Sunday, December 29, 2019

"Leaps of Faith;" Sermon for the 1st Sunday after Christmas by Rev. Nicole A.M. Collins


Being this is the first Sunday after Christmas we are seeing a picture of the Holy Family needing to take a great leap of faith to save themselves from Herod’s diabolical plan of the slaughter of the innocents and journey to safety for a time to Egypt.  I was reading a few things about this evil event of Herod’s speculating if it truly happened or not. The vote is still out on some of the details of it. As we know some in our contemporary culture challenge with speculation, the horrors of evil that took place during WWII with other maniacal leaders driven by a different fear of God… When we take an even greater look at Jesus entering into our humanity, we can see how our fears and our mustard seed faith have fought a brave spiritual battle into simply just making that great leap of faith, taking that giant step forward.

Taking that giant step forward is why we even gather together breaking bread, praying and studying together under the providence of God’s Word.  It’s been 2,000 something years since the Lord was here journeying on earth, ministering to His wayward children of Grace and Promise.  He was here is not accurate because He IS truly here with us now as the Holy Spirit.  The third person of the Trinity we have a very hard time listening to yet alone understanding all the times He provides for us, but we are still stuck within our needing clarity. When should I do this?  Where do You need me to go Lord? Help me, I keep getting confused!  The bride of Christ is His church and we are a living tribe of nomadic individuals acting at times like the same Israelites complaining in the desert while poor Moses needs to be their spiritual director leading them through the wilderness…

With the Holy Family, Joseph’s faith had three amazing convicting dreams that first helped him to marry and protect Mary and the infant Jesus.  Joseph’s second dream was also a doosey as they say because he was told to flee to Egypt because Herod was out to kill Jesus.  Joseph had a faith that moved a few mountains in the sense that he had a wisdom and a fear of the power of the Lord who was, who is and reigns—Jesus. Returning to the present, our calendar, being BC and AD and so much more are but a few fingerprints of the reality and impact of God with us, Jesus. As a former agnostic for some seventeen years, God was pretty patient with me as I wandered through my own wilderness of growing into who I am today—a minister and a messenger of His Gospel to my little corner of the world.

Being a “faith leaper” you could say is something we battle with when we allow the world to rule and oppress our deep inner convictions. Sometimes we allow our lives to be shaped by an oppression we create when we stray away from the very real providence of God all around us and yes, within us! Being sent with a purpose and a mission in the world as a follower of Jesus we don’t give ourselves enough credit to wrap our hearts’ understanding around.  All people are called and gifted with moments, miracles and dreams that CAN become reality.  Making these things into reality is being a visionary, a church planter, caregiver, pastor, missional… At least these are now a few descriptive elements of my faith that God has built me up to begin moving mountains of doubt with. We have to remember that most often we’re the ones stamping God’s plans out of our hearts. These are radical things to think about but when you think about the egomaniac that Herod was, why would he be threatened by the rule of love and peace coming into the world—Jesus? That’s the nature of evil though, greed and indifference are the substructure to all sin and to the “unholy trinity of I, Me and Mine.”  His fear and self-preservation were a delusion of grandeur at the expense of innocent children being massacred.

The season of Christmas is our time of growing as disciples into the very real truth of God WITH us, Jesus. The man of Nazareth, the Divine redeemer, savior taking with Him our sins to the cross and beyond with the resurrection. This is a very real truth we need to be reminded of especially during our moments of wavering faith as His children of Grace and promise.  When we are wandering the valleys of our lives’ journeys we have to leap occasionally over those chasms of impossibility and doubt.  And those moments of doubt can be pretty great where everything seems to make you question the very notion of a God who truly provides for us as His loving and Gracious Spirit within us!

The other day I was assessing a new hospice situation with a grieving wife and her beloved husband whose mind was beginning to disappear to the ravages of end stage Alzheimer’s disease.  Her husband could no longer speak yet alone walk anymore. What is typical of the end stages of this terrible disease is the grave fear of others that the patient exhibits.  Mistrust and a deep paranoia manifested with continual silent screams coming from his contorted face when I simply began to introduce myself to him and try to explain how I was to be there for both him and his wife.  A huge part of me wanted to bolt out the door as snap “old nature” reaction of feeling over my head. I began to pray an inner prayer as I talked with the wife about what her next plans were to be for him. God quieted my fear and brought me back to realize His guiding presence to help me minister to this couple.  Beyond the thoughts I had had, I also heard the evil within my own heart having me doubt not only myself but God.  Why would that even flash into my stream of thoughts? The world for one moment revolved around me and I wasn’t reaching out to this couple as I had learned to do in training years ago as a Stephen’s minister.  Stephen’s ministry has a beautiful image of the Stephen’s minister holding onto the tree of Christ while reaching down to those in the pit needing to be spiritually rescued, aided and loved.  Just having God remind me of that right after those bad thoughts put me back on track.

There will be other days to journey with this couple as well as other couples I am doing marital counseling for.  Every day is brand new with unknown twists, turns and whatnot to them… But as the Psalmist this morning has to share with us: Be and DO—"Let us praise the Lord, giving Him thanks with our whole heart,” (our whole selves fully engaged each and every day)!  Thanks be to God, alleluia and amen I say. Rolling with the punches or olive branches as I prefer to say, is continually making leaps of faith that God truly guides you with.  This is the difference and the potential endless joy that the Christian can truly claim with thinking about God with us, Jesus, the Lord—Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  When we sang our Christmas hymns of “Happy Birthday” to Jesus this past Wednesday and then opened those presents one by one from friends and family did we pause upon that moment and wonder?  Beyond what’s in it for me, did we see and believe in the unknown future for just one moment with hope and faith? Probably or most likely? Be honest.

That’s a great way to look at things isn’t it? Every day is a present from God, His Living Word, the bow that entices us to unravel it and reveal His plans for us inside our hearts and out into the wilderness of the world. We must thank God for the amazing faith that Joseph had to persevere in acting upon a message from a dream to protect Mary and Jesus. With the turning of another year, we must see it with hope-filled and visionary, missional eyes no matter what we’re currently doing.  Remember what I said in my Christmas message from this past Wednesday—the world may say no to you, and you may let this “Bogart” your heart with doubt and questioning…  but we are truly not alone, God always provides.

Being the church in the world is being a visionary, is harboring a faith that can move mountains and shepherd others to the truth of New Life and abounding love that yes, we can make a difference in the world, doing! Jesus told His disciples in another Gospel to come and follow Him.  Many followed, lived and died with Him.  Many triumphed and failed with His Gospel…  The most important thing though is that they were willing to try and DO.  Even as an infant, Jesus’ reality told His earthly parents that they needed to protect Him from Herod’s evil. The vulnerability of an infant, the almighty providence and power of God… we will still be a people wandering and wondering to understand but its beautiful truth remains: God IS with us, for us, loves and provides for us.

Let us Pray,
Loving and Gracious is the Lord our God,
Whose providence we need to shape our visions into action
Our love into lifting mountains and our hearts into reaping a mustard bush of faith!
You are our present, each and everyday, O Lord.
Thank You for everything You have us grow in and experience
Even those valleys… Your Holy Spirit is our guiding Grace
May we come to praise You with our whole hearts and grow to reap
A wisdom that has us realize our place as Your children of Grace and Promise
In Your most Holy Name, we lift this prayer—
AMEN




Here's a link to a variation message via youtube delivered at the Grace Hub at 11:30am: