Christian hope is not a pie-in-the-sky optimism in the face of lousy circumstances. Christian hope is assurance in the now for the not yet.
The month of August this year gives us four weeks of Hebrews. The assigned readings split the Hebrews 11 roll-call of faith over the next two Sundays. This is followed up with the Hebrews 12 encouragement in Christian discipline. The month ends with admonitions about Christian living in the home and society, even as we look for the city that is to come (Hebrews 13:14). Readings from the letter to the Hebrews come up in the three-year lectionary with some regularity (Christmas, Good Friday, a couple of pericopes in Lent and Advent a year at a time, and a seven-week series in Year B, though the end of it is often supplanted by Reformation Day and All Saints Day), but this series in Year C is the only time devoted to public reading and proclamation of Hebrews 11, 12, and 13. For that reason alone the preacher is well-advised to consider these texts for the pulpit!
There are a couple of challenges facing the preacher of Hebrews 11. The first is relative familiarity with the extended catalogue of Old Testament “heroes of faith.” It is a profound list with plenty of narrative threads to follow, which might suggest an opportunity to fill in the gaps for folks less familiar with the stories of the patriarchs, Moses, and the ancient martyrs and prophets of promise. However, the primary point of a sermon is not to educate folks in regard to history but, rather, to proclaim the Christ and deliver God’s gift of salvation. A narrative sermon structure may, in fact, be helpful here should the preacher decide to focus on Abel, Noah, or Abraham in this first Proper 14 pericope in order to both deliver a sermon and reinforce the familiarity of the flock with patriarchal history, so long as the narrative traces Jesus’ person and work, and in particular His loving, substitutionary death, in, with, and under the patriarch’s story (1 Corinthians 2:2).
I need to underscore the significance of this point, especially after recently googling “narrative sermon structure” and perusing several of the top hits, which model Christless sermons. No doubt, there are practitioners out there with good advice about clearly setting up and delivering narrative elements that drive the memorable points of a message forward, such as plot, character, conflict, outline, and the like. But on balance, the messages I have seen modeled online are didactic sermons, constructed in a tradition which looks at the Bible as a collection of moral wisdom lessons and a sermon as an opportunity to advance the ethical dictates of a Christian life and to affirm Christian ideals or practices. On the contrary, I am suggesting a sermon’s purpose is to deliver Christ and His gifts, actually to kill and make alive by the living and active Word of God. To do otherwise is to exchange your pulpit time for story time with a moral harangue. Be on guard, spinning a patriarchal parable without closing in on the Christ will do no better for your hearer than a “Veggie Tales” episode.
Be on guard, spinning a patriarchal parable without closing in on the Christ will do no better for your hearer than a “Veggie Tales” episode.
Enough critique. I would encourage preachers wanting to develop a narrative structure to avail themselves of David Schmitt’s resources at https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/.
One way to fruitfully conceive of a narrative structure that will track the patriarch’s story with the Savior’s is to consider the typological valance of their life. Noah is not just a guy building a boat. He is a prophet, and he is a savior. His is a flood that destroyed the world and a flood that saved the world. Connecting this event to Christ will connect His prophetic office and the correspondence of His saving person and work to the Noaic floodwaters (do not skimp on water imagery in John’s gospel) as well as a sacramental application for your hearer (1 Peter 3). Similarly, Abraham is not simply an obedient, compliant sire of many nations. He is the receiver of promise, the truster of promise, a covenant fulfilled in his offspring, Christ (Galatians 3:16). The typological fulfillment of death and resurrection in the Abraham and Isaac story at Mount Moriah is a perfect candidate for such a narrative sermon that confesses Christ, although I recommend you save it for next week, when the Hebrews 11 lectionary selection picks up with that story from Genesis 22!
Another major challenge in preaching Hebrews 11 this week and next with no overt, specific mention of Christ in the pericopes, is the fact that this portion of the letter is written to illustrate “faith.” Indeed, the famous definition in Hebrews, assurance of hope, evidence of the unseen, is at the head of the pericope, Hebrews 11:1. This might suggest to the preacher that you develop a message about faith, which you should, but the challenge is in ensuring you avoid the pitfall of a doctrinal lecture and aim, rather, at the goal of giving the hearer something to believe in, the object to trust. Notice how Hebrews 11:6 (“without faith it is impossible to please God”) if read superficially can instill false comfort: I believe God exists, so I please God. Recall the argument in James 2 about faith being more than intellectual assent (even demons believe God is one!). Instead, the faith talk of Hebrews 11 is more about following a promise, living in hope of future fulfillment. “Hope” is the virtue to explain, illustrate, and deliver under the “sojourner-exile” images of Hebrews 11:10, 13-16. Christian hope is not a pie-in-the-sky optimism in the face of lousy circumstances, or a Beatles-esque, “Have to admit it’s getting better (it can’t get much worse)!” Nor is it the gambler’s hope of a positive outcome on a roll of the dice or a lotto ticket. Christian hope is assurance (Hebrews 11:1) in the now for the not yet.
One illustration I rely on most is the image of the new homeowner in the moving van. The cross-country trip will take her through peaks and valleys, but she is not homeless, in spite of having to hole up on the way there in a motel or her car from time to time. She has the title, she has the keys, she owns the home and there are just a few more miles to go before she can finally rest. That is what Christian hope is. You own the property, you own the home, you own it in the now, and you have security in the outcome. Trusting that promise is living in hope.
Presenting the Christ as the sojourner-exile who finally makes His home with you is a great climax to the narrative of any of the heroes of faith you choose to treat. As your hearer’s journey like Abraham or Noah, hear the promise as they did, see the goal as they did they will have delivered to them the object of that Christian hope, a solid, present, secure object to trust, even the Christ. Consider Christ on the journey (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23; Matthew 8:20; travel narrative; John 14, 16, 20). He goes to prepare a place for you! Deliver that place (Christ in His body!) to your hearer this week and you will have done exactly what the author of Hebrews is doing with his Old Testament illustrations in chapter 11. And may you have joy in the journey yourself!
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Hebrews 11:1-16.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching Hebrews 11:1-16.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
