Practice makes Persistent Faith

10-20-19

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and from our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.

On my way to church this week I’ve noticed another church’s changeable sign said “progress, not perfection.” Perhaps you also passed it this week. Seeing it made me wonder how the widow in today’s reading would have reacted to that sign. Personally, I would like to substitute one or two other “p” words…. Persistence, or practice.

I’m sure many of you have heard the phrase, “Practice makes perfect.” How many times did you hear as a kid, “keep up with the French horn – it won’t be long now until you master ‘Hot Cross Buns’!” Or – “Keep working on that jump shot – before you know it, the NBA will come knocking… and give you a great scholarship!”

At first it might seem all fun and games, but in reality, practice is hard to do. It involves hard work, mental effort, and sometimes some sweat, dedication to the task at hand, and maybe more than just a little persistence.

“Practice” and “Faith” are two words you down often hear uttered in the same breath. Sometimes we think of faith as something that we already have, an object we possess, or we don’t (or don’t have enough of) – once we have it, we can put it up on the shelf for safekeeping, and dust it off every Sunday – or so.  

What if faith was like a muscle? Our muscles can get stronger with frequent use, or they can weaken and become atrophied – still there, but just barely. How in the world can our “faith muscles” keep us going on the rough roads of life when we never flex them or nourish them to make them stronger? We practice our faith.

Not in a “practice makes perfect” way, or even a “progress, not perfection” way.  –We know that one achieves perfection. And sometimes, “progress” – whatever that means - also seems impossible to achieve. Instead, we can rediscover prayerful practices that have deep roots in our Christian heritage: forgiveness, hospitality, using our money wisely and faithfully, singing the story of our faith sharing in the Lord’s supper, daily dwelling in scripture, marching for justice on the street.

Practicing our faith is not a requirement. It’s our privilege. We GET to explore our relationship with God, most immediately in two ways that we hold as vitally important to our Christian faith that help us identify ourselves as beloved Children of God.

You might remember, as our First Communion Students learned yesterday, there are two sacred rituals we as Lutheran Christian hold dear: And they are_________: Baptism and Holy Communion! We call them “sacraments,” and we learn from Lutheran Pastor Dan Erlander, “We believe these sacraments heal hearts, create faith, and bestow freedom.”

Making Communion Bread!

Over the last year, between the Season of Baptism in Epiphany and first communion, you should all be able to remember what the parts are to a sacrament, right? If not, we can poll our communicants – A command from ______, a physical ________, and a promise – of forgiveness of sins or that Jesus will be with us always. In baptism, God is present with us in the water and the claim that we are God’s beloved Children forever. In Holy Communion, Jesus promises to sustain us in this journey we call life, which can sometimes be difficult, no matter what our age.

I had communion instruction and my first communion when I was in the fifth grade – mostly because that is the typical age of first communion classes in the Midwest.  I remember using one of these classes, I was able to recite the words of institution from memory. My mom tells me that this was the moment that SHE knew I was going to be a pastor!

To be honest, I was a bit shocked when I learned that first communion in SECOND is a fairly standard practice in parts of the East Coast. Early in my first call in New Jersey, I remember thinking - "that seems a little young. Are second graders really ready to take communion?" But then again, is anyone really "ready enough" to take communion? Does anyone understand 100% this mystery of faith, all of the time?  

It's not about state of mind, it's about state of Grace, brought to you by the very body and blood of Christ. Second grade, fourth grade, sixth grade - We're all sinners together, after all - young, old, church dorks and athletes, rich and poor. Communion is not something we perfect, it’s something that we participate in over and over again – like a practice – because I don’t know about you, but I need as much Jesus as I can get!

We don’t have to understand it. In fact, most days we won’t be able to wrap our minds around it. But we believe it, trust it, and grasp it tightly and do not let go. We reach out our hands and accept it – the body of Christ, broken for you; the blood of Christ, shed for you. Again and again and again. Week in and week out, keeping us going.

Just this last week, a colleague and friend of mine from seminary was on vacation with her family. She shared an amazing experience of the church at its best, persisting in the face of adversity for the gospel of love and justice… she described her experience as “standing on holy ground.” While visiting her family, my friend attends a tiny ELA congregation. The congregation is all that remained in the ELCA when the rest of the congregation voted to leave in rejection of the ELCA's inclusive stance on human sexuality in 2009.” They worship in a building that appears to have once been a dentist’s office. “This little flock of faithful ones has faced struggles: of finance, of membership, of pastoral availability.” Since their previous pastor died, “they've relied on lay-led worship and supply preachers when possible.”

A week before, she contacted them to make sure that they were still there, in the same place, and offered herself to preside at communion as well. They responded with an immediate yes on her offer, and asked her to lead the whole service. Normally, she like many pastors probably would not be eager to lead worship while on vacation, but she knew the struggles of this community, and their hardship in getting pulpit supply. So she led worship. She preached “about a God who audaciously heals and saves even before we have a chance to show our gratitude” – this was last week’s text, so I hope that sounded familiar.

She distributed “cross-marked wafers into fifteen different hands,” as many members openly wept out of joy. Then she was thanked, “about fifteen times, for presiding at the communion table, by people whose souls had been hungry and were now filled.”

This is the church at its’ best – a community persisting with purpose. This was a church with everything against it, but they were determined to stay open and active, to remain a tiny but potent beacon of justice with the rest of their congregation left them to choose division over love. This church is living out their baptismal calling to “work for justice and peace,” and embody the love of Christ by living out the promise of Jesus to be present to us and to all people in the bread and in the wine, at the table that Jesus himself set for ALL people. They were practicing what they preached – with persistence.

The parable that Jesus told his disciples while on their way to Jerusalem is often called “The Persistent widow.” In the Message translation of this parable, Jesus says, “…How much of this kind of persistent faith with the son of Humanity find on the earth when he returns?” If my friend’s visit to that church is any indication, Jesus just might find some pockets the people of God practicing persistent faith.

Faith is a journey, not a destination. Faith is not a rule book; it’s a relationship. Faith is not static; it’s a way of life. It’s a path we navigate daily. The end result we are reaching for is not perfection, or even “progress”; but instead, we follow the path set before us and traveled on by Jesus – sustained by his body and blood and presence. We put into practice what we have learned and received.

We will stumble, and we will fall and fail sometimes – or even often. But ultimately our faith is in a God who will pick us back up again and walk along side us, encouraging us to explore and to grow.  As Pastor Erlander tells us, “...when we flounder or fail, we trust that the table will always be set.” And we will always have a place there. Thanks be to God. Amen.