Grace and Peace to you from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the old days, our family vacation was putting up a tent and all traveling in the mini-van. One summer I wanted to go to church, but I forgot to pack a suit. If there is no Lutheran church, we usually look for an Episcopal Church wherever we are visiting. On Cape Cop we visited a very traditional Episcopal Church, the ushers were men in suits. We got there late and had to split up. I had on a sweat shirt and jeans. I felt very underdressed, conspicuous and “less than”.
You ever been in that spot? Have you ever felt “less than”?
To be “less than” is to not measure up, to feel inadequate, poor, small, diminished. No one made me feel that way. After communion, I left. The suit dressed usher interrupted me – “We have coffee and refreshments after won’t you stay?” I said,” I’m really not dressed appropriately, we’ve been on vacation and I didn’t bring Sunday clothes – don’t know what I was thinking”.
He said, “This is God’s house, the Lord is host. We are a vacation town – no one will think less of you”.
They were words of grace. He took my embarrassment and annihilated it with love. “You are welcome, child of God, in the house of God. You are part of the family. You belong to God. You belong to us. We are all equals in God’s sight.”
St. James in today’s’ epistle speaks to the church about the dangers of making distinctions and about being solicitous to the rich and showing disdain to the poor. God does not judge the way the world judges – God goes beyond appearances and gets right down to the heart of the matter. As God’s church, so too are we. All are welcome in God’s house – all to be cared for and loved.
The world and the kingdom of God are opposed. The world says, “The one with the most toys wins”. Toys in this context means impressive things – a big car, house, fancy jewelry, a string of academic degrees after your name, or a wall full of trophies for your athletic prowess. Toys are determinative in the world – they make you big, important, sought after.
Yet, they also enslave. They require constant attention, time and energy to maintain. “Those who love their lives lose it”, say Jesus, yet “those who lose their life for the sake of the gospel will win it for eternal life”. And here’s the clinker “for what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life”. It is so easy to lose your bearings about what is important and thereby lose your life.
Few of us in here would consider ourselves rich, I think, and by American standards, we aren’t, relatively. Rich people have at least 5 million dollars in the bank and all the trimmings.
Yet by the world’s standard we are rich. More than half of the world’s population earns less than $500 a year. If you earn 40K a year you are in the top 10% of the world’s people. By that standard I am rich – I am filthy rich. “Noblese oblige” goes the old adage meaning the nobility are obliged to help others who are less fortunate. It means that with wealth comes responsibility. St. James says it this way “If a brother or sister is asked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat your full” and yet do not supply their bodily needs, what good is that?”
Indeed, St. James is simply saying, “Put your money where your mouth is”. See the connection between your brother’s poverty and the high rate of crime. We are all connected – one to another.
Some social commentators have remarked about the correlation between low church attendance and involvement in church and the growing mean spirited – me first attitude in America.
We have become a nation of selfish people. “I’ll support my AARP lobby in Washington to make sure my benefits keep rolling in, but it will turn a blind eye to cost cutting if it means Head Start programs, food stamps, and other programs that benefit poor children are cut. That’s just an example, not an attempt to pick on old people. I’ll soon be a senior myself.
St. James is reminding us of our connectedness – one to another. If my neighbor lives in abject poverty in condition that breeds swine flu, I breathe the same air as he does. God sees as all from a different more unified whole perspective.
I have been so proud of you my congregation. This year we have raised almost $10,000 the average Lutheran gives$3.00 a year to World Hunger. Still don’t rest on your laurels. We can do more. We are rich – not because we make more than 95% of the rest of the world but because we have the treasure of Christ.
In Jesus’ name Amen.
Who We Are