Faithworks #2 Reinbeck UMC 7/30/2017

Faithworks #2

Reinbeck UMC

7/30/2017

 Stupid is as stupid does. That was forest Gump’s way of saying “action speak louder than words.”

•           We might also say “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… it must be a duck.”

•           Or “the proof is in the pudding.”

•           Do you remember the old song, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love?”

It’s all the same thing:

•           Christian is as Christian does,

•           If it walks like a Christian and talks like a Christian, it must be a Christian.

•           Or the proof of faith is in the loving. Or

•           They’ll know we are Christians by our love, or our forgiveness, or our mercy, or our passion for justice.

 Actions speak louder than words. James might say, faith without works is dead… or “YOU CAN TELL IF FAITH WORKS, IF FAITH LEADS TO WORKS.”

Last week in the first sermon of our faithworks series, we talked about how our faith leads to a change in the way we see God, the way we see ourselves, and the way we face trials.

Chapter 2 really focuses on relationships with other people and our attitudes toward those who are different from us. Specifically, it talks about Justice and mercy.

 Immediately that should make you think of Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Really, that is what this is about. How does God expect us to live out our faith? God expects JUSTICE and MERCY as we walk humbly with God. If faith works, our faith will lead to works of justice and mercy.

Before we get into specific examples, let’s think about the relationship between Justice and mercy.

As I see it, there are three attitudes within the concept of justice.

 First is an attitude of revenge.” An eye for an eye” is the attitude of revenge justice.

•           You take my animal, I’ll take yours.

•           You insult me, I’ll insult you.

•           You bomb me, I’ll bomb you. (That was the theory behind the cold war doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, which was supposed to keep us safe. But that never made me feel safe.)  Revenge justice was well established by Hammurabi's Code about 4 centuries before the 10 commandments. The result of revenge justice is a whole nation of ½ blind people. It is the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s all over. They can’t remember how it started, but by gum, we can’t let them get by with that. We have to get revenge.

 The second attitude of justice is “punishment” or “deterrence.” This is the kid of justice that seeks not to exact revenge, but hopefully to make the punishment so severe that people will not take the chance of breaking the law.

Exodus 22 is a good example of this “When a man steals an ox or a sheep and butchers it or sells it, he must repay five cattle for the ox or four sheep for the sheep. ……  If what was stolen—whether ox, donkey, or sheep—is actually found alive in his possession, he must repay double.” See the deterrent intent in that kind of justice? That is like speeding fines, or lawsuits that award the complainant more than the monetary value of the loss.

 But neither of those are what has in mind when he said,

•           “love those who persecute you,” or

•           “if they ask for your coat, give them your cloak too,” or

•           “Where are you accusers, go and sin no more.” Jesus exercised a justice based NOT on revenge or punishment, but on mercy.” Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

That is the kind of justice for which James is calling when he says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”  In context, he says “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Justice, for the Christian, is a justice filled with mercy. We could just as accurately say, “Justice filled with love.”

Let’s look at how that plays out in James.

 The first example is how Justice is meted out in court. The meeting of which James speaks in the first verses of the second chapter is a judicial assembly.

2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

I would like to say we live in a country and an age when justice pours out of our courthouses like a never-ending stream. It doesn’t.

•           We can start with the simple fact that the wealthy can buy a dream team of defense lawyers, while the poor are represented by capable and well-meaning public defenders… but they are far from a dream team. Justice is bought not with a bribe, but with the ability to hire a better lawyer than the other side. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

•           We can look at the way different people are treated in court. Taking two defendants who commit the same crime, and the same history of prior convictions, a Florida study showed that black men were sentenced to 20 percent more time in prison.   That has nothing to do with how many crimes are committed by whom… these are equally guilty people treated unequally by the law. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

•           What about the treatment of undocumented immigrants. You can have your opinion about what the immigration policy should be but there is no debate that it is applied unequally. There is no debating that people are treated differently by the courts. For no obvious reason some are allowed to live in this country and others are deported. It does not always have to do with criminal history… that is a different thing. It does not have to do with how long they have been here… that is a different thing. The fact is that two undocumented immigrants living next to each other cannot expect to be treated equally under the law. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

 The second example in James is our attitude toward the poor. “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor.”

This has nothing to do with the poverty level. These are those who are weaker or less important in the eyes of the world. Jesus said, “If you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.”

•           Consider the disabled adults who live in-group homes, unable to work. In Iowa, they are allowed as little as 36 dollars a month for their personal expenses. Imagine $36 per month for haircuts, clothes, a new bed whatever. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

•           Consider those who are fleeing the terrible war in Syria. Shuffled from country to country and herded into refugee camps. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

•           Consider the other side of the picture when the rich congress excludes themselves from laws that affect everyone else in the nation. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

•           Consider the closing of almost all of the residential facilities in Iowa for those with mental illness. Pushing those with almost no hope of community integration into outpatient treatment. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

•           What about the slightly chunky teenager who is told, “You are a fat cow, too ugly to live, just go kill yourself.” The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

•           I know you all have your own favorite issues as I do. Apply this to your favorite issues. No matter what the issue, though, when it comes to treating the less powerful, or less wealthy, or less regarded, or anyone else without mercy. The Christian response is to stand up and scream NO.

 Finally, James gives an example of a different kind. He says “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

This is just a little different. This is not about people without clothes and food. This is about our

•           faith going beyond principle,

•           beyond rolling our eyes,

•           even beyond standing up and screaming NO.

•           This is about whether (in James words) our faith is alive or dead. 

 Standing up and screaming NO is not the end of the Christian response. Just like saying good luck to the hungry person is not the end of the Christian response. We have to DO something.

No matter how you cut it, our faith HAS to lead to action or it is DEAD. DEAD, DEAD.

•           The Christian who is all about sitting in the pew but never says anything about or notices the suffering around them is useless in the kingdom. God calls us to DO something.

•           The Christian who is all about reading their Bible, but doesn’t apply it to their lives and world to make the world a better place is all show and no go. God calls us to DO something.

•           The Christian who is all about praying for peace, but never does anything to promote it, is like a noisy gong or a clanging symbol. God calls us to DO something.

•           The Christian who will throw money at causes is certainly helpful, but if they only invest money and not themselves, they are missing the point. God calls us to DO something.

•           The Christian who is all about JESUS AND ME, and never gets around to ME AND THEE…

o          never gets around to loving others,

o          never gets around to advocating for others,

o          never gets around to feeding anyone,

o          never gets around to teaching the children,

o          never gets around to inviting  a neighbor to  church has a faith that is not working . God calls us to DO something.

•           They are always talking about wanting children in the church, but will not do anything to help.

•           They are always talking about problems and never helping with solutions.

•           They are always thinking,

o          “Someone else will do it,” or

o          “I have done enough,” or

o          “I’m too busy,” or

o          “I’m too tired,” or whatever their excuse… (You have heard them all just as I have.) Their faith is not working. God calls us to DO something.

•           Those folks are missing the joy of living out their faith in the real world with real people.

•           They are missing the joy of being an instrument of peace, or love, or healing, or joy to others.

•           They are missing out on having a living faith in a living creator who is powerfully active in this world through people just like us.

•           They are missing the opportunity to DO something as part of the kingdom of God.

•           They are missing the fact they every person is called into ministry--- called to do something with their faith.

I feel sorry that they are missing out on the life giving joy of giving their lives for God. However, James is a little harsher. He says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds, is dead.”

•           They’ll know we are Christians by our love,

•           and they’ll know we are dead if we do not love, or serve, or work for justice, or act out our faith in our lives.

Take a minute to take your faith pulse… alive or dead?  

Can you feel your faith coming out in your actions?

Can you see your faith in your life?

Can others see your faith in the life you live?

Take a minute to take your faith pulse… alive or dead?  

If you don’t feel the pulse, it isn’t too late to change. God never gives up on us even if we are lost sheep or prodigal sons; God is a God who puts divine love into action Yes… in Jesus Christ. But also in you and me. And through you and me.

Thanks be to God who calls us to DO something.