The Audacity of Faith ~ Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 ~ Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

I’m about to say something shocking, perhaps offensive, and definitely sacrilegious: I am not a sports fan.  I never have been.  I don’t watch games on TV, and you’ll never see Elizabeth and me at PNC Park or Heinz Field.  It’s not that we hate our black & gold.  Sports just isn’t much of a priority.

But let me tell you that it’s easier for me to confess this to all of you than it is to admit this to the die-hard sports fans you see in this town.  Not too long ago, a complete stranger, decked out in black and gold, asked me if I watched the last Pirates game.  I replied that I never watch the Pirates.  She (literally) punched me in the arm and told me that I didn’t deserve to live!

And yet, I can’t help but feel malaise for our beloved Steelers and their tragic 0-4 season.  None of us could’ve ever imagined such misery could be possible.  But here we are.  How awful it is.  And the question on everyone’s minds, is: who is to blame?  Who’s not doing their job?  Who’s asleep at the switch? 

And; is there any hope?

Long ago, a man by the name of Habakkuk struggled with this very question.  The year is 600 before Christ.  His tiny country of Judah is surrounded by violent and dangerous nations.  God’s chosen people are living as though God does not even exist; committing disgusting acts of violence, perversion, and oppression of the poorest and most vulnerable.  The way Habakkuk sees it, God is asleep at the switch—doing nothing to stop the madness and protect the righteous and innocent.  His worst fear—is that all hope is lost…

At some point in our lives, we will all be where Habakkuk is now, if we’re not there already. Tragedy strikes, and there’s nothing that can be done to reverse the situation.  A loved one dies.  A terminal disease is diagnosed.  A relationship ends.  A job is lost.  We commit a sin, and there’s no way to undo the deed and its dreadful consequences.  You find yourself in a situation you could have never imagined in your worst nightmares, and you call out to God to come and pull you out of the hell and set you back into the life that was before.  But God doesn’t do that.  Then, the tragedies of life become a tragedy of faith: losing all hope that God is going to come and save us. 

Be certain that the devil works very hard to convince you that God is against you or that God doesn’t exist at all—and the devil will point to all the tragedies in your life and all the evil in the world as PROOF.  And in these times we’re living in, it is not difficult to lose all hope. 

Why else would someone not pray or come to church? Why would someone not share their gifts or their faith?  Why would a church close? 

Hopelessness is the belief that God is dead—and that we have nothing to offer to this hurting world, either as individuals or as a congregation.  Hopelessness is the belief that healing isn’t possible; and that the world is going to continue to go down in flames.  Hopelessness makes you a prisoner to fear.

But Habakkuk picks up what is our most effective weapon against the Satan of hopelessness: he prays to God.  And God speaks back what is truth: God is not asleep at the switch, as all the chaos would suggest.  In fact, God is working in the midst of the chaos for the sake of God’s people.  Evil isn’t going to win.  God is in control.  God keeps promises. 

The challenge to Habakkuk and all the faithful is to wait and trust that God will keep every promise.  And when we must wait, God gives us a gift called faith, so that we can (1) personally know God in relationship; (2) witness what God is doing; and (3) even participate in what God is doing.

So often, we say things like, “if I had more faith, God would’ve answered my prayers,” or; “I didn’t pray hard enough for God to answer my prayers.”  Yet faith is not something you achieve.  Faith is a gift of God—just as hope is a gift of God.  Faith begins when you are drawn into the life and ministry of the Triune God for the sake of the world.  God speaks to you through the Word and in your prayers.  God comforts you times of fear and strengthens you in times of weakness.  God makes you an angel; a living sign that God is in the world.  You become a gift to the world by sharing the gift of what you have and who you are. 

If you believe in God, believe in hope.  Listen as God reaches out to you in love, softly and gently calling you by name.  If you believe in God, then come to the waters of baptism and be born and reborn into me.  Let the waters wash away your sins.  Let God’s Word calm your fears, destroy the devil’s lies, and reveal to you your ultimate destiny.  Come to your Lord’s table, eat and drink, live forever, and never be hungry.  And then, go out into the world as God makes hope a reality. 

Why should we live as people without hope?  Why should we be prisoners to fear?  God is with us, even in the darkest of times—and God is in control.  And though the sorrows of today may still be here tomorrow, and the worst of life’s storms be still in the horizon, remember that your God reigns.  God is doing great things!  Trust in God—believe in hope.