Feet of Faith

James 2:1-17
14th Sunday of Pentecost B
September 10, 2006

You've all heard the story of the "Footprints in the Sand": One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it: "LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied: "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
When we think of our relationship with Christ as a journey, this is often how we picture it: the companionship, the carrying, the support -- but this isn't the only picture of our life with Jesus.

At our new membership class a few weeks ago the group asked what it meant to be a United Methodist. What is different about United Methodists from everyone else? James is one key to the difference. Martin Luther said that the book of James was straw, worthless, and shouldn't be in the Bible, but for John Wesley, who started the Methodist movement, James was the straw for the bricks of a life of faith.

James is a book that emphasizes how we behave as Christians - what we do. We do not earn God’s favor, we do not earn God’s love, but what we do and how we behave matter. I think of it as a way of responding to God’s love, inviting God to move in and work in us. For United Methodists the walk of faith is not so much Christ walking with us but us walking with Christ. We follow. Our journey is to discern what path Jesus has for us, to sort out where God wants us to go. So our footprints are not just those that have Jesus as a companion, but the ones that have Jesus as a guide.

Now James says one way we do that is how we treat people. James tells us two things. The first is don’t favor the rich over the poor. Don’t give them a better seat and make the poor stand in the back. The second is don’t be indifferent to those who need you. James then goes on to say, "what good does it do if you say you have faith and don’t give them what they need?" What you do matters.

I've had this experience. I met a powerful clergywoman once right after I'd dropped out of seminary. I was introduced to her and when she asked me where I was attending school I said I had just dropped out. She turned around and walked away. Another time I served on a committee with a laywoman. I was twenty six and looked really young. She treated me rudely, thinking I was a youth. When I was introduced to her as "Rev" her behavior changed immediately. I knew something about her!

Have you had this experience, or is it just clergy?

It matters how we behave, and it matters at church. If our floor was sand, and we could see distinctly where our own footprints had been after a morning here, what would the pattern of your footprints be? Where would they go? To whom would they go, and where would they lead?

And where would Jesus footprints be in this place?

We talk about how we behave at church because this is the place we practice living as Jesus calls us; this is the place we practice living in the kingdom of God. We practice walking over to someone who needs our concern, we practice offering the care that we can for one another regardless of what we might receive. Then, when we leave, we take that practice with us and our footprints go right out the door.

I'll tell you a story I may have told you before, but it is so good I want to share it again today. (This is Mike Yaconelli's story.)

A man from church agreed to drive the youth to the nursing home for a worship service. The first month he was in the back with his arms folded as the kids were doing their thing up front. All of a sudden, someone was tugging at his arm. He looked down and here was this old man in a wheelchair. He took hold of the old man's hand and the old man held his hand all during the service. The next month that was repeated. The man in the wheelchair came and held the hand of the deacon. The next month, the next month, and the next month. Then the old man wasn't there. The deacon inquired and he was told, "Oh, he's down the hall, right hand side, third door. He's dying. He's unconscious, but if you want to go down and pray over his body that's alright."

The deacon went and there were tubes and wires hanging out all over the place. The deacon took the man's hand and prayed that God would receive the man, that God would bring this man from this life into the next and give him eternal blessings. As soon as he finished the prayer, the old man squeezed the deacon's hand and the deacon knew that he had been heard. He was so moved by this that tears began to run down his cheeks. He stumbled out of the room and as he did so he bumped into a woman. She said, "He's been waiting for you. He said that he didn't want to die until he had the chance to hold the hand of Jesus one more time."

The deacon was amazed at this. He said, "What do you mean?"

She said, "Well, my father would say that once a month Jesus came to this place. ‘He would take my hand and he would hold my hand for a whole hour. I don't want to die until I have the chance to hold the hand of Jesus one more time.'"

We have feet of faith, hands of faith, whole bodies that live out our faith in the world, so we can be the presence of Christ for someone else. It does matter what we do because we offer the presence of Christ to a world that needs the love of Christ, the hope of Christ, the touch of Christ, and we can share it with them. Our life is a pattern of footprints, but it isn't just Jesus walking nicely alongside us -- Jesus is leading us to places we would never have gone ourselves. Amen.