Deeds, Not Words

By Pastor Sunny

When Kirk told me that John might have become a pastor, I was surprised. John had never shown any interest in spiritual matters.

Kirk and I had been roommates in college for one semester. Years later, after he moved to Minneapolis for a new job, we met for coffee. As we talked about our lives and the journeys we had taken since college, he told me about John.

The last time I saw John was in the lounge on our dorm floor. He was struggling to type a paper on his typewriter. Earlier that week, he had fallen and broken his dominant arm, so he was typing with his left index finger, pecking out one letter at a time.

He told me he had been up for two days trying to finish the paper, which was due the next morning. He was exhausted and worried. Not only did he have to finish the paper, but he also had a chemistry test the next morning.

Seeing how exhausted he was, I offered to type the paper for him. I am not sure I was much faster than he was, but at least John could get some sleep.

I stayed up most of the night typing his paper and when I finished, I slipped it under his door. Because I did not return to school the following semester, I never saw John again.

Years later, I learned that my simple act of helping John had caused him to reconsider his faith. The following semester, John joined Kirk’s Bible study and had considered becoming a minister.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples who they believe he is. They answer by expressing their trust in him. Although Jesus commends them for their faith, he tells them not to tell others who he is.

This should be strange to us. Jesus continued to bring the grace of heaven to earth by healing people and demonstrate God’s unconditional love, but he tells his disciples to not announce who he is.

The message of Jesus is clear. Words alone will not convince people of God’s love. It is the actions of those who believe in God that make faith real.

When Kirk asked John what had influenced his decision to trust in Jesus, John pointed back to that night in the dorm lounge.

That night more than thirty people had seen John struggling with his broken arm and his typewriter. Many expressed sympathy, but I was the only one who offered to help. For John, my willingness to sacrifice my time and sleep to help him was more convincing than any theological argument I could have made.

John interpreted my willingness to help him as an expression of my faith. Seeing faith in action led him to reconsider his own faith.

I never intended to change John’s life that night. I was simply trying to help a tired friend.

Faith works in mysterious ways. We may never know when a small act of kindness, compassion, or sacrifice becomes a window through which someone else catches a glimpse of God.

May we be people of deeds, not just words.

Pastor Sunny