Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, May 3, 2015

"What’s on Your Tombstone?" - Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

What’s on Your Tombstone?
Easter 5 – Narrative Lectionary 1
Grace, Mankato, MN
May 3, 2015
Romans 1.1-17

Each year the White House Correspondents Association holds an annual dinner and the gala celebration of journalists has become something of a roast, with the president participating as something of a stand-up comedian. During President Obama’s latest routine, he referenced a remark made by former congresswoman and staunch conservative Michele Bachmann that “the world as we know it” would come to an end with an Obama presidency. Continued with, “Those other presidents, Washington and Roosevelt, they didn’t do that.” Obama paused a moment and said, “Now, that’s a legacy!” Whatever you think about their respective politics, it was a great line.

With this in mind, I asked our Wednesday Faith Night worshipers what would be written on their tombstones after they passed away. As you can imagine, the question generated no small amount of conversation. In a sense, that’s similar to a legacy, what we will be known for after we move to the next life. Though a bit presumptuous, I mentioned that I would like the phrase, “He was faithful” on mine. I would like to be remembered as a faithful husband, father, pastor and most importantly, follower of Jesus. But, I don't think I'm the one to judge.

These thoughts about legacies and tombstones are swirling in my head because of Paul’s comments in the opening verses of his letter to the Romans, which we will read the next few weeks. I am struck by the phrase “obedience of faith” and his deep gratitude that the Roman church’s faith is “proclaimed throughout the world.” In President Obama’s words, “Now that’s a legacy!”

Romans is an incredibly important letter, one deserving of far more attention than we’ll give it in these next few weeks. It’s considered to be the pinnacle of Paul’s letters. It is unique because it’s the only letter Paul writes to a congregation he hasn’t founded, though he desperately wants to visit. It’s probably a mixed community of Jewish and Gentile Christians, though it probably contains some people he knows. One of his goals is to visit them on his hoped-for mission to bring the gospel to Spain. So, he lays some groundwork for their support in this effort. (By the way, Paul will get to Rome, but not in the way he anticipates. We believe he dies there as well.)

To lay that groundwork, Paul talks about the “obedience of faith” and in so doing tries to get at the relationship between what we believe and what we do. Now, it sounds like obedience and faith don't belong in the same sentence. It's almost oxymoronic, like "jumbo shrimp" and "military intelligence." But former New Testament professor at Luther Seminary, Mary Hinkle Shore illustrates this concept with what she calls, “light switch faith.” Think about when the power goes out in your house. We still flick on the light switch because our trust in that switch to flood the room with light is so deeply embedded it shows up in our actions, even though we know better. Of course, our relationship with and trusting in God is a lot more complex not nearly as mechanistic as a light switch. But this example points out that the real locus of trust is not in who we are and what we do but rather who God is and what God does.

More often than not, when the Bible talks about faith, it’s not as much about the things we believe about God. It is more about faithfulness and trust, which are relationship and heart words, than it is about propositions or head words. It’s all about the faithfulness of God, who is the fulfiller of promises that come through Jesus Christ. It is God’s faithfulness, not ours, that inspires and makes possible a response of obedient trust on our part. As Hinkle Shore notes, we live that out with a lot of other people who are, like us, sometimes obedient and sometimes disobedient. Yet we live with a God who always picks us up, dusts us off and tells us to try again.

So, what’s going to be on your tombstone? For me, perhaps the better phrase is, “God was faithful to him.” If you have any doubts about God’s faithfulness to you, God will do as God always does, meeting us in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. So, come, meet the crucified and risen Christ, the promise fulfilled who brings about the obedience of faith. Amen.

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