September 8, 2024 ~ 16th Sunday after Pentecost
Rev. Beckie Sweet
Back in the days when a mother could send her child to the store to purchase an item needed for dinner, 9 year old Michael was sent to buy a dozen eggs. He picked out the eggs, checking for cracks as he had observed his mother doing many times, and then took them to the checkout counter. Michael’s mother had given him just enough money with which to purchase the eggs, so he left the store with eggs in a bag and four cents of change.
Unfortunately, Michael tripped while walking out of the store, and dropped the bag of eggs. One did not even need to open the bag to know that most, if not all of the eggs had broken. Michael tried not to cry as a crowd gathered to see if he was alright. They told him they were sorry he had scraped his knee and broken the eggs. In the midst of words of pity, one man handed Michael a quarter. Then he turned to the onlookers and said, “I care 25 cents worth. How much do the rest of you care?”
How would we, as people of faith, respond in a similar situation? Perhaps that depends on how we define faith. Enter “The AND/OR Debate!”
The dictionary tells us that faith is a noun, and among several definitions, are these three: 1. Confidence or trust in a person or thing;
- belief that is not based on proof; and,
- belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion.
One could conclude that faith is awesome. Faith is reassuring. For Christians, faith is vital. But faith, as described here is passive, docile. For some, faith is limited to what we think in our minds. Faith doesn’t involve any standard of behavior, obedience to Jesus’ teachings, or living to bless others in acts of kindness or care.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (chapter 2, vs. 8-9) states:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing,
it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.
Based on these two verses alone, some take issue with James’ contention that “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” But Paul goes on in verse 10 to say: For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Yes, grace saves us FROM our sins, AND equips and empowers us for good works that God created us in Christ to do. Both Paul and James agree that an inactive faith is really no faith at all. True faith does something.
If we are stuck in the conviction that we are saved by faith along, not expecting our way of living to be transformed, then one must be waiting for faith to grow from believing to doing. James insists that faith without works is good for nothing because it cannot save us. You might wonder then, why Paul taught salvation is by faith alone and not by works. But James isn’t saying we are saved by works. He is saying we are saved by faith VERIFIED by our works!
So, what if FAITH isn’t a noun, but a verb? What if faith isn’t something we have, but something we do? We all remember the adage, “Actions speak louder than words!” I know that I have often found that to be true, as I see that what a person DOES conveys the true feelings in the depth of their being. Living, growing faith is expressed by works motivated by one’s concept of God’s amazing love and grace.
Did you ever faith fail to act when you saw someone in need? You saw the need, but you didn’t give them money, take them food, mow their yard. You didn’t do what you should have done? I have failed to act, and I would guess that you have, too. We all, at some point, have failed to treat another with faith-based loving action. Despite their physical needs, we thought it was our job to “teach them a lesson,” which didn’t include satisfying those needs. We have blamed the government and the social workers for the misfortunes of the society, but have not ourselves taken action to help. In both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, we are taught that providing and caring for those who are vulnerable and in need is fundamental for living out the command to show our love of God by loving others.
True faith means our hearts have been changed, and a changed heart is demonstrated through action. Isaiah, Jesus, James, and others throughout the Bible remind us that true faith loves the poor and the vulnerable – and that love is shown through action. We don’t wish the poor well and go back into our comfortable homes. We help provide, we serve, we feed, we clothe, not with a “top down” attitude, but with a humble heart that knows that our God has done the same for us. We don’t just look with pity on the faces of the victims and families of those killed and injured by gun violence. We need to take action to keep these members of the family of God safe. We don’t just study and learn more about systemic racism in our community and nation. We need to speak up to voice our opposition and advocate for change. We need to show how much we love and care through our actions.
So, be faithful by stepping up and stepping out. Trust that God’s Spirit is with us as we “go and do”:
Do the loving.
Do the helping.
Do the caring.
Do the forgiving.
And treat FAITH more like a verb than a noun. Amen.