Third Sunday after Pentecost
Year A
June 1, 2008
Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28
Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31
Matthew 7:21-29
A week or so ago, I caught a television interview with Harrison Ford, the star of Indiana Jones and a lot of other “action” movies.
On screen, Ford tends to play characters who are tough and courageous in spite of themselves. They get into situations where they have to use brawn or brain or both to get out of sticky situations.
What struck me about the interview was how different the “real life” Harrison Ford was from the characters he plays.
During the interview he often searched for words. He almost seemed nervous. He was cordial, but hardly outgoing. He talked about how much he likes the serenity of his ranch.
Of course, the “real” Harrison Ford may be someone else all together. When he’s at home, with his family, or his friends, it’s hard to say what he is like.
I think a lot of actors are like that.
Their on-screen personas don’t always match their off-screen personalities.
And that can be very disappointing to their fans.
People can be like that too, can’t they?
I mean, we all play various roles in life and sometimes who we are in those roles is very different from the “real” person inside us.
Your boss at work may be very different than the person you meet at the grocery store on Saturday afternoon.
The doctor who is so kind, professional and attentive in the office may brush you off when she sees you at the mall (it’s happened to me).
The church member who seems such an exemplary representative of the faith on Sunday, may be swindling customers on Monday.
It can work the other way too.
The person who is always grumpy and grouchy may turn out to be the most kind-hearted person in the world. More than willing to give the shirt off his back to someone in need.
It is this consistency of who we are and what we do that lies at the heart of this morning’s lessons.
So, who are we, really? In Romans, Paul reminds us that we are all sinners.
If you scrape off all the sweet exteriors, our attempts at righteousness, and good works, you find a broken person at the core of each and every one of us.
And we know that.
We know that we are far from perfect. We know our failures and insecurities. We know that we don’t always live up to God’s expectations for us. Not always.
When we lay our lives over and against God’s Law, we quickly find out how short we do fall.
No amount of acting can cover that over. We can pretend as much as we want on the outside, when we are “on-screen”. But it won’t change who we really are. It won’t change who we are in those moments when we are truly alone with ourselves, and have to confront the reality of our brokenness.
We need help.
And that’s what God’s grace is about.
That’s what Jesus is about.
Paul says it clearly: Jesus was faithful, totally faithful, and because of that, we can trust that God loves us, and cares for us, and claims us for his very own.
And, because of that gift, that gift that we neither deserve nor can earn, we are freed to rebuild our lives in God.
And that’s where good works come in. And that brings us to the Gospel.
When you first read these words of Jesus in Matthew, they sound like they are in direct contradiction to what Paul is saying in Romans:
Jesus seems to be saying that it is what we do that matters.
It’s how we act that determines our place
in the
But, we need to look a little closer.
He says that what we do is important, yes, but then he says that not everyone who “acts” religiously – prophesying, casting out demons and doing deeds of power in his name – will necessarily “get in”.
Why?
Because, for some, it’s just an act. Like Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones, it’s just playing a role.
He actually makes the same criticism earlier in the Sermon on the Mount when he talks about hypocrites who give to charity, and pray and fast just to be recognized by others for their righteous deeds.
The point is: just acting like a Christian doesn’t save us.
Being a Christian does.
And how do we become a Christian? Well, we certainly don’t make ourselves Christians! No! Only God can do that. Only the power of the Holy Spirit can do that. And that’s grace.
And that’s where we build our lives.
It is only with that foundation in place that our acting, and doing as Christians makes any sense at all.
The acting and doing are important, but they are just the house, not the foundation. That’s their proper place.
Good works, therefore, are not irrelevant to the Christian life. As Paul says, we don’t overthrow the law. No. We just need to keep it in it’s proper place in our lives.
Sometimes, as Lutherans we forget that! Because we so emphasize God’s grace, we downplay what God expects of us. And God does have expectations of us!
And when we forget that, it weakens our relationship with God, and in so doing, our connection to the foundation. And then, when the winds blow, the house falls.
Having built a couple of houses, I know that, there is nothing worse than trying to build a square house on a crooked foundation! If the foundation is wrong, everything else will be wrong too.
Deuteronomy is basically saying the same thing.
All this business about putting the Law on our foreheads and doorways, simply reminds us that we need to place our relationship with God at the very center of who we are... EVERY DAY of our lives!
Otherwise, we’re just acting. We’re just building on sand.
We need to be serious about teaching our kids about who God is, what God has done for us, and what God expects of us as his children. And that’s something that must be taught AT HOME EVERY DAY.
Our relationship with God needs to define who we are.
Otherwise, we’re just acting.
Whither works? Where do good works fit?
Well, they won’t save us. But they are the building blocks that will keep our lives consistent with the faith we confess and the gift of grace we have received.
And, because that, they are essential, -- and even necessary -- to who we are as Children of God, and disciples of Jesus Christ.
Amen.