We Do Know
A Sermon by The Rev. John M. Barrett September 25, 2011
GOSPEL WITNESS Matthew 21:23-32
“The Authority of Jesus Questioned” and “The Parable of the Two Sons.”
SERMON
Today’s Gospel Witness can be summed up in a familiar five-word saying: “Actions speak louder than words.” Or in these eleven words: “It’s not what you say; it’s what you do that matters.”
The chief priests and elders were talking a good game of devotion to God. However, the chief priests and elders did not believe John the Baptist’s announcement that the
The chief priests and elders mouthed the old words and would not answer Jesus’ question of whether John’s baptism was of heavenly or human origin. Trying to protect themselves, they said, “We do not know.” Jesus compares the chief priests and scribes to the second son in the parable, who says he will follow his father’s order but changes his mind and does not go and work in the vineyard.
On the other hand, the tax collectors and prostitutes are like the first son. They seem as though they are not following God because they have not professed and followed the traditional beliefs. But they hear and follow John the Baptist’s call to new life. They confess their sins and are baptized into the
The actions of the tax collectors and prostitutes speak louder than their words. It’s not what they said, but what they did that matters.
Our denomination, the United Church of Christ is a denomination of doing. I remember seeing a UCC bumper sticker some years back that said, “To believe is to do.”
“To believe --- is to do.” Don’t just believe in God’s love for you and for all people. Do something. Welcome the outcast, the stranger, the lost.
This is what the UCC and its historical forebears have done for hundreds of years: we ordained an African American minister in the 1700’s; we ordained a female minister in the 1800’s, and we ordained an openly gay minister in the 1900’s. The UCC has always been on the leading edge of equality for all people.
‘To believe is to do” makes sense to me, and I think it makes sense to you as well. For
We don’t just worry and pray for poverty and disasters around the world; we collect a special offering to “One Great Hour of Sharing.”We don’t just thank Al Castillo for his service to
In the United Church of Christ, our faith is not so much what we believe but it’s how we live. We don’t have a creed that everyone has to affirm to become a member. Our
Membership in West Center Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, shall be open to anyone who accepts the following covenant: “Believing in Jesus Christ, the interpreter of God, we accept his teachings as the guiding principle of our lives and consecrate ourselves and our Church to their fulfillment.”
We don’t have a creed but we do have the UCC Statement of Faith, which is different. The Statement of Faith is less about beliefs and more about the meaning of our faith to us and by extension for the world.
Our statement of faith begins: We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit,
God of our Savior Jesus Christ and our God, and to your deeds we testify.
The statement of faith includes these words addressed to God:
You call us into your church
To accept the cost and joy of discipleship
To be your servants in the service of others
To proclaim the gospel to all the world
And resist the powers of evil
To share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table, To join him in his passion and victory.
Our UCC Statement of Faith is all about doing ---- “To believe is to do.”
The Quakers do not have an ordained clergy. Quakers sit in silence until one or more of the friends assembled is inspired to say something --- on the spot, unprepared, as a testimony. In most of their Meetings for Worship, there is more silence than speaking.
The Quakers have a saying that I have always appreciated: “Let your life speak.”
Let your life speak your faith. Our lives are speaking all the time, and what is it that our lives are saying? Are our lives saying what our lips are professing? Are we living our beliefs?
Cole Porter in his musical “Kiss Me Kate,” has a song “Where is the Life that Late I Led?” The second line of the refrain is, “Where is it now? Totally dead.”
And while we all may feel at times that we have lost our bearings, lost our sense of direction and perhaps even our optimism and hope, being followers of Jesus, we know about and most likely believe in the four “r’s” of restoration, renewal, reformation and resurrection.
Our lives of faith and hope are never “totally dead.” The Christian faith does not end on Good Friday, with the death of Jesus. Our faith endures Good Friday and begins anew on Easter morning.
Jesus speaks with words, for sure. But his life speaks too, and his words and life are one.
And something we might ask ourselves as summer turns to fall is this: what is the life of Jesus saying to me at this particular time and place in my life?
Not Jesus’ teachings, but his life:
Turning water into wine at the wedding in
Feeding the 5000.
Forgiving the woman taken in adultery.
Telling the disciples to let the children come to him and not try to stop them.
Throwing the money-changers out of the temple.
Praying to his Father that the cup of death pass him by.
But also praying, “Thy will be done.
Cooking breakfast for his disciples after the resurrection.
Walking with them on the road to Emmaus.
Our Lord is a doer as much as a teacher. Jesus let his life speak as well as his words.
We are a denomination and a congregation of doers. Let us continue to follow our Lord’s example and live our faith. To believe is to do.
Amen.
