A Working Faith
First Congregational Church – Wauwatosa, WI
Communion Meditation for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost – September 6, 2009
(Labor Day)
Rev. Steven A. Peay. Ph.D.
Proverbs: 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23 /James 2: 1-10, 14-17/ Mark 7: 24-37

‘Labor Day,’ is a holiday to celebrate the American worker and the great achievement of the American economy. It began as part of the labor movement back in the 19th century, 1882 to be exact, and over the years grew and spread to become a national holiday – beginning as a state holiday in Oregon and by the early years of the twentieth century. This year we celebrate Labor Day in the midst of a recession and in a time where unemployment in this great land of opportunity stands at almost 10 per cent of the population. So on this ‘Labor Sunday,’ which was first declared by the American Federation of Labor back in 1909 to celebrate the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement, it seems oddly appropriate to hear what the Proverbist said: “The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all.”

The Lord is our maker, the Lord is the source of our ability to work and Lord is the merciful One who keeps us going. Whether we are well-off or not, we have what we have – including our ability to work -- because it is, ultimately, a gift from God. As one prayer says so well, “even our desire to thank you is itself your gift.” James’ asks a probing question in his epistle, “Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith? …But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you?” It seems odd, as Philip Yancey has pointed out, that where faith ought to abound it falters and where it should be faltering it appears. He told a story about visiting Yellowstone National Park and seeing Old Faithful for the first time – which I have yet to do and need to put on my ‘bucket list.’ He remarked on the wonder of the tourists and how even the people in the Inn went running out to “ooh” and “aah” at the geyser. Yancey noted, though, that the busboys and restaurant personnel used that opportunity of people leaving the table to clear dishes and re-fill glasses. There were no “oohs” and “aahs” from them. They had grown used to Old Faithful. Perhaps those of us who are doing ok, who are good citizens and generally religious people are like those restaurant workers – we’ve grown so familiar that the wonder and the majesty of faith in God no longer moves us? It no longer surprises us. It no longer excites us. It’s just same-old, same-old.

Perhaps we need to take a lesson from the Syro-Phoenician woman who came to Jesus seeking a healing on that long-ago day. She came to Jesus rather boldly, and this story makes a number of folks uncomfortable, Jesus was not as welcoming as we would expect him to be. He says to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” The Syro-Phoenicians really took advantage of their position in Israel and here it could be that Jesus was just being a good Jew and directing his mission and his message to the ones he knew he had been sent.

The woman, however, was not about to take ‘no’ for an answer. One author has said: “It was as if she had read the passage in Proverbs before coming to Jesus: “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” She reminds him: “the rich and poor have this in common: the Lord is maker of them all” (Proverbs 22:2). This is not a theory of trickle-down economics; she does not point out to him that those with the least eventually get the run over of those who have the most. Rather, she argues plainly that God’s provision is for all.” [Mandy Sloan Fleming] And Jesus responds to her by admiring her faith – a working faith, not an idle or taken-for-granted one – and says to her: “For saying that you may go – the demon has left your daughter.” Her faith, her persistence in believing in what Jesus can do, bears fruit and her daughter is healed.

Now, here’s something to consider. If we understand that Jesus, to use Paul’s words, “emptied himself” of Divinity in order to fully take on our humanity; then, could it just be that Jesus also takes on our need to learn and to grow? I like to think that when, a little later, he uttered ‘ephatah’ – ‘be opened’ to the deaf man after his encounter with the woman of Tyre, he was also opening us, as himself had been opened, all of humanity, to the wonder of God at work among us.

The world in which we live needs to recover a working faith. Somehow we’ve come to the point where we think that faith is like any other commodity that simply exists for our convenience and our comfort. That approach to faith is what James takes head-on when he says: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” And after pointing out concretely how we are to care for those in need he concludes – and powerfully so – “So faith by itself, if it has no works is dead.”

A working faith is a living faith. A living faith is one that reaches beyond the walls of the meeting house, beyond the comfort zones of our neighborhoods, communities and even the nation to touch lives and make a difference. To make a difference because God has first made a difference in our lives – as we were reminded in the baptismal service this morning and as we are reminded each time we come to the Lord’s Table. When we receive communion this morning let it be viaticum – food for the journey, which nourishes and empowers us to live open to God, open to each other, and open to service, all through a working faith.

We serve a God who came among us and “has done everything well.” God’s working faith in the world God made, in us made in God’s image and likeness, was lived-out in Jesus the Christ. Likewise, we’re to do everything well through the working faith God has given us, lived out in lives of loving service, making a difference where we are and by who we are.

There’s power in this working faith. Let’s not take it for granted, get distracted by the necessities of everyday life and thereby miss the wonder of God in our midst. Cultivate a working faith, let it thrive, labor on!