey. Begin boldly, without knowing where you’ll be tomorrow and knowing that doubt and periods of waiting will be found along the path. Like Abraham and Sarah, forget the land you have left behind. Travel in life’s foreign land keeping your spiritual eye trained on the distant horizon. There, in time, you will catch a glimpse of your new home -- the city of God.

revclay

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Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

   Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.  By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. 

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    By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.  By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old - and Sarah herself was barren - because he considered the One faithful who had promised.  Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore." 

    All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.  They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, God has prepared a city for them.  [NRSV]