Knowing By Doing
Dear Family and Friends of The Neighborhood Church,
Yet another glorious day that God has given us to enjoy, and to make use of, for God’s purposes in the world! This week’s Gospel text coming to us Sunday is from Matthew 21, where Jesus tells a very simple, yet profound, story.
There is a father who has two sons. The father asks them to go out and work in their field. One of the two sons, in rebelliousness and disregard, says “No, I won’t go!”. A little later, the father looks up from whatever he’s doing and there is his son, working out in the field—doing the very thing he said he would not do, but the father desired.
His other son, when asked to work, said politely: “Father, nothing would please me more than to go out and work in the field for you!” Two hours later, the polite, docile, ever-pleasing obedient son is still lying on the sofa streaming Netflix.
Now, think hard, says Jesus—which son do you think pleased his father more? The one who said no, but then sprung into action? Or the one who politely said yes, but did nothing?
Will you agree with me when I say that there are some things in this life—often the most important ones—which you cannot know except by doing them? For example, I learned from watching my young daughters that dancers must understand that you can’t really know the dance just by hearing some talk on it—even a very good lecture on dance cannot replace joining the dance! You must feel the moves, letting the rhythm take over your body.
It occurred to me again this week, in preparing for Sunday, that the Christian faith is just this way. It is why Jesus told this story. Faith is something caught, not taught. Not merely expressed but lived out. Jesus was not a philosopher who laid out a new system of ideas that were to remain in the head. Jesus’ movement in the world was to capture the heart, hands, feet, and voices of people as well.
Jesus was a teacher, whose very life activity taught what he preached. We love and follow Jesus not simply because of what he said, but because of the way he lived, died, and was resurrected. Did you notice that Jesus did not ask us to agree with him, but to follow him? The very proof of our faith is action. Our faith is to change us…challenge us…grow us into something, someone, that we’re not yet!
The world is watching us, not listening, mostly. Actions DO speak louder than words. This means that it matters how we live and treat one another in our homes, at church, in the workplace. Our actions as Christians are to shout out to the world that Jesus Christ is Lord of our life! God grant that our “yes” to Jesus would mean “yes, in-deed”… See you Sunday in worship and study.
Pastor Rick
Intentional Interim Minister