From an online sermon by Rev. Dr. Trace Hawthorn
Sermon for August 30, 2009
Scripture: James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8
For the next five weeks our lectionary lists the book of James for our epistle lesson. Although I may not focus each of these weeks on James, I do plan to include this book in our worship/preaching through September. The book of James has been quite controversial in terms of being included in the canon—the writings approved by the church hierarchy to be the Bible. Martin Luther was especially opposed to James writing as Lutherans and others believe that faith-- trust in God’s steadfast love--is the only requirement for salvation. This belief is referred to as “salvation by faith alone”. Paul also emphasizes that we are put right with God through God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by works. Another reason for criticism of this epistle is that Christ is not emphasized; in fact the words appear only twice and there is no reference to Jesus dying on the cross to pay for our sins, no mention of baptism or what God’s grace means. With James it is very clear that one needs to do works in order to be a Christian.
The authorship of James has also caused a fair amount of disagreement; however, most scholars say he was James, the younger brother of Jesus; the same James that was the first patriarch in the church in Jerusalem, a leader of the earliest church there.
This letter of James is a letter of action. James tells the Christians to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry and to be doers of the Word! The way Petersen puts it in the Message is: “Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear.” He goes on with saying, “don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!” James than tells his church members what real or true religion is: Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” In most versions of this text the words are—Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” In those times widows and orphans were the main types of people that were poor. Due to the patriarchy and the social codes, women without a husband or children without a father would have little or no financial resources. Even today that is so true in many of the developing countries. In general this is a phrase referring to all oppressed people.
In James’ church there were many wealthy folks who wanted to profess their faith but were not interested in caring for the poor. In this short book there are five paragraphs negative about wealthy Christians, more per page than in any other book, e.g. in today’s reading: "Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.” Of course those words wouldn’t have anything to do with most of us! Or would they? As Christine Villa says in Still Speaking Devotions, "Rich” is relative. I'm fabulously rich compared to some people and pitifully under-funded next to others. So let's say someone with far fewer resources than I have is reading this scripture. What kind of person comes to their mind when they read "the rich”? Do they picture a house like mine, a car like mine, or a grocery cart filled like mine? Maybe so. What do you think of when you read the passages about the rich? I picture folks with millions of dollars in the bank, fancy houses in prestigious neighborhoods, several cars including a Lamborghini. Well could it be that some of these remarks about the rich do apply to some of us?
Looking at our gospel reading, Jesus had a similar problem with the Pharisees, who are focusing on things such as dietary laws, asking why he and his disciples ate without washing their hands, or eating things from the market without washing them. Jesus responds by saying that Isaiah was right, that “these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.” Jesus told the crowds that there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. Even though the Pharisees knew the scriptures, tithed their income, even dropping coins into the begging pot, they did not care for the widows and orphans, the prostitutes, the blind, the lepers, and other outcastes in the society at the time. Jesus is saying that the Pharisees get too wrapped up in things that don’t really count. They did not practice hospitality to the stranger, or take time to meet the needs of the down and out! They did not have real religion. The prophets in the Old Testaments like Micah, Amos and Isaiah said the same thing. Do not oppress the outcasts; furthermore all rituals and liturgical sacrifices are worthless without constant love, justice, kindness and walking humbly with the Lord.
I heard a story about St. Francis of Assisi1 “He was praying in an ancient church that was badly in need of repair. He heard a voice from a crucifix which was over the altar saying, “Francis, go and repair my church that you will see falling into ruin.” Francis went to get his tool chest, but he soon realized that the voice of God was referring to some thing else. The voice of God again said, “Not the bricks, Francis. The people are in need of repair.” Then Francis went out and took care of orphans and widows. The voice of God still speaks today and says, “Francis. Peter, Christine, (etc.) Go and repair my church which is falling into ruins.” And God is not talking about bricks and mortar.
What are we doing in this church to care for the “widows and orphans”? Besides the money we give to the many denominational appeals and local agencies, we have had several members travel to hurricane-affected areas to work with others to rebuild homes; we provide various material things, plus our interest and supportive presence at the Women’s jail in Goffstown, through our Deacons fund we help folks with rent who otherwise might be evicted; we pay utility bills and provide fuel and repairs on cars; we visit people in their homes that are lonely, sick, or have special needs; we provide both money and food for the Weare and Hillsboro/Deering Food Pantries; some of you assist with refugee families; others minister to the GLBT community and those who love them though PFLAG; we are in the process of gathering items to be sent to Zimbabwe where there is always so much need. All of you that do these and similar things are being doers of the Word.
One last caution, be sure not to interpret “widows and orphans” too narrowly. The place you may be called to be doers of the word could be with someone in your own household, your child, your parent, your spouse, or your rich neighbor, who is lonely and estranged from all his family. You just never know when you will have the opportunity to be doers of the word as James commands.
My son has composed a song called “Mystery and Wonder”, where he talks about the hard financial times he’s having in his life and all the pain he sees around him. He says he wants to make love to the whole wide world; however, maybe that’s not the way. Then he has these lines:
Scripture: James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8
For the next five weeks our lectionary lists the book of James for our epistle lesson. Although I may not focus each of these weeks on James, I do plan to include this book in our worship/preaching through September. The book of James has been quite controversial in terms of being included in the canon—the writings approved by the church hierarchy to be the Bible. Martin Luther was especially opposed to James writing as Lutherans and others believe that faith-- trust in God’s steadfast love--is the only requirement for salvation. This belief is referred to as “salvation by faith alone”. Paul also emphasizes that we are put right with God through God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by works. Another reason for criticism of this epistle is that Christ is not emphasized; in fact the words appear only twice and there is no reference to Jesus dying on the cross to pay for our sins, no mention of baptism or what God’s grace means. With James it is very clear that one needs to do works in order to be a Christian.
The authorship of James has also caused a fair amount of disagreement; however, most scholars say he was James, the younger brother of Jesus; the same James that was the first patriarch in the church in Jerusalem, a leader of the earliest church there.
This letter of James is a letter of action. James tells the Christians to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry and to be doers of the Word! The way Petersen puts it in the Message is: “Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear.” He goes on with saying, “don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!” James than tells his church members what real or true religion is: Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” In most versions of this text the words are—Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” In those times widows and orphans were the main types of people that were poor. Due to the patriarchy and the social codes, women without a husband or children without a father would have little or no financial resources. Even today that is so true in many of the developing countries. In general this is a phrase referring to all oppressed people.
In James’ church there were many wealthy folks who wanted to profess their faith but were not interested in caring for the poor. In this short book there are five paragraphs negative about wealthy Christians, more per page than in any other book, e.g. in today’s reading: "Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field.” Of course those words wouldn’t have anything to do with most of us! Or would they? As Christine Villa says in Still Speaking Devotions, "Rich” is relative. I'm fabulously rich compared to some people and pitifully under-funded next to others. So let's say someone with far fewer resources than I have is reading this scripture. What kind of person comes to their mind when they read "the rich”? Do they picture a house like mine, a car like mine, or a grocery cart filled like mine? Maybe so. What do you think of when you read the passages about the rich? I picture folks with millions of dollars in the bank, fancy houses in prestigious neighborhoods, several cars including a Lamborghini. Well could it be that some of these remarks about the rich do apply to some of us?
Looking at our gospel reading, Jesus had a similar problem with the Pharisees, who are focusing on things such as dietary laws, asking why he and his disciples ate without washing their hands, or eating things from the market without washing them. Jesus responds by saying that Isaiah was right, that “these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.” Jesus told the crowds that there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. Even though the Pharisees knew the scriptures, tithed their income, even dropping coins into the begging pot, they did not care for the widows and orphans, the prostitutes, the blind, the lepers, and other outcastes in the society at the time. Jesus is saying that the Pharisees get too wrapped up in things that don’t really count. They did not practice hospitality to the stranger, or take time to meet the needs of the down and out! They did not have real religion. The prophets in the Old Testaments like Micah, Amos and Isaiah said the same thing. Do not oppress the outcasts; furthermore all rituals and liturgical sacrifices are worthless without constant love, justice, kindness and walking humbly with the Lord.
I heard a story about St. Francis of Assisi1 “He was praying in an ancient church that was badly in need of repair. He heard a voice from a crucifix which was over the altar saying, “Francis, go and repair my church that you will see falling into ruin.” Francis went to get his tool chest, but he soon realized that the voice of God was referring to some thing else. The voice of God again said, “Not the bricks, Francis. The people are in need of repair.” Then Francis went out and took care of orphans and widows. The voice of God still speaks today and says, “Francis. Peter, Christine, (etc.) Go and repair my church which is falling into ruins.” And God is not talking about bricks and mortar.
What are we doing in this church to care for the “widows and orphans”? Besides the money we give to the many denominational appeals and local agencies, we have had several members travel to hurricane-affected areas to work with others to rebuild homes; we provide various material things, plus our interest and supportive presence at the Women’s jail in Goffstown, through our Deacons fund we help folks with rent who otherwise might be evicted; we pay utility bills and provide fuel and repairs on cars; we visit people in their homes that are lonely, sick, or have special needs; we provide both money and food for the Weare and Hillsboro/Deering Food Pantries; some of you assist with refugee families; others minister to the GLBT community and those who love them though PFLAG; we are in the process of gathering items to be sent to Zimbabwe where there is always so much need. All of you that do these and similar things are being doers of the Word.
One last caution, be sure not to interpret “widows and orphans” too narrowly. The place you may be called to be doers of the word could be with someone in your own household, your child, your parent, your spouse, or your rich neighbor, who is lonely and estranged from all his family. You just never know when you will have the opportunity to be doers of the word as James commands.
My son has composed a song called “Mystery and Wonder”, where he talks about the hard financial times he’s having in his life and all the pain he sees around him. He says he wants to make love to the whole wide world; however, maybe that’s not the way. Then he has these lines:
And I want to take all that on
While I’m buying groceries on credit
So
I’m singing to 5 of you,
Sometimes it’s 50
500’s a really big score
Maybe I should cool it
But I can’t help myself
I keep talking myself
out of pain
And I really can't see another way
Everywhere I go I see
people in need of mystery and wonder
Everywhere I go I see people in need of
dreamers and blunders
Everywhere I go I see people in need of magic and
grace
Everywhere I go I see people in need of love
So I say to you: Every day we see people in need of mystery and wonder, magic and grace. Everyday we see people in need of love. Real religion has many parts; faith without action or action without faith just won’t do. Every day we have that opportunity to be kind, to listen, and to bring gentleness to someone. Let us take a few moments of silence right now to see if God brings anyone to our mind who needs our ministering today. It may be someone in a pew not too far from you. Let us pray: Gracious and Holy One, let us listen right now to you. Let us ask each day for you to lead us to someone who needs some care, some love, some company. (silence) Thank you Jesus and brother James. Amen
1 Edward Markquart, Sermons from Seatle
posted by Sermons given at Deering Community Church @ 2:00 PM
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