Proper 14C – Genesis 15:1-6; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-7, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 – 12 August 2007 - A sermon preached by The Rev. Victoria Kempf for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

You’ve heard the phrase “leap of faith.” Sounds like faith is a leap into the dark. Generally a foolish thing to do. Leap into the dark. Or into a pool without testing the depth. Or off a precipice without knowing the strength of the rope.

In faith we do let go of tangibles, of preconceptions, of needs for proof.

Psychoanalyst Carl Jung was once interviewed on the radio and he was asked: “Do you believe in God?” Jung responded: “I don’t believe…I know.”

The Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us today that “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.”

Faith is not a feeling. Jesus didn’t feel God’s presence when he was dying on the cross and crying out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He felt abandoned. Yet he was also able to say: “Into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Here’s a question for you: would you love God if there was no promise of heaven? Of eternal life? Of reward? Of comfort? Of glory in the everlasting arms of God?

There is no proof, really. Who is to say the Bible is true? Maybe it’s just us. And that’s not proof.

You hope that there are such promises. And Faith is not just a response to hope. It is hope, the very substance of hope, (as if hope had turned into a physical thing) the full assurance in what is hoped for. It’s conviction beyond mere literal seeing, beyond tangible proof.

Synonyms for Hope are: Desire, chance, expectation. Faith is hope made solidly into a verb. Faith is an action verb.

It is not something one has, like a possession, but it is something one does. An action.

We shouldn’t say “have faith” but rather “live faith” as a way of being, which doesn’t depend on attitude.

Faith is an action. not an object that you can buy. (Even so-called atheists have faith in something: themselves, humanity, society, knowledge, science.)

You can’t put faith in a box or a book and lock it up like a creed,     a statement of beliefs. It’s not static, sitting there unchanging. Quite the opposite. Faith is a process. Our faith changes and evolves as we grow through life.

Many people have written about the journey of faith as a journey of stages of growth in our relationship to God and to other people and the growing capacity to hold to something we cannot see or taste or touch or feel.

In the Old Testament we can see the journey and the developing faith of the people of Israel as they moved from a faith in a God they could walk with in the cool of the day in Genesis or in a pillar of cloud or fire in Exodus. To a God who is heard in a still small voice. Or in the silence of the law of God written on the heart.

Faith is an action verb: I faith, you faith, I am faithing, we are faithing.

Faith is alive. And Faith responds to God’s promises by being ready.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus calls on all faithful believers to be dressed for action and alert.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly said that he would leave this world, but return at some future time. And as people of faith, we need to live each day as if Christ’s return was imminent.

But, being ready as a Christian doesn’t just refer to the 2nd coming. We need to be ready to live out all aspects of our faith.

Are you ready? …………… I remember my mother when I was a child: Mother….. lips pursed, and her arms crossed, and her foot tapping rhythmically on the floor. "Aren’t you ready yet?"

Of course, the answer depended upon the context in which the question was asked: "Are you ready to go to the dentist?” or “Are you ready to take that math test” Got a different response than “Are you ready to go to the party or the movies?”

Are you ready? That’s a familiar question that we are asked often in life: Are you ready… to say “I do” at the altar in marriage? With all that implies? Are you ready for the birth of your child? To be a parent with all that implies? Are you ready for the next phase of your life? Are you ready for your own death?

Christ’s return, at an unexpected time is not a trap; it’s not a trick in which God hopes to catch us off guard, not ready. It’s an invitation to readiness and to be active in faithing. Before Christ’s return, we have the opportunity to live out our beliefs and to reflect Jesus’ love as we relate to others.

Faith is an action verb. And being in community we are helped to shape our faith and given opportunities to live it out. Faith responds to God’s promises by being ready.

There was a certain church in Europe that sustained heavy damage from bombing by the allies during World War II. Miraculously, the crucifix, which hung over the altar, was left mostly intact except that a hole had been torn in Jesus’ chest, and his arms had been blown off.

Upon completion of the restoration of this church some years later,

the members of the congregation placed the crucifix back in the sanctuary in the same condition that it had been found following the bombing.

Under it, they placed a plaque which read: "I have no heart, and no arms in this world but you."

I have no heart, no arms … but you.

We are the body of Christ in this world. We are all that God has to work with. We are all that God needs. Are we ready to put our faith into action?

Perhaps, in a way, Christ has already returned. Perhaps he’s already here – in you.

Amen.