July 31, 2022

Commentary on Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16


 

Christopher T. Holmes

Hebrews 11 is rightfully known as the “hall of fame of faith.” The chapter is an intricate, carefully structured, and sustained reflection on the nature and function of faith, highlighting exemplars of faith from Israel’s history.

The first three verses introduce the topic of faith. These verses introduce faith as the quality by which “our ancestors received approval.” The passive voice of the verb, emartyreÌ„theÌ„san, can be understood as a divine passive, which would imply that the ancestors received approval from God (see also 11:4, 5, 6, 16). As the rest of the chapter will make clear, however, those included in the list of faith are both approved by God and celebrated by subsequent generations.

We are told that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). The Greek word translated as “assurance” (hypostasis) has a wide range of meanings, and its significance in verse one is disputed. The word denotes something real, tangible, or objective, in contrast to something illusory or intangible. In this sense, hypostasis provides the basis or actualization of hope.

The second phrase in verse one, “the conviction of things not seen,” stands in opposition to the first and functionally repeats or expands it. Here the Greek word elegchos (“conviction”) has the sense of presenting or proving as true that which cannot be seen. English translations struggle to bring out the emphatic position of the main verb (estin) in verse 1, which calls for something stronger than the “to be” verb. Given the syntax of verse 1 and the examples provided in the verses that follow, we might offer a more dynamic translation: Faith rests in or taps into the really real of hoped-for things; it leads to conviction and action in the visible world, even though it is rooted in things that cannot be seen.

The reference to “what is seen” being made “from things that are not visible” connects verse 3 with the earlier verses. Here, though, a new element is added: the word of God. God’s powerful and creative word brings into existence things that previously were not visible. Despite the plural “worlds” (see the plural form in Hebrews 1:2 as well), this seems to be a clear allusion to the Genesis creation narratives. The Greek word translated as “prepared” in 11:3 can have the sense of restoration or repair (see Matthew 4:21, Mark 1:19, 2 Corinthians 13:11, Galatians 6:1, 1 Thessalonians 3:10, 1 Peter 5:10). The author’s choice of this word here may support the idea of God’s creation, not as a one-time act at the beginning of time, but as God’s ongoing effort to uphold and even restore the world.

The lectionary reading moves from the introduction to faith in verses 1–3 to the example of Abraham, skipping over earlier figures like Abel (11:4), Enoch (11:5–6), and Noah (11:7). Abraham’s example highlights the active or dynamic nature of faith. Faith is an orientation that leads to decisive action, even and especially when there is no tangible or visible support for that action. Verses 8–10 allude to Abraham’s migration from Ur, the familiar land of his ancestors to an unknown land, the land of God’s promise. Even though he did not know where he was going (verse 8), he went out. His active response made him into a foreigner or sojourner, a fate shared by Isaac and Jacob as well (verse 9).

The author modifies the biblical tradition in a small but important way. Rather than seeking the promised land, Hebrews 11:10 says that Abraham was looking forward to or expecting a promised city. While a city with divinely-built foundations can be understood as a reference to the earthly Jerusalem (Psalm 87:1), the remaining chapters in Hebrews make this sense unlikely here. Instead, the city that Abraham seeks is the same as the homeland mentioned in 11:14 and the “better country” mentioned in 11:16: it is a heavenly one. The author identifies God as the architect (techniteÌ„s) and builder (deÌ„miourgos) of this city.

In verses 11–12, Abraham and Sarah’s acceptance of God’s promise of an heir is an additional example of faith. People familiar with the story in Genesis and its interpretation in early Christian literature can understand the point the author is trying to make: despite all evidence to the contrary—the fact that Sarah was barren and beyond the normal age for childbearing (verse 11) and the fact that Abraham was “as good as dead” (verse 12)—they trusted God’s promise. Their faith rested in a reality that existed beyond their infertility and old age.

The way the story is presented in Hebrews 11, though, is complicated by certain grammatical and theological problems. The latter are more concerning. The account in Hebrews focuses almost entirely on Abraham. Beyond the mention of her barrenness, Sarah is regarded as little more than a vessel for the promise of God and the miraculous virality of Abraham. In fact, the text claims that it is “from one person,” namely Abraham, that innumerable descendants are born. The preacher must make hard decisions about how to engage the androcentric nature of this text and the near elimination of Sarah’s experience and her agency in the story.

In verses 13–16, the author draws a conclusion from the examples surveyed in the earlier verses. We might expect a “…and they lived happily ever after” sort of conclusion. Instead, the author insists that, although the models demonstrated faith, all of them died without receiving what was promised. Of course, this is not fully true of the biblical traditions. Many of the exemplars did receive what was promised, at least in part. This tension highlights the author’s theological, rather than historical or literal, treatment of earlier traditions. What should be clear is that their deaths didn’t threaten or invalidate God’s promise.

Next, we learn that the heroes of faith experienced estrangement as a result of their faithful response (verse 13). This estrangement, however, only proved that they were seeking a heavenly homeland (verse 14) and the city that God had prepared for them (verse 16). Here the author offers a perspective that will continue to the end of the writing: there is an anti-social, dislocating nature to faith. Those who faithfully respond to God’s call and who seek the city that God prepares make themselves alien to the world around them. This is part of the author’s pastoral response to those who had experienced discord and even violence because of their connection with the gathered community (see 10:19–39). Their faithful response led to social, cultural, and religious estrangement. But the author insists this was true of the heroes of faith as well.

For those reading and preaching on this text in the American context, the author’s words in verses 13–16 offer a poignant counterargument to the rise of Christian nationalism in parts of our country. At the very least, it should neutralize any notions of American exceptionalism or any attempt to equate God’s promised city with the machinations of either political party. In addition, these final verses invite reflection and contemporary illustrations of how Christian faith today may demand estrangement from American ideals and values, as it caused estrangement from the pax Romana and the imperial cult in the first century.

 

Commentary on Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16


 

Bryan J. Whitfield

 


“People get ready, There’s a train a-comin’. You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board. All you need is faith to hear the diesel hummin’. Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord.”

“All you need is faith,” so Curtis Mayfield’s song from the sixties assures us. The preacher of this first-century sermon we call Hebrews says it too: “All you need is faith.”

But what is faith? The opening verse of this chapter sketches two dimensions of faith or faithfulness that the writer will then develop in detail: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). First, faith provides a guarantee, the peg on which we hang our hopes. Because of faith, our hope is no flimsy dreaming; it has substance and reality. Faith provides a ground to which we may hold fast. But that grounding also orients us toward the future and gives us courage to move forward, launching out into the unknown. The second dimension of faith is that it moves us forward.

This preacher does more than provide a definition, however. He skillfully calls to mind stories that clothe these two dimensions of faithfulness with flesh and bones and sinew and breath. To know fully what faithfulness is, we must remember the stories. In a quick review, the preacher first tells us about Abel, Enoch, and Noah.

Then the pace slows as the preacher lingers over the story of Abraham and Sarah. In the lives of this couple, both dimensions of faith shine forth. They show us that faithfulness requires both holding fast and moving forward.

First, faithfulness is holding fast to the promises of God. God had promised Sarah and Abraham countless descendants and a land that God would reveal to them. But both promises were “things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Would God give these wanderers from Ur descendants as numerous as stars in the sky and as countless as the grains of sand on the seashore (Hebrews 11:12)? That many descendants require one daughter or son as a start. Such a promise was not so strange when Abraham and Sarah were young, but eventually possibility gave way to improbability, and improbability to impossibility. Sarah and Abraham were no longer spring chickens. They were not even summer or fall chickens, for that matter.

Perhaps Abraham could still father a child, but Sarah knew her child-bearing days were many, many years in the past. That is why she laughed so hard the first time she overheard their visitors tell Abraham he was soon to be a father. That is why their son’s name would be Isaac, “Laughter.” His name marked God’s joy in upending human expectations, a contagious joy they remembered every time that they called out “Laughter, you stop that right this minute” or “Laughter, it’s time for dinner” or “Laughter, your mother and I need to have a talk with you.”

Abraham and Sarah also held fast to a second promise, that of land. That promise was equally impossible, for these two were wanderers, pilgrims who set out not knowing their destination. Even when they arrived in the promised land of Canaan, they lived like strangers in a foreign country, in tents, always ready to pack up and move. But they did more than hold fast to this promise. Sarah and Abraham knew that the promise of God is also a call, and so they lived out the second dimension of faithfulness, that of moving forward. They lived in tents because they were not ultimately called to the land of Canaan. That was not their final destination. The journey was part of their obedience, but Canaan was not their home. They were looking for another city, the city with foundations not made with hands, “whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

They did not receive that promise in their lifetime. They only saw the promise on the horizon, beckoning, calling them onward in their journey. Because they experienced the promise as a call, they held fast to the promises of God, and they also moved forward in response to God’s call. They knew that faithfulness is a form of courage that launches out into the unknown, moving into the future with God, knowing the future is God’s.

So how do we measure up with respect to these two dimensions of faith? Some of us find it easy to “hold fast.” We know the stories–stories of the Bible, stories of our congregations, stories of faithfulness and sacrifice. These stories matter because the stories we tell and make our own give us our bearings. They help us work out where we stand, who we are, and what we ought to do, but we find it harder to “move forward” into the future. We are not that fond of tents, and we travel with lots of baggage.

Others of us have little trouble moving forward. We like to camp. We travel light. We ask, “Where can we join what God is doing now?” We are a people on the way, on the move, knowing that the future belongs to God, but we need help “holding fast,” learning the story of God’s faithfulness to promise. We need to know of loyalty and endurance that persevere even when the path is rough and long.

So we need both dimensions of faithfulness. We need to hold fast to the promises of God and to move forward into the future which is God’s. The power of the example of Sarah and Abraham is that their lives joined these two dimensions. In the midst of change and uncertainty, they found God constant and faithful. Therefore, they too could be full of faith, holding fast to God’s promises and moving forward into that future with God. May their faithfulness shine forth as an example for us that we too may prove faithful.

So, have you kept up on your maintenance of your faith? Are there some steps that you can take to tune your faith up a bit? To perhaps get it to the point of “amazing?” What might a tune-up entail? Here are some things I do on a regular basis, to help me keep my faith in God well-tuned.

  1. For me, I need to pray regularly. Prayer connects me with God. Prayer is the lifeblood of faith.
  2. I need to read and be challenged by scripture on a regular basis. And I have no excuses these days, especially with my smartphone - all kinds of Bible apps out there that can give me a daily word. 15th Century Protestant reformer Martin Luther wrote, “The Bible is alive. It speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” Interaction with scripture feeds my faith.
  3. Worship is important. Although I lead worship on Sundays, I have moments when I can worship God in the midst of those services, especially when singing a hymn or praying. Worship also feeds my faith. Author Richard J. Foster wrote, “The divine priority is worship first, and service second.”
  4. SERVICE-Works for Christ- in addition to service to others through the church, I spend time in the community trying to be present and represent Christ to others- at places like the food Bank, Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center, my daughter’s Sea Dragon swim team. In past years I have gone on mission trips to places like Nicaragua and Mississippi to build homes and schools, helping me have tangible ways to demonstrate my faith. Service to Christ and to others makes my faith come alive. As James said in James 2:17, “Faith without works is dead.”
  5. Time away is important, to recharge your faith. Jesus retreated to pray and be with God regularly. In August, I am planning on attending a retreat, Companions on the Inner Way - a time to pray, worship, study and contemplate my faith.

I don’t know that Jesus says “wow” about my faith. But I am striving for a strong faith- one that reflects the light and love of Christ. Through a regular maintenance schedule, my faith remains strong.

In your bulletins today is an insert. Take it home with you to do some routine maintenance on your faith. And, as you leave this place today, may you strive for a faith in Jesus that does not tire, bore, or frustrate him. May you strive for a faith that isnt average, or mundane. May you strive for a faith of great love and service, one which takes his breath away, and makes him say, A Wow! Amazing!J Alleluia. Amen

 

Quotes

Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them. ~ Elisabeth Elliot.

Written by concentration camp prisoner in Cologne - Or on the wall of a cellar where Jewish people hid from Nazi soldiers…

“I believe in the sun.
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when He is silent.

 

Corrie ten Boom-Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.

Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (15 April 1892[1] – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, who worked with her father, Casper ten Boom, her sister Betsie ten Boom , and other family members to help many Jewish people escape from the Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II by hiding them in her home. They were caught, and she was arrested and sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts and how she found and shared hope in God while she was imprisoned at the concentration camp.

 

Augustine “Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.”

 

Story - a plaque on the wall of my first call, near my office door. Used to pause and read it, pondering its meaning - Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the belief in things not seen.”

 

After the death of our first child, both of us hoped we would be parents again, but didn’t see a way forward.

Had an unopened bottle of champagne for maybe one day.

Sent out adoption letters to churches all over Nor Ca. Only heard back from on e- Faith.

2 years later, adopted our first child, Sam, at birth the day after saying goodbye to Paula’s mother, Dorothy.

 

On Wednesday - Was hosting a group of people who were interested in taking part in a build for Habitat homes here in Ashland. Went over at 11. Lunch was at 12.

Found two things that had me worried.

  1. Our custodian, Paul was working on sweeping and them mopping the floor. Would the floors be dry enough for when guests arrived?
  2. The entrance to CH was blocked by a large “Cherry Picker. Two guys were finishing up their work on the trees on our property. I spoke with them and asked if they would be through by noon, due to guests coming for the Habitat lunch. They assured me they’d be done just before noon.

I heard a whisper in my soul - Have faith. It will work out.”

I walked back into my office to gather some things for the meeting and came back out at 11:50. The last branches from the trees were being placed into the chipper. I walked around the cherry picker machine, and into Calvin Hall. The floors were dry. Thanks for the heatwave, God. We were able to have the meeting with the tree guys out of the way and dry, clean floors. I just needed to have faith…

 

But, what IS faith, exactly? According to the Wikipedia online dictionary:

Faith, derived from Latin fides and Old French feid,[1] is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept.[1][2] In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".[3] Religious people often think of faith as confidence based on a perceived degree of warrant.

 

 

Main article: James W. Fowler § Stages of Faith

James W. Fowler (1940–2015) proposes a series of stages of faith development (or spiritual development) across the human life span. His stages relate closely to the work of Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg regarding aspects of psychological development in children and adults. Fowler defines faith as an activity of trusting, committing, and relating to the world based on a set of assumptions of how one is related to others and the world.[8]

 

Stages of Faith

  1. Intuitive-Projective: a stage of confusion and of high impressionability through stories and rituals (pre-school period).
  2. Mythic-Literal: a stage where provided information is accepted in order to conform with social norms (school-going period).
  3. Synthetic-Conventional: in this stage, the faith acquired is concreted in the belief system with the forgoing of personification and replacement with authority in individuals or groups that represent one's beliefs (early-late adolescence).
  4. Individuative-Reflective: in this stage, the individual critically analyzes adopted and accepted faith with existing systems of faith. Disillusion or strengthening of faith happens in this stage. Based on needs, experiences, and paradoxes (early adulthood).
  5. Conjunctive faith: in this stage, people realize the limits of logic and, facing the paradoxes or transcendence of life, accept the "mystery of life" and often return to the sacred stories and symbols of the pre-acquired or re-adopted faith system. This stage is called negotiated settling in life (mid-life).
  6. Universalizing faith: this is the "enlightenment" stage where the individual comes out of all the existing systems of faith and lives life with universal principles of compassion and love and in service to others for uplift, without worries and doubt (middle-late adulthood (45–65 years old and plus).[9][full citation needed]