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Walking the Talk Matthew 7:21 – 29; Genesis 6:9 – 22, 7:24, 8:14 – 19 Bobos in Paradise (New York: Simon and Schuster. 2000), is a book in which David Brooks describes the highly educated establishment people of our time. He claims that they — the elite of the early 21st century — have “one foot in the bohemian world of creativity and another foot in the bourgeois realm of ambition and worldly success. The members of the new information elite are bourgeois bohemians. Or, to take the first two letters of each word, they are Bobos.” (p. 11) One of the most startling indicators of this new group of leaders is the graduate list of any Ivy League university. Forty years ago the majority of those graduates had genetic links to former graduates — they were legacies to whichever school they attended. Then there was a shift, and standardized testing became the entry key to most universities. It changed the university culture completely, as well as the landscape of the nation. It was (and is) no longer who you are…what kind of family you have come from…but what you have made of yourself – either through intellect or ambition. Even though we have never had royalty within the United States we have had a class system based on inherited money, which, of course, also removed most possibility of those in the upper class being any color but white. That seismic change in the sociological landscape of American society had the potential for making a more equal playing field because it meant an integration of ability and potential that had nothing to do with inherited wealth. Unfortunately, according to Brooks, the bourgeois part – big money – creates a constant tension for the idealists of the 60’s who had broken down the ‘genetic wealth = success’ establishment. Money, though not inherited, still is the critical determination of power. Jesus was tough on moneyed people — not because money is bad — but because often money tricks us into thinking we are privileged, better than, have more potential than others. The sermon today is not about money, but something of equal concern. Just as some have thought the possession of wealth can buy them a good place in life, others — according to Jesus — have thought the possession of his teachings could buy the way to a good life. No, says Jesus, it is not about possessing my ways. It is not about hearing my words. It is not even about doing deeds of power in my name. The Gospel is about changing your life so that I (Jesus!) will be in control — transforming your very being so that your character is shaped by our relationship, shifting all that you are so that it reflects the very nature and presence of God. Just like bloodline ceased to be the end all…talking is not enough. Thomas Kelly was a well-known teacher, writer, and speaker in the Quaker tradition. He taught at Earlham College in Indiana, Wellesley College in Massachusetts, and Haverford College in Pennsylvania. In 1937 something happened to him that no one has been able to document. His biographer, Douglas Steere wrote: “but old walls caved in, the fierce academic ambition receded, and a new abandoned kind of fulfillment made its appearance…it was the same voice, the same pen, the same rich imagery that always crowded his writing…but now he seemed to be expounding less as being one possessed of ‘knowledge about’ and more as one who an unmistakable ‘acquaintance with.’ A new authority began to mark what he said, and people felt a wave of authenticity that they could not shake off.” (Kelly, Thomas, A Testament of Devotion. From Living Selections from the Great Devotional Classics. Nashville: Harper and Brothers. 1955. Pp. 5-6.) That’s the character change Jesus was looking for. That’s the transformation Jesus yearns for within us every day…every month…every year. We know when we have been in the presence of one who has integrated their faith into their life. We know when we meet someone whose life has truly been changed by the power of God. We know when our own lives have — or have not — the integrity…the inter-weaving…of what we say we believe and what we, in fact, live out on a daily basis. I was introduced to the slogan, ‘Walking the Talk,’ as I worked with alcoholics over the years. The 12 steps in Alcoholics Anonymous start with three mental activities …admission, belief and decisions. Those three steps are important but elementary to the process of recovering. They have to be joined with the steps that require action and involvement with other people who will help them be accountable to their decisions. Walking the talk — the millions who have become recovering alcoholics because of AA know assuredly they didn’t get there with mere talk or decision making in their heads and hearts. The integration of ‘doing’ and ‘knowing’ made healing commence. And Jesus says, away from me, those of you who hear and do not act talk and do not walk — believe but do not show any evidence of that belief. The Church of Jesus Christ exists as a place and a people to serve the aim of integrating the talk with the walk. We all have difficulty with this. We all need practice to build the character we claim we have chosen. We all need each other for accountability. There’s a story about a farmer who was visited by a couple of young, energetic evangelists. They knocked on his door and asked if he ‘was saved.’ The farmer left the two at the door and went into his farmhouse for a pencil and a pad of paper. Coming back to the two evangelists, he gave them a list of 10 people. “These are the names of my neighbors. Go talk with them. They will be able to tell you whether what I say I believe is truly how my life is lived.” Talking is not enough. What we claim to believe has to manifest itself through our very life. And this is not just about activity or specific deeds or works that we can do on a weekend. It is about the building of our character. It is about creating a life that is so steered, so controlled by our faith in Jesus Christ that when the rain falls, the floods come and the winds blow we are still the same. The message Jesus has in these words is for each of us personally and, also, for us as congregations — faith communities. Talking, reciting, claiming, writing is not enough. What we claim we believe about our faith — what we have written about our purpose and mission, what we recite about our ministry — will mean nothing as we meet Jesus Christ unless those words of faith, that purpose and mission, the fullness of ministry live within our very being, and we are walking the talk. Do we, Union Avenue, truly celebrate the diversity among us? Are we actively serious about becoming Biblically informed? Are we socially responsible through and through? Are we all artistically alive? And does our congregation speak and act Christ’s love? Is our life together preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Is our life together so visibly filled with the power of faith that people will be awed by it and changed by it? Is our life together living out the claim Christ has on us? May we make sure this house of faith is built on the rock — the foundation of life — that will serve God through life everlasting. SW |
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