EASTER 2C - Acts 5:12a, 17-22, 25-29; Psalm 118:19-24; Revelation 1:9-19; John 20:19-31 - 15 April 2007 - A sermon preached by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Kingdom Belief

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The copy of Newsweek that came to me during Holy Week had an article about God. This is not unusual. I have come to expect such an article to appear right before Christmas, and right around the time of Holy Week and Passover. The article this time was a modern version of the God debate, between Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in California, and Sam Harris, perhaps the most well-known atheist in America because of his two books, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. I have not read either of these books by Harris, although probably it’s time that I do. (It’s good to know something about your competition.) I have read most of The Purpose-Driven Life, Warren’s best-seller.

 

As I read the Newsweek interview and dialog between these two men, it was interesting to see where the areas of convergence were. For example, both talked about spirituality. Both talked about what they believed, and why they believed it. Both talked about reason. Both talked about good works. It turns out that one of the big problems that Mr. Harris has with people of faith is the harmful or even evil things that are done in the name of religion. I have that problem, too. Mr. Harris’s conclusion, apparently, is that religion is bad for the world, and we’d be better off without it. I obviously don’t agree with that, or I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you today. But I must say, sometimes I look at what people of faith do or say, and I shake my head, and I think to myself, “How does this square with that person’s professed faith?”

 

Flying hijacked planes into the Twin Towers comes to mind. What also comes to mind are people who are supposedly Christian lynching blacks or physically attacking gay people or being prejudiced against Jews or bad-mouthing other Christians.

 

THE FAITH OF THOMAS

 

Today, as we always have on the second Sunday of Easter, we hear the story of Thomas’ doubt, followed by his belief. You are familiar with the story. Thomas was not there with the other ten disciples when Jesus showed up the first time. I’ve always thought this suggested that he was not as fearful as the others, who, we are told, were hiding behind locked doors. Perhaps Thomas was out for a walk, trying to make sense of all that had happened, and what the empty tomb meant. So when he came back and the ten told him that they had seen Jesus, he said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I won’t believe!” A week later, Jesus showed up again, and Thomas decided he didn’t have to actually touch those wounds of Jesus. He believed, and professed his faith. “My Lord and my God!”

 

At this point, from the little bit I’ve read, I imagine our atheist friend, Mr. Harris, asking, “What difference did his faith make? How did he live his life from that point on?” That’s a valid question, isn’t it?

 

If others of his fellow Jews did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, how did he treat them? Did he shun them, refusing to eat with them or talk to them anymore, after he found out where they stood? Did he call them “infidels” or “ignorant”? Or did he keep talking to them, and offer love and compassion to them when they got sick, or suffered the loss of a loved one?

 

FAITH AND ACTION SHOULD GO TOGETHER

 

One of the questions that Sam Harris poses in the Newsweek interview is this: “How is it fair to have created a system where belief is the crucial piece, rather than being a good person?” (Newsweek, April 9, 2007, p. 63) My question in response, is this: Why does it have to be either/or? Shouldn’t being a person of faith and being a good (moral) person go together? Mr. Harris’ question assumes that a being a person of faith is mostly about what you believe. And I would say he gets that impression for two reasons: 1) Many Christians and other people of faith seem to act as if what you believe is what it all comes down to - that your beliefs alone determine whether you are a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Jew, for example. 2) From his question, it is obvious that Mr. Harris sees many people of faith as not being good people. That is an indictment that should concern us, it seems to me.

 

But being a person of faith is a lot more than just saying “I take this certain set of propositions to be true.” As I’ve said before, in our Nicene Creed, we don’t say that we believe that God exists. We say we believe in God - a God who we, and others over the centuries, have experienced as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. And this word “Creed” or credo, comes from the same word that we use for heart. Our faith is more a matter of the heart than it is anything else.

 

But here’s the point. Faith in God IS supposed to lead to certain actions. Faith in Jesus is not just about whether you or I think that Jesus walked this earth and said certain things, although that’s part of it. It’s also about following in his steps, and striving to do the things he did.

 

Jesus, after all, talked about the kingdom of God. And even more than that, he demonstrated - by his actions - what the kingdom of God looked like. When John the Baptist sent messengers from prison, wanting to be sure if Jesus was the Messiah, what did Jesus say to them? “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” (Matthew 11:4-5) Jesus came to proclaim this kind of kingdom, and we who follow him are to be involved in bringing about this kind of kingdom, too.

 

And if we’re not involved in ushering in the kingdom in some way, then Mr. Harris has a legitimate beef with us. It doesn’t mean that religion is bad for the world. It just means that we’re not really being people of faith. We’re just pretending to be.

 

What we profess to believe is not, in and of itself, not enough.

 

Listen to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.

 

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” And then he added, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:15-18, 21)

 

Paul put it this way: “... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Not only is there no law against such things. These are the fruits you expect of people who live by faith in Christ. Not that any of us are perfect or stop sinning once we say, “Jesus is the Lord of my life.” But overall, these are the fruits that you expect in the life of someone who claims to be walking by the Spirit of God.

 

And James put it this way, when talking about the connection between true faith and works of mercy. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead... Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe - and shudder.” (James 2:14-19)

 

And coming back to Jesus’ words in another Gospel: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

 

Faith isn’t just about a few things that you believe in your mind. It can’t be, because Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom of God, and where things around us don’t look like the kingdom of God, he invites us to see what we can do about it - by loving others as we are loved by God. If faith is just about assenting to a certain set of propositions, then the word “integrity” can be removed from the English language, as can the word “integrate”. But if what we do is supposed to be aligned - as much as possible - with what we believe, then those words still mean something. They still have a place.

 

CONCLUSION

 

So maybe we have some things to learn from an atheist. Maybe we should pay attention, when two books written by an atheist become best-sellers. Maybe what we need to learn from him is this: To the extent that those of us who profess faith in God aren’t concerned with the same kinds of things that God is - love, justice, kindness, generosity, sacrifice, humility, faithfulness - to the extent that you and I are not concerned with things like these, then we give God a bad name, and lead others away from God. To the extent that those of us who profess faith in Jesus don’t come across as being a force for good in this world, then we have failed at being witnesses, we have failed at being ambassadors for Christ.

So what happened after Thomas uttered, “My Lord and my God!” I don’t know, because we don’t have much more information about what happened next in Thomas’ life. I do know this. What Thomas did, after he uttered that now-famous line, made a difference. His actions from that moment on - whether they mirrored what he believed or ran counter to what he believed - had an impact on those around him. And his actions either helped to usher in the kingdom of God, or they did not.

 

I think maybe that’s part of what Sam Harris is trying to tell us.