By: Dale Weckbacher
Hebrews 12:2
looking
to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated
at the right hand of the throne of God.
(ESV)
In February of 2012, as part of the Diamond Jubilee
celebration for Queen Elizabeth, the Arch Bishop of Canterbury welcomed the
Queen to a multi-faith event at Lambeth Palace.
At the event were representatives of eight non-Christian religions, each
presenting an object of their faith. (1) While religious objects can serve the purpose
of reminding us of our faith, the Word of God is clear that we are not to
worship such man-made objects (Exodus 20:4-6).
Christianity has the objects of the cross, communion, and baptism but
we are not to worship these objects only to let them serve as reminders of the
one who is the object of our faith, Jesus Christ.
1)
The Cross – reminds us of the death of Jesus
Christ for our sins. However, in the
protestant faith, the cross is empty indicating that Jesus is not there for he
has risen from the dead. As a Christian
I do not worship the cross but instead use it to remember that Jesus is Lord of
my life and my belief that God raised Him from the dead. The importance of this knowledge is that this
knowledge is what saves us (Romans 10:9-10).
2)
Communion – There is a difference in how
Catholics and Protestants view communion.
For Catholics the belief is that once the priest consecrates the bread
and wine, these implements become the body of Christ. Non-Catholics may not participate in
communion. (2) With Protestants, the implements serve as
symbolic reminders of the broken body of Christ and his shed blood (1Corinthians 11:23-26). While anyone,
Catholic or Protestant is saved through a profession of faith in Jesus death,
burial, and resurrection, the belief that the implements of communion become
the body and blood of Christ borders on worship of these implements instead of
their proper position as reminders of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
3)
Baptism – Baptism serves as a public expression
of something that has occurred in someone’s heart. The act of Baptism is not what saves someone
as some faiths believe (3)
but symbolically represents someone surrendering their life to the Lord Jesus
Christ (Romans 6:4).
Luke 7:11-17 records the miracle of Jesus raising a widow’s
son from the dead. Scripture records
that this widow not only lost her husband but this was her only son. In ancient Jewish culture a widow without a
son would be financially destitute with no means of economic support. (4) Every visible object of financial support this
woman had has vanished. She is mourning
and no doubt wondering what will happen next.
Where will she receive her next meal?
Will she be homeless? Will she
live the remainder of her life in destitution?
With knowledge of her plight, we see Jesus, out of compassion, reaching out to
this desperate woman. Jesus’ first words to her were “Do not Weep” (Luke 7:13).
Scripture does not tell us if this woman had ever heard of Jesus but
since Jesus was just starting His ministry, it is highly possible she had no
idea who he was. This means she may
have looked at Jesus and wondered who this guy was.
Fortunately for her, Jesus then went over and touched the
bier, told the bearers to stand still, and commanded the young man to arise
(Luke 7:14). I am sure the widow, and
all the others witnessing this miracle, stood in shock. I am also sure that any wondering about who
this man was vanished as the widow now knew she would have a son to care for
her financial needs. Bereft of any
visible object of faith this widow discovered the only object of faith with the
potential of meeting our needs, Jesus Christ.
As we discovered last Saturday, faith is knowing we need
Jesus, believing Jesus is the Son of God and capable of meeting our need, and
trusting Him to meet our need. We also
discovered that the greatest challenge for most of us is moving from belief to
trust. When we make Jesus and God’s
Word, and not some object or ritual, the object of our faith, it becomes easier
to trust God for our needs.
This widow did not pray and ask Jesus for help yet Jesus
gave her the miracle she needed to rescue her from a life of destitution. Her faith was not based upon some great solid
theology or some eloquent prayer of faith.
Her faith was not based upon observance of some ritual or some man-made
object. No, her miracle was provided by
the only object of faith capable of meeting all our needs, Jesus Christ
(Philippians 4:19).
Next Saturday we will look at the struggle of faith, doubt.
1. Williams, Dr. Rowan. Faith Communities
Display Sacred Objects to the Queen. rowanwilliams.archbishopof
canterbury.org. [Online] Arch Bishop of Canterbury, February 15, 2012.
[Cited: May 6, 2017.] http://rowanwilliams.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/2355/faith-communities-display-sacred-objects-to-the-queen.
2. DW.com. The
main differences between Catholics and Protestants. www.dw.com. [Online]
DW Made for Minds. [Cited: May 6, 2017.] http://www.dw.com/en/the-main-differences-between-catholics-and-protestants/a-37888597.
3. Vatican.va.
Catechism of the Catholic Church. www.vatican.va. [Online] The Vatican.
[Cited: May 6, 2017.]
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm.
4. Henrich, Sarah.
Comentary on Luke 7:11-17. www.workingpreacher.org. [Online]
workingpreacher.org. [Cited: May 6, 2017.]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=597.
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