| “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1).” |
| Dear Friends, This is one of my favorite lines of scripture. God who created and sustains us, the Holy One who called all Creation “good,” made and continues to cultivate a good world. It is hard to see that good world sometimes, especially when war, natural disasters, and random and calculated acts of violence aggressively stream through all our devices. Still, God’s good is unfolding and expanding. The Letter to the Hebrews told people then and tells us now to be encouraged and act according that truth. The letter to the Hebrews uses the word faith more than any other book of the New Testament. Twenty-four times, I believe. And as the young ones and I talked about on Sunday, the author of the letter to the Hebrews used the word faith to indicate a way of life, not simply a way to believe. The author of the letter encourages one to live faithfully. So, faith described as “the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen,” means to live each day as if what is hoped for is already present, even if those things hoped for are not yet fully visible to us. The things hoped for are not Christmas list items. They are the characteristics of the world as God made it: where perpetual kindness, safety, and love is all there is between people, God, and one another. Where God’s intention for us and work through us return the world to its original state of God’s definition of good. Where the agency offered to us leads us to, without fail, to choose love of God and self that is inextricably bound to the love of the ones we struggle to see or understand or love. It is a world where the definition of give and take turns our current understanding of it inside out. That’s Beloved Community. Maybe that is where we start today. Let’s ask ourselves the questions and ask them often. How do I give? How do I take? How do I give and take with my time? With my skills? With my money? With my words? With my actions? What are the hidden costs of the way I give and take today verses the way God intends me to give and take? Where are my blind spots to God’s way? Essentially, this practice of examination about giving and taking is about the practice of living faithfully. Starting in September and going to January (with a break in December) you are invited participate in a film-based dialog series about living faithfully called Sacred Ground. If you are interested in joining you can register HERE. If you want to learn more you can click HERE to read or click HERE to email Rev. Dina. In Peace, Dina+ |