“The Gift of Faith”

Rev. Deacon Ken Boccino Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent the February 28,  2021
Good Morning! We are now turning the corner into month of March with a sense of what I believe is great anticipation to see all the remaining snow piles go away with a fervent wish for the coming of Springtime. Creation begins its annual “rebirth” - trees and flowers bloom, grass turns a bold green and grows so fast you can almost watch it, people (like hibernating animals) emerge from their homes, and spring sports begin. A response that I often hear in conversation when waiting in anticipation for something is...”have faith, my friend”. We often here this term, “have faith”, and in context – what does that really mean? I think our Scripture readings today do a “bang up” and particularly clear job in giving some us an idea of what “faith” means to us as Christians in our daily lives as well as on our ultimate journey to be with God to experience “salvation and everlasting life” that Jesus promised in his teaching. What does the term “faith” mean to you – and this is NOT a Catechism question for my other former Roman Catholic brothers and sisters. But I really DO like this question. Please don't be surprised if I used this one again in the future as a way to kickoff a bible study and small group question. But truly – what does faith mean to you? For me, I generally like NOT to overcomplicate things when seeking further understanding so to any theological scholars out there – my definition may seem a bit lame. For me, faith is the ability to accept something without seeing or touching it, knowing a “The Gift of Faith” 2/28/2021 – 2 nd Sunday in Lent Episcopal Church of the Saviour, Denville, NJ Rev. Deacon Ken Boccino Page 2 of 6 lot about it or having any proof that it really exists. I believe (something that I believe goes hand in hand with faith) that I'll have a great lawn this year, I believe that I will get my taxes done on time and I also believe that God created us and Jesus is our Savior who died for our since for salvation and eternal life. For these we do not necessarily have empirical proof that it will happen or it exists, but our FAITH gives us sense of comfort and can strengthen a sense of certainty, given a determined effort on our part. I'll come back to this a little later... The term “faith” appears 8 times in today's appointed Scripture (at least from the New Revised Standard Version) and the Old Testament, the Epistle and Gospel weaves a beautiful testimony of “faith” for 3 of the most prominent figures in The Bible: Abraham, Sarah and Jesus. In Genesis, The Lord Yahweh appears to Abram and the Lord establishes a Covenant between them. This covenant establishes Abram (now Abraham) as the Father of the Jewish nation through God's promise to become the ancestor of “a multitude of nations...”. At the Lord's command, Abraham picks himself from from Ur – a city in then Mesopotamia and moves Canaan – a trip of what is believe to be over 7,500 miles. This was a land that neither he nor (Sarai) Sarah knew nothing about and based the foundation of taking on this journey solely on God's command and their steadfast faith that they would arrive safely and Yahweh would live up to the his end of the bargain. They didn't have a GPS, AAA Trip-Tiks or much less a papyrus map to show them they way, but they did have their faith in the Almighty. “The Gift of Faith” 2/28/2021 – 2 nd Sunday in Lent Episcopal Church of the Saviour, Denville, NJ Rev. Deacon Ken Boccino Page 3 of 6 I'd like to talk first about the Gospel before Paul's Epistle since that this excerpt provides an excellent segue between the Old Testament Scripture and the Gospel. In Mark's reading today, Jesus is preparing his Disciples of what was foretold and is to come. He will be betrayed by his “own people”, sentenced to death, crucified and be raised from the dead. Thinking that this is totally preposterous, Peter takes Jesus aside and suggest that he not speak this way and is rebuked by Jesus saying - “hey Peter, your mind is in the wrong place - don't you believe me – where is your faith that I'm really speaking the truth”? While Jesus is trying to get Paul back on track and prepare for this final journey with his “face set for Jerusalem” (as its written in Luke) to fulfill Scripture and God's will. Surely this must have been a tremendous act of faith – Jesus trusting in God with what was about to happen and knowing that this would be pivotal for humankind and a game changer for our future relationship with God in an entirely new type of covenant. This new covenant was nothing about the obedience and the law, but was based on love, repentance and forgiveness. I believe that Paul here is the glue that ties these to accounts together and it is done quite cohesively (something that I don't always see in Paul). It's in Paul's writings where 7 of the 8 times that faith is used in our readings today, so I guess it's easy to tell what he's getting at. Paul makes a strong connection between what drove Abraham and Sarah on a 7,500 mile – 40 day journey journey to a land they knew nothing about. I sense it would be like someone telling us to pick up our family from Northern New Jersey and resettling in Bemidji, Minnesota or Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – although I'm sure that they are really nice places. Paul writes....”the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law, but through the righteousness of faith...” It was “The Gift of Faith” 2/28/2021 – 2 nd Sunday in Lent Episcopal Church of the Saviour, Denville, NJ Rev. Deacon Ken Boccino Page 4 of 6 their believe in the Lord God and their hope that drove their faith to fulfill God's command. Paul then binds a connection to Christians, stating “it was reckoned with him” - signifying God and Abraham – but also applicable to us in our relationship with Jesus Christ as it “will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead” - Abraham's God is our God. And the very same God who fulfilled the promises to Abraham will fulfill the promises made to us in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. And now as promised (or threatened as some may believe), I'd like to return to my earlier thought. What DOES faith mean to you? We have 2 biblical stories of faith in action and there are so many more recounts on act of 'unconditional faith' in the Bible which we resonate with – or not so much. My friends, faith is the fiber which connects us to God. Much like Abraham and Sarah – through our belief and hope our faith let's us “know” (and not guess) that we are God's children. Through our faith we also know that we are loved and being cared for. I stated earlier that for me, faith is know that something or someone exists without being able to see or hear or touch or have solid data as to their existence. I also believe that there is more to that – faith is a gift. Faith is a gift given to us by the Grace of God which allows us to be in relationship with God and with God's creation. Faith gives us the wisdom on how to be in that very relationship with God and how we interact with each other as human beings and more so as Loving Christians. With it being a gift and something is not instinctive or rooted in our DNA, it is something that is to be fostered and developed. Our relationship with God and Jesus Christ our Savior is one that we should continue to nurture and deepen through our life experiences, personal relationships and Christian practices. I like to “The Gift of Faith” 2/28/2021 – 2 nd Sunday in Lent Episcopal Church of the Saviour, Denville, NJ Rev. Deacon Ken Boccino Page 5 of 6 equate it to a solid, meaningful friendship. Long-time friendships are a wonderful thing to have and in many cases are “low maintenance”. You know everything there is to know about each other, you know what you both like to do and what sustains your friendships. In contrast, do you have one of those friendships – regardless of its longevity, one that continues to grow – where you constantly learn a little more about each other over time and seek out different experiences and conversations? I'm blessed to have a few of those friendships and they are based on the continued growth and “freshness” of that relationship. I like to hope that is the same approach I take with my relationship with God – finding different ways to connect and deepen that relationship. There is really no “set time” in our Liturgical Calendar to set aside for this practice as it should be ongoing, Lent is an opportune time explore your relationship with our Creator and his son, Our Savior. It is a time of reflection and opportunity to explore and deepen your relationship with God. There are a “multitude” (from today's Scripture) of ways to do that – offerings through COTS (Bible Study, Racial Reconciliation, Centering Prayer), through the Diocese and so many other sources. If you would like to explore these further, please reach out to George or me. Lent is a season of Penitence, but it can also be a season of renewal – exploring your deepening relationship with God not only for the long-term promise of everlasting life, but in our everyday lives. Jesus did it – by calling the 12 disciples and equipping them to travel with him through Canaan and the surrounding areas teaching and healing (know his ultimate fate) but also in his final days as he “set his face to Jerusalem” “The Gift of Faith” 2/28/2021 – 2 nd Sunday in Lent Episcopal Church of the Saviour, Denville, NJ Rev. Deacon Ken Boccino Page 6 of 6 knowing what was to happen, preparing and caring for those around him. By who we ​are and what we do for God, others and ourselves in the name of Jesus show our Creator in Heaven that we are truly grateful and appreciated of our gift of faith. AMEN