Sermons Preached at Church of the Redeemer

Youth Sunday

May 23, 2004

Preached by Ben Bullitt

            Faith is a tricky thing. Especially with the Red Sox. I have been a Red Sox fan my whole life, glorifying in their victories and wallowing in their defeats. I've seen all the crushing losses and, somehow, even today, I retain that 'This is the Year.' Now, we could have an argument about whether this statement is based on fact or fiction, but the real story lies in the absolute faith of this statement.

            I watched the final game of last year's Red Sox - Yankees Series alone on a small television with bad reception. I could have watched it on the nice television with the rest of my family, though such a situation was much too stressful that I was up to dealing with.

            I'm not going to go into the rest of the story as it's details are much too painful for me to recount. But I could not get the loss out of my head for about a week - it kept replaying in my head, over and over again. I was driving myself crazy.

            But then one day - I can't remember a specific moment - I started looking ahead to the next season, one that was, at the time, six months away. Just a week removed from one of the most painful losses in my beloved team's storied history and I was already thinking six months ahead. This is the year.           

            If there's one thing that my experience at the Redeemer has taught me, it's the concept of faith. Faith that the Red Sox sooner or later will end their World Series Draught. Faith that I would get into a college that will allow me to grow in many different ways. Even faith that my voice will not crack as I am giving this speech.

            For me, it all boils down to a simple faith that everything, in the end, is somehow going to work itself out.

            Now I don't really have any proof for any of these things. With what's going on in the world today, it's difficult to convince oneself that things will eventually work themselves out. But that's where faith comes in. Faith doesn't need proof; it's something that stands firm regardless of the situation, regardless of what's going on. In a world where science has used different forms of evidence to prove Darwinian theory or the discovery of new solar systems, everything seems to have concrete support. Natural selection is true because of X, Y, and Z.  Yet faith, for me, eludes such barriers. If someone were to ask me why I have such a positive outlook, I really would struggle to find a reason, because, in fact, I really don't have a reason. It's just something that I have faith in and needs no proof.           

            Perhaps the most basic of prayers in our religion, one that we learn in our earliest years in church school, is The Lords Prayer. It starts, "Our father, who art in heaven." There's the Apostle's Creed, which starts, "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth."

            These basic statements are the crux of the issue. They are the pinnacles of my faith as a Cristian. And, in truth, I'm not so sure I completely agree with them. "I believe in God, the Father Almighty." My relationship with God is one based more off of faith then of belief. For me, the statement is, "I have faith in God, the Father Almighty."

            Now I don't know if I believe everything in the Bible or everything that I was taught in Church School, though what I am taking from this experience is a faith that God, in whatever way, shape, or form, is out there, is making sure that, in the long run, things will work themselves out.

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