Sermon: Do As I Say...

          How often have you understood, "do as I say, not as I do"?  How often have you wanted others to do as you say?  How do we reconcile what people say with what they do?  Just look at all our politicians.  Eventually, we realize that it's actions that count, and while words are important in establishing authenticity, actions are even more so. 

          So did you hear that Christ came for the Jews, not the Gentiles?  He says so, in Matthew 15:24, and in Mark 7:27.  Or later in Mark when he cursed the fig tree, a tree long representing Israel, but then explained that faith and prayer could make it better again.  Or when later he cleansed the temple, making His Father's house again one of prayer and not of trade.

          Did you know Peter was listening when Jesus spoke to the woman who asked Him to heal her daughter, as He said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel", and then watching as Jesus healed the Syro-Phoenician woman's daughter?  Did you know it was Peter who asked him about the withered fig tree the next morning, having heard Christ say no fruit will come from you again?  Or that Peter was watching when, as Christ cleansed the temple, He reminded them:  "‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?"

          Peter, bless his soul, was called the Rock for a reason.  Not just because he was steady and stable, steadfast in his faith and willing to take risks.  He was the ultimate Gryffindor, not generally inclined to think things through.  He is often the one most like ourselves – devout, but not necessarily the brightest bulb.  He needed some prepping before he was ready for the dream he would have in Acts, where he realizes that Christ came for all people; that God broke down the walls of separation, created all of humanity, and our responsibilities as Christians is to the whole of mankind, not just the Jews.

          We, on the other hand, have the benefit of 2000 years of history – and a whole Bible in one place.  We know that Christ came for both Jew and Gentile, because today, we celebrate Epiphany, the day that the Magi arrived to recognize this Manifestation of God.  And the Magi certainly weren't Jews.

          One of the fun parts about explaining the liturgical year to someone who doesn't follow the liturgical calendar is how we fit all of the events into one year.  Epiphany falls on what has traditionally been known as 12th Night of the 12 Days of the Christmas season.  This is usually celebrated with gift giving, cakes and a drink called wassail, as we commemorate the arrival of the Magi.  In actuality, it took quite a while for them to arrive, as the star didn't appear until the night Jesus was born.  Fortunately, they'd been expecting a sign of His birth, so they were pretty well prepared to travel quickly. 

          Some people speculate that these three were "kings" in their own right, come to welcome the new "king" to the club.  It is actually more likely that they were priests following the Zoroastrian religion from Persia, and their own writings foretold of Christ's coming.  As you'll notice in the Gospel reading, " On entering the house (not stable), they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."  So again, the idea of the three wise men in the stable, didn't happen. 

          Time-wise, the Leviticus laws under which Mary was constrained said that she would be separate for 40 days after the birth of the baby.  It was likely that the shepherds came the same night Jesus was born, but after that, no one but family would have been around Mary.  So, we know the Magi came at least 40 days after Christ was born.  But!  We're a liturgical people, and we have assigned Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, as the day to celebrate their arrival.  We don't claim they got there that quickly.

          However, their arrival helps us to understand that Christ was born to redeem all mankind, not just the Jews.  His actions confirm this throughout His ministry.  The first person He told of His mission here as the Messiah was a Samaritan woman.  The Samaritans also played a part in the parable of being a good neighbor.  His actions always included everyone, but His words were often very specific to the Jews.  Even though Paul emphasizes his own mission to the Gentiles in most of his letters, including today's letter to the Ephesians, it was Peter's dream and decision that the Christian religion would be all inclusive that helped the church expand so quickly into the areas of the Gentiles.  Paul, of course, had a huge influence on the inclusion of the Gentiles as well, but Peter was the "rock upon which [Christ] will build [his] church."  Peter learned to listen to Christ's "words" – which certainly included more than the spoken word, but most particularly His actions – and did as Christ both said and did.

          Today, however, actions tend to speak louder than words in our life lessons.  We have become so used to the PC speak and unfulfilled promises of others, we often don't even trust the words of others.  Minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. “I do not only want to get rid of him, I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me.”

          Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan: “Go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him.” With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, “Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!” And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting “as if.” For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing. When she didn’t return, Crane called. “Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?”

          “Divorce?” she exclaimed. “Never! I discovered I really do love him.” Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often repeated deeds.

          The wise men traveled hundreds of miles, after having studied their own religious writings for decades.  They came to pay homage to the Christ child.  They let their deeds speak for themselves, and on their return, taught others of the birth of the Messiah.

          So here today, I'd like to challenge each of us to take Christ's commandments that you heard at the beginning of this service:  " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."  Don't say the words.  Live them.  Do as we were commanded to do.  How will you show, by action, the love of God?  How will you show love to your neighbor?