Psalm 66: 1-12

1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; 2 sing the glory of his name;

give to him glorious praise.  3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.

4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you,

sing praises to your name.”     

 

5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.

6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot.

There we rejoiced in him, 7 who rules by his might forever,

whose eyes keep watch on the nations--let the rebellious not exalt themselves.      

 

8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;

12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

 

Luke 18: 1-8

Then Jesus a told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.

2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.

3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’

4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone,

5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.

7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?

8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them.

And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

  

Today’s liturgy is about the necessity of praying always and not losing heart. 

 

Sometimes when we think about God we ponder questions that seem impossible to solve.  For example, there is the question of whether it is possible for an all-powerful God to create something that an all-powerful God is powerless to control or influence...  What would be an example?  How about suffering.  God creates human beings but is unable to alleviate suffering.  Why would an all powerful God allow innocent children to suffer?

 

These kinds of teleological questions are fun for us to think about.  The way we perceive God and God’s actions can make a difference on how we respond in real life situations. 

 

Here is an interesting question.  Would God ever call you to a task that is beyond what you can deal with?  Would God ever lead the church into chaos?  Is it true that God never gives us more stress than what we can handle? 

 

Our faith in God, our history as God’s people, Biblical examples, and our experience as the church confirms that God does not call us to tasks that are beyond our ability too respond.  We may think they are impossible, but God does not abandon us to chaos.  Sometimes it takes a lot of work on the part of a lot of people to respond faithfully.  Sometimes when we undertake the calling we learn and grow through the experience in ways we never thought possible.  It helps to undertake the daunting tasks with a bit of levity, especially when the goal seems to be out of reach.  Faithfulness is about hard work and persistence, being persistent in prayer and steadfast in our giving and service... 

 

If there is one thing we know, through all of the teachings and our experience as children of God, it is that God does not abandon us.  Sometimes people abandon God, but God does not abandon us.  It is because of God’s grace and steadfastness that we have been able to accomplish great things for God’s Realm.

 

I have never been part of a church that has been called to accomplish so much, so fast, and with as much potential as we have.  It is truly amazing to see everything come together, and it will become more amazing each and every week as we progress through this year.  I have every confidence that we will be able to meet our goals.  But we will need to be persistent, faithful, and steadfast.  It will involve a commitment on the part of each and every one of us.  We will work together and discover that there is nothing that we cannot accomplish with the help of God as each of us does our part.

 

Jesus told a story about a corrupt magistrate who had no interest in justice, but only in what he could milk from the legal processes to feather his own nest.  He was interested in keeping order only when it affected his personal life.  And Jesus said that even with such a corrupt magistrate, if you are doggedly persistent for long enough, he’ll eventually settle the case just to get rid of you.  So be persistent.  We can be confident that God will walk with us in this ministry, because of what we know about God.

 

First, we know that God loves us and is full of compassion.  Our mission as a church is one of compassion.  God is not an all powerful corrupt magistrate that hopes we will just go away and take our nagging complaints somewhere else.  God is a God of mercy and compassion and the mission we seek is God’s mission.  Secondly, God will respond because of our sincerity and wholehearted faithfulness in following the call.  We will see the mission through with our persistent prayers, the giving of our tithes, our presence, and our service.  This is why God will not abandon us.

 

But there is a problem with this story, isn’t there?  Whenever we make a proposal the equal and opposite proposal looms.  When we state the thesis we also raise the antithesis.  When someone tells you not to think of a pink elephant...you’re going to think of a pink elephant.  When someone reminds you to be optimistic...  You’re going to think – even for just a moment – pessimistic thoughts.  So, Jesus told this story to help us realize how important it is to be persistent in prayer and never lose heart, even in the worst case scenario.  We are called to be optimistic.  We are called to have faith.

 

Our stewardship committee reminds us, in like manner, to embrace the challenge we have set before ourselves as a faithful response to the calling to be disciples for Jesus Christ, and never lose heart.

 

Well, if that’s the whole story, then how come I still have to struggle with selfish desires and the negative thinking that seek to derail faith?  You are not alone in that.  Even Paul struggled with being faithful when he wrote, “The things I want to do I cannot do, and the things I do not want to do I end up doing.  Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

 

So how can we reconcile this problem we have with negative thinking, selfishness, and lack of faith?

 

The early church, under the leadership of Peter and the other disciples also struggled with this very same problem.  They too wrestled with faithfulness issues.  There’s a story in Acts that tells about how they held everything in common, supporting one another in the common mission, and sharing all that they had.  In the 5^th chapter of Acts there’s the story about Barnabas, who sold his property and gave it to the early church.

 

Then there’s this part of the story.  A rather negative story that uses fear to motivate the church to be faithful and honest.

 

5 But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; 2 with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3“Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” 5 Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. 6 The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.

7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

Thankfully, the stewardship committee has not taken on this fear tactic as a motivational approach to our stewardship campaign.  We do not have a contingent of people ready to carry you out and burry you.

The Stewardship committee is helping us to be persistent in prayer, to never lose heart, and give all we can for our common mission.  Each of us will need to do more this year than in years past.  So, remember to be optimistic, have faith, and give faithfully.

 

Ours is a faith tried by fire and water and perfected in the journey.  Just as our Psalter expresses today:

 

¹⁰ For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

¹¹ You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;

¹² you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

And so shall we.  Thanks be to God!