At one point in my life, basketball was my favorite sport. This is attested to by the door to my room in my parents’ house. When I left home, I took all of my wall hangings and posters and such, but I left all the things hanging and stuck to my door. One of those things was a bumper sticker giving the definition of a "basketball-a-saurous: basically a person who ate, slept, and dreamt basketball. As I went through junior high and high school, I had dreams of playing in the NBA. At the time, I never thought about my limitations. I never thought about a lack of height or quickness or ability anything of the sort. I believed I could make it. And my beliefs had consequences.
Hour after hour, I would shoot hoops outside. After school and after homework, I’d head outside to my basketball goal. I’d shoot. I’d dribble around. I’d make lay up after lay up after lay up. I’d place myself in scenarios of having to make the final shot. We didn’t have a concrete pad underneath that goal for quite some time, and I wore out the lawn and dirt around it. You could tell exactly where I took most of my shots from. If it rained, there was a mud hole there for days afterward. And I didn’t care about the temperature outside. It could be 100 degrees out there, and I’d still play. It could be cold as all get out, and I’d still shoot hoops. I loved basketball. I believed I could do well in the sport, and my actions followed.
Beliefs have consequences.
Jesus highlights this in today’s gospel lesson. Now, if you were visiting most any other congregation today, you would probably hear as sermon on Jesus’ comment that He is the bread of life. You’d hear about how only He can satisfy the true hunger that is within each and every one of us. There’s nothing wrong with such sermons. I’ve preached quite a few of those in my career as a pastor. Those sermons are relatively easy to prepare and get one’s point across in, and I could have come up with another one very easily. However, this go round as I read this text, something else jumped out at me. Something the people asked, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"
Indeed, what must we do to perform the works of God. What actions must we take? What is the laundry list of items we must accomplish to say that we are performing what God asks of us?
As I contemplated that question, I realized something. These folks should have known what those lists of items are. I mean, all one need do is look through the Old Testament and read through the Jewish law to see what God requires. In the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, there are pages and pages and pages outlining the actions God requires of us. And even though books were scarce in Jesus’ day, those teachings were floating all over the place. Parents taught their children. Synagogues expounded on those teachings on a weekly basis. Pharisees and Sadducees and Rabbis went from village to village proclaiming those teachings. Unlike today when most folks have no clue what is actually in the Bible, in Jesus’ day, most folks actually did. And so I found it quite strange that Jesus is asked, "What must we do to perform the works of God?"
But even though I found it strange, perhaps Jesus did not. Perhaps He understood the root of that question. Because in Jesus’ day, much like today, many different interpretations of what it meant to follow that law were floating around. For instance, I mentioned the Pharisees. The Pharisees believed the most important section of the law was what is called the Purity Code. They believed that in order to do the works of God, one needed to focus on making sure one ate the foods God commanded in the law, wash one’s hands in the correct manner, follow the Sabbath and refuse to do any sort of work, associate with people who were considered clean and holy and avoid anyone who might be unclean or a sinner. The Pharisees believed that if they kept themselves pure enough, holy enough, God’s Kingdom would return. Their beliefs had consequences. As did the beliefs of the Sadducees, Zealots and others who were a part of the religious milieu of first century Judaism. Perhaps the folks who asked Jesus this question were trying to break through that confusion. Perhaps they were asking, "What is the truth? Who do we believe in all of this stuff? The Pharisees tell us one thing. The Sadducees tell us another. The Zealots tell us another. Clear up the confusion. What must we do to perform the works of God?"
Interestingly enough, Jesus at this point, does not give a laundry list. He doesn’t preach another Sermon on the Mount. He doesn’t give a step by step, law by law accounting of what a person must do. He simply says, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent."
Why would Jesus say this? Why would He say essentially, "If you want to do the work of God, believe in me?" Why didn’t He just give out a list?
Because beliefs have consequences. Beliefs affect your actions.
We essentially know this to be true. Most of the time we act out of our core belief system. We act based upon the principles we hold most dear. This is why I spent so many hours shooting baskets when I was younger. I believed I could be an NBA player, so I practiced and practiced and practiced. Yet, as I grew older and realized I didn’t quite have the talent, I changed my beliefs. I no longer believed there was a future in basketball, so I didn’t shoot baskets as much. My actions changed significantly because my beliefs did. And this happens to the vast majority of people. They act based upon their beliefs.
Beliefs have consequences, and Jesus understands this. Jesus knows how people work. So, He says, "Believe in me. Make me your core value and principle. Put me at the center of your life; in the center of your heart; at the core of your mind. With every decision you make; with every action you take, run it through me. Then, you will be doing the work of God."
Ah, now perhaps you can see why Jesus says what He says. Perhaps now you can see how this snippet puts everything into perspective. Because Jesus doesn’t want us just to do good things. Jesus doesn’t want us just to do things because God thinks those things are good. Jesus wants us to be good people. Jesus wants us to be godly people. Jesus wants us to embody God’s light and love and shine them into the darkness of this world.
And who was the pinnacle of this light? Who was the pinnacle of this love? Who showed us what it meant to live in God and through God and with God? None other than the God made flesh, Jesus Christ. Only through Him can we be good people. Only through Him can we shine God’s light and love. Only through Him can we do the work of God.
Beliefs have consequences. They lead to action, and if we are to be Christians and do the works of God, then we must first believe in Jesus. Amen.
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