Apples seem like a good metaphor for a sermon this time of year. Apples are one of my favorite parts of fall. And I seem to spend a good bit of the fall doing things with apples. Just within the last ten days or so I have made apple jelly, apple juice, apple crisp, apple chutney and apple butter. Surely there is some way to preach the gospel using the imagery of apples. I think there is, and I’ll come back to that in a bit.

Today’s readings don’t seem to be about apples; they are mostly about faith. Habakkuk contains that famous line that St. Paul was to borrow and use later over and over again: "The righteous shall live by faith." The second letter to Timothy opens by stressing the importance of sincere faith. The writer of the letter (almost certainly not Paul himself) writes: "I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you." And in the gospel the apostles say to Jesus, "Increase our faith!"

Most of us would probably join with the apostles in that plea to Jesus. Increase our faith. Especially in hard or trying times. Increase our faith. If only we had more faith we would feel stronger or more secure or more at peace. We think of faith as something we have or don’t have. And if we had more of it, we would feel better. But all of today’s readings speak of faith, not as something a person has, but as something a person does. Faith is something we do.

Think again carefully about all three of these readings this morning. Habakkuk says the righteous shall live "by" faith. Not "with" faith. The righteous shall live by faith. Faith isn’t something you have while you’re living. It is the way by which you live—how you live—what you do as you live.

Second Timothy has the same perspective. This letter doesn’t talk about the faith that Timothy’s grandmother and mother had, as though it were a family heirloom or an antique passed from generation to generation. It talks about the faith that lived in them. Lived. Faith is inseparable from the activity of life; faith is a way of living. That sort of faith can be passed from generation to generation, but it is passed by teaching, not by bequest. Faith is passed on when an elder teaches a child what to do to live a life of faith. Faith is taught, not given.

When the disciples ask Jesus to give them faith, Jesus starts talking about doing. He talks about slaves doing what they are supposed to do. It may seem that Jesus’ answer has nothing to do with the disciples’ question, but it does. Faith is not something we have; it is something we do. Faith is what we do as (slaves or) servants of God. To live by faith, as Jesus says, is for us to be able to say, "we have done only what we ought to have done."

I should perhaps back up and say that the word "faith" is also used in Scripture and in the church to mean "belief." That’s a different meaning and a different sermon, but it does not diminish the power of the message in today’s readings. Faith is what we do. It is what we do in service of the gospel. To live by faith is to do things in our lives that serve and promote the gospel. To act on behalf of God. In modern slang, to live by faith is "to walk the walk" of a servant of God.

Recognizing faith as something we do has several implications. First, this sort of faith is not something we can keep guarded and private in the secret places of our mind. Secret faith is an oxymoron. Faith is lived. The actions of a person’s life will speak of his or her faith.

Secondly, if faith is what we do with our life, then there are no prerequisites for faith. We do not have to be suitably spiritual to have faith. We do not have to be educated or physically strong or young or old or naïve or wise. We do not have to accomplish anything before we can have faith. We do not have to earn or achieve faith. Anyone can do what he ought to do at any time. Anyone can act to serve God wherever she is given opportunity. We simply have to choose to do things in our lives that will promote the gospel.

But if there are no qualifications or prerequisites, then, finally, there are also no excuses. There is absolutely no imaginable reason whatsoever why any person cannot do something in service of the gospel within the circumstances of his or her own life. We need not pray to be "given" faith. It is always within our power to act faithfully. Let us pray for the vision, the discernment, to see what we may do to best serve the gospel in our own lives.

If we need a place to start, the baptismal covenant is a good one. In it, each of us has made vows to do these things: to pray and participate in worship, to resist evil, to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, to serve the needs of others, to work for justice and peace. Not just one or two of these things now and then. All of them. As a way to live by faith. The righteous shall live by faith.

Now back to apples. (Or anything else that is an element in your favorite food.) Apples really are marvelous gifts from God. The color, the taste, the crunch. They are given to us, beyond our power to create or even really imagine. Even the best gardener, ultimately, cannot "make" an apple.

But faith is less like apples and more like baking apple pie. It is something anyone can do. Faith is what we do. Faith is making the apple pie. Faith is choosing to bake that apple pie for someone else, especially someone who hasn’t earned it; doesn’t deserve it; and may not even enjoy it as much as we think they should. Faith is teaching our children how to make apple pie. Not handing them a recipe. Faith is standing beside them, guiding, teaching, making sure they get the hang of it. Faith is ensuring that the aroma of baking apple pie wafts into the darkest and dankest corners of our world.

Faith is what we do. You can do it.