Hebrews 11 is often called the "faith"
chapter… and you can readily see why; the phrase "by faith" is
repeated some twenty times, and the role and necessity of faith is described
repeatedly throughout the chapter.
Hebrews 11 is also sometimes described as a 'hall of heroes.' It enumerates those from the past who lived
exemplary lives of faith.
We read about Abel – who offered a better sacrifice than his
brother, not because of the contents of the offering, but because of the faith
that accompanied it. We read about Enoch
– who, because of his faith, was taken up by God; bypassing the normal death
experience that is common to man. We
read about Noah and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Rahab. The author says that he (or she) doesn't have
time to talk about a number of others such as Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,
David, Samuel, and the prophets "who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained
what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the
flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned into
strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to
life again. Others were tortured and
refused to be released so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still
others were chained and put in prison.
They were stoned; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,
destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and
in caves and holes in the ground…."
I'd like to give a couple of quotes from two of my favorite
theologians:
"Faith
is to believe what you do not see; the reward of faith is to see what you
believe." – St. Augustine.
And
"Most
people will never know anything beyond what they see with their own two
eyes." Nightcrawler – from
X-men 2
Faith is an awkward thing.
Christians sometimes talk about it as if it were a quantifiable
commodity – a consumable, measurable product.
Some segments of Christianity are especially focused on this kind of
idea – you can find a lot of them on television, talking about how with faith
and with the right amount of faith you can have that new car, you can have that
new house, you can be rid of that cancer, or your son will be freed of that
drug addiction etc… This isn't faith…
this is a magic wand; and it's not at all what is meant by "By faith"
in Hebrews 11.
In the same kind of way, the lives of faith described in
Hebrews 11 are difficult and awkward. In this chapter the lives of these
various heroes are described – but only the positives, only the good and
godly. And in our imaginations, and in
our minds, and in our stories and remembering and in thinking about these men
and women we can sometimes forget that in their lives they were not consistent
paragons of godliness and virtue; that they stumbled and fell, and crashed and
burned, and doubted –that they tried and sometimes failed…. Just like the rest
of us.
A few years ago I participated in an on-line discussion
about the life of Samson- one of the heroes listed in chapter 11. Some of the other participants were raving
about the need for such a godly sort of man today, someone to lead the people,
to take a righteous stand against such things as terrorism, liberalism,
abortion, homosexuality, etc… and etc…
And into this I inserted a voice of doubt. I wondered whether Samson really was such a
great guy. If you go back to the book of
Judges and you read his stories, really read
them – not just skimming them and remembering the Sunday School lessons we
absorbed as children – Samson doesn't come off well… in fact he comes off as a
jerk, a womanizer, a selfish, spoiled juvenile delinquent who died in a manner
suspiciously similar to today's suicide bombers.
The other participants in this discussion were horrified
(and even angered) that I would suggest that Samson wasn't all that they thought
he was. I was expelled from said
discussion and from the group.
My complaints about Samson could be repeated for many of the
other heroes described in this chapter: King David lived a murderous life –
anyone who opposed or contradicted him ended up dead; Jephthah sacrificed his
daughter because of a foolishly made vow; Abraham pimped out his wife on two
occasions and abandoned his son Ishmael…. Etc... Etc… etc…
My point isn't so much to drag our heroes of the faith
through the mud and slime and shit, but rather to perhaps lower the pedestals
they've been placed on. By focusing
narrowly on their glorious exploits and their holy achievements – we've come
dangerously close to forgetting that these were ordinary men and women and not
gods or angels. They lived lives of risk
– lives of faith – and while they often achieved wonderful things for God, they
also sometimes failed….
I think that it's very important to remember that they
sometimes failed. By Faith they lived
lives of risk and danger and turmoil… and sometimes they didn't do so well.
We sometimes treat faith like something to be found and
captured and contained. I saw a bumper
sticker recently asking "Got Faith?"
Do you have it or not? I'm sure
the driver of that particular car would say that they have faith. Me – most of the time I feel like the man who
came to Jesus with his demon possessed son and said, "I believe. Help my
unbelief."
I have questions.
Always questions. And like the
Hydra of Greek mythology, whenever one question is answered, two more rise up
to take its place. I have
questions. Always questions. I believe. Help my unbelief.
Questions – for me – are quests… a question is a journey;
something to be explored, new terrain to be mapped out, and dark forests in
which to occasionally get lost.
Questions are quests –ions… rather than con-quests. And I think that this fits well with the
life of faith described in Hebrews 11 which says, "All these people were
still living by faith when they died.
They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and
welcomed them from a distance." The
heroes of chapter 11 struggled, wrestled, and suffered towards the goal of
their faith. They were on a quest –
"looking
for a country of their own," rather than having made a conquest
of their faith.
As St. Augustine said, "Faith is to believe what you cannot see; the reward of faith is to
see what you believe."
These heroes of the faith were rewarded – but not during their lifetimes
on this earth. They were on a quest; a
journey.
And here I'd like to quote another of my favorite
theologians, Gonzo, who in the Muppet Movie sang an amazing song of faith,
"I've
never been there, but I know the way.
I'm going to go back there some day." By faith, we travel towards something we
know, something we can't see, something we can't always express with certainty
– but always with confidence.
Faith is a challenge.
Faith is a risk. Faith is never
unaccompanied by its constant doppelganger-Doubt. The life of faith is not the Sunday school
lesson of heroes untainted. The life of
faith is an adventure, infinite possibility coupled with hazard and
challenge. "Most people will never know anything beyond what they see with
their own two eyes." But there is more. Much much more. Infinitely more.
Our heroes of faith quested for it; went searching for
it. Christians frequently call
unbelievers "seekers" with the implication that believers have of
course "found it." Hebrews 11
assures us that all our heroes were seekers constantly moving toward the
promise of their faith, never – in this life – realizing it completely. Mike Yaconelli (founder of The Door Magazine)
wrote in his book Dangerous Wonder, "The church should be full of Christians
who seek questions rather than answers, mystery instead of solutions, wonder
instead of explanations."
We are all seekers, explorers venturing into uncharted territories.
Like our heroes, we will occasionally stumble. We will miss
the mark. We will fail and fall. But all
is not lost. By Faith we can stand up and start again. Singer and Songwriter
Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah expresses this "by faith"
lesson well:
I did
my best. It wasn't much
I
couldn't feel so I tried to touch
I've
told the truth, I didn't come to fool you.
And
even though it all went wrong
I'll
stand before the Lord of Song
With
nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.
Another line from that song is equally encouraging, "It doesn't matter which you heard / the holy
or the broken hallelujah."
Even though it all may go wrong, even if we fail and falter
and stumble along the way we can "stand before the Lord of Song" and
say "Hallelujah" It doesn't
matter if it's a holy or a broken Hallelujah.
The lives of our heroes of the faith illustrate that we'll all be there
with our holy and our broken hallelujahs.
Faith is a journey.
Faith is an adventure. It's
sometimes dangerous. Sometimes it will
be rough. We may step out and see
wonderful extraordinary things in our life.
We may fall short. We may
fail. But by faith we can say with
confidence that our reward is sure.
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