St. Alban's Episcopal church
Our mission is to proclaim the love of God in Christ Jesus for all
The Episcopal Church in Stuttgart, Arkansas
A sermon preached for Proper 14
August 7, 2022 The Rev. Mark Nabors, Vicar Our reading from Hebrews today comes from that famous faith chapter. You know the one. The chapter starts out, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The writer then lists out what those heroes of the old testament did by faith. We heard today about Abraham–a man who left everything he knew because God promised to show him another country. A man who imperfectly clung to the promise of God that he would be the father of many nations, even though he and his wife Sarah had no children. Faith: the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Or as another translator put it, “Now faithfulness is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of unseen realities.” Evidence of unseen realities: not mirages, not phantoms, not figments of imagination, but realities that already exist in the mind of God. Unseen realities we are bold enough to grab and hold onto, even now. Unseen realities that shape how we live in this world. Be like Abraham, Hebrews is telling us. Follow God from where you are now to a country that God will show you–follow God to an unseen reality–not desiring to go back to where you came from, but leaning forward to a future only God knows. What is that future? Hebrews is talking about heaven, life eternal with God. The writer says that these faithful heroes desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one, the city prepared for them. We are to desire that heavenly country, too. Our animating desire should be life eternal with God–a gift that comes to us from God by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Faith is daring to believe that God is taking us there. Faith is holding onto God and keeping the destination in mind. Faith is believing the promise–that this world is not the end, but that there awaits a new place of redemption, of renewal, of rest, of resurrection. We keep looking to the horizon of heaven by faith. But that doesn’t get us off the hook in this world. I grew up singing a hymn, maybe you did, too. It says, “this world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through.” I think hymns like this one do us a disservice, because they set up heaven as an escape, and they can give us permission to get through this world as quickly as possible, without even looking around us. If that’s the case, we’ve missed something important. For while we keep one eye on the horizon of heaven, looking to the promise of life eternal, we keep another eye right here, trained on what’s going on at this present moment. That’s what Jesus is saying in today’s gospel. He says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Don’t be afraid, good people of God; keep your eye trained on that heavenly horizon. It is the Father’s good pleasure to have a place prepared for you–a place that has plenty of good room for you and all God’s children. But then immediately Jesus gives us instructions for the here and now: “Sell your possessions, and give alms.” In doing so, Jesus says that we will be making purses for ourselves that do not wear out, “an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I like talking about heaven. I bet you do, too. But when we bring up what Jesus says today, it makes me uncomfortable. Because I got a little money in the bank. And I like nice things. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Now before we all go out and have a big yard sale, let’s pause. It’s okay to have some money in the bank. It’s okay to have some nice things. It’s not okay to be enslaved to those things and to make them more important than Jesus. It’s not okay to be enslaved to those things and make them more important than your neighbor. Jesus gives us this command for two reasons. First, he knows that our things, more than anything else, can distract us from that heavenly horizon. We get so preoccupied with what we have or what we don’t have, that we lose sight of a heavenly reward. We work so hard to build treasures here on earth, that we forget about heaven altogether. That’s what the parable of the rich fool was about last week–the one who built barns and bigger barns to hoard all of his stuff, and none of it went with him when he died. The second reason Jesus gives us this command is that when we give alms, when we care for the least of those around us, we are caring for Christ himself. In Matthew 25, the righteous ask Jesus, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or in prison?” What does Jesus say? As you do it to one of the least of my brothers and sisters in need, you have done it unto me. Jesus is reminding us, especially those of us with a little money in the bank, that our wealth comes with ethical obligations toward others. And if we are unwilling to fulfill those obligations, we don’t have our eyes on that heavenly horizon. Looking to the heavenly horizon is about a lot more than what’s coming after death. It’s also about how we live right now. How are we storing up treasure in heaven right now? Because I promise you, we are all storing treasure somewhere. We just have to make sure it’s going into the right account. With faith in those things hoped for and that unseen reality, let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, never wavering. Let’s watch out for Jesus to come on that heavenly horizon in the clouds of glory. And let’s watch for Jesus to show up on our doorstep in the form of a neighbor in need. If we do that, we will never be short on real treasure–the treasure that lasts for eternal life. Comments are closed.
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