This Far By Faith

Hebrews 11: 1– 3, 8– 10, 13– 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.

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.

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, he has prepared a city for them.

  

2 Corinthians 5: 16– 20

From now on, therefore,

we regard no one from a human point of view;

even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view,

we know him no longer in that way.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:

everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,

not counting their trespasses against them,

and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.

So we are ambassadors for Christ,

since God is making his appeal through us;

we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

  

Luke 14:1, 7-14
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.

When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.
"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;
and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.
For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

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Paul tells the Corinthians, Anyone who is in Christ can no longer be regarded by human standards. We no longer look to the outer characteristics of the person - how they look, what they wear - but to the inner person - the love they share with others, the faith they reflect for the unknown future. The fruits of the Spirit. The descriptions of love that we hear in the passage so often used in wedding services – Love is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not arrogant, not rude. Not irritable, not resentful, not rejoicing in wrongdoing, but rejoicing in the truth. This is the standard of married life, just as it is the standard of Christian life.

When I counsel a couple that is married or preparing for marriage, I usually talk to them about the three entities in a marriage. There is you, and there is you, and then there is both of you - the couple - the married entity. This is a new creation; one that can only be seen by these inner standards, these fruits of the Spirit, these descriptors of love. A healthy marriage is one in which the two “you’s” can maintain themselves as healthy individuals, AND together the couple - the “both of you” - live their joined-together lives in a way that bears good fruit - fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A new creation, stepping forward in faith.

And it takes a good deal of faith to decide to marry, and also to journey together as a couple, as a new creation. As the days and weeks and years go by, you learn more about one another, and you also are growing and developing as a couple, just as a newborn child learns and grows and develops as time goes by. I think it is preferable to think of marriage not in terms of whether the couple is successful, but whether they are faithful. And for those of you who think I am speaking about faithfulness to one another, well, that is necessary, but it is not sufficient. A couple who is faithful to God will come to understand, more and more, that faithfulness goes way beyond being faithful to one another. The new creation is created in covenant with God. The marriage vows are a covenant to one another before God. God is an essential part of this new creation. And God calls us both individually and in communion, in couples and in friendships and in congregations and communities, to a new way of life – a new way of faith – come what may.

The passage we heard from Hebrews is all about journeying by faith, stepping into situations where the outcome was never clear – in fact, was often frightening for those who were taking them on. We heard about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, each setting out in faith, staying in tents in a foreign land, looking ahead to the city whose architect and builder is God. It begins by saying that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In the journey of marriage, come what may, we journey on by faith alone.

I am pretty sure that the couples here today, celebrating their 30^th, 40^th, 50^th and 60^th anniversaries, as well as everyone who is or has been married, can attest to the reality that marriage involves that kind of faith, remaining sure of what is hoped for, staying certain of what cannot be seen.  They cannot know when they first take those vows, what lies ahead on that mutual journey as a couple. But they step out in faith, trusting in God and in one another, that as a new creation they will find a way to bear good fruit. Not to be successful, but to be faithful. And the way they can do that is by focusing on the fruits of the Spirit. Because we have an abundant supply of those - a never-ending supply, provided by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we are called to give them, freely and abundantly, to all those who need them. And we know that they are desperately needed in the world.

Couples can support one another in sharing these gifts. They can practice on one another, and as they encourage one another and grow in confidence of their abilities to freely give and receive things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and so on, they can also step out in faith to freely give and receive these gifts with everyone they meet. And they can do it individually and together.

Jesus talks about this in a story that is set, no less, than at a wedding banquet. How appropriate is that?! But his story is not about the right food or the right table settings or the right band or dress or flowers. It is about where you sit. And those of you who have planned big weddings are probably thinking, oh, yeah, it’s really important to get the table seating assignments right…..

But that’s not what he means, of course. Jesus tells the dinner gathering, tells us, that we shouldn’t worry about whether we get to sit at the place of honor. In fact, we should sit at the most humble, lowly place we can find. In this, too, is a statement of faith, a declaration of trust. We do not need to strive for the things that lift us up in human terms - who we surround ourselves with, how highly we are thought of by others. Instead, by trusting in God’s goodness, we can go sit with those in greatest need, and be with them, and God will be with us. If we continued reading in Luke, the next verses have Jesus telling us who should be on our guest list for a great banquet like a wedding feast. It’s not the social elites, but the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. They are the ones who will be seated at the table in the kingdom of God. 

So life gives us many opportunities, married or not, to show our faithfulness to God, by living as people who have faith that through us, God will bear good fruit for those who really need it. And each couple, as a new creation, is given a gift of opportunity - the opportunity to bear more good fruit than they could as individuals. And that can only happen by turning over our trust to God, by focusing our faithfulness on God, by living out our vows to one another with God’s help, each and every day.

As we move to a time of reaffirming marriage vows, for these four couples who have come this far by faith, and for whom the journey continues beyond this day, let us all, married or not, recommit ourselves to trusting in God and living our lives, individually and communally, as disciples of Jesus Christ, who came for the least and the lost, and who calls us to care for them in humility, in faithfulness, and in love. 

Amen.