Response of Faith
a sermon based on Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
by Rev. Randy L Quinn
 

Not everyone agreed with Ray. But everyone seemed to like him.

It would be easy to say that people liked him because of his money -- Ray always seemed to have lots of money -- but it was more than his money. In fact, those who knew him best rarely thought about the money he had. To them, and to countless others, he was simply Ray.

The main reason why people like Ray was his willingness to help.

Let me explain by telling a couple of stories about Ray and the people he helped.

One night, the NBC Nightly News carried the sobering story of an apartment that had been destroyed by fire. While there were no physical injuries to the residents, there was plenty of emotional damage and distress.

Ray, upon hearing about the story, went to the local school where the residents were sleeping on cots and mattresses that the Red Cross had garnered from a variety of sources. Ray went to each family there and made an incredible offer: he would provide them with a home for one year. Fully furnished. No strings attached.

Incredibly, only two people took him up on his offer. The others, well, it seemed too good to be true, I guess. They waited for disaster relief loans and insurance settlements. I don't know how their stories turned out.

I do know that the two families who accepted Ray's gift were able to get back on their feet, save enough money in that year of free housing to purchase a home, and still had enough left to begin planning for their children's college education.

And every year they invite Ray into their homes for dinner. It's the least they can do. Ray doesn't need their money, so each year during dinner, they recount the times and places when they have had the opportunity to help someone else. In their minds, they are multiplying Ray's gift every time they help.

That's the kind of story that fills Ray's life. There are literally hundreds of those kinds of stories in his past.

Back in the 1980's, state funding for mental health facilities was cut back. Ray saw an emerging need among those folks who had previously qualified for institutional group homes but were no longer eligible. The reasons for their change in status had more to do with funding than with their mental health, however.

So Ray came up with a concept. He would take an old apartment building and offer rooms to these folks who would otherwise become street people. He would hire a manager who had previous experience in a group home, and would encourage corporate meals -- though that would not be required.

The banks didn't like the idea, so Ray did it with his own money.

And when a tenant had problems paying the rent, Ray would pay it himself. He paid rent on his own building because he cared about these people and wanted them to have a place they could call home.

Most of the residents don't realize what kind of a gift Ray has given to them. Many of their families don't realize what the extent of the gift is -- nor how much it costs Ray to keep their home operating.

But every once in a while, a family member will track Ray down and thank him. Each of their stories is a little different, of course.

One of the families told how their father had been "lost" after the Vietnam War. He wandered the streets of cities across the country -- often they had no idea where he was. Ray gave the whole family a meeting point, a foundation upon which to develop a relationship with their father. They are incredibly grateful.

They thank him by sending thank you cards. But Ray is more pleased when he hears they are volunteering in Veteran's Homes and VA Hospitals in their own communities.

Another family, though, cannot believe what Ray is doing for their sister. Most months she cannot afford the rent -- either she doesn't receive enough in her disability check or she squanders it before the rent is paid.

So they come every week to clean windows in the apartments. They do yard work. They paint the walls and repair the pipes. And every month they report to Ray what they've done. They don't ask to be paid, but clearly they want him to know their work deserves some reward.

Ray interprets their report as a request for money, so he pays them. He doesn't pay them very well -- after all, he didn't ask for the work to be done. But still he pays them. They've been doing it so long, they think their sister's rent is being covered by the difference between the prevailing wages and the pay they receive from Ray.

Ray doesn't see it that way, though. He would keep their sister without their work. And he'd cover her rent if she ever missed a payment.

It's the kind of person Ray is.

Ray is one of those people who puts money into the hands of every person who has a hand out. Some people take advantage of his generosity, and some people shake their heads at how naive Ray is.

But there are people -- many, many people -- who say that Ray's gift gave them a new start, a new sense of purpose, a new reason to live.

Ray is in a nursing home now. He has Alzheimer's.

And the people who work there are continuously amazed at the stream of visitors Ray gets.

He doesn't recognize many of them. Some he's never even met. Some are dressed in pressed shirts and new suits; some are dressed in dirty working jeans and boots; some are wearing clothes they picked up free at the thrift store.

Some bring in their children and grandchildren. They want their families to know the story of what Ray has done for them. Some come to tell him how his generosity has made their lives better.

And some come asking for more money.

It doesn't matter to Ray.

He's always smiling.

In our text today, Paul suggests that God is like Ray. God gives to people whether they want it or not. God brings the rain and the sun to good and bad alike. God offers the gift of grace to each of us and all of us.

Some of us -- I suspect most of us in this room -- have realized what an incredible gift we have received. And we are finding ways to return our thanks.

Some of you -- many of you -- respond by meeting needs in our community.

Some respond by sharing with a neighbor in need.

Some respond by serving on a committee in our church.

Some respond by helping with our Spaghetti Dinners. 

The temptation is to think we deserve God's love because of what we are doing. But the truth is, God's gift came first. Whatever we do is our response of faith. Amen