Back to Basics

“Communion Unity” Icon by Scott the Painter as part of his New Icons series. Click HERE for Scott the Painter’s website. Or come by Rev. Tim’s office to see a print in person!

Last Sunday, we wrapped up our first series together by talking about how our seemingly disparate and separated stories are actually all woven together in the love and grace of God. We talked about how the individualism we have learned from the world around us is not what Jesus wants for us, and how we are called as Christians to an ethic of connection and community that brings us into relationship with people who are different from us for the betterment of ourselves and our world. That’s all well and good, and worthy of our time (or else I wouldn’t preach about it!); however, our next series looks at some of the nuts and bolts, some of the basics of our faith. It’s called Back to Basics and uses a well-known passage from the Letter to the Hebrews as an outline. 

Hebrews 11 and 12 are two chapters that center on faith from the author’s perspective. They begin with this statement: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” and move from there to outline stories from the Hebrew Bible (what we often call the Old Testament) that exemplify faith for the letter writer. The text mentions Noah, Abraham, and Moses, as well as figures like David and a broad gesture to “the prophets,” all examples of faithfulness. Many of these stories are probably familiar to you, and we’ll touch on most of them in the coming weeks together. But, the whole point of the two chapters is to show that Jesus, as the “pioneer and perfector of our faith,” takes the faith we see in the stories of the Hebrew Bible and perfects it. 

There’s a lot in these chapters, and in the stories of the Hebrew Bible, that is worth digging into. Don’t worry, we’ll do plenty of digging into scripture over the next five weeks. What I want to share with you today, however, is to point to just what it means to hold Jesus of Nazareth up as the pioneer and perfector of our faith. In short, it means that we are called to live the way Jesus did – with consistent and constant compassion, radically hospitable welcome, and an unwavering commitment to ultimate, all-encompassing love. There was no one who was unwelcome at the Table of Jesus, no one who was told they could never belong. What a powerful reminder for us today!

In our world, there are plenty of people who feel they have nowhere to belong, like no table is open to them. This goes doubly for the Church which has, over the course of its history, repeatedly told people they do not belong for one or another reason. As we manifest the Kingdom of God in our community here at Lake Cities UMC, I wonder what it might look like for us to extend the same radical welcome as Jesus to the people in our area? I wonder how that might challenge us to step out of our comfort zones, to leave behind our preconceived notions about people who are different from us? More than that, though, I wonder what gifts and gems we will find when we faithfully follow the example of Jesus, who pioneers and perfects our faith. Looking forward to digging deep with you this month, friends. 

See you Sunday!

Grace and Peace, 

Rev. Tim