TO THE SIDEWALK AND BEYOND

Just how far does the faith we proclaim in worship extend? Does it make it out of the sanctuary and reach the sidewalk? Does it travel well reach home so it shapes how we live with the people closest to us? Does our faith connect with the real lives we lead?

I thought of this as we wrestle with the question of intervening in the Syrian civil war. (Experts tell us American assistance is already established there.) We follow the Prince of Peace so violence seems not to be an option for us, and yet scripture calls for justice on behalf of the powerless, widows, orphans and strangers. What do we do? One friend suggested we "bomb" the country with food packages, medical care, and tents. Does our faith shape our stance on this question?

I thought of this when I saw workers for fast food restaurants striking for higher wages. The UMC supports the right -this may surprise you!- of workers to collective bargaining. "The character of God demands...integrity in matters of economics," writes Weems and Berlin in Bearing Fruit. Isaiah 58 says, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free?"

I thought of this when I see good, church-going folks on Facebook posting messages that are hateful and exclusionary. Two months ago I saw a person of faith post a message about the President that was demeaning and racist. Soon thereafter he posted a message that was dismissive and unkind to those of us who are gay and lesbian. I sent him a message and asked, "Is this you...really?" Does our faith shape how we handle social media?

I thought of this when I read about the number of arrests in Bloomington of persons for underage drinking. Do those of us who are God's beloved let that knowledge shape how we handle our freedom on Friday and Saturday nights? The new testament teaches us to look out for our neighbor, not to misuse our freedom by using others to get what we want, and I wonder if our Sunday morning faith reaches Friday and Saturday nights in apartments and housing units in and around IU.

I thought of this when I read about bankers fighting oversight regulations, and heard folks on Wall Street saying that we are risking another financial collapse because of greed and irresponsibility. Conservative bankers have told me they are nervous. "No one is watching us," they have told me.

Just how far does our faith reach? If our faith doesn't reach the sidewalk and beyond then all of this is just talk.

I can see, in so many of you, how your faith shapes your living. I see how your involvement makes a difference all across the city and state and world. I'm so thankful.

Do you know one of the reasons Jesus ended up on a cross? He insisted that what is happening between us and God must...must!... radically change what is going on between us and our neighbors.

I invite you to let God give you such a bold, courageous faith that it will carry you all the way home...and to the office...and to the classroom...and to your floor in the dorm...and to your conversations at Nick's and the Bake House.

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark