Faith as Action - Redeemer Episcopal Church

Luke 20:27-38 

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Question about the Resurrection

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

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This sermon was originally preached by me, Rev. Sarah Locke, at Redeemer Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, Florida on November 10, 2019. You can read the manuscript below, or you can listen to the sermon (with infusions from the Spirit) at this link. 

God of grace and mercy, teach us to have faith that goes beyond words and is incarnate in our every action. Amen. 

Our son Bennet is 15 months old and he is at the age that he doesn’t really listen to anything that we say, but it imitates almost everything that we do. It is both incredibly charming, and incredibly frightening. 

This means that when he sees me reading on a Saturday morning, he picks up a book, plops down on my lap, and pretends to read to himself. It means he is constantly on his dad’s lap at the piano, gently tapping on the keys and singing like dad does. 

But it also means that when we are too focused on our cell phones, he notices, and wants to scroll the screen too. And it means when we fuss at the dog or eat more snacks than we should, he sees us and wants to do the same. 

On Monday, I asked his pediatrician when he’d start listening to us instead of just watching us and imitating us. “Never,” she said. "That is how he learns. He’ll learn a little bit from what you say, but he is always watching and learning what you do. If we want someone to learn something, we’d better make sure we do it too.” 

I’ve been reminding myself of that as I reflected on Father Wiley’s sermon from All Saints Sunday last week.

He spoke about the legacy of the saints who have come before us and the legacy that we are called to leave for the future of the church. And I began thinking about the legacy I want to leave for my son and his children, what do I want him to know about my faith and what I am committed to in this life? If we want someone to learn something, we’d better make sure we do it too.

I don’t remember my parents ever talking about “stewardship” or “tithing” or even “offerings” when I was in school. I think I remember a check being written and an envelope being put into the offering plate each month. Generosity was never talked about in our house as far as I can remember, but I do remember the first time I understood what the word meant. 

My parents had heard about a woman, who we called Miss Martha, who ran a food pantry out of her house every week for people in her neighborhood, which was the neighborhood where we went to church. She barely stood at five feet tall and had a wicked attitude. Every couple of months, our congregation took loads of food to Miss Martha to help her in the ministry she was doing. One fall afternoon, my dad helped Miss Martha get into her big white pick up truck and she remarked that she wasn’t sure how much longer it would last and anyway, she was getting too old to get into it. 

On the way home, my parents hatched a plan and about six weeks later, right around Christmas, instead of food, we delivered Miss Martha a new car. I don’t think I even fully comprehended what we were doing at the time, but I knew that what my parents were doing is what people would call “generous.”

My parents’ generosity is what has made the practice of tithing so important in my own theology. A fellow pastor was recently asked what the most important spiritual discipline is in his life. He said people are always so surprised when he replies, “writing my monthly tithe check to my church.” Even I was surprised when he explained further: “you can sit in a pew to worship every Sunday and fake it, you can pray regularly and fake it, you can even read the Bible every day and fake it. But you can’t fake that money coming out of your bank account every month. It’s painful, and it is real. And it is a testament to your faith.” 

My parents never described their generosity to be painful, but I would imagine that at times it was.  Spiritual practices are not meant to be easy or casual, but they are meant to bring us closer to God. 

I suppose what is so striking to me about All Saints’ Day, as well as Veterans’ Day, and many other holidays that honor people, is that we almost never remember people for what they said or believed. We remember people for what they did. If we want someone to learn something, we’d better make sure we do it too.

Of course the greatest example is Jesus. It is much easier for us to remember the things Jesus did… he healed many people, he was often on boats with his disciples, he ate with people, like the meal we will eat here this morning. 

And it is far too easy to forget that besides “the Kingdom of God,” Jesus talked and taught about money more than anything else during his ministry. 

We remember people for what they do. And according to Jesus, what we do with our money is important. 

Now, I am a priest and a campus minister, so if you need some suggestions on what you could do with your money, I am happy to give you some great ideas after worship this morning. 

But I’d rather let you wonder about what you are leaving as your faith legacy. What do our actions say about God and our relationship with money in this busy consumeristic season of the holidays and beyond? What do our actions teach our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren and their children?

As I reflect on Job’s words from this morning— his wish to have his words written down, and as I remember Jesus’ words that "God is God not of the dead, but of the living.”

I can’t help but think of those words and actions that will continue living… the things that we do that will last beyond us, beyond our generation, and perhaps even beyond this church. 

God is doing something wild and wonderful in this place. If you haven’t witnessed it yet, stick around a little longer and I’m sure you’ll get a glimpse of it. What actions do we want remembered by those who come after us? What kind of faith? What kind of generosity? If we want someone to learn something, we’d better make sure we do it too. Amen.