Words for Worship

Ministry Today

Hospital radio – using faith

 

Text: Matt. 11.1-10

 

I don’t know

if you caught

any episodes

of the new TV series –

Robin Hood

that screens on

Saturday nights.

 

Now if you are wanting historical accuracy

this is not the place to look.

 

For I suspect that

the Sheriff of Nottingham’s men

would not wear berets

and capes

nor do I think that

maid Marion

was an expert kick-boxer.

 

Yet as an over-the top-display of martial arts

wobbled about

an medieval market square,

I realised that

the difference between

a sword and a shield

was crucial to understanding faith.

 

Because, of course,

the shield

is for defence

and the sword is for offence.

 

And in a way

faith can be both shield and sword.

 

Most of the time

we use it as a shield.

 

We deploy it

to protect

what we believe,

to cover the things

we want to stay the same

or we use faith

as a defensive hope

that we can put things back

to where they were.

 

Now that is an entirely legitimate use

of God’s great gift to us.

 

It is typified also by

the actions of Christ

when he restored

Things to as they were

- Health to the ill

- Life to the bereaved

- A purpose to living to the lost.

 

But above all,

the belief

in the saving power

of the risen Christ

in a hostile world

has been the citadel

for countless Christians

over 2000 years.

 

A fortress we need only ask for and then trust determinedly.

 

And this faith t

hat God can make

the bad times good again

strangely

is summed up

in this tale

told by Brett Blair.

 

There was once an old man who had a little spotted dog. The dog was a mixture of spaniel, collie, terrier and dachshund. But the old man loved him because he was all he had. They were constant companions, going everywhere and doing everything together. Every night the dog slept at the foot of the old man's bed.

Then one day the dog disappeared. He was playing in the garden one moment, and the next thing the old man knew he was gone. He searched everywhere for him, looked on every street, around every corner, and talked to every neighbour, but the dog was nowhere to be found. The old man searched all over the town, calling out the dog's name as he went.  For weeks the old man searched till finally his friends convinced him that there was no use in looking anymore. die.

Still the old man would not give up hope. Every night, before bed, he went the door and called out the dog's name at the top of his voice. And then one night, as the old man was calling his name, the little spotted dog came home. The old man never knew where he had been or what caused him to stay away so long, but he was very glad that he had the faith never to stop calling his name.

 

 

Well, that is a heart warming story.

 

And shows faith

being used

to tell us

nothing is ever lost.

 

But there is

another aspect

To faith

and it is illustrated

In my next story.

 

There was once a young businessman

in Germany named Neckerman who had a burning ambition

to build his small shop

into a large chain

of department stores.  

 

His problem was that

no one knew his name.

 

He couldn't attract customers.

 

He had only limited capital.

 

Now as this was shortly

after World War II,

there were vast shortages

in Germany.

 

Therefore, the established big shops saw no reason

to cut prices.

 

Neckerman in turn

saw this as an opportunity.

 

As it happened,

Neckerman managed

to acquire a large shipment

of spools of thread.  

 

Thread was in great demand

in those days

as women were constantly repairing

their families' old garments.

 

The obvious step then

for Neckerman

would have been to sell

these bobbins

in his own store.

 

Instead he offered

the thread

to the largest department store chain in Germany

at only a slight profit.

 

However as German housewives finished

their spools of thread,

a piece of paper

that had been wrapped

around the spool’s spindle fluttered out.

 

It read like this:

IF YOU HAD BOUGHT

THIS THREAD AT NECKERMAN'S,

IT WOULD HAVE LASTED TWICE AS LONG.  

 

Overnight, everyone knew

the name Neckerman.

 

From then on,

the firm

had no trouble attracting customers.

 

And that is

the clearest example

of an attacking,

aggressive

even audacious faith as I can give.

 

And while

we can remain content

using our faith

as a shield –

believe me –

it can be even

more useful

when used

as audaciously

as Neckerman did.

 

Because when we use

our faith offensively

we don’t just stay

where we are

but we break

and win new ground.

 

For faith

as a weapon

has one mighty advantage

over one

that is a mere bunker

to ward off problems.

 

It allows us

to move out

and confront life’s difficulties with an axe in hand.

 

It can lay a sharp blade

at the roots of our torment

and it can chop away

until the gospel of hope

is our own experience

and campaign medal.

 

So if today

you face some foe,

then summon up faith

as a sword

and sally forth to meet it.

 

For that is to lay about

with a will

and strike the situation down

to size;

for that is to clear our view

so that we can see

Jesus’ arm

reaching out

across the fight

strengthening us

till the war is won.

 

Because that is

to battle aggressively

to enter

Christ’s promised land

Where the blind

receive their sight,

the lame return to walking

and the deaf again hear

good news.

 

 

 Born in Yugoslavia,

she responded to God's call

and became

a missionary nurse in Calcutta.

 

Years later this woman

who established colonies

for over 10,000 lepers

in 28 cities

was interviewed

by Malcolm Muggeridge

from the BBC News.

 

"Mother Teresa,

the thing I noticed

about you

and the hundreds of sisters

who now form your team

is that you all look so happy

, is that a put-on?"

 

She replied, "Oh no, not at all.

 

Nothing makes you happier than when you really reach out in mercy to someone who is badly hurt.”

 

There then

was true warrior

for the gospel.

 

And faithful warriors

we need to be too.

 

For positive faith

makes our little efforts

soar above the mountains

of doubt

that we all have.  

 

 

Faith when asked for

Can be our battle station

Against forces

that we feel are beyond us.

 

Faith too

is ever a weapon

for conquest

rather than just

as a stopper

of what we don’t want to happen.

 

For faith is better brandished as a demolishing cleaver

than a distrustful hideaway during personal strife.

 

Because faith

in the beginning and the end

 is as both sword and shield

and is just what

the letter to the Hebrews

says on the tin.  

 

Faith is the assurance

of things hoped for

and the certainty

of what we cannot see.

 

Amen