When the Going Gets Rough...Keep the Faith

Sermon

When the Going Gets Rough…Keep the Faith

John 6:24-35

Sunday, August 5, 2012

As many of you know, I recently moved back to Florida after a very brief four and one-half years in Nevada.

When you all think of Nevada you probably think of Las Vegas, or perhaps Reno. Bright lights, busy gambling casinos, sequin adorned show girls, and lots of high rollers.

Well, that’s not the Nevada I knew. My home was in Pahrump – a Native American word that means “water stone,” or “great spring.” Pahrump, with its 27,000 residents, rests in a flat desert plateau surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the United States. This un-incorporated, truly “wild west” town is the largest in Nye County, an 18,000 square mile area of mountainous desert that is home to Area 51, the Tonopah Test Site and Creech Air Force Base, the site where our nation’s drone missile program is headquartered.

Nye County is rural – 1.3 residents per square mile. It is the poorest county in the nation, with the highest rate of unemployment in the nation. The temperature can plunge to 20 degrees in the winter, and hovers at 110 degrees from May until the end of October. Winds coming down from the mountains averaging 35-50 miles per hour are a common occurrence. All in all a harsh climate in a harsh environment.

When I first arrived in Pahrump all I could think of was the American Pioneers, who migrated west to seek a better life between 1776 and 1890. They settled and developed new areas of this country, establishing farms and ranches that were to feed the nation for many years to come.

I envisioned these seekers struggling to find a safe path across treacherous desert terrain in primitive wooden wagons with a minimum of protection from the wind, the rain, the snow, and the extreme temperatures. Standing in my desert backyard, just several yards from a solid and well-built, air-conditioned and heated dwelling, I wondered “How on earth did they do it? It does not seem possible that anyone would have the strength, courage or endurance to live such a difficult and treacherous life, or to embark on a journey so filled with danger and the unknown.”

It was then that I began to see the desert and desert life in an entirely new light. Moving to the desert was not the glamorous and scenic adventure that I had imagined it would be when I first left Florida. Rather, it was an encounter with an incredibly stark but beautiful primitive environment – an environment in which God’s presence cannot go undetected.

In the desert, God’s presence is everywhere. The intense, limitless blue of the sky; the ragged glory of mountain peaks and volcanic flumes; the miles upon miles of undisturbed sand and sage brush; and, the deep spring-fed pools filled with pupfish, a species that is the last known survivor of a fish species that lived in Lake Manly, which dried up at the end of the last ice age and is now called Death Valley.

Increasingly, the opening verses of Genesis ran through my mind: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1: 1-3)  

My encounter with the desert also brought each and every Scripture story into sharp relief. Living in the desert, I came to see and understand in a new and vividly real way the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, the struggles of the Israelites over the years, and the land of the prophets. I imagined Jesus struggling with the desert elements as he carried out his ministry throughout Galilee and all of Jerusalem. I developed a new appreciation for the astounding courage and endurance of St. Paul as he traveled thousands of miles to spread the Good News.

The desert became, for me, symbolic of man’s struggle with life, from the beginning of time, a struggle conducted in many ways and in many places to seek a better way – a better life; a struggle filled with hardship and the unknown.  A struggle embarked on by many who seek answers and relief – a better way.

Throughout Scripture, throughout the history of the world, and throughout our own lives the theme of this struggle is played out over and over again. We find ourselves seeking a better way. We embark upon a journey of change. All too frequently we become frustrated and angry when our seeking does not produce the relief that we imagined it would. Our courage and our hope fails, and we decide that it just as easy to go back to old ways rather than risk more frustration and fear – more of the unknown. In other words, our faith fails us.

Today’s Old Testament reading from Exodus describes this scenario perfectly. The Israelites have escaped from Egypt; they are in the wilderness lost and hungry. Their hope fails, and they want to go back to the life of the known; the predictable.

 ^“The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”  (Ex. 16:2-4)

But, God, as always, was present –watching –listening –ready to offer salvation. And, so the Exodus story continues:

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.” ’ ¹⁰And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ¹²‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” (Ex. 16:9-13)

God saw the suffering of the Israelites and through his grace he gave them food – manna from heaven - the bread of life.

Over and over again from Genesis through the Book of Revelation we hear the same message. Draw near to the Lord – whoever comes to the Lord will never by hungry and whoever believes in the Lord will never be thirsty.

John’s Gospel message for today is no different. Jesus accuses the crowd of following him only to ensure that they will receive a good meal. He says to them, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”  (John 6:27) They still don’t get it – they want to know what they have to do in order to get on God’s good side. Even after Jesus tells them once again that “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent,” (John 6:29) they still demand concrete evidence. They ask Jesus, “What sign are you going to give us, so that we may see it and believe you?” (John 6:30) Jesus, once again, explains “…the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)

And so it goes, the scenario playing itself out time after time – from the beginning of time. We wander into the wilderness looking for a better way. We are lost. We loose hope. God sees our suffering and in his eternal compassion offers us salvation, not through works but through grace.  All we need is faith.

Today’s world is no different than any other time in history. We struggle as individuals and as communities with myriad challenges. Our church is no different. At this moment in time, literally hundreds of dedicated people and scores of well-informed committees and task forces are spending thousands of hours wandering in the desert, figuratively, in an effort to ensure that God’s grace and salvation continue to be available to those who suffer; those who are frightened and have lost hope.

Some of these dedicated spirits are saying, “Let’s go back to our old ways – it’s safer that way.” Others are saying, “No, we need to move forward; we must have faith and hope that we will achieve a goal as yet unseen.” They are remembering Paul’s words in his Letter to the Hebrews, “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)

What does all this mean for us here at St. Paul’s and for all of our brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church throughout our eight provinces? It means that we need to plow on and look forward, as did the Israelites, the American Pioneers and so many others before us. We need to move forward bravely through the wilderness to a new and better way of bringing the good news to those who have no hope. We must continue in faith:

·        To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

·        To teach, baptize and nurture new believers 

·        To respond to human need by loving service 

·        To seek to transform unjust structures of society 

·        To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

In a sermon given about one month following the destruction of the World Trade Center by Al Qaida, William Sloane Coffin, an American liberal Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist, said:

Being optimistic is hard, of course…But let us remember how bleak the scene, how dismal the future to the eyes of Habakkuk, who still went on to say, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation.” He understood that God’s grace wends it redemptive way through the disorders of the world and that religious folk must keep the faith, despite the evidence, knowing that only in so doing has the evidence any chance of changing.”  

“…religious folk must keep the faith, despite the evidence, knowing that only in so doing has the evidence any chance of changing.”  A powerful thought.

So, my friends let us not loose heart. Let us press on in faith, through the wilderness times of our lives, through the wilderness of our mission as Christ’s disciples, knowing that God is with us always.

“The same great power that moves the stars, that orders the seas and sets the winds in motion, that gives birth to all that lives and makes the Moon rise in pale beauty, this same power stands by your side. You need never fear. You need never doubt. The One who designed all sees you, knows your name, and loves you with a love as deep as love can find.”

                                    Steven Charleston, Hope As Old As Fire” p.90