Walking by Faith

Reverend Philip Stringer

1 Kings 3:5-12

Romans 8:26-39

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

LET US PRAY: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Feed us with your Word, and speak to our hearts, that we may love and serve only you, now and forever. AMEN

[story — not paying attention]

If you know what it is like to feel — or to know — that you don’t know what you are doing; if you have ever had the experience of guessing correctly — or of being sure you knew what you were talking about when you did not; If you have ever been saved from a bad situation because of the good judgment of someone else — then you will understand how wonderful is God’s faithfulness to you, and how wonderful is God’s grace.

Gospel text — always makes me laugh. They did NOT understand. But that’s ok. I do think that they wanted to understand — and that is what truly matters.

Scholars are quick to point out that while Solomon certainly accomplished some great things, in many ways he was a terrible king. He built the temple, and that is what makes him a hero.

But Solomon also did some terrible things. He enslaved his own people and untold numbers were worked to death in order to build not just the temple, but luxurious palaces for himself. He taxed people heavily, and to amass wealth he formed alliances by marrying foreign wives and allowing them to bring the worship of their false gods into Jerusalem.

But in today’s text we read (give me wisdom ... it pleased God that he asked this). He prayed for wisdom. It pleased God. God gave him wisdom, but he still did some pretty stupid stuff.

What we read about Solomon today is not a lie — it is simply a portrait of him painted by those who wanted to see the best in him — Just like we do with ourselves — we want the world to see the person that we want to be — the person we wish we were.

And we don’t have to be afraid to admit this, because we don’t worship Solomon. Just as we ought not to idolize ourselves, we mustn’t turn Solomon — or David — or Paul — or the disciples — into idols.

We don’t worship these figures — but we do worship the God who loved them.

Solomon prayed for wisdom — and it pleased God.

The disciples told Jesus that they understood — and I think it pleased Jesus that they were trying.

That is where the Good News meets us, too.

God is pleased when we do the right thing ... but profoundly, God shows us that God is pleased when we WANT to do the right thing, but don’t.

God is pleased when we THINK we know what is right, but we don’t.

And God is pleased when we remember that often, we don’t have a clue what we’re doing and simply place ourselves into the hands of God, trusting that God will see us through.

I have marveled — perhaps you have noticed this, too — when I was little, my parents were perfect, all-knowing and wise. They were pros.

Then they became stupid — clueless

And then they became people. They became real — good and bad. Stumbling along as best they could. Just like me. In fact, I have seen glimpses of myself through my daughters’ eyes — perfect — stupid — real.

Each week we begin our worship confessing that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We know this about ourselves — and while this will always be true about us in this life — you are here this morning because you believe that there can be more than this. We believe that God is doing something in us, and in spite of all of our flaws, the result is good.

David was not perfect and neither was Solomon. Neither were the disciples and neither are we. They were not perfect — but by the power of God at work in them, they had faith — and to the best of their ability, they lived by faith. And that is what pleases God.

Saint Paul also celebrates this expression of God’s grace toward us:

“Likewise,” he writes, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that same Spirit intercedes…”

And he goes on to proclaim a statement of faith in God’s grace: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

To say that all things “work together for good,” is not to say that all things are good. All things are not good.

Sometimes Shakespeare is right: “A thing is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.” Sometimes we are simply a victim of circumstance. Sometimes a rock simply falls to the left rather than the right and what happens isn’t anybody’s fault. It’s just a reality of life. People get sick, people suffer and people die. It is neither good nor bad — it simply is.

But very often what happens at the hands of human beings is not good — and can be downright evil. The lessons of history are filled with such examples. The world around us is demonstrating this fact all the time, and our own lives — our own hearts — are living examples of this. We are in bondage to sin, and our lives prove it.

Not everything that happens is good. But in faith, Paul declares in spite of this, that somehow — some way — God carries us through — and it is when we live with eyes of faith that we see God and work for us — and sometimes in spite of us — for our good.

In last week’s reading from Paul, he declared, you did not inherit a spirit of fear to fall back into sin — but a spirit of freedom. This faithfulness in God’s faithfulness is what he was speaking about. It is why Luther famously declared, “Sin boldly.” Don’t live in fear, but celebrate your freedom in the Gospel. Try to do what is right — try to do what is pleasing to God, knowing that you won’t always get it right — but trusting that the very act of trying is pleasing to God — because it not only means that you want to do what is right; it also means that you know that God loves you — and you trust that God’s love for you is more powerful that your weakness.

That is what this meal is about, too. This expression of God’s love for you is not merely a symbol. It is a promise by Jesus to go with you when you leave here today — literally, in your belly — in the core of your body and then into every cell of your body — he will go with you when you leave here today.

Remember these things when you leave here today. Be bold in everything you do — be bold in standing up for the weak and in speaking out against injustice. Don’t be afraid to show kindness in the face of hatred. Don’t be afraid to forgive when you are wronged. Don’t be afraid to ask for forgiveness when you are in the wrong. Don’t be afraid to consider that what you thought before might be wrong! Don’t be afraid to believe that God can show us new ways of being faithful.

And in the light of all of this, I would like to end this sermon with a prayer by Thomas Merton — a Roman Catholic monk who died in 1968.

Let us pray:

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

AMEN