Are You Walking the Walk or Just Talking the Talk?
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday there were several sermons given on John the Baptist, the greatest man ever born of a woman, up to that point. Against that back drop in the Catholic tradition over the weekend was the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a continuing celebration of a year of mercy. The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated in Immokalee, Florida with parades and worship. This year it came the day before the 3rd Sunday in Advent. And again I was prompted to think about what is needed for obedience. Related to this our pastor mentioned on Sunday that it is easier to walk one’s way into a new way of thinking than to think one’s way into a new way of walking. Maybe that is why Jesus was always urging others to come and follow him on his walk. Are You Walking the Walk or Just Talking the Talk?
Scripture: When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
Matthew 21:23-27 (NRSV)
My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2–4 (NRSV)
And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’
Matthew 4:19 (NRSV)
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;
Luke 6:43 (NRSV)
‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5: 13-16 (NRSV)
Message: When the leaders—the chief priest and the elders tried to ask Jesus a trick question about his authority, they had hoped to make a fool out of Jesus. The only problem was that their question became a boomerang when Jesus met their challenging question with a question of His own. When Jesus asked them His question it was clear that either way that they answered the question would be incriminating.
This text is about how our words match our actions when it comes to obedience to the will of God. It is both our actions and our words that communicate on which side of the fence we are standing whether it be obedience or rebellion. The main reason that the chief priests and the elders had to say that “they did not know” when they did indeed know the answer was because they would have been admitting that they were sinners who had neglected their need to repent. Now there are two ways that we can take our stand. We can be like the chief priests and elders who talk the talk but did not walk the walk. Or we can learn to trust and follow Jesus.
Pray we live by faith. Pray that wherever and whenever we come together in prayer, we grow in grace and love and the Word. Pray we trust in the Holy Spirit’s presence. Pray we trust in God’s promises. Pray we trust in Jesus and never reject Him. Pray we realize that Jesus is still the way, the truth and the life. Pray we trust Jesus to prepare a place for us in this life and the next. Pray that our faith grows in the promise of Abraham so that we too might be blessed to be a blessing. Pray we are salt and light in the world. Pray we bring forth good fruit.
Pray we have been set free to live in freedom’s spirit. Pray that we understand our faith experience involving our mind, emotions and will in the act of doing. Pray we rejoice in the power of the Word made flesh. Pray we start right but not finish wrong. Pray we do not fall prey to legalism or to the institutionalization of Christ. Pray we live in grace. Pray that we realize that we cannot redeem ourselves. Pray that the Holy Spirit helps us to live in grace. Pray we are not just hearers of the Word but doers as well. Pray that we experience life and worship as a collective prayer that shapes our souls in God’s continuing plan for His creation. Pray we walk with Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 