Based on Isaiah 1:15-20, Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12, Luke 12:32-40
I have a dear friend named Bob who turned 93 years old a couple of weeks ago. Bob is still working at a funeral home near his home in Madison County. He has worked there ever since he retired. I got to know Bob in my third week in Madison when I was officiating my first funeral there. I had met the deceased and her family on my first day and had journeyed with them to that point. I walked into the funeral home that night a bit anxious – still quite new to a place where most folks had generations of connections to each other.
Bob was one of the first people I saw as I made my way to the chapel for the visitation. I hadn’t been inside the funeral home before, and it was great to be greeted by a smiling face and warm welcome. He deduced that I was the new pastor, shook my hand and introduced himself, put his arm around me and said, “Well, you stand right here with me, and I will introduce you to everyone and tell you how they’re all connected to the deceased and to each other.” My anxiety melted away as I watched Bob greet almost everyone by name who came in that evening. He joked with many and offered that warm and welcoming smile to all. The information that Bob imparted during those two hours allowed me to hit the ground running and guided the rest of my ministry.
Bob did not need to have taken me literally under his wing to meet his job description, but it was just who he was – how he put his faith into action. Bob understood his work at the funeral home to be a calling. He extended hospitality and comfort to people who were experiencing some of the worst days of their lives. He listened actively and shared his faith – in fact, he offered God’s grace to everyone he encountered.
Our scripture readings for today speak to us about how our faith is to guide our actions in the world. The prophet Isaiah begins his work speaking God’s condemnation of Israel for their faithless actions. While Israel continued to sacrifice to try to appease God, YHWH would have none of it stating, “…Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me….” God would no longer tolerate their assemblies or their prayers because their “hands are full of blood”. Yet, God is willing to forgive and wipe the slate clean if Israel would only be “willing and obedient” and faithfully act in ways that honored God’s covenant with them.
Jesus teaches his disciples and the crowds that faithful actions include selling their possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor. They should store-up treasures in heaven through faithful actions toward others which are loving and merciful. If they do this, then their hearts will be where this heavenly treasure resides. Faithful actions include being ready to serve and ever watchful for the time when their heavenly Master calls.
The writer of the sermon we know as the Letter to the Hebrews is teaching about faith in action in our reading today. The writer’s opening sentence tells us what he believes is the definition of faith; it “…is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see….” He goes on in the second part of our reading to speak at length about the faithful actions of Abraham who obeyed a God who he had just met to go to a strange land all on the promise that from him would come offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky. Likewise, Sarah trusted in Abraham’s faith in God and so they both were rewarded (even though they were quite elderly) with Isaac. Their faithful actions in following God’s directives led to a covenant fulfilled.
My friend Bob’s understanding of how to act faithfully came from growing up in Louisiana in a Southern Baptist church. He speaks of tent revivals every summer and Sunday school,during his formative years. His mother was quite devout and passed that along to Bob. After High School, Bob went off to Bible College, fully expecting that he would be called to be a missionary or preacher. Instead, he enlisted in the Army, and his organizational and hospitality gifts led him to serve generals in posts from the U.S. to Panama to Germany and back again. Bob saw this activity as a call from God to serve and witness to people from all over the world.
In addition to his professional call, Bob and his wife Helen were faithfully active in churches wherever they were stationed. Bob and Helen sponsored missionaries, organized mission trips and other outreach in each church. Bob was always paying attention to what was going on around him and listening to how God was calling him to do something about the needs he witnessed.
When he landed in Madison, Virginia, following the last general into retirement, Bob and Helen immediately got to work in a local Baptist church and organized Vacation Bible School, revivals, and sang in choirs and at local nursing homes. They engaged in missions and they both served the funeral home (Helen was an accomplished pianist and accompanist), Bob helped out and officiated funerals when the family had no pastor. They sang and played at fundraisers for local churches and at summer revivals – always faithfully acting out their understanding of what God had gifted and called them to do.
United Methodists have a similar calling to faithful action built into our DNA. Afterall, the Wesley brothers, while they were Oxford students and later as faculty, ministered to coal miners, prisoners and the disenfranchised. They visited the sick, the orphaned, the widowed, those marginalized by society and who suffered from the effects of industrialization. They created schools for all ages and found ways to feed and care for those who were without basic human needs such as clothes, shoes and adequate housing. They preached the radical message of God’s love for all, challenging the rigid class structures of 18th-century England, and the Church of England which catered to the wealthy. Their faith in God was marked by action: advocating for prison reform and fair wages and providing care to all in need. The Wesleys were also vocal opponents of the transatlantic slave trade; and John Wesley supported and encouraged William Wilberforce in his work to abolish the slave trade in England.
Are you aware that in every community in the U.S., a minority of faith communities and their congregants actually put their faith into action? Multiple surveys over the last 30 years have shown that less than 20% of faith communities in any locale get involved in activities outside their buildings. Interestingly, a Lifeway Research study published in 2022 found a discrepancy in the number of people who were informed about volunteer activities and those who actually served. They noted the following specifically about United Methodist congregations, “…Methodists are the most likely to say their churches encourage them to be involved in ministry that serves community members not affiliated with the church (98%) and among the most likely to say they want to do this in hopes of sharing the gospel (95%). Still, Methodist churchgoers are the most likely to say they did not participate in any volunteer work in the previous year (88%). ‘This study did not measure service churchgoers may have done individually for their neighbors. Meeting such needs as they arise is a great form of service,’ (lead researcher) McConnell said. ‘But some of the most widespread needs in communities require volunteers working together, something that the majority of churchgoers don’t do over the course of a year….’”
Faithful action in service to others needs to be more than just our individual activities. Scripture challenges us to live out our faith through community engagement, social justice and advocacy for the least, last, lost and those left behind. Addressing deeper needs in a community takes not only our two churches, but will require building a coalition of faith communities and their members. The grace that God pours out on us calls and empowers us to ask next level social justice questions such as “why do the same people routinely come to the LCRC?”; “how can we work together to create truly affordable housing in Louisa County?”; “how can we create a County where everyone’s home is safe, warm and dry?”, “how can we best help the 605 trailer park and other trailer park residents who are being priced out of their homes?” These and so many more difficult questions cry out for our collective faithful action – like my friend Bob who continues to exhort his faith community’s outreach. Therefore, I ask you all, what faithful ways will we willingly and obediently answer God’s call to action in the coming year? May God the Holy Spirit guide our discernment and empower our faithful action…amen!