Hebrews 11: 1-13 Advent Devotional

Advent Devotional for Thursday, December 11, 2008

Week 2: HOPE

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain's. Through this he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and "he was found no more because God had taken him." Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age--and Sarah herself was sterile--for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth.

Hebrews 11: 1-13

One of my most inquisitive and persistent students, Brittney, was bemoaning again the fact that she “had no faith.” She said she wished she had faith. She wanted faith just like everyone else. Why was she the one person in this school without faith? (It seemed to me, however, that if she truly lacked faith, she wouldn’t have cared so much; nor would it have been such a source of distress. So somewhere inside, she actually DID have faith.)

On this particular day another teacher working in the faculty office overheard us having the “faith conversation” for the millionth time; and on this occasion, Ms. T. turned to Brittney and said, “You’re confusing faith and belief, dear. Faith is a stance.” And then she turned back around and continued her work.

I’m not quite sure the statement had the desired effect on my student (as a matter of fact, I know it did not, because the “faith conversation” goes on and on ‘til this day) but the words went straight to my heart.

Faith is not so much about what you think or what you believe in your head, faith is the whole way you approach your life. It’s the place where what you think and believe become realized in how you live and eventually in who you are. It prescribes the way you get up in the morning, how you greet everyone you meet during the day, the way you spend your time and resources, and how you end your day – and everything in between.

The ancients described in the Hebrews reading for today exemplify just such an understanding of faith. They are not remembered and honored for the orthodoxy of their beliefs or the loftiness of their thoughts. They are held up as models of faith because their living testified to the faithfulness of God. They lived “as if” every promise made and every Word spoken were as real and unshakeable as a mountain.

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; and, if necessary, use words.”

This preaching Good News with our lives is the essence of faith to me. The Word becomes flesh in everything we do, and in the people we are. Could there possibly be any other Advent practice so meaningful or any Christmas gift so complete?

By Virginia Malloy, Campus Minister