Beyond Belief
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series V, Cycle C
Object:
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir." But the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir." He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. (vv. 1-6)
Tightrope-walker Jean Francois Gravelet was considered to be one of the greatest funambulists (aerialists/tightrope-walkers) of all time. Professionally known as the Great Blondin for the color of his hair, he was trained in the European circus. After visiting America in 1858, Blondin became obsessed with the idea of crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
On June 30, 1859, he was the first man to accomplish the feat. A large crowd of 100,000 people watched him walk on a single three-inch hemp cord, 1,100 feet long and 160 feet above the falls at one side and 270 feet at the other. A disbelieving crowd watched as he lowered a rope to the Maid of the Mist, pulled up a bottle and sat down while he refreshed himself. He began his ascent toward the Canadian shore, paused, steadied the balancing pole and suddenly executed a back somersault.
Never content merely to repeat his last performance, Blondin crossed his rope in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, walking blindfolded, and pushing a wheelbarrow. Once he balanced a chair on the rope and stood on it. He also made the trip with his hands and feet bound and took pictures of the crowd while he balanced on the rope. In a most amazing feat, he cooked an omelet on a small portable cooker at the midpoint and lowered it to amazed passengers on the Maid of the Mist below.
Blondin was a charismatic, confident, and powerful man. Even his large ego seemed to be endearing. In You Can Make a Difference, Tony Campolo tells of one of Blondin's trips across the Falls. While 10,000 people screamed his name, he inched from the U.S. side to the Canadian side. Finally he quieted the crowd and shouted, "I am Blondin. Do you believe me?" The crowd shouted, "We believe! We believe!"
He again quieted the crowd. He shouted, "I'm going back across the tightrope, but this time I'm going to carry someone on my back. Do you believe I can do that?" Once again they shouted, "We believe! We believe!"
Blondin quieted the crowd and asked, "Who will be that person?" Now, there was silence. Finally a man stepped forward and climbed on Blondin's shoulders. For three and a half hours they inched back across the tightrope to the Canadian side of the falls.
Campolo writes, "The point of the story is blatantly clear: Ten thousand people stood there that day chanting, 'We believe! We believe!' but only one person really believed. Believing is not just saying, 'I accept the fact.' Believing is giving your life over into the hands of the one in whom you say you believe."
When we read that Abram "believed in the Lord," he was making a total commitment to God. He was anchoring his life and his hope to God. Abram knew that when God promised an heir through his barren wife that it went against all common sense. He knew that this would involve God doing something extraordinary in his life. Yet, he believed God's promise. He not only agreed to the possibility that this could happen -- he totally committed himself to God.
What about you? What kind of belief do you have? Are you willing to take the next step and not only believe in God but also willing to believe God -- to trust the promises God makes when they go against common sense? If you can, God will declare you righteous -- just like old Abram. And you will develop a faith that goes beyond belief.
(Tony Campolo, You Can Make a Difference [Waco, Texas: Word, 1984], p. 14)
Tightrope-walker Jean Francois Gravelet was considered to be one of the greatest funambulists (aerialists/tightrope-walkers) of all time. Professionally known as the Great Blondin for the color of his hair, he was trained in the European circus. After visiting America in 1858, Blondin became obsessed with the idea of crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
On June 30, 1859, he was the first man to accomplish the feat. A large crowd of 100,000 people watched him walk on a single three-inch hemp cord, 1,100 feet long and 160 feet above the falls at one side and 270 feet at the other. A disbelieving crowd watched as he lowered a rope to the Maid of the Mist, pulled up a bottle and sat down while he refreshed himself. He began his ascent toward the Canadian shore, paused, steadied the balancing pole and suddenly executed a back somersault.
Never content merely to repeat his last performance, Blondin crossed his rope in a sack, on stilts, on a bicycle, walking blindfolded, and pushing a wheelbarrow. Once he balanced a chair on the rope and stood on it. He also made the trip with his hands and feet bound and took pictures of the crowd while he balanced on the rope. In a most amazing feat, he cooked an omelet on a small portable cooker at the midpoint and lowered it to amazed passengers on the Maid of the Mist below.
Blondin was a charismatic, confident, and powerful man. Even his large ego seemed to be endearing. In You Can Make a Difference, Tony Campolo tells of one of Blondin's trips across the Falls. While 10,000 people screamed his name, he inched from the U.S. side to the Canadian side. Finally he quieted the crowd and shouted, "I am Blondin. Do you believe me?" The crowd shouted, "We believe! We believe!"
He again quieted the crowd. He shouted, "I'm going back across the tightrope, but this time I'm going to carry someone on my back. Do you believe I can do that?" Once again they shouted, "We believe! We believe!"
Blondin quieted the crowd and asked, "Who will be that person?" Now, there was silence. Finally a man stepped forward and climbed on Blondin's shoulders. For three and a half hours they inched back across the tightrope to the Canadian side of the falls.
Campolo writes, "The point of the story is blatantly clear: Ten thousand people stood there that day chanting, 'We believe! We believe!' but only one person really believed. Believing is not just saying, 'I accept the fact.' Believing is giving your life over into the hands of the one in whom you say you believe."
When we read that Abram "believed in the Lord," he was making a total commitment to God. He was anchoring his life and his hope to God. Abram knew that when God promised an heir through his barren wife that it went against all common sense. He knew that this would involve God doing something extraordinary in his life. Yet, he believed God's promise. He not only agreed to the possibility that this could happen -- he totally committed himself to God.
What about you? What kind of belief do you have? Are you willing to take the next step and not only believe in God but also willing to believe God -- to trust the promises God makes when they go against common sense? If you can, God will declare you righteous -- just like old Abram. And you will develop a faith that goes beyond belief.
(Tony Campolo, You Can Make a Difference [Waco, Texas: Word, 1984], p. 14)
