Sermon by Dr. Robert de Wetter Recorded at Snowmass Chapel on Sunday, October 21, 2012 Sermon Notes -- The Black, White, and Gray Sides of Faith 1. Distorting truth is not uncommon. Seen in many avenues of life from relationships to political campaigns. 2. What would it be like if we each had to wear a truth meter? 3. Making assumptions without all the facts can be risky. So can making conclusions or decisions. We can be wrong or worse. 4. Stories of St. Augustine and St. Paul. 5. Story of Job. 6. Story of Job has a lot to teach us today. A. Job's life is an invitation for each of us to let God be God. We need to become comfortable with mystery and unanswered questions. When we assume we have all the answers, when we conclude that there is no mystery to God, then we are not letting God be who God is. B. There is a ton of mystery surrounding God. C. We need to be careful when we presume to know God's will. We need to be cautious when we think we are speaking on God's behalf. And we certainly need to be hesitant to say to another, "this is what God told me I should say to you." D. There is so much we don't know about God. Job's life tells us that we cannot always know or understand suffering, the problem of pain, and why bad stuff happens. We don't know what God has in store for every human being. We can't know why there are so many faith traditions. We don't know why some are given great faith and others castigate those who do. We can't see how God will eventually bring all people to Christ. We don't know when Jesus will come again, nor do we understand God's sense of timing. How many of us really know what heaven is like, what eternity will be with God, or what death entails. How many of us truly understand why God sometimes feels present and at other times absent. Why do some prayers seem to be clearly answered while others feel as if they are falling on deaf ears? What is up with the universe and why is it so large and vast and incomprehensible? Why did God create us to begin with? E. While the story of Job has a lot to do with mystery, faith is not all black and white, and the unknowns of God are immense, the story of Job is not the whole deal and the complete testament of our walk with God. There are a ton of things in the midst of all the uncertainty that we actually know about God. F. So what do we know about God and what can we count on? i. Among many things we know that God exists. God is all powerful and is all about love. God is head over heels crazy in love with us. God is passionate. God is compassionate, forgiving, and incredibly persistent. God is directing and guiding and leading. ii. God is a provider, a healer, and a savior. God is just and a giver of commandments and ways of living. God is immanent, up close and personal, yet transcendent, meaning we can't know everything. God is a liberator and is in complete control. iii. God knows everything. God is willing to be physical as God was among us in the flesh as Jesus. Jesus is God. iv. God is creative. God is the source of life. God uses the weak to confound the strong. God is wise and all about relationship. Life does not end with death it changes into something extraordinary and wonderfully indescribable. 7. Key take away points. A. First, if we want to have faith, which is trust, we need to learn to get more comfortable with the fact that there is a lot of mystery about God. Faith is accepting the black and white and gray nature of God. B. Second, when we embrace the mystery of God and accept the unknowns, we become more open to other people. C. Third, too much certainty when it comes to faith can be perilous and paradoxically make us unfaithful. Learning to live our faith journey without a total black and white level of understanding is healthy. The most horrific acts that humans have committed in the name of faith have all come from too much certainty. D. Fourth, while there is much uncertainty, God wants us to be confident and to trust all that we do know about God as revealed in scripture and in scripturally grounded Christian communities of faith. We can trust what scripture says about God. We can trust what has been passed on generation after generation. And we can trust to our bones that Jesus is the deal and the way and the truth and the life. E. Finally, I believe that there are two critical pieces of scripture for us to keep in mind anytime the gray nature of God or the uncertainty of life feels scary or overwhelming. Romans 8:28. Hebrews 13:8.
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