Live your faith

Exodus 16: 13-18

1 Corinthians 9: 24-37

Mark 1: 40-45

Faith In Action

If you will, join me in a little exercise of our imaginations.  Close your eyes, feel yourself relaxing, letting the worries of the day fall away from your thoughts.  Take a few deep breaths.

Imagine yourself far away from McConnelsville, in Israel, near the Sea of Galilee.  You can hear the sea birds and you can feel the cool breeze on your face.  You are in your small village, having just finished a long day of work.  You take some time to walk out away from the commotion of the village, seeking some quiet after a busy day, making sure not to wander in the direction of the group of lepers which you know live nearby.  As you walk you find yourself on a small hill overlooking a group of tired looking men.  They can't see you, but you can see and hear them talking.  One man stands out.  The others are obviously deferring to him.  He's not at all striking in appearance, but there's something about him, something in his expression which intrigues you.

As you sit, partially hidden behind a bush, you hear, then see, another man approaching.  This man is obviously not doing well.  As he comes closer, you get a good look at his face.  White splotches cover what you can see underneath the rags.  Scabs and sores are everywhere.  This man, you realize shockingly, is a leper, and he's coming towards this group of men below you. Most are appalled and begin to back away. One man, though, continues to stand there.  Even as, you can't hardly believe this, the leper kneels right before him, prostrating himself with his hands outstretched before him.  You then hear a raspy voice, full of emotion and desperation, "If you want to, you can make me well again."

Then you hear a quiet, compassionate voice say, "I want to."  Then with more authority than you've ever heard in your life he says, "Be healed!" 

In Mark 1:40-45 which was the basis of our imaginative journey, we find a leper in need of something good, something real, something life-changing. Jesus healed the man.  Jesus saw a need, and he met it. A life was transformed.

Transforming lives is what Habitat does, by giving people a hand up, not just a hand out. Habitat is a Christian organization, providing the opportunity for people to extend God’s love through action. Habitat also transforms communities, all around the world, as people who need homes find that by their own hard work joined with others who volunteer their time, talents and other resources, their dream can come true.

All of us who call ourselves Christians are given a similar opportunity as Jesus was given in this passage. We, too, can participate in the transformation of lives, by doing what Saint Francis once said: “Preach the word; if necessary use words.”

I wonder if what we say is good news would be better accepted as being really good, if more of us acted in a way which showed God’s goodness.  Today in our society we are faced with a society that is spiritually eager and starving, but not so much interested in what we in the church have to say. Habitat is one way to reverse this trend, by showing the Gospel in action.

Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat has an open-door policy: All who desire to be a part of this work are welcome, regardless of religious preference or background. Their policy is to build with people in need regardless of race or religion. Volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds are welcomed.

The organization is driven by the desire to give tangible expression to the love of God through the work of eliminating poverty housing. Habitat’s mission and methods are predominantly derived from by a key theological concept:  putting faith in action, just as Jesus did.

 

Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior we begin a journey of faith—a race if we are to follow what Paul wrote to the Corinthians. It is a journey to become more and more like Jesus and live more and more as he has commanded us to live. We are saved by grace, not by works, but as James wrote in his letter to the churches, faith without works is dead. Paul, too, calls us to use our God given gifts and faith to bear fruit.  To put faith in action requires commitment, and risk taking, and perseverance. Paul speaks of all of those in his letter to the Corinthians.

Our journey, or race, with Christ is not s speed sprint. It is an endurance race. It lasts a lifetime. Once we accept Christ as our Savior we are to go into strict training. We are to constantly prepare ourselves, by prayer and by study of God’s word, to continue the race as long as we draw breath. The prize we gain upon completion is not material rewards. If we stay on God’s path he will provide us all we need, just as he did for the people of Israel in the Exodus. He will give us the strength we need, and bless us, but we need to remember the blessings are given so we may be a blessing to others.

 

Habitat teaches us about being a blessing to others.  A Habitat family is blessed with the opportunity to own a home, but they must not only work on their own house, they must work on the house of someone else. It is a form of paying it forward. And, the volunteers who use their God given skills to help accomplish a house are blessed by the relationships developed and the satisfaction of knowing someone will now have a safe and pleasant house to live in.

 

 Jesus’ love was and is given unconditionally. His love was and is all inclusive, available to anyone who seeks it. As his followers we are called upon to extend God’s love in the same way. God gives each of us many opportunities to do pay his love forward.  It is up to us to keep our hearts open to God,  our eyes and ears open to the opportunities to serve others that he gives us, and our hands open to reach out with compassion to those in need and put our faith in action.

 

Amen