Rev. Kit Billings
“Man does not know the way to Heaven, but the Lord alone knows it; and therefore man ought to surrender himself to the Lord, and be led by Him.”
-Emanuel Swedenborg, Arcana Coelestia §10422 (1)
Courage Is Not Just for the Young
One of the greatest misconceptions about life is that courage belongs to the young. When we hear the word “courage,” we often think of soldiers, explorers, athletes, or pioneers. We imagine youthful energy and dramatic action. God’s Holy Word does have its share of young and courageous people, like King David and Daniel the Prophet. And there also was Ruth and Esther, and another woman in the Hebrew Scriptures named Jael. She was a Kenite ally of the ancient Israelites whose lineage was linked to the Midianites in The Book of Judges (4:17-21), was a heroine who killed Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s Canaanite army by driving a tent peg through his temple while he slept. Her heroism aided the Israelites in their struggle to win a decisive battle in their goal of subduing the Holy Land (Judges 4:17–21).
Returning again to our theme today of various forms of courage found in the biblical text, scripture also presents us with another picture of what forms courage takes. The courage celebrated in the Word of God is often quieter than what we find in the younger heroes of ancient times. And often it is revealed in the courage to trust. It’s revealed in the courage to hope. We also find it shown in the courage to keep moving forward when we cannot see what lies ahead.
Abram’s Courageous Journey of Faith
This is the kind of courage we find in today’s scripture lessons. In Genesis, Abram receives a startling command from the Lord: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Notice what the Lord does not say. The Lord did not provide a map. The Lord did not provide a timetable. The Lord didn’t explain every step that Abram and Sarai would have to take.
God simply said, “Go.” And Abram and his family went.
The biblical story also teaches us that journeys in the Word correspond to or symbolize changes in our spiritual state of heart and mind. Abram’s journey is not merely an ancient migration. It is a picture of the spiritual journey every one of us must make throughout life. The Lord continually calls us to leave one immature stage of our spiritual growth in favor of entering another more mature stage of our spiritual growth, which is deeper and wiser than where we used to be.
For example, sometimes we need to leave behind old fears. Sometimes it’s old assumptions. And sometimes it’s old griefs. And sometimes God calls us to even leave behind old versions of ourselves. And often we do not even know exactly where the Lord is leading us!
So, let me ask you this poignant question, if I may: Would you agree that taking such spiritual growth journeys requires courage?
If you asked me this question, I would respond to you with an unequivocal and passionate, “YES! Without a doubt it does.” Courage is needed from us to follow the Lord into many kinds of challenging experiences and changes inside of our hearts and minds, which at first won’t feel easy for us to take.
The Courage to Hope When Hope Seems Lost
The same theme appears in our Gospel reading. A synagogue leader comes to Jesus with heartbreaking news. His precious daughter has died. Everything visible suggests that hope is over. Yet this heartbroken Synagogue leader and father comes to Jesus anyway. He falls before Him and says, in effect, “I still believe in you, Jesus Christ, because I have faith in you to breathe new life into us, even after death has found us.”
That is courage, my friends!
It’s not certainty, and it’s not confidence in circumstances. But faith. Then, on the way to the ruler’s house, another person appears–a woman who has suffered for twelve long years. Twelve years of blood loss. Twelve years of disappointment. Twelve years of ongoing cultural shame. Twelve years of unanswered questions. Twelve years of carrying a very heavy burden, to be sure.
She does not ask for attention. She does not make a speech. She simply reaches out and touches the hem of the Lord’s garment. This, too, is courage. The courage to hope once more. The courage to believe that healing is still possible. The courage to reach out toward the Lord despite everything.
The Lord Never Stops Leading Us
One of the beautiful teachings of our amazing Christian faith is that the Lord never stops leading us. Never!
Not at age twenty.
Not at age fifty.
Not at age eighty-five.
Not even at the end of earthly life.
The Lord’s purpose is eternal.
His work of spiritual growth and sanctification or regeneration continues forever. Think about that for a moment. The Lord may not be calling us to move across a continent like Abram. But He may be calling us to a new understanding or, perhaps, to a better and healthier way of starting each day.
For example, to choose to trust fully in your Lord, Savior and Regenerator! This means to want and to have…
…a deeper trust.
A greater forgiveness.
A renewed sense of purpose.
A fresh opportunity to bless another person.
The courage to follow the Lord is not primarily about changing locations. It is about remaining open to the Lord’s loving and wise leading every day. And it involves choosing to open up to the Lord prayerfully in the heat of the moment in our daily lives, especially when things get difficult or stressful.
The Quiet Courage of Everyday Faithfulness
Many of you have already demonstrated tremendous courage. You have endured major losses. You have faced serious illnesses. You have buried loved ones. And you have weathered enormous disappointments, many of them, throughout your lives.
And yet here you are.
Still worshiping.
Still praying.
Still caring for others.
Still seeking the Lord. Still following the Lord.
Sometimes the greatest courage is simply showing up. Simply getting out of bed. Simply choosing faith over despair one more day. The world often overlooks such courage…..but the Lord does not. And God loves you even more for choosing to have trust and faith in Him. You bring the Lord deep happiness when you choose the courageous pathway in life of following Him wherever He leads you.
John Glenn and the Courage to Keep Going
I am reminded of a remarkable true story involving one of our famous NASA astronauts. In 1998, former astronaut John Glenn returned to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery. That may not sound unusual until you learn one detail: John Glenn was seventy-seven years old at that time!
Thirty-six years earlier, he had become the first American to orbit the Earth. Most people would have considered that chapter of life closed forever. Yet at age seventy-seven, Glenn underwent the rigorous testing required for spaceflight and once again climbed aboard a spacecraft. During the mission he became the oldest person ever to orbit the Earth, a record that still stands today. NASA’s mission included research into aging and the effects of space travel on the human body.
Now, whether one agrees with every aspect of that mission is not the point. The point is that Glenn refused to believe that age meant the end of purpose, growth, or adventure.
He was still willing to answer a call. Still willing to learn. Still willing to go somewhere requiring enormous bravery and courage! And in a much deeper spiritual sense, that is what the Lord asks of every one of us today. Not necessarily to go into space.
But to remain open.
To remain teachable.
To remain willing.
To keep on showing up every day for discipleship work.
To keep saying, “Lord, if You have somewhere for me to go spiritually today, I will follow You, wherever You will lead me.”
Faith Takes the Next Step
The woman in our Gospel story had no guarantee that healing would come. The synagogue ruler had no guarantee that his daughter would live. Abram had no guarantee about what lay beyond the horizon. Yet all three moved forward! It requires living faith in God in times like these to move forward in life, trusting in the Lord’s guidance along the way. Swedenborg illuminates this truth when he wrote, “Mankind does not know the way to Heaven, but the Lord alone knows it; and therefore we ought to surrender ourselves to the Lord, and be led by Him.” (Secrets of Heaven n. 10422)
That is faith, my friends!
And God empowers every one of us here in this room right now to feel and have the same kind of very deep faith and trust in the Lord as the three people we are blessed to learn from in God’s Holy Word today—namely Abram, Jairus the synagogue ruler, and the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years, who had endured the scorn and gossip of her neighbors.
Faith is not seeing the entire path. Faith is trusting the One who walks with us on our path. In my experience, the Lord rarely shows us the whole journey. He usually gives us enough light for the next step. And then the next. And then the next.
Your Spiritual Usefulness Is Not Finished
There is another lesson here for those of us in later seasons of life. Sometimes we imagine that our greatest contributions are behind us. But the Lord sees things differently. The elderly in Scripture are often entrusted with profound purposes.
Think of Abraham and Sarah. Think of Moses. Think of Elizabeth and Zechariah. Think of Simeon and Anna. The Lord repeatedly works through people whom society considered past their prime.
Why do you think God works this way?
Because spiritual usefulness does not depend primarily on physical strength. It depends on the condition of the heart. It depends on my choice to have kind and thoughtful words for the next person I talk with today. It depends on a prayer. A phone call. A note of encouragement. Or, on a testimony of faith.
A life lived with trust in God. Such lives can influence others in ways we may never fully know.
Do Not Stop Following
So what is the Lord saying to us through these readings today? Perhaps He is saying:
“Do not stop following.
Do not stop growing.
Do not stop hoping.
Do not stop trusting.
Do not stop reaching toward Me!”
The Lord who called Abram is still calling. The Lord who healed the suffering woman is still healing. The Lord who brought life where death seemed to reign is still bringing new life today. And He is not finished with any of us, is He? Spiritually speaking, we are all only just beginning, aren’t we?
Conclusion: Wherever the Lord Leads
In conclusion, as we close, imagine Abram standing at the edge of his familiar world. Imagine the woman reaching through the crowd to touch the hem of Christ’s garments. Imagine the synagogue ruler kneeling before Jesus, asking Him to go and lay His hands on his daughter’s body, even after she had died.
Each faced uncertainty. Each took a courageous step. Each found the Lord already there. And that same Lord walks with us. He walks beside us in our joys. He walks beside us in our losses. He walks beside us in our questions. And He gently says what He has always said:
“Follow Me.”
“Even though you are afraid, follow Me.”
May we have the courage to do exactly that! Follow Him. Because He is infinitely loving and wise, and He never, ever makes a mistake. And may we discover, again and again, that wherever the Lord leads, His loving wisdom has arrived before us.
(1) Swedenborg, Emanuel. Arcana Coelestia. Translated by John Potts. West Chester, PA: Swedenborg Foundation, 1998.
Rev. Kit Billings, his wife Penny, and their daughter Julia moved to LaPorte, Indiana in 2012, where he is Pastor of the LaPorte New Church, a historic Swedenborgian sacred space. Kit enjoys ministering with people of all ages, and supporting others in their journey of growth with the Lord.