Faith Under Fire

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  April 16, 2023

Click here to listen to the service 
  
 Read 1 Peter 1:3 – 9
 
It seems hard to believe that it was just two weeks ago on Palm Sunday when I preached a sermon that focused on gun violence in the wake of a school shooting in Nashville, TN… and it seems equally hard to believe that the very next day a brave young man who saw something, said something, and prevented a tragic outcome right here at West Geauga High School.
 
Now, last Sunday, I really did not want the focus of the sermon to be gun violence… after all it was Easter Sunday… a day that turns our attention to the hope and promise found in the resurrection of Jesus.
 
And to be honest, I would be perfectly okay if I did not wake up on any given Sunday with the need to even utter the words gun violence within the context of a sermon.  But then Monday happened… and a disgruntled employee opened fire in a bank in Louisville, KY… killing five people and wounding several others. 
 
Louisville, KY… the city, I might add, that will host our General Assembly for the Disciples of Christ in just a few short months.
 
Kentucky… the state whose governor is a Disciple who has even addressed our General Assembly in the past.
 
Meanwhile, back in the State of Tennessee, a controversy was raging over the expulsion of two members of the House of Representatives…  members who had been expelled for protesting and calling for an end to gun violence… although arguably there was an even more sinister reason behind their ouster.
 
And while I know it might make some people uncomfortable for me to stand here and talk about such controversial matters… as disciples… as followers of Christ… we cannot and should not keep silent in the wake of tragedy and in the wake of injustice and persecution. 
 
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is credited with saying, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  And Dietrich Bonhoeffer is credited with saying, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.”
And so, this morning with that in mind… I want to focus our attention on the subject FAITH UNDER FIRE… placing particular emphasis on verses 6 and 7 of the text which read:

 
Now depending on which version of the Bible you may be looking at, our New Testament lesson for the morning may come under the heading, “Praise to God for a Living Hope” (NIV) or “A Heavenly Inheritance” (NKJV) or simply “A New Life” (MSG).  But the heading I like the best is found in the Contemporary English Version which says, “A Real Reason for Hope.”
 
When you turn on the TV or radio or even look at the news feed on the Internet… it can be more than a little disheartening to see story after story about such rampant chaos and confusion… from one mass shooting to another and another… all while elected officials and their supporters turn a blind eye to the devastation and destruction that could be lessened… even if not totally eradicated… but for their greed and pursuit of their personal agendas.
 
If only they would choose to follow the will of the majority of our country… they could enact common sense gun laws that could potentially save hundreds or even thousands of lives.
 
However, the fact is that they are very busy enacting other laws instead that are designed to take away the rights of the many at the discretion and direction of the few… it is enough to make one feel hopeless… because we know this is not how Jesus would have us to live. 
 
Jesus told us to love God and to love the people of God… teaching us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves… encouraging us that, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
 
And make no mistake… the teachings of Jesus leave no room for division and discord or political partisanship.  Because He even went so far as to say, “…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45a).
 
Now when followers of Christ do their best to live by the standards that Christ laid out for us… the standards that encourage us to love one another… but in return end up facing trials and tribulations at the hands of others… it begins to feel like we are living in a time that can best be described as FAITH UNDER FIRE.
 
As I had the opportunity to listen to Representatives Justin Pearson and Justin Jones talk about their expulsion from the Tennessee State legislature… it was not hard to see why they felt like they were being persecuted for their beliefs… and their willingness to go against the status quo and speak truth to power… calling for meaningful legislative action in the aftermath of a school shooting that had left three 9-year-old children and three school employees dead.
 
And then watching how the Tennessee State legislature moved with all deliberate speed to expel the representatives while seemingly doing nothing about the issue of gun violence and the senseless loss of life… it could have easily left people feeling helpless and hopeless.
 
But then something happened… something that reminds us that we do have a reason for hope…
 
So, I want to call our attention back to the two verses I pointed out earlier in our text, but this time listen to them as they are found in the Message Paraphrase:  
Simply put, in spite of the suffering and aggravation you may have to endure… FAITH UNDER FIRE comes out proven to be genuine faith…
 
In the face of persecution, prejudice, and malice… FAITH UNDER FIRE comes out proven to be genuine faith…
 
That is why despite the best efforts of those who were responsible for expelling the State representatives… they held onto their faith and they were reinstated by unanimous vote of their respective county commissions.
 
You may be saying to yourself, all of that may be well and good for the folks in Tennessee, but what does any of that have to do with us?
 
Why am I talking about this today?  Well, because I believe that there is a message for us in all of this.
 
Although the situation that occurred in Tennessee does seem to have been politically motivated… this is much bigger than a political issue. 
 
I do not think it would be a far stretch to say that we do not all share the same political beliefs… even amongst those of us here in this sanctuary.  So, I feel the need to make something abundantly clear… right and wrong… good and evil… are not synonymous with ANY political party… although I am sure there are people on both sides of the aisle who would beg to differ with me.
 
 Now because our society has seen fit to politicize any and every situation that comes up… it can indeed become frustrating and leave us feelin hopeless… as though nothing we do will ever make a difference… as though things will never get any better.
 
But I need to ask us a very serious question… if it is all hopeless… if there is no point in any of this… then why are we here?  Why are we sitting in this sanctuary or listening in on the phone line today? 
 
Is it just because today is Sunday and we don’t know where else to go or what else to do?  Or is it because we are holding on to our belief that there is still a reason for hope?
 
Could it be that we wake up each day praying that perhaps today will be a better day… that even just for this one day… it will not be about FAITH UNDER FIRE but rather about holding onto hope?
 
Hope that Jesus is coming back again and He will make everything alright.
 
Hope that we are able to hold onto because God is still God and God is still good.
 
As the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman church:  
FAITH UNDER FIRE is proven to be genuine when we understand that our suffering produces perseverance that then produces character which in turn produces hope… hope that God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit.
 
Hope that there can and will be better days ahead.
 
And let me just add that the hope that comes as a result of having our FAITH UNDER FIRE has no basis in political affiliation or religious denomination… nor is it based on age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic status or any other demographic used to “other-ize” people.
 
As we read in Ephesians 4 (4 – 6):  
And that one hope is what we hold onto.  It is that one hope that gets us started on our way each morning [or whenever we get up].  It is that one hope that keeps us looking forward to the day when Jesus comes back…
 
And that brings us back to the very first verses of our text this morning:  
It was only a week ago that we celebrated Resurrection Sunday and sang the song, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!”  And, I just need us to rejoice because He is still risen! 
 
And because the tomb was empty on that first Easter morning… and is still empty today… that is why we do not have to live as a people with no hope. 
 
We can face each day with the promise and hope of the resurrection that the Lord has said is ours… for all those who believe. 
 
What Jesus said to Martha as they stood beside the tomb of her brother and his beloved friend, Lazarus, is still just as true today as it was when, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (John 11:25-26).
 
And if we go just a little further in John’s Gospel we read, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).
 
Jesus’ promise that He is coming back gives us a reason for hope…
 
And that takes us to the last verses of this morning’s text which read:  
We are indeed living in a time of FAITH UNDER FIRE but it is also a time when we can be filled with inexpressible and glorious joy because regardless of the circumstances going on around us… we do have a reason for hope…
 
We have hope because we have the promise that Jesus is coming back for us one day… and the absolute, blessed assurance that He will deliver on His promise… for as the author of Hebrews reminds us, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
 
And with that thought in mind, I want to invite us now to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Great Is Thy Faithfulness #86.

 

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