Actions

Reverend Philip Stringer

John 10:22-30

LET US PRAY: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Feed us with your Word, and speak to our hearts, that we may be filled with your endless life, now and forever. AMEN

In 1582, an Italian Jesuit priest named Matteo Ricci arrived in Macao, an island on the south shores of China. China was a famously insular country that vigorously resisted the influence of outside cultures. For centuries, outside religious influences were strictly prohibited.

Others had sought to introduce their ways and customs as a way to influence China. The very intent spoke condescendingly the notion that their ways were superior to the ways of China.

But Matteo Ricci took another approach. Yes, he had certainly come to China because he believed that he had something good to share with the message of the gospel -- but he clearly believed also that China was already full of wonderful customs and traditions. So instead of simply seeking to teach them something new, he sought to learn from the Chinese. He began to dress like them and to learn their languages. He learned and observed their customs. And for 20 years, he stayed in the coastal Guangdong Province, gently living the gospel; he shared his faith by serving the poor, studying and teaching as their equal.

Eventually, stories of his mastery in mathematics and astronomy reached Beijing, and he was invited to the capitol, where he spent almost a decade teaching the elites of society about geometry, astronomy, music, art, irrigation and Jesus. He wrote more than a dozen books in Chinese.

Matteo Ricci showed by his actions that he valued and respected the Chinese people, and as a result they came to value and respect him, too.

Matteo Ricci died on May 11, 1610, at the age of 59. Today -- May 11 -- is the day the Church commemorates him.

Sometimes the strongest message we can send isn’t through words but through actions.

It happens every day -- when someone does something special for you to show that they care.

Or conversely, when threatening actions send a message to back off.

Today, our Scripture texts remind us that the greatest of all messages is sent through the actions of God. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God is telling us that the enemies of God are defeated, and God is making all things new.

In the new creation, everything glorifies God.

You and I are part of the new creation that God is bringing to light. In us -- as we grow if faith -- God is working in us to proclaim the victory of Jesus Christ and the glory of God.

When the new creation in us begins to emerge, wonderful, beautiful things begin to happen.

There is a remarkable transformation in Peter from our Gospel reading last week and our reading from the Book of Acts, today. His passions used to blow him around from one thing to the next, jumping in with both feet, but never staying committed. In Jesus’ words, he lacked direction. But Jesus claimed Peter as his own and promised that he would direct his ways.

Three times last week we heard Jesus tell Peter, “Feed my sheep.” And this week we see Peter solidly, soberly, knowingly tending the scattered flock of Jesus’ followers, as they have fled Jerusalem and worship in secret in the homes of fellow believers.

We can see in Peter that the words of Jesus have taken root. His actions proclaim the power of Christ’s forgiveness in his life. And Luke tells us that because of what Peter did, “many believed in the Lord.”

Tabitha is a proclaimer of Christ, too. I find it interesting and noteworthy that when Luke — the author of Acts — tells this story about Tabitha, although she is a central figure in the story, we never hear any words from her -- and nobody says anything about her words. All they speak about are her actions.

Luke describes her as a “disciple” -- one learning from and modeling her actions on Jesus -- and that is exactly what she does. Just as Jesus lifted up widows and orphans as the most vulnerable of society, and that God promises justice to them -- so Tabitha has dedicated her life to serving the lowly. She cares for those who can give her nothing in return.

By her actions, Tabitha conveyed the love of God to those around her. And when she was restored to life through Peter’s prayer, the witness of her life spread so that many believed in the Lord.

The old adage ́is true: actions speak louder than words. And when it comes to the message that WE send with OUR lives, Jesus it clear: Our lives are to proclaim Jesus. In the end, it will be our actions that speak the loudest about who we are, and what we believe.

It’s not that words are unimportant. They are very important. But when we become preoccupied with words, then the most important message may be missed -- words can become traps for the mind. Whether those words carry wrong information and gossip -- or merely wrong ideas, they can “deafen” the mind from hearing the truth.

The Festival of Dedication is still celebrated by Jews today, but it is called, “Hanukkah,” or the festival of lights. In the year 168BC, the ruler Antiochus Epiphanes sought to wipe out the Jewish religion. He desecrated the temple and prohibited any religious observance other than the worship of Roman gods. The Maccabean uprising that followed eventually overthrew Antiochus, and this festival celebrates the re-dedication of the temple.

So, as Jesus walked through the Temple during these 8 days of celebration, it was a ripe time for the people to be charged up with their ideas and excitement about the coming messiah. A tyrant had sought to destroy them, but by the force of their own might they threw off their oppressor. So, they were primed to think about the glory of the coming messiah to be a glory won by the sword — a great military leader who would crush their enemies once and for all time.

In our gospel text for today, Jesus is approached by people caught up in words with wrong ideas.

They have seen the words of the Scriptures and heard them proclaimed -- but the ideas they have formed in their minds prevent them from hearing the truth in those words about Jesus. They cannot connect their interpretation of the words in scriptures with the actions of Jesus.

Their expectations about the messiah -- that he will be a mighty ruler leading the nation to victory over their enemies -- these expectations about the messiah prevented them from seeing and hearing the truth about Jesus.

“How long will you keep us in suspense? Tell us plainly if you are the messiah.”

“I have told you, and you do not believe. THE WORKS that I do in my Father’s name TESTIFY to me.” They speak. They proclaim the truth.

Jesus calls us, like Peter and Tabitha, to lives of proclamation, too. “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they FOLLOW me.” “Hearing” the voice of Jesus leads to action -- actions that glorify God.

Jesus spoke of the power of actions before -- like when he said, “whoever gives a cup of cool water to someone in need will not lose the reward.”

Jesus, Peter, Tabitha and Matteo Ricci proclaimed their faith in the power of God’s love through actions — in service to the poor, the vulnerable and those rejected by society.

Jesus calls us to acts of loving service in our day, too. This means standing with and defending those who suffer in the wake of tyrannical and callous acts — such as cutting off food and medicine to the world’s most vulnerable people and shutting the door on people begging for asylum. It means standing against forces that seek to crush free speech and freedom of thought. And just as it has been in ages before, the strength of tyrants will fade and our actions will speak louder than words.

The book of Revelation presents an image of heaven in which a multitude of people gather around the throne of God -- every race and nation and language -- DIFFERENT LANGUAGES! And yet they sing one song together -- “Glory to God.” It is a song of the heart that goes beyond words.

And so we sing, “This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia. Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.

“Sing with all the people of God and join in the hymn of all creation: Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. AMEN. This is the feast of victory for our God, for the lamb who was slain has begun his reign. Alleluia.

God is speaking to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus -- and through the giving of this meal and all the blessings of your life. What is given to you is given, so that you may be equipped to give to others.

May Christ be proclaimed through YOUR life -- that because of the way YOU live, many will see the power of God’s love and believe in the Lord.

AMEN