Uncertainty Within Faith
TRANSCRIPTION:
I am Pastor Suzy Todd and I am glad to be back with you this Sunday. I know that Pastor Jonathan had a great time last week. He was threatening to take you all home
with him. And I watched the service, so I know he shared some poignant and insightful things with you from his personal experience with racism.
I hope that we wrapped up that series with a deeper understanding of how racism has formed us and our world and how racism is counter to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is contrary to Kin-dom living. And I hope we all came away with some new tools to to do the work of being anti-racist, addressing racism wherever it crops up – even within ourselves.
Now we move forward into the season of Lent. It began on Wednesday – Ash Wednesday. Lent is the season preceding Easter (which is April 20 th this year!). During Lent we prepare ourselves to experience the true joy of Easter. Most often this is done by using the season to acknowledge and be present in the things that are the opposite of resurrection joy.
We fast – abstaining from food or television or other things to remind ourselves ofthe austerity that Jesus endured in the desert as he prepared for his years in
ministry.We participate in almsgiving – in non-church lingo, that means we give to the poor. We do this to remind us that we have more than we deserve. And we acknowledge that in the Kin-dom of God no one should be without, so we share.
Another way we prepare ourselves to fully experience the joy of Easter is through prayer. We pray to bring ourselves more in tune with God’s rhythm in the world
and more in touch with the people God calls us to love – our neighbors.
Prayer and almsgiving are common for Christians throughout the year. Fasting is a rare spiritual practice – at least among protestants – except during Lent.
This year I’m going to encourage us to up our prayer game – after all, we could all benefit from a little more contact with God.
If you’re not already, I encourage you to get on our prayer chain, where you will get the prayer requests that come into the church. I think you can ask to be added on the contact cards you fill out… or email Erin keeper of the email list… and she’ll add you.
Prayer is a powerful tool to center us during seasons of uncertainty. And we are certainly living in a season of uncertainty.
Let’s hear a story about uncertainty from Mark 9:14-29
14 When Jesus, Peter, James, and John approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them and legal experts arguing with them. 15 Suddenly
the whole crowd caught sight of Jesus. They ran to greet him, overcome with excitement.
16 Jesus asked them, “What are you arguing about?”
17 Someone from the crowd responded, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, since he has a spirit that doesn’t allow him to speak. 18 Wherever it overpowers him, it
throws him into a fit. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and stiffens up. So I spoke to your disciples to see if they could throw it out, but they couldn’t.”
19 Jesus answered them, “You faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? Bring him to me.”
20 They brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a fit. He fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been going on?”
He said, “Since he was a child. 22 It has often thrown him into a fire or into water trying to kill him. If you can do anything, help us! Show us compassion!”
23 Jesus said to him, “‘If you can do anything’? All things are possible for the one who has faith.”
24 At that the boy’s father cried out, “I have faith; help my lack of faith!”
25 Noticing that the crowd had surged together, Jesus spoke harshly to the unclean spirit, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you to come out of him and
never enter him again.”
26 After screaming and shaking the boy horribly, the spirit
came out. The boy seemed to be dead; in fact, several people said that he had died. 27 But Jesus took his hand, lifted him up, and he arose.
28 After Jesus went into a house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we throw this spirit out?”
29 Jesus answered, “Throwing this kind of spirit out requires prayer.”
There is plenty of uncertainty in this story:
What is his disease? We don’t know.
Would it kill him? He doesn’t know.
Could he be saved? His dad doesn’t know.
Was their faith enough? The disciples don’t know.
Uncertainty is unnerving. We like to know what comes next. We like to believe that we have some control over how well, or not, things turn out. At bare minimum, we want to know how hard we’re going to need to work and how much it’s going to hurt.
Life is uncertain.
We don’t know if we are saving enough for retirement.
We don’t know if we are parenting in a way that is best for our child.
We don’t know if our jobs are secure.
We don’t know how many days or weeks or years we have left on this planet.
We live in uncertain times.
The political norms are evolving.
The international alliances are shifting.
The climate is changing.
The federal government is being deconstructed.
Is our faith enough? We don’t know.
There is no way to completely avoid uncertainty. But some things mitigate the amount of uncertainty that affects our personal lives:
If we have more money, then some of the uncertainties are less scary.
If we have more power, then we may experience fewer uncertainties.
If we are in the ethnic group or gender identity of the people in power, we may feel less threatened by the uncertainties in life.
We do not have the choice to bury our heads in the sand protected by our privilege. We
We are Christian people, trying to walk in the Way of Jesus; called to care for the needs of others.
How do we become part of the solution and not the problem? And how do we find joy and peace, love and goodness in this uncertain world?
Jesus said in verse 23, “All things are possible for the one who has faith.” If I can see it, touch it, prove it empirically – then I know it. Faith is not needed.
But believing in the possibilities of life amid uncertainty requires faith.
We cannot see Jesus. We cannot touch the Holy Spirit. We cannot prove the existence of God with empirical data. We don’t know… so we operate from faith.
Faith in God.
Faith that pain will pass.
Faith that goodness will win.
Faith that we can endure.
Faith that there is always redemption.
All things are possible for the one who has faith – who believes what they cannot yet see, touch or prove.
This is NOT a promise that all our dreams will come true if we believe in God. I’m sorry. This is a promise that every situation is impermanent. It’s a promise that God is with us in whatever pain we suffer. It’s a promise that whatever the resolution of the present conflict, we will be held in the arms of God. It’s a promise that we are tougher than we imagine and stronger than we can dream. It’s assurance that we can do hard things, because God is with us.
So, there is no excuse for being passive in the face of uncertainty, injustice and evil.
In verse 25, the Bible says that Jesus spoke harshly to the unclean spirit. Jesus modeled for us the power in speaking truth to evil.
Ignoring the evil in the world is an abdication of our responsibilities to ourselves, to our neighbors and to the Kin-dom of God.
One of the baptismal questions asked in the United Methodist Church is:
“Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?”
Baptized United Methodists say yes to this. We commit to calling out the unclean spirits of this world by resisting evil, injustice and oppression. To do this, we first must see the evil. We can’t turn a blind eye.
Like Jesus, with this father and son, we need to:
listen to the stories of those who suffer.
be present with the world’s pain.
speak harshly to the injustices of the world.
And demand an end to the oppression.
That makes us nervous.
Will we have an impact?
Will we offend?
Will we regret it later?
We won’t likely have the answers to those questions until we act. So, we act from the best information and understanding that we have, because not acting is the wrong thing to do. Maybe it will have no discernible impact – but our willingness to speak up empowers others to speak up. We give each other courage and encouragement.
And when a critical mass of people are emboldened – then… maybe there will be an impact.
In verse 29, Jesus says, “Throwing this kind of spirit out requires prayer.”
We pray for the strength to speak up. We pray for the other folks who engage in the work of justice. And we pray for the victims of injustice.
Like all relationships, our relationship with God is strengthened when we spend time together.
Of course, God is with us always. But relationships aren’t built solely on proximity. When we are distracted, that’s not quality time.
Paying attention to each other,
Listening to each other.
Talking to each other.
Responding to each other’s needs.
That’s quality time.
Prayer is one way we spend quality time with God.
Prayer awakens us to the suffering around us.
Prayer sets us into the rhythm of God’s will in the world.
Prayer convicts us when we remain silent in the face of injustice.
Prayer gives us the confidence to act as disciples of Jesus.
In our culture, we tend to bow our heads and clasp our hands in prayer. But there are limitless ways to pray. We can pray with hands raised or resting in our lap. We can pray with eyes open or closed; lowered or raised to the heavens. We can pray while sitting still, while moving or while lying flat. We can pray with words, with art, with imagery, with song.
Prayer can permeate our lives. It gives us that peace the passes all understanding. The peace that centers us, gives us persistence in the difficult seasons of life. The peace that empowers us to do hard things.
As we move through Lent this year, we’re going to employ prayer – not to dispel the uncertainty – but to help us be more comfortable in the uncertainties of life. After all, the uncertain seasons are where growth happens!
We’re going to be present with our discomfort rather than rush ahead to quick resolution.
We’re going to trust that God’s grace and will are big enough to redeem whatever challenges we face.
We’re going to quit waiting for certainty before allowing ourselves to experience love, kindness, joy, grace and beauty.
We’re going to pray for each other
And we’re going to pray for the strangers who live on the peripheries of our lives.
Some people might be willing to go up to a stranger and ask what they would like to be prayed for. I have a friend who always asks the server in a restaurant, “How can I pray for you?” And I know another woman who often asks the same question of people she sees in the supermarket.
If you can do that, good for you! Do it!
Most of us aren’t comfortable doing that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t pray for strangers. We can pray with faith and hope from our unknowing.
As we go through Lent, I encourage you to be attentive. Look around you in the stores and cafes you frequent. Look at the people who walk through your neighborhood. Look at the people in the car next to you at the stoplight.
Every single one of them is a child of God. Every single one of them is our neighbor. Every one of them has a need, a fear, an uncertainty. Every one of them could use a prayer.
Our charge for this week is to look specifically for the people who, like the son in this story, struggle with their health or like the father in the story are weighed down with worry. WE DON’T HAVE TO KNOW THEIR STORY. We don’t have to know anything about them.
Just pause. Offer their unknown story to God in prayer. And imagine the wondrous things that God will do.
Amen
Pastoral Prayer:
God above all gods,
We come before you with our stomachs twisted in knots and our hearts pounding. We open our computers, turn on our televisions and we are inundated with bad news. We sit amidst a gathering cloud of uncertainty. We worry for ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our nation and our work. We fear what the future holds.
Our minds swim with the “what ifs…”
We come before you to be stilled, to be open to experiencing the uncertainty and to find faith. We have faith… help our lack of faith. You alone can redeem all that is broken in our lives and in the world around us.
We pray for the person sitting to our left… the person to our right… the one in front of us and the one behind us.
We leave this moment of silence to lift up to you those names and situations left unspoken:
PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENT PRAYER
In our lives Lord, give us a peace that passes all understanding. We lift our voices in unity crying out for your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven- praying:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kin-dom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kin-dom, the power and the glory forever. Amen
Benediction:
Sit with the aches of uncertainty.
Stay with the hard parts you’d rather avoid.
Have faith that hope is somewhere nearby, waiting for you to notice.
Watch for the good part to begin to unfold, slowly but surely.
Amen
