Pastor's Column 6/26/22

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?” James 2:14, NLT

“Faith At Work Changes the Narrative!”

In the third episode of the Indiana Jones series there is an unforgettable twist in the narrative. Indiana Jones, artfully played by veteran actor Harrison Ford, was a famed archeologist, whose relentless searches for historic artifacts took him into dangerous and often foreboding places. In episode three, he’s in search of the Holy Grail, an iconic cup he believes Jesus used to administer His first and last Communion with the disciples. Legend has it, according to archeologist Jones, the cup can bring immortality to anyone who finds it and drinks from it. Characteristic of the Indiana Jones series, the ultimate search leads Jones, his father, and a few greedy intruders whose motive is to confiscate the cup, to a cave. The twist in the story is that Indiana’s father is the only one in the group who’s in possession of a tattered book. The book has the only instructions to direct Indiana in finding the Grail. When an insurmountable gulf between two ledges separates Indiana from where the Grail is, a sentence from the book reads: We walk by faith and not by sight. Indiana recites the verse to himself, takes a deep breath, and steps out off the ledge into the abyss. He discovers a path of stones beneath his feet, and he makes it safely to the other side. The artifact thieves perish along with their greed, and Indiana choses a simple wooden chalice, which symbolizes the son of a carpenter of Nazareth. Of course, we know that this well-crafted movie was fiction; but not unlike a modern-day parable at the time. The Apostle James wanted a first-century group of Christians to know that life could be much different, when we tether what we believe (faith) with how we live (action). The search for discovering the best possible, is determined by our faith in action. Change is always inevitable, so make it happen in your life. Live your faith, and do not be afraid of change!