08 14th Sunday after Pentecost Hebrews 13.1-8
My friends, I greet you today in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our lesson comes to us from the 13th chapter of Hebrews.
Earlier this summer I was at a birthday party with Emily. There was a pool, but neither Emily or Daddy had brought with them a bathing suit, so we decided to just stick our feet in the water. Emily was playfully splashing and having a good time. And she soon discovered that as she moved closer to the water she could make bigger splashes. Closer, and bigger, closer and bigger and then she made the biggest splash when she fell in.
Time stood still. My hand reached out instantly, but it felt as though it was taking forever. I reached under the water, pulled her up and held her close. Her reaction? She clung tightly to her daddy.
Where do you cling when times are tough? What do you hold onto when you are shaking and trembling with fear? We all have those moments and experiences those times in our lives. We are faced with times when the shadow of death looms over us. We find moments of uncertainty be it financial or in regard to relationships. We find ourselves in times of life where we feel isolated and alone, as if the very foundations of our support have been yanked out from under us, and like Emily, when seem surrounded, struggling to breath. So to what do you cling to?
It is important answer. Because there are many options for things to cling to. Yet there is only one right answer. Of course that doesn’t sound good does it? I don’t mean to trivialize these moments in our lives. And don’t want to make this out to be merely an issue of head knowledge. But of all the things that we have the option of hanging onto, only one is a solid rock that will not be shaken. We may take comfort in our relationships or our savings accounts. We may cling to our history or our government. There are many different places and things to turn to, but only one will always last, only one will never be moved, and that is… our great and gracious God.
Kenneth C. Ulmer, in his book Spiritually Fit to Run the Race writes, “Do you think that you can have a problem that God doesn’t know about? God is omniscient, all-knowing. Do you think you have a problem that God doesn’t care about? God knows and he cares. So then, do you think you have a problem in which God is powerless? Do you think you have a problem that God can’t handle… Now listen closely. Jesus Christ, the Son of the almighty God, died, and God raised Him from the dead. Here’s what that means: If your problem is not bigger than a dead Savior, God can handle it.”
Now I can’t speak for you, but as I take a look at my own life, I like to know that I am in control. When I am able to make the decisions, when I am able to have a handle on things, when I am able to sit in the driver’s seat, I feel like I am in control. When that is taken away from me, then I begin to get anxious.
But here is the thing. I am not in control. There is never a time, a moment, a second when I have complete control. However, there is never a time, a moment, a second when God does not have complete control. And it is in knowing this that we are able to cling, to hold onto in those moments of life where we are hanging on for dear life because everything else around us is out of our control.
Our text for today is a beautiful piece of the Scriptures. It is written to a community of believers and is basically instructions for living life together as God’s people. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t let your love be so inward focused that you leave out others. Remember those in prison. Remember those who are being mistreated. Honor marriage. Don’t love money. Be satisfied with what you have.
Now these aren’t a bunch of random rules to ruin life, though they can be difficult to do. Do I really have to love you as a brother? And if my sister were here, should could tell you a thing or two about brotherly love. Yet these are not rules for the sake of rules. What good does that do for anyone? No these are instructions with a purpose. They are good and important and things that we as a community are to uphold together.
Now be sure that these things do not earn us salvation. It is not like they are items on a check-list that once completed will give to us everlasting life and salvation. Everlasting life and salvation come only from Jesus, only through his death and resurrection. There is nothing that we could ever do to earn or deserve that gift.
These things are important because when we live in them we find freedom. When we live in these things we find freedom from that which would seek to enslave us. Do you feel isolated and alone? Love one another as brothers and sisters. There is in the people of God the gift of Family.
Does your heart break at the sight of injustice in the world? Don’t leave out the stranger. Remember those in prison and those who are being mistreated.
Do you feel unsure and uncertain about the things going on around you? Do you feel like everything is in complete chaos and you have no where to turn? God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” And because he has said that you can say, with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people to do me?”
When, you find yourself being thrown around and beaten by the waves of life. Cling to Jesus who is our rock. He will never fail you. He will never abandon you. He is your helper. What can anyone do to you?
When we find ourselves in those moments and in those times of our lives when there is nothing left to hold on to, that is when we need to most cling to our God. When life and the world doesn’t make sense to us, we hold on to his promises, because we know that they are sure and certain and that they absolutely positively without a doubt will not fail.
The Lord is my helper. The Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, the maker of all that is seen and unseen. The Lord is your helper. This is huge. He has given to you and me and all believers forgiveness, life and salvation. What is absolutely impossible for you and me to do on our own, our God has done for us in Jesus. The Lord is your helper. The Lord is my helper.
This gift of life that he gives to us is a life that will never end. And here is the cool thing, we don’t have to wait until we die to begin living this life. Rather we live it right now. It is life after death. It is also life before death. The Lord is my helper.
So how do we live this life? What do we do with this life? We live it in relationship. We live it in relationship with our God and in relationship with one another. That is where the instructions of our text come in. What does life look like for God’s people. This is it. Love one another as brothers and sisters. Remember the stranger and those in prison and those being mistreated. Know that the Lord is your helper.
This does not mean that we will not face hard times in our lives. But it does mean that we will not face them alone. This does not mean that there will no longer be sin in our lives. But it does mean that with repentance there is forgiveness and reconciliation. This does not mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us. But it does mean that when those bad things happen that they do not make null and void the promises of our God. St. Paul puts it beautifully in his letter to the Romans, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below -- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The situations of our lives will change, but our God never will. Life is full of uncertainties, but God is not one of those. Our Lord, Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He does not change. He will not change. The life and salvation that he gives, and sure and certain. They do not change. They will not change. The forgiveness that he offers is real. It does not change. It will not change. The love that he pours out is poured out richly and generously. Not because of who we are but because of who he is. Jesus is our redeemer our rock. He is our sure foundation. And though the world around us may fall apart, he will not be shaken or moved.
It is in this, and knowing this, that we are able to be satisfied in the different situations in our lives. It doesn’t mean that we will be happy with them, but it does mean that we know they are only temporary. This is a gift. This is not something that the world has or is able to offer. It comes only in Jesus. And so as we live in this hope, as we cling to him and his promises, as we live the lives of God’s people together, we are proclaiming to the world around us, Our Lord Our helper, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. The one who will never fail us or abandon us. The one who makes us his own, who gives us life and salvation, who will not let anything separate us from his love in Jesus. Amen.