Home Sermons Reflection on James 2:1-10, 14 - 17

Reflection on James 2:1-10, 14 - 17

Sermon for Sept 6/09 James 2:1-10, 14-17 There was once a little church in a little remote town on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It was Sunday morning and this little church was having a special worship service. After the minister welcomed everybody and said how glad he was to see so many people in church that morning he introduced the first hymn and it was called “Though Ancient Walls”. There were more folks at church for this special worship service than usual and even as they were singing, latecomers were still arriving. This church was really getting things right with the Lord—or so they thought. Just then a woman walked in the front door, looking for a place to sit. She was dirty, and scraggly. Her clothes were rags. Her hair was uncombed and she smelled like a dumpster. The usher on duty that morning quickly walked over to her and tried to keep her at the door as long as he could, being careful not to touch her. Finally when it was clear that the woman was determined to stay, the usher escorted her to a corner at the back of the church and sat her on a little stool so low to the floor that she could not be seen. No sooner had the street woman been seated when the usher noticed a man he had never seen coming through the front door of the church, also looking for a place to sit. This man looked like a million dollars. His neatly combed hair and his tanned skin and expensive-looking suit impressed the usher and he went right over to him to assist him in finding a seat. There was a seat at the front and so the usher walked the man down the centre aisle of the church with the man following him and led him to the front where everybody could see him. The minister whose name was James could see all this unfolding before him, in the sanctuary and he stopped singing. He finished the service that morning and after lunch he sat down and wrote a story about an usher who showed favoritism. He wrote: James 2:1-18 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ……. 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ……Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. What James is saying in effect is that Christians need to look at every person as a somebody. No favouritism must happen because of someone’s looks. And he lays it all on the usher at the door welcoming people in. I was at a meeting about worship a few years ago and there were about 25 people there. The minister began the meeting by asking for a show of hands of anyone who has ever taken any kind of role at any worship service in their church. Lots of people put up their hands. But one woman who didn’t put up her hand said out loud, “I’m just the usher. That doesn’t have anything to do with worship.” The minister took issue with her and said if you bring your faith into your work, the job you do, however big or little you consider that job to be, becomes the most important job you will ever do in your whole life. Faith is not just what we say. Faith is how we act toward each other. Faith and actions can never be separate. James would like the saying, “Preach the gospel. If necessary, use words.” Bring your faith to your work and if your work is ushering you can’t help treating everybody as a somebody. I want to tell you about Al. Al was one of those people who looked at everyone as a somebody. And Al was an usher at a church I was a member of. Every Sunday for years Al was the usher and that was his only job on a Sunday morning. The church didn’t rotate ushers like we do here. I sat at the back of the church and I could hear Al behind me doing his job of welcoming the people coming to church. And the thing I heard was that Al said something different to every single person. I was impressed so much that I brought a pen and a paper one Sunday and wrote down some of the things Al said to people as he handed them a bulletin and welcomed them to church. I’d like to share them with you and ask for your indulgence while I read them. Now this is a large church that has about 160 people coming on any given Sunday so Al know some of them but not all. I call these Al’s 22 ways to welcome people. Hi! How are you? Good Morning Welcome Good Day Sire! Hey Tiger! How ya doing? (50-year-old) Hey, young fella. Hey, young ‘un! (at least 65 yr old) Hey young fella, how’s that wife? Hi! How ya doin? How are you folks this morning? Morning Doreen! How you doin’? (high squeaky voice) Well squire. How you all doing? Hi guys! How are you doing tiger? (10 yr old boy) Hi speedy! Good morning love. Hi! (high pitched) Hey Pal! Gee whiskers. It’s good to see you. Hi! Good to see you. Morning, young fella. That was Al on one Sunday morning. He wasn’t always like that but 90% of the time he was. I am not encouraging us to be Al. Al is not us. But I am encouraging us to bring our faith into our work. James tells Christians to treat everybody like a somebody, no matter what they look like on the outside, or smell like, or whatever color their skin was, or whatever stereotype they fit. Bring your faith to all your work. I took a glance at the duties of the usher listed on your bulletin board and it says things like, turn on the lights and the PA system. Light the candles. Have someone read Minute for Mission. Distribute the bulletins. Collect the offering. And there are things listed to do after the service is done. I wonder if the next time you update this list you might add, welcome the people with the attitude that everybody is a somebody. I trust that you will treat everybody who comes to church as a somebody regardless of their economic status, their race, their sexual orientation, their gender, their culture, their size or whatever else they are. The United Church has done a lot of research around being a welcoming congregation. From that research it is shown that a new person coming to church makes their decision if they are going to stay or not within 12 minutes, and the time begins when they start parking their car. A church where everybody is a somebody! Maybe we should make a sign at the door—(or a plaque!). That’s the kind of Christians James wants us to be. That’s the kind of Christians God wants us to be. And I know deep down that that’s the kind of Christians we all want to be. May it be so!