Dear St. Paul’s Family,
St. John the Short was a fourth-century desert father who lived in the Skete Desert in Egypt. One day the hermit from whom he received spiritual guidance handed him a dead stick and instructed him to plant it: “Pour a jug of water over its base every day until it bears fruit.” The distance to the water source was such that John had to leave every evening to get it and did not return until the next morning. For three long years, John maintained this daily practice until the dead stick turned green, and eventually bore fruit. The hermit then picked the fruit, took it to the church, and said to the brothers, “Take and eat the fruit of obedience.” (The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks)
I’m reminded of that ancient story when considering these recent titles from self-help book publishers:
Age Proof Your Brain: Improve Your Memory in 7 Days
How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less
The 28-Day Foolproof Plan to a Healthy Body
The Good-Bye Book: How to Heal a Broken Heart in 30 Days
In a culture that prefers instantaneous transformation and easy results, the scriptures remind us that real change takes time. Regardless of what publishers promise regarding weight loss, memory boosts, and attitude changes, there is simply no quick shortcut toward becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Christian discipleship is, in the words of Eugene Peterson, “a long obedience in the same direction.”
Yet, while the process may take time, the recipe is relatively simple. 1 John, the subject of our current sermon series, would suggest that developing a pattern of wholehearted devotion requires two essential ingredients. Consider this sampling of verses:
- If you know that he is righteous (belief), you may be sure that everyone who does right has been born of him (behavior). (2:29)
- And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ (belief) and love one another, just as he has commanded us (behavior). (3:23)
- Beloved, since God loved us so much (belief), we also ought to love one another (behavior). (4:11)
Like a pair of lenses, belief and behavior give the Christian life dimension and depth. We must express our convictions through tangible action, and we must practice the faith for the right reasons. To understand Christian concepts while avoiding its applications becomes mere intellectualism. And to adopt a Christian ethic without claiming Christian tenets is mere charity at best, and hypocrisy at worst.
Full discipleship is belief and behavior in balance.
And so, like St. John the Short, we journey forth, into the nightly twilight of our doubt and fatigue, to search for water for the dead and brittle parts of our souls. Sometimes that search will call us to change our behavior in accordance to that belief. We may find that we are so set in our comfortable rhythms that the regular practices of prayer, compassion, justice, and worship are too disruptive, and too unsettling. Yet because we believe that the hermit was right, and that the dead stick will someday bear fruit, we keep going.
And at other times – when the journey is most difficult – we are filled with such doubt and uncertainty that we wonder whether what this hermit said is true. How can we trust him? How do we know? And what do we do with our skepticism and reservation? In these moments, when we cannot practice the faith because we believe, we are left only to practice the faith until we believe. And eventually, night time will lift, morning will dawn, and new fruit will be born.
Author, preacher, and professor Barbara Brown Taylor offers:
Too often, I think we insist on deciding what we think before we will decide how we act, when it’s entirely possible that faith was meant to work the other way around. The spiritual directors of the fourth century, the desert fathers and mothers had a ready piece of advice for all who came to them seeking wisdom. Go into your cell, they said, and your cell will teach you everything. Trust the practice, in other words, and the practice will teach you what you need to know. Lay hands on the sick, clothe the naked, pray for the enemy, give to everyone who begs from you, come near. Do these things and eventually you may discover what to think about them. Do not do them, and what you think doesn’t really matter. (Lecture, 2006 Festival of Homiletics, Atlanta, GA)
Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on 1 John called “Bright New Day: Living in the Light of the Resurrection” with a sermon called “Radiating Love” based on 1 John 3. Discover how we are called to give ourselves in service and surrender for the benefit of others.
Together, let’s put God’s love (belief) into action (behavior).
Magrey
1 John 3:16-22
16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him
20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God;
22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Registration begins next Sunday for this year’s Vacation Bible School. The theme is “Crocodile Dock” and promises to be the biggest, best ever! The cost is $7.00 and is for children ages 3 to completed 6th grade. Scholarships are available for families upon request.
END OF SUNDAY SCHOOL YEAR
Just a reminder that this Sunday concludes a fun year of children’s Sunday school. Thanks to all the teachers for their hard work and dedication in putting God’s love into action in the lives of our kids.
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