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Genesis 6:9-22, 7:24, 8:14-19, Romans 1:16-17; 3:22-31, Matthew 7:21-29
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT
The Rev'd W. Lee Shaw
St. Paul’s letter to the Romans contains some strong themes of what
being a Christian is all about, and what it is not about. One of those
themes is stated explicitly in our reading today: For there is no
distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
they are now justified by his grace as a gift.
Paul also confesses that he not ashamed of the Gospel; it is the power
of God for salvation.
He states the reality that he and all of us
fall short of God’s glory and God’s hope for us. But the various
classes and categories and labels we place on each other show our own
inability to see ourselves as clearly as we think we see others.
Whenever we start to categorize people—in any way—I feel
we need to come back to St. Paul’s words of confession: All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
It has been wisely noted
that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. We all fall
short of the glory of God and all of us rely on the free gift of grace
in our lives.
It is not just what we say we believe, it is how we live into that
faith in our daily lives. This is what Jesus says rather clearly in
our Gospel passage. It is not those who say, Lord, Lord
that
have their salvation locked up. Jesus calls us to live into his words
and teachings in a personal way. He calls us not to just trumpet our
faith in him but to live it daily, to follow him.
Because of this injunction to live our faith, many people look to the Bible as a rule book to show them how to do it. The Bible is not a rule book. The Bible points us to how we are to be in relationship with each other and with God, but it is not a book of rules of exactly how to do it.
But that has not stopped folks from writing their own book of rules on how to be a good Christian. We have all seen these books in religious book stores, in the religion section of Barnes and Noble, etc. I personally do not think there is one standard way of doing this, hence a book of rules does not make a lot of sense to me. But I do believe there are some attributes, some graces in life that can point us in the right direction. They are not rules so much as characteristics, attributes, tendencies of a striving Christian.
Several years ago I discovered a group in Texas called the Order of Christian Workers. It is an intentional ecumenical community founded by an Episcopal priest. They focus on community work, hospitality, pastoral care, prayer, healing and teaching. Some time ago their founder, Fr. Thomas Jackson, wrote and designed a poster, To Follow the Christ, which outlines some of the characteristics, attributes and tendencies he saw as a striving Christian. I have the poster in my bedroom above my small prayer table. I read parts of it almost daily.
May we each follow the Christ in our own way, on our own path in our own time.