“Faith Like Never Before”

Meditation on Luke 7:1-10

June 2, 2013

***

      After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’ 

    And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ 

    When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ 

    When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

***

      In a few hours, another class of seniors will graduate from RCW.  Ebenezer is excited and proud that four of the new graduates are members of our congregation—children who were baptized here and nurtured in our church family since they were small.  They attended our Sunday school.  They were confirmed here.   And just a few weeks ago, the elders gathered to pray a blessing over them during worship.  We prayed that the Spirit would continually guide and protect them as they seek God’s Will for their lives.

    But what we really want for our young people, nurtured in the Lord since birth, is that they would have what researchers at the Fuller Youth Institute call a “sticky faith.” 

       A recent article in The Christian Century magazine tells how the institute conducted a comprehensive study of teens and faith from 2004 to 2010.  The findings are published in a 2011 book, Sticky Faith: Practical Ideas to Nurture Long-Term Faith in Teenagers by Kara E. Powell, Brad M. Griffin, and Cheryl A. Crawford.

       The authors define “sticky faith” as one that is part of a student’s inner thoughts and emotions and is also externalized in choices and actions that reflect this faith commitment. It celebrates God’s specific care for each person in the global and local community of the church and shows marks of spiritual maturity but is also in the process of growth.

      Why bother to do such a study?  Because 40 to 50% of kids involved in youth group in high school fail to stick with their faith by the time they are in college—or as young adults, if they do not go on to college.   That’s about half of our kids in churches today who fall away from the Lord!

       This news makes the hearts of Christians everywhere sink to a new low.  Because it is not like we haven’t talked about this problem before.  We have been talking about young people’s declining church attendance since the 1980s!  And it is not that we haven’t tried to keep them in church—and in the faith.  But we have still failed.     

       Jen Bradbury, the youth minister who wrote the article on sticky faith for The Christian Century, speaks of the failed efforts of churches and youth leaders, in spite of their good intentions. Some churches have sought to attract children and youth by offering programs that are more entertaining, sometimes at the expense of Bible learning and prayer. Some leaders have made the mistake of assuming teens already know the Bible and they worry about boring the kids with the stories of Jesus. They have focused on teaching the Christian lifestyle and group activities and outings, rather than staying centered and focused on Christ Himself and seeking to draw the youth nearer to Him.

     “In scripture,” Jen writes, “teens discover that Jesus’ message is neither fire and brimstone nor the string of never-ending niceties that they expect. By examining Jesus’ relationship with his disciples, they realize he wants more than their happiness and demands more than their half-hearted allegiance.  He wants their very lives, something that appeals greatly to a generation looking for a leader worth following and a cause worth committing their lives to.”   

      Jen suggests that instead of the usual ratio of one adult leader to every five students, it’s better to aim for connecting every teen with five or more adults who are willing to invest in the teen in some way.  Research shows that teens connected to five or more adults in the church from the ages of 15 to 18 are less likely to leave the church after high school.

    They are more likely to have a sticky faith!

***    

     In our Luke reading today, a centurion, a commander of a hundred troops, seeks out Jesus, sending some Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come and heal his slave.

     This account is surprising on many levels.  One, a centurion is not a Jew; he is an uncircumcised Gentile who has become a believer in the God of Israel.  He has earned the trust and respect of the Jewish elders because of his faith that led him to pay for the construction of a synagogue for his community.

     And two, it is surprising that the centurion, a wealthy man, cares so much about a slave that he seeks a miraculous healing for him—and that the Jewish elders are willing to comply with his request!  Slaves were property.  They were rarely “highly valued” and never loved like your family or friends. The biblical writer, in not telling us the name or even gender of the slave, emphasizes the almost unbelievable truth that the one for whom healing is sought is a mere slave! 

    And three, this centurion, who is obviously rich, powerful, and respected in his community by Jew and Gentile alike, is so humble that he believes he is not worthy enough for Jesus to come to his home, though the centurion likely had a beautiful home, with many servants, and Jesus had few earthly possessions and did not have a home at all.

      And four, this centurion believes that Jesus needs only to say the word and his slave will be healed. Jesus is amazed when he hears this. This man who was not born into the faith better understood the power, love, mercy, and compassion of God than those who had been born Jewish and raised in the synagogue. 

     “I tell you,” Jesus says, “not even in Israel have I found such faith!”

    ***

       God’s Word today, as it often does, leads us to question our own faith as individuals and as a church.

       Friends, is our faith sticky enough? Will it remain unshaken despite any trials that may lie ahead?

       Like the centurion, we must believe in the power, love, mercy, and compassion of God. Didn’t God love the world so much that He gave His only Son—so all who would believe on Him would not perish but have everlasting life? God loves the children of this community more than we do!  He most certainly wants them to be healed and saved. 

        Brothers and sisters, keep on reaching out to the youth! That smile or hug you give them or little note or package of cookies you send them when they are away at school or in the military means more than you can know.  Don’t be discouraged when you hear about young people’s declining church attendance. That was yesterday.

       Today is a new day—for the youth and for the Church!

       Keep your eyes and your lives centered on Christ! Come to Jesus and you will find peace.

       Pray for the children and the Church. 

       Pray believing in the God of miracles who cared enough about a dying slave to make them well again.

       Pray we will all have faith like never before!

Let us pray.

Lord God, we thank you for your love, mercy, and compassion for sinners like us.  We thank you for Jesus, who draws us ever nearer to Him and desires a personal relationship with us. Forgive us for having too little faith and for becoming discouraged when we don’t see the immediate fruits of our labors or hear an immediate answer to our prayers.  Give us faith like the centurion who believed Christ for the healing of his slave.

Lord, help us to reach out and connect with the young people in our community. Lead us to share the gospel with our lives. Open our hearts to love you and one another more.  Strengthen us by your Spirit so we are quick to obey when you reveal your Will. Keep our eyes and our lives centered on Your Son, in whose name we pray.  Amen.