I made them laugh. I made them cry. No, really. They cried.

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"Year of the Bible" Q&As and Pastor's Reflection
(See, I'm catching up! We have questions AND a reflection this week. Can't remember the last time I had those done by my Sunday deadline!)

Here's the question of the day:
Tuesday: What is faith? (Hebrews 11)

And here's the answer to yesterday's question:
What does the Sovereign Lord, the one who gathers the exiles of Israel, declare? (Isaiah 56)
Isaiah 56:8 8 The Sovereign LORD declares-- he who gathers the exiles of Israel: "I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered."

And here's the reflection of the day:
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Heb 11:1)

Pardon me for wandering down the path of nostalgia, but that is where I am heading this morning in Hebrews 11.

This passage was the text of my first sermon waaaaay back when I was a senior in high school. It was youth Sunday and the seniors traditionally took charge of the sermon portion of the service. I can't even remember now how many others of us preached, I just know that was my debut in the pulpit.

I made them laugh. I made them cry. No, really. They cried. Several of the older ladies came up to me after the sermon and told me they cried. I was surprised, to say the least. (I don't think any of my other sermons have had that effect!)

To this day, I still don't exactly understand what happened during that sermon. I didn't think it was especially profound or even terribly moving. What does an 18 year old know about preaching a sermon??

I just looked at Hebrews 11, thought about that definition of "faith" and tried to find a place in my life that I saw my own faith in action.

Faith happened on the stage of my high school auditorium with a girl named Heather. Heather was developmentally delayed, lagging behind the rest of us. I never had a chance to interact with her before we started spring musical practices. We were both in the chorus, and in the times between when we were onstage, Heather needed someone to occupy her time. And so I became that occupation.

It didn't occur to me until later how grateful the adults involved in the musical must have been to me because normally, Heather would have attached herself to them. Instead, I occupied her during the down times and made sure she entered and exited the stage at the right time.

Faith for me was being sure that God wanted me to be nice to Heather, even when I wanted to spend time with my other friends. Faith for me was being certain that God had put Heather in my life, and even if I didn't understand the reason, He still wanted me to be kind to her.

To this day, I don't know exactly what the purpose of our 3 month relationship together on the stage was all about. All I know is that I still get postcards from Heather when her family goes on vacation, which I recognize by her childlike handwriting. And just this morning, one of the emails waiting for me was from Heather, a forward she sent along because it made her happy and she wanted to make others happy too.

Faith is doing something we know is right even if we do not understand why.