I'm not much of a gardener … but sometimes in the cold and grey of February when we all get to be longing for spring I think it would be great to start some seeds going as a promise that spring will come. There's often not much to show for that thought … sometimes seeds actually get started, or if they do, not much actually sprouts. Every once in a while something actually makes it into the ground come spring, and manages to grow in spite of the inattention it gets from me. This summer I have successfully grown moonflowers.

In case you haven't come across moonflowers before, they are related to the morning glory plant. They grow in long vines, climbing up anything they can get their tendrils around. It takes all summer before you get to see them bloom, and as their name suggests, they bloom in the evenings. A few evenings ago I saw the first bloom. It was breathtakingly beautiful … a large white blossom with a star shaped design on its leaves. According to our landscaper the blooms you can take a cup of tea out to the garden in the evening and watch the blossoms unfurl. The next morning I went to show someone the blossom only to find it had shriveled up and was ready to fall off the vine. I discovered that the blooms last briefly into the next morning and that's the end for them. The flowers are a one night stand … they have no staying power once the sun hits them.

The moonflower blossom reminds me of what happens to those who say yes to becoming a follower of Jesus Christ and go on living as if nothing in their life has changed. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the fleeting beauty of the moonflower blossoms … they are more than worth appreciating. And, we will enjoy watching the blossoms unfurl on summer evenings. There is nothing more beautiful than beginnings in faith. We regularly witness them in baptisms … a family comes together for this special day, celebrates together and brings great hope to the moment. But then, what happens after the baptism? We celebrate with those who come to awareness of God's saving grace for them as they make a commitment to become a follower of Jesus Christ … but if that is where it stops then their commitment is gone faster than a moonflower blossom come morning.

"Faith without works is dead." This is probably among the best known passages in the book of James. It is a passage that has caused considerable debate, leaving some to say James should have no place in our theological constructs because it seems to contradict the deeply held tenant of Reformation theology that it is faith alone that saves us. Much of the reformation protests in the 1500's centered around the abuses of the church … the selling of indulgences to buy your way into heaven, the idea that one could only talk to God by going through the priests, that only the priests could read the Bible … laity did not have the proper credentials to understand the Biblical texts and needed them to be interpreted … in short access to God was through the priests of the church. The rebellion of the Reformers … Luther and Calvin and Zwingli … was that we do not need an intermediary to reach God, nor could we be saved by any amount of money given or works that were done by us or for us. Only God could save us. The Reformation emphasized that faith alone saves … and lost in that emphasis was any thought that there needed to be a response to our salvation that led to a different way of life. The book of James seemed to counter Reformation teaching and so took a back shelf in much of Protestantism.

For me it is a richer faith if we intertwine the gift of the reformation that God alone saves, along with the theology of James that tells us that faith without works is dead. One needs both … to be convinced that it is only through the grace of God that we can be brought into relationship with God – that all the good works in the universe can't get us to that place; but that along with our faith in God's saving grace, we have to be examples of what that means. The second chapter of James is a reminder of that. What good does it do to tell someone in need: "God loves you," without demonstrating to that person what God's love means. It does no good to say "I believe," without evidence of a faithful life style. James comes down hard on those who say they do a pretty good job. He uses the Ten Commandments as an example … saying that it's not enough to say I follow most of the commandments, he sarcastically asks which ones will you choose to ignore? James says: "So which commandments don't count? Adultery is ok if you don't commit murder?" In Working Preacher, Craig Koester puts it this way: "If faith is reduced to saying a few words like "I believe," then the expression of faith can be reduced to a few words like telling a homeless person, "Have a nice day." For James, faith begins with a word – the Word from God gives people life, then those who live out that Word extend life to others. Faith is what is active in a person's life, actively giving life to you and to those around you. If it is not active, it is not faith." (link)

As the people of God we will be known by our actions. It is one thing to recite a creed or a faith statement, another thing altogether to put that into practice. James would remind us that our actions determine what we truly believe in our hearts, regardless of what words we might profess. Consider all the decisions that you make about your schedules … there are the conflicts of Sunday sports, the reality of trying to get everything that needs to be done done, places to go and people to see. What determines how you make those decisions? What gets priority in our life? Are there areas of your life that need changing in order to better reflect what you profess to believe? James also comes down very clearly on the side of justice. Reminding us that if God does take any sides among people, that God sides with the poor. In what ways are you being called to acts of mercy and compassion to those that are invisible in our society – to the person most bullied in school, to the one that no one can name in a group, to the marginalized in our community? We can never get away with simply saying the problem is too big, there is nothing I can do to change it.

"Faith without works is dead." Let me leave you with this illustration. About a week ago I started a batch of Amish Friendship bread. Have you ever made this? Someone gives you a batch of starter and over a ten day period you have to attend to the starter each day until you finally bake it on the tenth day. The resulting bread is among the most delicious I've ever had. Think of the starter as our beginnings in faith … full of promise and potential. If you just leave that starter alone and forget about it, it will eventually fizzle out and left alone long enough become a mess of mold. Just like the starter has to be given some kind of attention everyday, so to does our faith. A complete life of faith includes acts of worship, acts of devotion, acts of justice and acts of compassion. Our "works" are our response to God's love for us. The result is similar to the bread results … something beautiful. And … something that is "contagious." For those of you who have made this bread, you are aware that you get four bags of starter to begin again when you make the loaves of bread. The starter continues to multiply and you can share and share and share. That too is a sign of our faith … to share with others, or as our newest membership vow says – to live out our membership with our witness.

This morning I invite you to start or to continue practicing your beliefs in tangible ways … to let your beliefs in the saving love of God known through Jesus Christ to be visible in what you do, in how you live. As a sign of our commitment to this lifestyle I am inviting us to make Amish Friendship bread … lots of it. This morning I have six bags of starter with me. If today six of you will begin the process of making bread it will be the start … and given that each time you do this you get four bags to give away … imagine how many people can be touched by this process. On the day you bake the bread and make four bags of started, call someone in the church to give a bag away, talk to a neighbor and share why you are doing this. For, as you make the bread the challenge is to remember what the process says about a life of faith … that it needs constant attention, that we will be signs of God's love in the world if we put our beliefs in action. Let's see how far we can spread the Good News … not only through the story this bread tells us about our faith living, but also through our every day actions and life style.