Readings of the Day:
Sermon:
There's a stained glass window to the right of the altar that depicts a lamp bearer
following Jesus towards a door. You may have looked at it while receiving
Communion.
And if you look at it very closely, the lamp bearer, as she stands on the steps in front of the door, in front of Jesus, has her feet turned in two directions. Her right foot is turned away from the steps, and her left foot is firmly planted on the step in front of her, pointing straight at Jesus.
And for each direction she faces, there's a different emotion you can see on her face. Just as she's turning away with her right foot, there is a hint of fear on her face. An uncertainty about what lies ahead on this path.
But just as her left foot is planted firmly towards Jesus, there's a determination on her face too. It's almost as if she is clutching her lamp tighter, and, in spite of her fears, her entire focus is on Jesus before her.
And Jesus looks back at her as He holds the door open. And as He holds it open, he points, trying to draw her attention away from Him and to what's inside the door.
Mainly, a great ballroom with a host of angels waiting to great her.
I direct your attention to this window because it illustrates the lessons we gain from both the Gospel reading and the reading from Hebrews.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples two things. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." That is, God wants to be there, ready to lead us into the door with all the heavenly hosts and those who have gone before us into glory. Just as we see in this window. And so there's no reason for us to hesitate in following Him.
Jesus also says "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit." Just as we see with the lamp bearer. Basically, we need to be ready. We need to be ready for when Jesus comes into our lives so we can follow Him.
Again, with this window we see the lamp bearer at a crossroads. She can give into fear and turn away from Jesus. Or she can go and follow Him.
It is her preparation that lets her firm in her footsteps towards Jesus. And her preparation is much more than the symbolic lamp she holds.
And if you look at it very closely, the lamp bearer, as she stands on the steps in front of the door, in front of Jesus, has her feet turned in two directions. Her right foot is turned away from the steps, and her left foot is firmly planted on the step in front of her, pointing straight at Jesus.
And for each direction she faces, there's a different emotion you can see on her face. Just as she's turning away with her right foot, there is a hint of fear on her face. An uncertainty about what lies ahead on this path.
But just as her left foot is planted firmly towards Jesus, there's a determination on her face too. It's almost as if she is clutching her lamp tighter, and, in spite of her fears, her entire focus is on Jesus before her.
And Jesus looks back at her as He holds the door open. And as He holds it open, he points, trying to draw her attention away from Him and to what's inside the door.
Mainly, a great ballroom with a host of angels waiting to great her.
I direct your attention to this window because it illustrates the lessons we gain from both the Gospel reading and the reading from Hebrews.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells the disciples two things. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." That is, God wants to be there, ready to lead us into the door with all the heavenly hosts and those who have gone before us into glory. Just as we see in this window. And so there's no reason for us to hesitate in following Him.
Jesus also says "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit." Just as we see with the lamp bearer. Basically, we need to be ready. We need to be ready for when Jesus comes into our lives so we can follow Him.
Again, with this window we see the lamp bearer at a crossroads. She can give into fear and turn away from Jesus. Or she can go and follow Him.
It is her preparation that lets her firm in her footsteps towards Jesus. And her preparation is much more than the symbolic lamp she holds.
And this is where we turn to the reading from Hebrews. To see what sort of preparation our lamp bearer has. At the beginning of the reading, the author of Hebrews says "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Our lamp bearer experiences this idea of faith because she does not yet see what is behind the door. Because she is still only looking on at Jesus. What is beyond Him is still unknown to her.
But that is also why her gaze on Jesus is so strong. Why it seems to give her strength. Because she knows what kind of person He is. He is someone who is trustworthy. Someone worth having faith in.
And she has this assurance, just as we do, from what God has done before. In fact Hebrews points us back to our Old Testament story today, the story of Abraham, who at this point still known as Abram.
And as far as Abram could tell in the reading from Genesis today, he would not have a son as an heir to all that he had. An heir to fulfill God's promise that Abram would be a great nation. He could not see how God would fulfill His promise.
And God says that in spite of appearances, Abram will have decedents as numerous as the stars. And even when it seems as though he has no reason to do so, Abram believes, and it is counted to him as righteousness.
Hebrews doesn't end with the story of Abraham though. It shows the promises of all the patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob too, fulfilled. And we can go further with the examples of Moses who was brought out of Egypt, Hannah who's son Samuel became one of Israel's greatest prophets, David the shepherd who became king of Israel, Simeon who was told he would not die until he looked on the Messiah, Jesus' disciples with the promise of life and grace, and many more.
These examples show us that God fulfills His promises. That He is someone we can trust.
And so even when we cannot see beyond the door, as long as we see Jesus in front of it, we know He is there to beckon us on to something much greater.
We may not always be able to see what is ahead. But if we listen. If we continue to build our relationship with God as we have learned throughout this season of Pentecost, we will have His assurance of what lies ahead. And even when we are afraid because we do not yet see all the heavenly hosts behind the door, we can plant our foot, knowing that God will not steer us in the wrong direction.
Having faith can be hard. It can be a terrifying thing to trust, not knowing what is ahead. That is why we have so many examples of what God has done before, whether these examples are in Scripture, the stories that we share in the church, or even those things that have occurred to us in our own lives. Because these examples let us know that we can trust God. Even when we struggle doing so. Even when we have our right foot turned, ready to go the other way.
Through our entire collected experience, we know who Jesus is. We know that when He points to what is inside the door, it can only be something good for us. And for that hope we have, the hope in the joy of our Resurrected life in Jesus Christ, we can truly say, thanks be to God.