GOSPEL MESSAGE & RECORDING
In our present society, because of everything that has occurred within the past two years, a person’s silence on an issue is also considered his or her allegiance to what might be deemed racist, prejudice or hateful. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “In the end we will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” He was saying the silence is equal to the words of the enemies of justice. I would say in effect what he also means is that we need to vocalize our denouncement of a wrong that is occurring in our society; and furthermore, we should involve ourselves in the work of justice in our society. My main point in bringing this up is to show us that vocalizing what we believe matters. But that also should be backed-up by doing the work, that is, putting our words into tangible form so that we work with others in the community to bring about positive change in our society. If we believe something we should work toward what we believe.
In the Pauline Epistle today, the Apostle Paul teaches us that if there is no preacher no one will be able to hear the Gospel: “How shall they hear without a preacher.” (Romans 10: 14) Here, for St. Paul, the preaching of the Gospel, the Good News, is a central component of Christian life. For the early Church, spreading the message of Christ was vitally important, because they were following the command of their master, “Go and make disciples of nations…” So, therefore, if there was an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus, a Christian in the early Church would seize that opportunity. But this does not paint a complete picture of Christianity in the early Church. There was more to it than just preaching the Gospel; they also lived the Gospel. For the Apostle preaching was not isolated from the work of the Gospel. Preaching and living out the Christian faith were one and the same. Let me explain this even more by using Romans 10:9, which was also read today.
St. Paul says in Romans 10: 9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” So, then all I have to do is “confess” and I am saved? Wow! That sounds easy. But it’s not! For St. Paul, “confessing the Gospel” and “living the Gospel” were not separate. We have to understand that St. Paul was not writing in light of the fact that Pentecostals, or Evangelicals, were causing theological havoc next door. He didn’t have that problem; therefore, he was not on the defensive. So-called Christians of our time separate works and beliefs. They do this by abusing the writings of St. Paul. It was not fathomable for St. Paul, or anyone one in the early Church, to separate the “confessing the Gospel” and “living the Gospel.” Likewise, we should not do the same.
As Orthodox Christians we hold fast to the true faith. In other words, preaching the Gospel and living the Gospel are the same. Although, this may be true on paper; that is, as doctrine and as an article of faith, it has not been made practical in our lives. Let me explain.
We have to show the work in our parish:
Because the majority of us belong to the Asian Indian Community as second generation who are born or raised in this country, we developed a suburban lifestyle. It’s centered around being in the best school district, having a good job, climbing up the corporate ladder and making sure we have our retirement all in order. In a way, we have an alignment with the American structure that promotes success, wealth and happiness. And in a way, we have brought this into the church. We need to come out of that and see how we can integrate ourselves into communities that are not so well-off and wealthy. If we as Orthodox confess the truth faith with our heart and mouth then we must demonstrate with our work that we truly believe what we confess.
We have to show the work in our life:
“Preach the Gospel using words, when necessary,” is a saying that is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. This has been used, or rather misused, to point out that we don’t need to talk about our Lord or our faith but we just need to live it out and others will figure it out. Again, we are drawn toward what the Apostle Paul said, “if there is no preacher, then who will hear.” Our faith is not should not be a search and find for others. It should be apparent to others who we associate with, are friends with, that we are Orthodox Christian. It should not be a surprise to them. We should not suppress our faith for others. At the same time, this does not mean that we become overzealous and impart our faith where it is ineffective, thus feeding our pride and serving our own ego, as we see in the various denominations. St. Paul said, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” Often, when we hear that we have to talk about Jesus, we think we have to be harsh and judgmental. On the contrary, we should be as St. Paul says, ones who bring “glad tidings of good things.”