At Arm's Length

At Arm’s Length Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-19 Anybody here wear bifocals? I remember when I first got mine; it took awhile to get used to them. Going down stairs was most disconcerting, like, where are the stairs, they’re out there somewhere. I didn’t have any sense of depth or distance. Today, I take them off to read sometimes or when I’m digging out a sliver, so much for the bifocals. On the other hand, it is interesting how some things look better, more focused when held at a little distance. I am reminded of touring an art gallery. I like to get up close to a painting and see the detail of the artist's work, but at that distance you can't really focus on the larger picture. It is only when you stand back at a distance that the real beauty of the picture and the talent of the artist can be appreciated. I am both nearsighted in one eye and farsighted in the other. Is that the best of both worlds? I’m not so sure, but there are advantages for both. Having a measure of farsightedness, road signs come more sharply into focus, as do deer in the field or birds in a tree. Have you ever been able to spot a hummingbird in a tree? That’s cool when you do. Try finding a tree frog. Farsightedness - it seems as though God has always had a tendency to deal more seriously with humans who are farsighted. Have you ever wondered why Abraham was not contacted by the Lord until he was 75 years old, or Moses when he was 80? Perhaps it was because, that in order for Abraham to remain faithful to the covenant, he needed to have the ability to keep focused on God’s promise, from a distance. Yale psychologist Robert Sternberg revealed a fascinating and frustrating tendency in human relationships in his book, The Triangle of Love: Intimacy, Passion, Commitment. In examining the rules of personal engagement or attachment, one with another, he addresses that strange contradiction that seems to support everything our mother/father ever told us about playing "hard to get." Did anyone ever play that game in school or thereafter? If you like someone and want their attention or even their affections, you play “hard to get.” It seems that whenever one person in a relationship wants more closeness, his or her natural response is to try to reach out and pull the partner nearer. Unfortunately, the partner's natural, initial reaction is almost always to pull away. "The best strategy," Stenberg argues, "is to become less involved yourself. If you are able to bring your involvement to a point lower than that of your partner, you may actually find he or she will come closer to you, rather than pull away." "To achieve greater closeness," this psychologist argues, "you may actually have to start by looking for some 2 distance," or by keeping the other at arm's length. I’d be careful about using this tactic too much in an ongoing relationship; it may backfire, but it is one dynamic for looking at a relationship from a distance, for insight, that might actually bring you closer. Perhaps this human trait of wanting to be too close is what kept God's promise to Abraham just out of sight for the first wandering generations of the faithful. Abraham was undoubtedly under a great temptation and pressure from his own family and people to throw in his lot with the pagan worshipers of Canaan. But if God had been too close at hand, if God had immediately answered his call, would Abraham's striving after faithfulness have been so fervent? If the Promised Land had been given within the year, would the clan of Abraham have retained its singular identity and purpose? Consider the identity of Israel today, after their exile for nearly 1900 years, after the Holocaust, now to be reconstituted and flourishing as a nation. Their identity and faith is enriched and reinforced just because of their having to look from a distance for the fulfillment of God. Faith requires distance for it to be true faith. We have here a two-step definition for faith as one, "the assurance of things hoped for," and two, "the conviction of things not seen." We are free and even encouraged to believe beyond the limits of the practical, the temporal, or even the possible. Our ancestors, who proved themselves faithful, received back, God's faith in them. Abraham believes in God's promises, the promises of land, of offspring, of steadfast companionship. Then, Abraham acts on his belief, striking out with the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen, for the unknown land of Canaan. Got a story… A woman phoned a seminary president one Saturday night. "Dr. Miller, what do I believe?" she asked. "What do you mean?" Dr. Miller was not sure he had heard her correctly. "I mean," she said, "what do I believe? You see, I've just come from a party where several people got into a discussion about various beliefs. One woman was Jewish, and she told us what she believes as a Jew. Another was Roman Catholic, and she told us what Catholics believe. Somebody was a Christian Scientist, and he talked about what they believe. I was the only Protestant in the group, and frankly, I didn't know what to say. What do I believe?" 3 "That woman," said Dr. Miller, "must have come into the church on the confusion of faith, not the confession of faith.” May we have “a reason for the hope that is in us” (I Peter 3:15) to begin with, so we can act on our belief. Then, let us so live, that when we tell someone we are a Christian, it confirms their suspicions in us instead of surprising them. Can people see who you truly are, as God’s most faithful, at arm's length? Next, may we look to the future. A farsighted view of life's dreams and expectations can stretch out before us, full of infinite possibilities - even while our up-close reality is as gritty as working at McDonald's, while going to school, or staying home with pre-school children or grandchildren, or facing last month's rental bill with this month's Social Security check. May we look up and outward to the promises and possibilities of tomorrow. Bette Midler popularized a remarkable song that speaks about the positive power of keeping a farsighted focus. All the lyrics are moving, but the second stanza of "From a Distance" is especially poignant and pertinent. “From a distance we all have enough and no one is in need. There are no guns, no bombs, no diseases, no hungry mouths to feed. From a distance we are instruments marching in a common bond; playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace, they are the songs of every man. God is watching us… From a distance.” Question: What does God see? It is our commitment to faithfulness that creates the difference between merely staring at today through rose-colored glasses or having a farsighted vision. Faithfulness is the corrective lens that keeps our vision in sharp focus. Faithfulness keeps the vision moving on. Take a moment with me now and squint your mind’s eye in the direction of the next five years. (Pause) What are you seeing? What would you like to see? What comes into focus as issues that our church must address in order to embody faith, take a risk, and bring about real change? Can you see through the eyes of faith at arm’s length or even from a distance? Do you see the vision God’s given you for the church? Now sear it into your mind and heart and in faithfulness – go for it.