Everything in Between: Faith and Works

Hopefully by now you've read about the change we've made to our two service model. If not, here is the summary of the change:

9:30 AM Sermon - This message will often explore how faith intersects with daily life,

bringing biblical wisdom to the real-world issues we navigate throughout the week. It

will sometimes engage with social and justice issues and what it means to follow Jesus

in our personal and community life. Some weeks, it may touch on topics that feel

connected to current events, while other weeks will focus on broader themes of faith

and discipleship.

11:00 AM Sermon - This message will center more broadly on our Presbyterian faith,

and the timeless message of faith, hope and love. It will provide a space of retreat,

focusing on God's presence, peace, and the eternal truths of our faith and not on

topics related to current events or social issues. This sermon will often follow the

lectionary unless we are in a sermon series that connects both services to the church

year, as we are during Lent.

This Sunday, we began the new model! Below you will find the bulletin and sermon from the 9:30 service this week. You can find the 11:00 sermon and bulletin here.

Everything in Between: Faith and Works

Sermon from Sunday, March 16, 2025

The Rev. Megan Collins

Bulletin Listen on Spotify

Dave and I have been volunteering with the youth group on Sunday nights here at the church, and it’s been so fun. We love the opportunity to get to know the young adults here. For those of you who were here last week for Youth Sunday, you got to see what an amazing group they are. They shared such powerful testimonies of the way God has worked in their lives. It’s also fun to volunteer with youth ministry because we get to do things we don’t normally do in the day to day of our ministry with adults. We get to do things like jumping onto an air mattress to see how far we can make it slide in the gym, all while wearing a red ballerina tutu. (That wasn’t me, that was Dave!) This morning, we’re going to do a version of a youth group game here in church, but with no tutus or air mattresses.

There’s this old school youth ministry game we used to play when we were younger. The basic idea is you would have all the kids stand in the middle of the room together. Then you would give them a choice between two things, like coke or pepsi. Those who would pick coke ran to one side of the room, and those who pick pepsi ran to the other. There would always be a straggler or two, kids who couldn’t decide, and they would be darting back and forth in the middle while they tried to pick which side to join.

We’re going to try this here together today (and I promise it relates to the message) but with an adaptation to make it work since we are all sitting in pews. I’m going to ask you guys to raise your hands for one or the other choice instead of running back and forth. 

Let’s say the choice is between coke or pepsi. Raise your hands for Coke! Now raise your hands for Pepsi!

Let's try a few more: Vacation at the beach or in the mountains?

For computers, do you prefer a Mac or a PC?

For a little caffeine, what’s better, coffee or tea? 

Would you rather read the book or watch the movie?

What’s better, Marvel or DC?

Orlando folks, which do you prefer, Disney or Universal?

For college football, UF or FSU . . . . or UCF? (GO KNIGHTS!)

What’s better, dogs or cats?

Sometimes we have to choose a side (and the right side is dogs). 

Sometimes you have to choose a side. 

You have to choose between small things, like dogs or cats. 

You have to choose between important things, what you believe and what you stand for. 

Sometimes it is really this or that, one or the other. You have to make a choice. 

The early church had disagreements about choices involving all kinds of things - gentiles, idol meat, women in the church, circumcision. On that list of things the church disagreed on was the importance question of faith or works.  What did it mean to be a Christian?

Was it what you believed? Was faith what defined the christian?

Or was it what you did? Were works critical to faith? 

Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Point faith. 

But then James says in James 2:17-18: “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”

Point works. 

Coke or pepsi? Faith or works?

We’re in a sermon series this Lent called “Everything in Between.” Each week we will be looking at two ideas that seem to force us to choose. Today's choice is between faith and works. The story we will read is one that you’re probably really familiar with, and if you have been in the church for a while, someone has probably even asked you at one point “Are you a Martha or are you a Mary?” 

Let’s take a look:

Luke 10:38-42

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s[b] feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, 42 but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus and his entourage show up in a village, and they are hungry, dirty and tired. They come unannounced to the home of Mary and Martha. Martha springs into action, welcoming Jesus and his group to their home. Martha is working. 

Mary, her sister, comes and sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to him teach. Mary sitting at Jesus’ faith was an act of faith. It wasn’t just an act of faith - her sitting there would have turned the societal expectations about women on their head. Sitting at the feet of a teacher was something only men did - not women, not ever. But Mary sits there, a woman ready to be taught by Jesus. Mary is growing her faith.  

Then the story ends with the familiar response of Jesus “Mary has chosen the better part.” Jesus clearly affirms Mary, as a woman, sitting in the posture of a disciple. In the broader question of faith and works, it seems that, at first glance, when Jesus chooses Mary, Jesus chooses faith over works.  But before we call it a victory for faith over works and move on, look at the context in which we have this story. Our text for today started in Luke 10:38. Go back just one verse. What is Luke 10:37? “Go and do likewise.’ This is the last verse in the familiar story of the good samaritan, which comes immediately before the story of Mary and Martha. In that story, which most people know, the Samaritan comes across a man in need and bandages his wounds, then puts him on his own animal, and takes him to an inn. Jesus says “go and do likewise.” Go and do works like this. 

We have one story where Jesus emphasizes faith.

We have another where he emphasizes works. 

Faith or works? Which one is more important? 

Let’s go back to our story and look a little closer at Martha.  The text says Martha was “distracted by her many tasks” We read this and might assume the problem is the tasks. We see the works are the issue, and Martha should have been focused instead on her faith. We study this passage and say “See? You need to just be still Martha. Stop doing all the things.”

But the word for tasks in the Greek is “ministry.” Martha was distracted by her ministry?

How could Jesus say that is a problem?

He doesn’t. He doesn’t say the ministry, the tasks are the problem. 

He says “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things”

It’s not the works that are the problem.

It’s her distraction on things other than God.

Martha is distracted.

Some of you lean toward this works side of faith. You are much more comfortable when you are doing good things - volunteering at church, helping those in need, supporting your friends and family. That’s your ministry, and it’s a good one. Our lives should reflect the love of God in how we live and how we serve. But (and hear this from someone who also likes to do all the things) there is nothing you can do to earn God’s love for you. God’s love for you is a gift, given in grace, no matter what you do. That’s good news, but it’s not always easy news to accept. Some of you grew up believing that you had to earn love by being good and by working hard and that’s a difficult habit to shake. Good works are good, but the challenge is to see when they have become so much the focus of your faith and your life that they are a distraction. It’s tempting for the works to become the whole thing, the main thing, instead of God. So for you, for just a moment, perhaps the best thing is to set down that Habitat for Humanity hammer, that tray of sandwiches, that calendar of volunteer activities, and just let God love you. 

Martha is distracted.

Mary is focused on Jesus.

Maybe some of you feel more like Mary. You lean the other way, toward the faith side. You value deep Bible study and prayer, and contemplation. You carve out time to understand God more fully, to grow in your knowledge and wisdom. It is a gift to have a deep faith that is rooted in Scripture and prayer and a growing relationship with God. But what passage came immediately before this story about Mary? The Good Samaritan, the one that ended with go and do. Faith in Jesus is not meant to be a secret kept in the well marked pages of your Bible. Faith is meant to move you, to change you, to push you outward toward the world God and the people so deeply loves. If you’ve been comfortable sitting at Jesus’ feet, it might be time to take the step to let God show you what it looks like to get up and follow God out there. God can change your life in unbelievable ways when your faith is lived out. So find your courage, and go get to work in serving in the way you have been made to serve. I promise, there is no greater joy. We need you to do your ministry. 

It’s not a choice between faith or works.

It’s not one or the other.

Perhaps the most faithful option is to be the person standing in the middle, like the youth in the game who were unable to choose, hovering between the two, knowing there is value in both. 

Earlier in the same passage from Luke, it says:

‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life? 26He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ 27He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ 28And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and mind. That’s faith.

Love your neighbor as yourself (and then he tells the story of the good samaritan). That’s works. 

Following Jesus means we hold onto both.

Before we stop, let's talk about one more thing, and that’s what this looks like when we get a bunch of faith and works people together in one room.  Back in our story, Martha was distracted, we talked about that. She was distracted by her tasks, but that wasn’t the only thing distracting here. She was also distracted by Mary. 

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.”

Mary  is sitting as a disciple. But to Martha, she is just, sitting. All Martha can see is that Mary isn’t doing all the things. When we lean toward works, we can easily be distracted by those who aren’t doing the things we are doing. Maybe we even lose sight of why we are doing these good works because we can’t stop noticing the people who don’t seem to be doing their part. I know I started this ministry because I was following Jesus but now I’m doing it to prove something to those Mary’s over there. It also goes the other way. When we lean toward faith, it can be easy to dismiss the work, to see other Christian’s action as unnecessary or even misguided. We might judge those who are busy serving, assuming they lack a deeper faith, questioning why they are so focused on an certain issue or problem in the world.  

Christianity often leans into this divide. The church has too often makes people think they have to pick a side. It seems like you have to choose as a Christian between a deep and serious faith, studying the scriptures and being a person of prayer, and engaging in the work of social justice and service and prophetic ministry in the world. They say pick a side, Coke or Pepsi, Biblical study or advocacy, spiritual depth or community action. 

But Jesus does not ask us to choose. In fact, it's just the opposite. Jesus calls us to both.

When we take Scripture seriously, when we study it deeply, with all its nuance and complexity, we see a faith that is about what we believe and how we live. We see a faith that calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Loving God with everything we have, our time, our study, our passion, and loving every neighbor - our physical neighbor, our immigrant neighbor, our LGBTQ neighbor, our unseen neighbor.

You don’t have to choose between faith and works.  You don’t have to pick between being a Martha and a Mary. Jesus calls you to both. This week, ask yourself this: If you had to raise your hand for one or the other, would it be Mary or Martha? Faith or works?

 If you’ve been sitting at Jesus’ feet for a while,  maybe it’s time to stand and go follow him in a new way.

 If you’ve been running from one good work to the next, maybe it’s time to stop for a moment and let God pour into you.