Rev. Roland J. Wells, Jr. - Pastor

The third Sunday After Pentecost - June 9, 2002

Lessons: Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13

"Abraham in Hope Believed"

Introduction:

Christians are people of faith; people of faith through the past, the present and the future.

We learn our past, we remember God's faithfulness in our past and we tell those stories of how faith in God showed God's reality.

We live with faith in God in the present; we work hard, we serve, obey and proclaim in every 'now.'

The future is unknown, but is the focus this morning. How does faith play out into the future? I'm going to suggest an idea:

"Faith reaching into the future is called hope."

As we remember the faithfulness of God in the past, as we serve him in the 'now,' we stretch out in faith, into the

future. "Faith reaching into the future is called hope."

I think of a caterpillar, inching up a plant, and trying to reach out to another leaf. That little caterpillar walks her back legs up to her front legs, arching her back. Then she hangs on with her back legs, and reaches 'way out, over space to stretch out to the new, unknown leaf. Then she grabs on to the new leaf and swings her back legs over. That reminds me of hope. Hope is the bridging out from 'now' to 'next.' When we do that spiritually, reach out like a caterpillar to the future, that's hope. "Faith reaching into the future is called hope."

I) Hope in the New Testament

It's interesting that the Gospel writers don't use the word 'hope' very much. The story of Jesus is a story in the present. But when Luke starts the book of Acts, he uses 'hope' seven times. Paul's letters, explaining how the Gospel is lived out are full of the word hope, Paul uses 'hope' 44 times in his writing 17 times in Romans, five times in two verses! (8:24-25). It appears about a dozen in the rest of the books in the New Testament. The New Testament is a hope-filled book!

The way we look into the future is different for Christians than for other people. The future without faith is cynical. The future with faith is hope. "Faith reaching into the future is called hope."

II) St. Paul's- A Story of Hope

In the last 14 years, I don't remember having used the word 'hope' very much, but we've been living it for the last 38 years. From a human standpoint, moving to this site in 1964 was profoundly stupid. Everybody else moved out to the suburbs. Today churches are moving from Edina to Eden Prairie! We moved from one core city site to another. In many ways, moving to a new site in this neighborhood as it was getting worse was like building your new house right next to the new city sewage treatment plant is going to be built. In the world's eyes moving here was profoundly stupid. We had a congregation of 1,200 people back then, the neighborhood got worse and worse for 33 years. We stayed, we worked, we hoped for a good future.

To the world, that move, and our tenacity on this corner was profoundly stupid. But for our congregation, it was God's call. For our congregation, the move had been deliberate; this is where a church was needed; this is where ministry needed to be done; we will stay. We will drive thousands of miles driving to the city to serve. We will move all over the metro, but we will be loyal to the vision we have in ministry. We have faith; we stretch out in hope. "Faith reaching into the future is called hope."

Because our God is good. Because our God is able.

In a few parts of the world today diamonds are mined. They are the most precious mineral on earth. Finding them is not easy. In deep mines, going way down to the heat of the earth, men toil in the absolute darkness day after day to reach those diamonds. The glittering diamonds that shine so brightly and cut the hardest materials come with much difficult toil in absolute darkness in the bowels of the earth. It's the only way to find those diamonds.

St. Paul's has found many diamonds. We have worked in an area many would call darkness. But God's call has brought us here, we have faith and that faith moved us to look into 38 years of work with hope.

Now, amazingly, we find ourselves looking to an outcome we haven't expected for many years. All of a sudden our world has changed. Starting in '97 the crack wars ended, and our neighborhood began to change- the Honeywell building project homes were built on Portland about '98, and all of a sudden we hit critical mass.

14 years ago last month, before I accepted your call, I drove one time around downtown Minneapolis. I came to the first Council meeting and said, "In 20 years downtown has to move this way, it's the only way left to grow. We have to get ready. The neighborhood will change."

God has been good in leading us. We have stood on faith, reached out in hope. In the middle of the crack wars of '96-'97, it looked impossible. We stood in faith, not faith in the change of the neighborhood, nor faith in my prophesying, but faith in a good Lord who brought us through tough times, and would lead us through whatever the future brought.

III) A Future of Hope - A Word of Gospel

But now, things are changing fast, and we need to carefully read the way the winds blow. For 38 years it's been impossible to build a sustaining congregation from our neighborhood. We have mostly done ministry to the neighborhood, not built a congregation from the neighborhood. Our neighbors have been people who live here for very short periods of time. That is changing fast. We are going to have hundreds of stable, fairly long-term neighbors. They will be people of many races, people who will be young folks, married folks without kids, empty-nesters and retired folks. They are people who will have needs, and many will be unchurched or de-churched. (Turned off from church.) We will need to look carefully at our program, and consider what kind of church, and what kind of program will best meet the needs of these folks, so we can reach them. We will not change our theology, nor what we hold as important, but dollars to doughnuts, our program will change, maybe our staffing will change, our membership will change, and you might come some Sunday and find your greatest fear, the most offensive thing of all has happened- somebody new is sitting in your pew.

In last Sunday's sermon I talked about the Gospel; we said that when we tell the story about Jesus, that's the Gospel. When we talk about his work in our midst, that is the Gospel. It's enfleshed through us. And hope is also when we stretch the faith of the past and present into the hope of the future.

Hope is being exercised when we look at the challenges of now, of how we are going to move to the future, moving forward with deep and abiding hope. "Faith reaching into the future is called hope." To hope is to look into the future with faith.

We face a time when many young people are coming to this neighborhood. Some will be single parents. Many will be of other cultures. We need to study these folks. Some will be single folks, and that will be a group very consistent with our past. We're used to single young folks from LBI, Lutheran Deaconess and Luther Seminary. But we need to review again our work with this age group as we enter a new generation.

We're probably going to have some couples who have two careers, and have decided not to have children. We need to look at their needs. We will have some folks who move downtown because they're empty nesters, who want to live closer to work, not do yard work, and be closer to the vibrant core city. We need to look at the needs of these aging baby boomers.

As we've re-built our building, and built our program, we've begun to get ready for these new folks. We still have much to do to get this building spiffed up. But even more importantly, we need to study who are new neighbors are, plan our program, and boldly reach out. We have a wonderful amount of work to do.

Meanwhile, our School of Urban ministry is gaining local and national attention. We expect a much larger student population this fall, and Woodland Hills (Greg Boyd's) Church in St. Paul contacted us this week about setting up a satellite site in St. Paul. Connections with colleges and evangelical churches are expanding, and our board is working to put the course into a notebook format, so that we can have satellite national sites up and running within three years.

For so many years we have kept on going, doing faithful work, struggling and struggling. The struggle is nowhere near over. In some ways it is just beginning. But the time of rebuilding is here. We're at a major turning point in our neighborhood and our congregation. And the call is to faithfulness...and hope. "Faith reaching into the future is called hope." Our Lord is able. Our Lord has been faithful in every challenge for 130 years. He is good. And we can have hope. We can have lots of hope. It's time to be inchworms into the future. We worship the Lord of the future.

Conclusion

Abraham, and all God's people who received his promises throughout history, our lesson tells us, live in hope. That's a word the world can't understand or experience. But you can, and you will; Invitation, Amen.

3^rd Sunday After Pentecost - June 9, 2002

Romans 4:13-25

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. [14] For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, [15] because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

[16] Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. [17] As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

[18] Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." [19] Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. [20] Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, [21] being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. [22] This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." [23] The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, [24] but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. [25] He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

[10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

[12] On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

[18] While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live." [19] Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

[20] Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. [21] She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

[22] Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

[23] When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, [24] he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. [25] After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. [26] News of this spread through all that region.