Sermon by Dr. George Bryant Wirth
Founders’ Sunday
January 11, 2009
CHRIST AT THE CENTER: THE FAMILY OF
FAITH
FAITH IN ACTION
Scripture:
Matthew 25:31-46
INTRODUCTION
A little girl growing up in
the manse of a Presbyterian preacher, wandered into her father’s study as he
was preparing for Sunday’s sermon. After
a few minutes of observation, the child looked up and said “Dad, how do you
know what to say”? The father answered,
“Well, I pray and then God gives me the words.”
There was a long pause until the daughter replied, “Then why do you keep
crossing so much of it out”?
As a preacher, I do believe
that the words which we Christians speak about God’s Word are important. But preaching and teaching are not the only
ways in which we who belong to the family of faith can share the gospel. That is what Edgar Albert Guest was trying to
tell us when he wrote these lines more than a century ago:
“I’d
rather see a sermon,
Than
hear one any day.
I’d
rather one should walk with me
Than
merely show the way.
The
eye’s a better pupil
And
more willing than the ear;
Fine
counsel is confusing,
But
example’s always clear.
And
the best of all the preachers
Are
those who live their creeds
For
to see the good in action
Is
what everybody needs.
I
can soon learn to do it
If
you’ll let me see it done,
I
can watch your hands in action
But
your tongue too fast may run.
And
the lectures you deliver
May
be very wise and true,
But
I’d rather get my lesson
By
observing what you do.
For
I may misunderstand you
And
the high advice you give,
But
there’s no misunderstanding
How
you act and how you live.”
That poem reminds me of
another quote from Mother Teresa: “At
all times, spread the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” So, if we believe that is true, then what we
say is important – but what we do will make a major difference in this
world. Jesus said that we need to
“practice what we preach” (Matthew 23:3), and I believe He was talking about “Faith in Action.”
I
Our scripture lesson today is
from a parable Jesus told, entitled “The Judgment of the Nations,” also called
“The Sheep and the Goats.” It is the
third and final parable recorded in the 25th chapter of Matthew’s
Gospel, and I think this is a story to which you and I and all Christians need
to pay special attention.
The picture our Lord painted
with words envisions a king speaking about the final judgment, when people will
be held accountable not only for what they say they believe, but also for the
way that they live their lives.
To summarize, the king in
this story declares that those who have reached out to the hungry and thirsty,
to the strangers and folks who are naked and struggling with poverty, to the
sick and suffering and imprisoned people of this world – those who have reached
out to touch them “will inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you.”
Then a question is raised,
asking the king, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food,
or thirsty and gave you something to drink?
When was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and
gave you clothing…or sick and in prison and visited you?” And the king answers “Truly, I tell you, just
as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you
did it to me.”
So far, so good. But then Jesus turned the story upside down
as the king pronounces that those who have failed to reach out to “the least of
these have not done it to me,” and they won’t be allowed to enter into the
kingdom.
Now, there are several things
we need to remember and recognize as we explore our Lord’s words from Matthew
twenty-five, and the first is this: when
Jesus told these parables, it was not His intention that those who heard them
would take the stories literally. That
may upset some Christians today, but I think the point is easily and Biblically
made.
How many of you believe that
the final judgment will actually be the separation between goats and
sheep? How many of you think that when
Jesus spoke about taking the log out of our own eyes before removing a splinter
from someone else’s eye, that He was talking about real wood (Matthew
7:1-5)? And how many of us are convinced
that a camel could or could not go through the eye of a needle, as if Jesus was
actually talking about a real animal (Matthew 19:23-26)?
Do you see, Jesus’ parables
are stories that reveal God’s truth, but they were not back then, and they are
not today, supposed to be subjected to scientific or legalistic proof. The parable about the sheep and the goats was
told to remind us and to alert us that someday the Lord will want to know: what
did you do to help those who were in trouble, people who struggle for daily
survival – men, women and children who needed someone to reach out to them with
care and compassion – Christians who are willing to put their Faith in Action? That’s what this parable is all about.
II
And a second thing to
consider is this: when Jesus originally told the story recorded in Matthew 25,
He was under fire, and it wasn’t “friendly fire,” if such a condition exists.
As our Lord entered into
So Jesus had to confront
those who appeared to hold political and religious power with some straight
talk about how God Almighty would have the last word in the final hour. When Jesus told the story to His disciples at
the conclusion of Matthew 25, the opening words of the 26th chapter
say this: “When Jesus had finished saying all of these things, He said to the
disciples, You know that after two days
the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be
crucified.” (Matthew 26:1-2)
Christian friends: that
happened almost 2000 years ago, and today the stakes of life and death, war or
peace, retaliation or reconciliation are just as high as they were back then,
and even more so. The conflicts in the
Middle East –
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who
helped to lead
III
Which leads us to one final
thing, and I’m speaking now about how we as Presbyterians can find common
ground to resolve some of our divisions that have set us apart for far too
long, including the false dichotomy between evangelism and social action.
In the 1920’s and 30’s, our
Denomination in both the Northern and the Southern church, was caught up in a
theological and Biblical battle between the “modernists” and the
“fundamentalists.” For a while
thereafter, it was relatively quiet and peaceful, until the 1960’s and 70’s
when the conflict erupted again. Those
on the right, also called “conservatives,” said “We need to focus on evangelism
and proclaiming Christ as Lord and Savior,” while those on the left, labeled
“liberals,” declared “We need to concentrate our attention on Jesus’ love and
compassion for the oppressed and the poor.”
For the past 30-40 years,
Presbyterians have tried to navigate between those two positions, and other
issues, including human sexuality, have emerged and brought us to the verge of
separation and schism.
In 1990, when I arrived here
and began to discern a sense of direction for this congregation, I was invited
to lunch by two members of the church, Southern ladies who were both in their
90’s with a great deal of wisdom between them – Charlotte Hay and Caroline
Minnich, long time friends.
We got to talking about all
of these Presbyterian issues, and in the midst of the conversation, they said
to me, “The big church needs to learn what we already know here in
So they explained to me how
two mules pulling a wagon back in the old days would be directed by the driver
– shouting out “gee” and “haw” to get them moving in the same direction. And it was a revelation to me that I think we
in this congregation have to share with others.
We will never agree on
everything, but there at the corner of 16th and Peachtree, we honor
and follow Christ at the Center, and we are learning how to gee and haw with
one another, speaking the truth in love and becoming involved in both
evangelism and social action, in community ministry and international mission,
in worship and in witness, in renovating this old building and in recommitting
our resources to serving this city, nation and world.
You see, according to the
gospel of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t have to be either/or – either evangelism or
social action. In fact, from the days
the foundation of this church was laid back in 1848, we have sought to embrace
both/and – both the proclamation of what we believe and our commitment to reach
out to people in need.
That is what the parable in
Matthew 25 has brought alive here at the corner of 16th and
Peachtree, and that is our vision as the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to put our
faith in action, and to become all that He wants us to be!
Mother Teresa, whom I quoted
at the beginning of this sermon and whom I think would have been a great
Presbyterian, she said before she died something profound and I’ve said it to
you a number of times before:
“Christ
has
No
body now on earth but yours;
No
hands but yours;
No
feet but yours;
Yours
are the hands
Through
which He touches the world now.
Yours
are the feet
Through
which He goes about doing good.
Yours
are the eyes
Through
which He sees those in need.
Yours
are the lives
Through
which He blesses now.
Christ
has
No
body now on earth but yours.”
(Paraphrase)
That’s what we believe and
that’s what we celebrate here on our 161st birthday – FAITH IN ACTION – thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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