Questions and Actions

Luke 7:18-35

“Questions and Actions”

12 February 2017 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            Because I am a military chaplain, I am repeatedly asked certain questions regarding my job. Without fail, one of the topics of those questions revolves around why do I enjoy the chaplaincy so much. It’s the same reason that I love working with youth and young adults; the bold confidence of young people and military members to ask questions of themselves, to include their faith.

            Maybe it’s because the job puts us in certain situations where faith is important that we are forced to ask those questions. Perhaps it’s a characteristic of youth and military families to question everything. Whatever the reason for the questioning attitude among the young and those in the military, it’s refreshing. And Biblical.

            When you think of John, what words come to mind? (And yes this is audience participation time). We call him John the Baptist, the one who baptized Christ. The one who lived out in the wilderness preaching the need for repentance and getting right with God because the Messiah was coming. We have images of the perfect messenger preaching the perfect message.

            But what words come to mind when we hear about the disciple named Thomas? Doubting Thomas. Couldn’t believe unless he physically saw Jesus risen and could touch the wounds.

            We mock and deride one questioner and revere the other. That makes no sense. Especially as they both are asking the same question of Christ, “Are you who you say you are? I need to know because I’ve staked my life and my reputation on you, but I’m not 100% sure. Help me in my disbelief. I’m all in, but…”

            Does this sound familiar and personal? I certainly hope so. I hope that each of us in this room question our faith and beliefs on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean that your chaplain is encouraging a lack of faith. Quite the opposite. As your chaplain, I want you to strengthen your faith. By asking questions and exploring what we believe, we come to a stronger, more durable, more honest, and more translatable faith.

            This passage shows how faith and doubt go hand in hand. John followed God’s call to go and preach a message that was new and different yet full of radical hope. He attracted a fairly sizeable crowd. He was viewed by many as just another crazy cult leader. One day, during his normal baptismal routine, his cousin came up to get baptized. John knew his cousin was something special because his mother never stopped telling him what all the world had in store for Jesus.

            He baptized Jesus, and sure enough something amazing happened. Heaven broke loose and a booming voice from the heavens declared that Jesus was God’s beloved son. Even after experiencing this, John continued down the path God had set before him continuing to preach repentance and preparation for the Messiah, baptizing those who chose to believe his message.

            John’s followers heard and saw Jesus as they were travelling. They’d come back and tell John about the message Jesus was preaching that the prisoners were about to be broken out of jail, captives set free, the blind would have 20/20 vision. Everything was changing before their eyes.

            Then John gets arrested by Herod. And he starts to think about life. If Jesus is really serious about freeing the captives he could start with me. I’ve been faithfully preaching about him and bringing people into his club and circle of followers. The least he could do is set me free so I don’t rot in this horrible jail.

            One week during a visit from his friends, John tells them to go and ask Jesus if he really is the one John’s been pointing to all this time. John knows his time is getting short and is looking for some confirmation about his faith and maybe subtly asking for a prison break.

            Jesus receives the friends of his cousin. Listens to their existential questions and then answers in such a powerful way. “Look around at what you see. Look at what is happening here. Then go back and tell John what all you have seen. I am doing everything I’ve said I would. The blind see, lepers and the lame are healed. This is radical inclusion and grace.”

            That blows my mind. There isn’t an appeal to emotion or logic. There isn’t teaching on belief, no trying to prove himself through quoting Scripture or a creed. Jesus just says, look at what is happening. Look at what we’ve done. Seeing is believing, just not always what we want to see. John probably wanted to see the walls of his physical prison fall down before him. Unfortunately, that won’t happen for John.

What Christ did for John, and still does for us, is to open eyes to what is truly possible. What we do matters more than the specifics of our theology. When we work to release the captives, give the blind sight, free people from physical and emotional prisons we prove Christ’s teachings and life.

The world, and even the church, is full of people who ask hard questions of Christ and Christians. Society and the church tend to look down upon or relegate those who are questioning their beliefs by calling those individuals “seekers.” But, aren’t we all seeking? Even those of us who are cradle to grave Christians. Don’t we all have those moments where we ask Christ, “are you really who you say you are?” Or, “If only you could give me some sort of sign that I’m doing the right thing. Some way to know that you are there and at the helm of this raft hurtling down the rapids.”

We all seek answers regarding our faith because we all have questions. Sometimes we find the answers to those questions in books, through songs and prayer, sometimes through sermons that we hear. I would venture that most times we find the answers to our questions of faith through the actions of those to whom the question is directed. Actions speak volumes, sometimes so loudly that our words are but faint whispers.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t discuss our faith with each other to strengthen one another and build resilience in the face of an uncertain world. Rather, we should strive to make our words match our actions in proclaiming the Gospel to all people. So much so that we embody the words of St. Francis, “preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

As in this interaction with John’s friends, how we treat others and the way in which we actually spread the good news rather than talking about our beliefs matters a great deal. Christ points to the lives changed through his Gospel rather than describing them. He tells John, and us, if this is what you think the Gospel is, then you have heard me correctly and I am the one whom you are seeking. Everyone is seeking Christ and those that have seen a glimpse of him should be the ones living out his teachings, pointing the world to the one whom we all seek and desire.

You can listen to sermons from St. Andrew's Military Chapel here.

Just create a login and download sermons at your convenience.