First century Jewish territory
was not a stable place.
Jesus’ disciples, those who have chosen to follow him,
those whom he’s addressing this week,
lived during rocky times.
Land that they had inhabited for centuries
was under occupation again —
this time by the Romans.
The society around them
had been shaped by the Greeks.
Local leadership walked a fine line,
or completely jumped over it,
to maintain their cultural and religious relationships
while not upsetting the governor.
Local governors changed,
their word was law,
and they had a lot of control —
control the ordinary people didn’t have.
The people did hard work,
reading was a very limited opportunity,
and life was precarious.
In this context,
Jesus tells his disciples
“Do not be afraid, little flock,
for it is your Father’s good pleasure
to give you the kingdom.”
As we work through our summer
and have plans for the fall
being laid out and finalized,
I’m not sure how we’re feeling.
It’s been a long year
since the annual meeting
though time is moving quickly.
It’s been two months
since we voted to grow
and we’re making good efforts
at changing how we live as a community.
A few weeks ago
the Bishop’s Committee –
which is our board of directors equivalent –
set the pledge goal for $180,000
for 2026.
If you’re newer to St. Hilda St. Patrick
you can still make a commitment
for the rest of this year
by going to pledging.sthildastpatrick.org.
The pledge campaign hasn’t started
but behind the scenes ground work
starts tomorrow.
After we get through this afternoon.
Having voted to grow,
having started to make changes,
having discussions on Invite, Welcome, Connect
at 9 on Sundays for the rest of the month
I’m not sure how we’re feeling.
It may be difficult
to not have some anxiety
working in the back of your mind.
What if it doesn’t work?
We’ve tried that before,
and it didn’t work.
Nothing can change
and nothing is going to change.
There’s just not enough people
and not enough money.
Is there anything we can actually do?
As someone who has known grace in tablet form
by the name brand Lexapro
for over a decade
I know all these feelings
and know these words that swirl around.
But God is calling to us
so loudly and clearly in our texts today.
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.”
Or as I memorized it as a teenager,
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.”
Abram is worried
about not having an heir
and God tells him
not to be afraid.
To a ragtag bunch of groupies
Jesus says “Fear not, little flock.”
None of these messages of assurance
tell us to ignore the world around us
or skip out on remembering
that part of life are difficult.
What they remind us of
is that God is there for us
and we’re not alone.
“Do not be afraid, little flock,
for it is your Father’s good pleasure
to give you the kingdom.”
Rather than telling the disciples through time
to ignore the world around them
because Jesus is going to fix it all shortly,
Jesus tells them
to keep up their work
as they wait for his return.
The line Jesus invites us to notice
is the line between anxiety
and preparation.
I’ll never forget the first day of sophomore health class
when the text book covered eustress and distress.
Paralyzing anxiety –
which is easy if you watch the news
or listen to weekly podcasts
or get sucked into doom scrolling –
is a path of fear,
and it’s one that’s easy to take.
It’s to these circumstances
that Jesus offers comfortable words
to not be afraid.
It’s to these circumstances
that the author of the letter to the Hebrews
tells us that faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things unseen.
The Good News of Jesus the resurrected Christ
is that the causes of our distress,
the sources of doom for doom scrolling,
aren’t the end.
They don’t win.
Jesus tells two parables today
that encourage us to be ready
to be on the watch
and to do the work
God has given us to do.
Neither the servants waiting for their master,
nor the homeowner on the look out for a thief
is frozen with anxiety.
Jesus tells us
to be prepared though.
That’s why I’m so excited
about these texts today
on the day that we’re having this cookout.
I went to register my family on Wednesday
and we were sold out.
We’re not turning anyone away,
but by Wednesday we had 100 people
who had gotten tickets.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
We’ve been getting ready,
and we are ready!
Between the two congregations
there are 33 volunteers.
Beyond today,
people looking at our infrastructure
have tallied up 42 named ministries.
As we work through our summer
and have plans for the fall
being laid out and finalized,
I’m not sure how we’re feeling.
It’s been a long year
since the annual meeting
though time is moving quickly.
Specific goals have been set
for maintaining the status quo
in a financially healthy way.
There is still some anxiety about the word
evangelism
but sharing the Good News
that we have known in Christ
shouldn’t make us anxious
no matter how much Christian siblings
have made the salvation of creation
into a cudgel.
Nevertheless Jesus says,
“Fear not, little flock.”
We don’t know how the pledge campaign
will turn out.
Like Jesus setting his face to Jerusalem,
we’ve set our faces to growth
and moving from maintenance to mission,
from surviving to thriving.
As we move through the rest of this year
we keep our lamps trimmed
ready for God to act.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
evidence of things not seen.