CAMINANDO WITH JESUS: The Endurance of Faith

Pentecost 12, Proper 17 | September 1, 2019

By the Rev. Marty Stebbins

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Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence,
     “The Lord is my helper;
          I will not be afraid.
     What can anyone do to me?”
Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 

- Hebrews 13:1-8

Today’s reflection is based on the Epistle appointed for September 1, as well as on the Commemoration of David Pendleton Oakerhater, Deacon & Missionary (1847-1931).

Today is the feast day of David Pendleton Oakerhater. The first lines of Psalm 96 are part of the appointed readings for him: “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the whole earth.” The conversion story of the young Cheyenne war chief is fascinating. He indeed sang a new song, but one with the traditional tunes from his upbringing. Ordained to the diaconate, he worked within the Episcopal structure to help native populations cope with the overwhelming culture brought to the Americas. His work in his native Oklahoma reflects today’s Sunday reading from Hebrews: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” For after working with The Episcopal Church in New York and Pennsylvania, the Rev. Oakerhater returned to his own people and began the work of evangelizing and educating the next generation. With the assistance of an old friend, Chief Whirlwind, Oakerhater opened the Whirlwind Mission in the late 19th century. Instead of sending their children to far off places in the East, they were educated close by. There was much opposition from the burgeoning white population, but Oakerhater’s school and worshiping community endured for a generation. 

After retiring in 1918, he continued to preach and provide spiritual leadership until his death in 1931. But the spirit of his teachings continued to bear fruit. While the Episcopal Church continued to grow and flourish in the American West in the first part of the 20th century, the Whirlwind Mission was forgotten by the Church. However, Oakerhater’s family and friends did not forget. For 30 years, they depended on the Lord’s help and endured in their faith, reading Morning Prayer and teaching their faith to their children and grandchildren. In the 1960s their Episcopal presence was rediscovered, and the bishop of Oklahoma was notified. Today, the Oakerhater Episcopal Center is a center both for community activities and for worship.

Today, so many people I meet have so many excuses for not attending to their faith life. The commitment to God seems too hard, too onerous. And yet, here was a group of Episcopalians who would have every excuse to quit but did not. Perhaps the writer of Hebrews has a good starting point. First, start living your life through mutual love. With whom can you continue to be in relationship, people you can support with love and who will return that back to you? Show hospitality to those you do not know. Through that hospitality, you may create a larger community of love or generate new ones or resurrect old ones. 

Instead of assuming that those in prison are evil, begin looking at those in prison as being made in the image of God. Where do their words and actions, however small, reflect the love of God? What does a community of mutual love look like behind barred windows and concertina wire? What about torture? It is an instrument used to try to negate a person’s sense of identity and value. Whether immediate or through chronic erosion of rights, those who torture wish to negate the gifts others bring to the community, much like the spiritual neglect of Oakerhater’s people. Torture generally fails if its victims know that they have a community of mutual love, even when separated from them.

Even under the most extreme of circumstances, faith can abide and grow. Oakerhater, a Cheyenne warrior chief and spiritual leader, trained his people who to be spiritual warriors. Constrained by economic and social prejudices, they continued to pray together. Their community of mutual love for one another and for God continued, and continues, to grow. To quote Jesus (Luke 21:19), “By your endurance you will gain your souls.”  

The Rev. Marty Stebbins, rector of St. Timothy’s, Wilson, is the bishop-elect of the Diocese of Montana.