The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

Sunday 25 February 2024
Choral Evensong
Hebrews 11: 1-3, 8-16
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Do we live in an age of faith? There has been much
recently in popular media about how secular this country
has become. And yet there are still plenty of people
visiting churches regularly, receiving holy communion,
listening to the breaking open of God’s word, and going
out to share his love and his gospel message across the
country. Churches are at the heart of social justice and
equality. Churches feed the poor, give shelter to those who
are precariously housed, host children and youth groups,
provide spaces of beauty and peace in the everyday bustle
of life. Through word and deed Christian communities
witness to God’s love and salvific action in the world.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews directly addresses
the issue of faith in our reading this evening. He reminds
us that ‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction
of things not seen’. One way of understanding this is that
faith ‘gives substance to things that are neither present nor
visible’. Faith ‘makes real’ the things of God, which are
more usually taught of as future but—more essentially—as
eternal. A good example of this might be God’s own
faithfulness, through times of difficulty, as well as times of
joy.
Being able to look towards the future, trusting in God’s
eternal, loving faithfulness was important to the author of
Hebrews, writing as he was to a post resurrection
community. The letter was written partly to address the
worry and concern of Christians in the early church. There
was a view that Christ would return very soon after his
resurrection. When this did not immediately occur, there
must have been a sense of concern as to God action in the
world and what would happen to this group of believers.
And so writer to the Hebrews takes us back to the story of
Abraham and Sarah, who had to wait for a long time to
discern God’s will for them. They did not always know
where he was leading them. Yet they obeyed him and
stayed true to his promise to them.
Sometimes we too find it hard to discern God’s plan for us,
to know where he is leading us and how we should
respond. Sometimes we even begin to wonder whether
God is watching over us, whether he is even listening to
our prayers. These times of spiritual dryness are our own
wilderness periods. They might occur when a relationship
breaks down, when someone we love dies, when work or
family life is tense or fraught with difficulty.
This is when it is important to remember the place of faith
in our lives, because just as there are times of difficulty,
there are also times of joy. Every now and again we see a
glimpse of where God might be leading us. Something
positive happens to us in our faith journey. It is something
that ‘restores our conviction, and strengthens our hearts’,
as one writer comments. It might be in a conversation
with a friend, loved one or even a member of our church
family. It might be through something we read or a piece
of artwork or music that we encounter. It might be
through silent prayer before God, or active thanksgiving
and supplication in our daily encounter with God through
prayer.
And it might be a service such as this one—Evensong.
Liturgy has a vital role in helping us to express our faith
and to remind us of the importance of God’s love in all
seasons. As a wise priest I know often says, ‘words have
meanings’, and the meaningful words of our liturgy are a
holy scaffold with which we can encounter the really real.
Our faith gives us the assurance that God has our best
interests at heart, knows what we hope for, and holds our
future. Our faith is a gift of God’s grace. It is one of the
greatest gifts that we will ever be offered. Our task is to
approach the throne of the heavenly grace and receive that
gift of faith with outstretched arms, secure in the
knowledge that the one who offers it was willing to come
amongst us as a child—and to offer his life for us on the
cross—when he grew to full stature as a man. What greater
gift could we receive?
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.