Sermon (September 9) - "Are You a Believer?"

     Our scripture from the letter of James begins with a question.  And it’s one of those questions that isn’t meant to be answered because the answer should be obvious.

     The question James asks is, “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?”  Now, obviously James is writing to people who do believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.  It’s not like he’s sending this letter to an atheist organization.  He’s sending it to a community of believers, to a people who see themselves as Christians.

     I think I sense a little sarcasm in this opening verse of chapter two.  Kind of like the question, “Is the Pope Catholic?”  We all know the answer.  Of course the Pope is Catholic.  Of course we believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.  Of course! Of course!  “Where are you going with this, James?  You know who we are.  Quit playing games with us. I was baptized and confirmed in the church.  Why, I even was ordained. I can show you my ordination certificate if you give me time to find it.  What do you mean if I really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? I give to the church.  I’m in worship most Sundays.  The Nominations Committee called to serve on a committee and I said yes.”

     It’s a little unnerving when someone questions if we really are who we say we are. 

     I was visiting in a hospital one day.  I went to the ICU waiting room where I used the phone to call back to the nurse’s station to get permission to enter through the door.  “Who are you?” she asked in a not so polite way.  “I’m clergy to see so and so,” I said.  “Well, just wait.  I’ll meet you at the door.”

     By the tone of her voice, she seemed suspicious of me.  I didn’t know what to expect as I stood there waiting for the door to open.  And when it did, this nurse came up to me, noticed my clergy badge which was clipped to my suit jacket, and took me by surprise by giving me a hug.

      And she said, “I wasn’t sure if you really were a pastor.  Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of people who claim to be clergy and they come back here and they end up disturbing the other patients and the medical staff so we’re trying to be careful who we let back here.  Thank you for wearing your clergy badge.  You’re a real pastor!”

     See, I told you.  I’m a real pastor!

     How do you know if someone is a real Christian?  Do they have to wear a badge or attend church for so many years or serve on thirteen committees?

     This is one of the key reasons that James wrote this letter.  He wants us to really stop and think about what it means when we say that we believe in Christ.  And so we get this troubling question.  “Do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?”  And James spells this out in greater detail by saying, “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 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,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges?”

     There’s something really wrong about saying we’re Christians but not living out what it means to be Christian.  There’s just something really wrong about that.  And for James, it is in how we care or not care for the poor. We might be able to point to a time when we were saved but the true test of our faith is in how we relate to each other.  This is how we know if we believe in our glorious Savior, Jesus Christ as James puts it.

     To be honest, this scripture makes me very uncomfortable.  I have always preached that we are saved from our sins by God’s grace and not by our own good works.  We cannot work our way into heaven.  Salvation is something we receive, not earn.  And yet here in this scripture, James is emphasizing that it’s in our doing and through the living out of our faith that shows if we really mean it when we say, “I’m a Christian.”  For many, the letter of James is the most controversial book in the New Testament since later in this same chapter he talks about faith without works being dead. 

     The great Protestant Reformer in the 1500’s, Martin Luther was very uncomfortable with this letter as well.  He called it the straw epistle, meaning that it lacked the substance of the other books of the New Testament that emphasize more of God’s free gift of salvation.

     And yet, I’m one of the first to be embarrassed when something is on the news about Christians who act in very unchristian-like ways.  Think of some of the televangelists who divert funds from donors to pay for their lavish lifestyle. 

     Or even closer to home, think about our denomination’s General Conference which met this past spring in Florida to discuss some very controversial topics.  Sharing differences of opinion is one thing but doing so in very uncharitable and demeaning ways is something entirely different.  Unfortunately, we had our share of uncharitable comments at this conference.   Every year, our West Ohio conference meets up at Lakeside, Ohio and we have several microphones where people can come and share their opinion.  Often times I cringe at the hurtful words that are spoken when the same point could have been made with a more Christ-like spirit.

     James is reminding us that our words need to match our behavior.  Our theological views need to be consistent with how we relate to one another, and especially in how we relate to people who are different from us.  James is thinking specifically about socio-economic differences.

     One of our members told me about a time when she stopped by here at the church.  She met one of the folks who was here for a lunch we were serving that day.  This person told her about the problems she was dealing with in her life.  When this church member invited her to come into the sanctuary with her to pray, she declined and said, “Oh, just look how I’m dressed.  I can’t go in there looking like this.”  When this church member told me this story, she said, “How sad that this woman didn’t feel worthy enough to come into our sanctuary because of what she was wearing.”

     You know, whether we want to admit it or not, most of us live in these little bubbles defined by our employment, our educational background, and our race.  And yet, we worship and serve a God who loves the whole world regardless of our differences.

     Whenever I have to go to the BMV to renew my driver’s license, I’m usually in a long line of people waiting my turn.  I’m sure we are a good cross section of the people in our community.  Some of us are well to do. Some of us are poor.  But these differences do not stop us from being in the same line. What would it look like if the church mirrored the people who are waiting in line at the BMV?

     I served a church in Toledo that hosted the largest AA meeting in the entire city.  Every Tuesday evening, the parking lot was filled with some cars parked up and down the street as well.  As I would walk through the parking lot to get to the church entrance, I would see a BMW parked next to a beat up Ford Escort.  There would be a new mini-van parked next to a Ford truck with mud all over its sides.  Addictions are not confined to one socio-economic group.  They impact all segments of society.

     A friend of mine who began serving at a United Methodist Church in an affluent suburb of Columbus met with different groups of church members and asked them this question, “What are the biggest needs facing this community?”  Drug addiction was by far the #1 issue.  Sounds like our community.  Sounds like a lot of communities in central Ohio.  The church needs to stand with those who are addicted, with those who are struggling, and with those who are worried about where they are going to sleep at night.

     James says, “When you don’t show favoritism and seek to come alongside of those who are different from you, that’s when you truly believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.”

     About five years ago, I visited a rapidly growing church which is known for their radical hospitality on Sunday mornings.  They offered a hospitality seminar led by their church volunteers who serve in this ministry.

     The woman who heads up their hospitality ministry began by saying that they weren’t always a very welcoming church.  She said that several years ago, a local newspaper reporter was doing an undercover story on how well churches welcome new people on Sunday mornings.  The reporter went to several churches incognito including to their church. 

     This reporter came to their church wearing worn out clothing, nothing like what most of the congregation was wearing that day.  As the reporter walked through the large fellowship area where the congregation was gathered for donuts and coffee, not one single person spoke to him.  When eye contact was made, church members would quickly look the other way and continue their conversation.

     About a week later, the newspaper ran the article.  As the pastor was reading this article, he began to realize that the reporter was writing about his church without saying the name of the church.  The article described the church as a large, predominately white, middle to upper class congregation with a large fellowship area in a certain section of the city.  After a few more details that fit the description of his church, he realized that the reporter was referring to his church.  Here he thought that his church was a very welcoming church, but they evidently had a lot of room to grow. 

     Determined to not accept the status quo of mediocre hospitality, the pastor and some key leaders got together and to make a long story short, this church is now known for their outstanding hospitality ministries.  And it all began because the church became painfully aware that their faith didn’t match their actions.  Sometimes we need to be reminded of James’ words to us.  Do our faith and our actions match up?

     One Sunday morning during worship this past spring, I mentioned about our pastor’s discretionary offering to help people in need.  We receive this separate offering on the first Sunday of each month when we celebrate Holy Communion.

     An elementary age girl who was listening to my announcement told her mom that she wanted to give all the money she had been saving to this offering.  I think it was $15.  Wanting to help people in need, she put her money in the pastor’s discretionary special offering envelope.  On the envelope, she wrote, “for homeless people.”

     During that week, we got a phone call from a woman who was living at the Lighthouse here in town which provides shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  When this woman left her husband who had been abusive to her, she also gave up her home to get out of that violent situation.

     She had a full-time job and all she needed were some extra funds to help her leave the Lighthouse and rent an apartment.  That little girl’s $15 was used to help this woman and her two boys begin a new life together.

     I had baptized this girl a few weeks before all of this.  As she stood in front of our congregation, I remember asking her if she believed that Jesus Christ was her Lord and Savor and she said, “Yes.”  

     I guess she meant what she said.