On Your Lips and On Your Heart

Romans 10: 5-15, page 160
Moses write concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.”
But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say?
“The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart”
(That is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Sermon
There’s a difference between actually being there and assuming you know what is going on without being there.
Before I started seminary I worked for a lawn maintenance company and I would sometimes be working in someone’s lawn, cutting their grass, trimming their hedges, spraying their weeds, and I knew I was being watched as though I weren’t completely trusted with their boxwoods. At the time I was offended, feeling as though I deserved their trust, but there is a lot of wisdom in actually being there rather than assuming you know what is going on.
Assuming that everything is fine, that you’ve given good instructions and that they’ll be carried out isn’t always a good idea.
Bob Duncan, our county historian and long time member of this church told me a story the other day about a man who paid the price for not being there, assuming that everything was fine.
This man’s church, a beautiful old church south of Bigbyville in the Hopewell Community, needed a fresh coat of paint, and the man decided he was just the one to do something about it. There weren’t any other negotiators as shrewd as him, and with painters always out to make an extra buck off the kindness of church folk, this man began interviewing painters.
One rose above the rest – or you might say he bid below the rest – and the man patted himself on the back for such shrewd negotiating and told the painter, “I want you to paint everything below the roof white.”
“Everything?” the painter asked.
“Everything,” the man said, and he assumed his work was done, having given clear directions to the painter, and assured the painter that he was not the kind to be pushed around.
Soon he would be the hero of the congregation the man assumed, without returning to the church to make sure everything was going on as it should.
On Sunday the man came to church. The painter was gone having finished his work, done just what the man had asked, but not what the man assumed the painter would do. The congregation was standing outside the church admiring the new coat of paint - the siding was painted white, the doors were white, and so were the door knobs and even the windows. Everything below the roof had been painted white and that day church was held in a dark room, not as much worshiping as hand wringing and arm crossing.
There is a difference between actually being there and assuming you know what is going on without being there.
Adam Southern, columnist for the Daily Herald, wrote a story with a similar moral in the paper last week. He decided to take a trip to Atlanta, but rather than ask friends who had actually been there for recommendations about where to go and where to stay he made hotel reservations on-line. The hotel described itself as, “close to attractions and Downtown Atlanta.” Being from Atlanta I want you to know that’s not necessarily good, but that sounded good to Adam, as reading about a place is one thing and actually being there is another.
He pulled into the hotel parking lot at the same time as an ambulance. Not that an ambulance is bad, but the theme of the hotel is what concerned him – there are some hotels that seem inspired by bed and breakfasts, others that posses the flavor of the beach with shaded windows and palm trees – this hotel seemed to possess a prison theme, only lacking razor wire and a gunned parapet.
“Well, looks aren’t everything,” he told himself as he walked across the parking lot, only to be greeted by a man running and screaming to explain the presence of the ambulance, “That was a drive-by they just had!”
He went on into the office; “May I help you?” asked the desk clerk. Immediately Adam replied, “Yes! I would like to cancel my reservations please.”
There’s a difference between actually being there and assuming you know what is going on without being there. Sometimes you just have to be there – you can’t assume you know what’s going on, you can’t read about it on the internet. You just have to be there – and the same is true for people – the power of presence is always significant, there being a big difference between being present and not.
The Apostle Paul in this lesson from Romans writes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?”
Paul seems to believe that you know the answer to this question – how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed – that wouldn’t make any sense, now would it? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard – well, you can’t expect them to do that either. What, then, are you to do? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
He can’t be talking about your feet, you might say. He may as well be asking you to walk on water. But we know he asked Peter to do that too, and so we can’t be surprised that he asks you to get on your feet, regardless of how uncomfortable that makes you feel. How else are they going to call on the Lord? How are they going to believe without you?
It’s a clear enough message, I think, but still it’s a great challenge for Presbyterians. There’s an old joke: what do you get if you cross a Presbyterian with a Jehovah’s Witness? Someone who knocks on your door but doesn’t know what to say.
Let me say this then - there’s a difference between actually being there and assuming you know what is going on without being there.
There is a difference between setting foot in the hospital room to sit by a dying friend not knowing what to say, and assuming there’s no point in going.
There is a difference between getting to know a teacher by seeing her in action, and assuming that education in this country is failing and teachers are the problem.
There is a difference between setting foot in East Columbia and seeing our neighbors face to face, and assuming that there’s nothing we can do to fight crime and poverty in our community.
There’s a difference between actually being there and assuming you know what is going on without being there – “How beautiful are the feet then,” Paul writes, “How beautiful are the feet” of those who don’t put their faith in assumptions.
Those who do so honor our God, Paul says, for there is no need to bring Christ down from heaven or to descend into the abyss that you might bring Christ up – there is no need to go looking for Christ for God has made the word near you, on your lips and in your heart.
Ours is a God who has drawn near, walked the lonesome valley with you, not looking down from heaven in times of your distress, but coming as near to you to know all your joy and all your pain, taking human form to know you rather than make assumptions about the human condition.
Go and do likewise then. Go to them.
Do not assume that they’ll figure it out on their own – if you do we may as well paint the windows and keep the good news in here and all to ourselves.
Go to them and do not assume that you already know who they are. Do not assume that they already know what you have to bring, and do not worry about what you will say – it’s not the mouth, nor the words, but the feet. For beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news.
Amen.