Some of us will have more time off from work on this Labor Day Weekend. Some of our free time will likely be spent doing nothing more exciting than watching TV. Perhaps we may watch American Idol, Iron Chef, or Survivor. These are a genre of TV shows that appear to offer reality competition in which there are winners and there are losers. The winners get to come back on the show again and the losers are sent home backing. What are we learning when we watch these programs? Survival of the fittest? That is not the message in our Epistle reading from James this morning.
According to Greek mythology, Sisyphus was once a cruel King of Corinth. And when he died, he was eternally condemned to push a giant boulder to the top of a steep hill. The closer he got to the top, the steeper the hill became, and the harder it was to push the boulder. Every time he had almost gotten the boulder to the top of the hill, he would lose control of it. It would roll over him and down to the bottom of the hill, where he would have to start all over again.
On this Labor Day weekend I hope that none of you are feeling like Sisyphus. I hope that you don't wake up every morning feeling like you have to push a giant boulder up a hill. Some people do.
Like the teacher who was complaining about her job. She told about her principal who was lecturing the faculty quite unmercifully. One by one, he presented them with a painful list of all their failures, flaws and shortcomings. He chided them for over an hour for all the mistakes they had made over the year. Then he announced that the science club was sponsoring a blood drive and that he would donate the first pint of blood. An anxious voice piped up from the rear of the room and asked, "But whose blood?" I hope your work environment is a little better than that. At least I hope your boss is a little more sympathetic. (King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)
On this labor day weekend as we hear of the unemployed, we are aware of employers picking people for jobs. Some get chosen to come back to work and some are sent packing. We live in stressful days when some people work harder for less pay, others are unemployed, and others fear losing their jobs.
During stressful times, people need a supportive faith community more than ever. We are told that as the population of the United States increases, church membership remains the same. Therefore, the percentage of Christians in our nation is slowly dropping. Various methods are used by pastors and congregations to stem the tide of falling membership and to produce membership growth. But most of the methods so employed are short-lived and result in failure.
A study of new members who join churches has revealed that the vast majority of them were moved to join a church because someone invited them. This is by far the best method of achieving results. The personal invitation is the most effective tool of evangelism. Whom have you invited to your church? Are we letting Christ down, and are we unmoved by the decline in church membership? What do we think of the steady rise and growth of cults and other New Age religions?
There are people around us today who, when asked why they do not attend any church, will answer, "Because we have never been asked." Who is there to whom you should be giving a friendly invitation to attend church? Who is there in your wide social circle who can honestly say that they have never been asked to a service of worship, to meet Christ, the Creator and Savior of the world? (Harold H. Lentz, Preaching the Miracles, CSS Publishing.)
A story is told of a family that went into a restaurant. The waitress walked up and, looking at the young boy, said: What will it be? The boy eagerly shouted back: "I'll take a hamburger, French fries, and a chocolate shake." The mother immediately interrupted: "Oh, that's not what he wants. He'll take the roast beef, a baked potato, and a glass of milk." Much to the surprise of both the mother and the boy, the waitress completely ignored her and again asked the boy: "And what do you want on that hamburger?" The boy shouted back, "ketchup, lots of ketchup." "And what kind of shake?" "Make it chocolate." The boy then turned to his parents with a big smile on his face and said: "Mommy! Daddy! Did you hear that? She thinks that I'm real!"
Well, let me give you fair warning. If you once, just once, start really hearing people they are suddenly going to become real to you. (Staff, www.eSermons.com) There are going to stop seeming like some TV character on Amercian Idol or Iron Chef. They are going to become real.
Interestingly, as we often see in Scripture, sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. James wrote:
My friends, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, you must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance. ... You will do the right thing if you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scripture, "Love your neighbour as yourself." But if you treat people according to their outward appearance, you are guilty of sin, and the Law condemns you as a lawbreaker. Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all.
Why did James write this passage? It wasn't simply to annoy his readers. He had a very good reason for writing it. Some of his friends were also treating others differently according to how they looked. In his case, it wasn't that some people were over or under weight. His concern was the different ways that people were treated because of how they were dressed. It seems that if a well dressed person, who obviously had money, came in to worship, that person would be shown the best seat in the house. "Come up here and sit right down in the front. Here's a nice comfortable chair. Is there anything we can get for you: a cushion; a footstool; How about a cool glass of water?"
On the other hand, if a poor person, in ragged clothes, came in, they would shove her over in the corner or make her sit on the dirt floor.
It doesn't matter, however, if people are rich or poor, fat or skinny, tall or short, black or white, the principle still applies. We are called to treat people with dignity and respect regardless of who they are or what they look like.
When we look at what's inside of us, we are pretty much alike. We all hurt. We all experience pain. We all love to laugh and feel the support of those around us. We all need to know that we are loved and accepted not only by God but also by one another.
The queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon, and one day she put him to the test. She brought artificial flowers so perfectly formed that no human eye could detect them from real flowers. She put them in a vase on Solomon's table, in his throne room next to his flowers. As he came in, the queen of Sheba is reported to have said, "Solomon, you are the wisest man in the world. Tell me without touching these flowers, which are real and which are artificial." It is said that Solomon studied the flowers for a long time and spoke nothing, until finally he said, "Open the windows and let the bees come in."
There are ways to tell the artificial from the real—let the bees come in; they will know where the real is. If we live with the authentic Jesus long enough, we will recognize the real when we see it. (Brooks Ramsey, When Religion Becomes Real)
Jesus came to offer us real life. God picked us first - not because we are better looking or better
dressed than other people. God picked us not based on outward appearance or survival of the fittest. God picked us based on God's grace and mercy. Indeed, God picked us first TO SHOW US HOW TO DO IT. Our task then is to invite others to comes and share in the bountiful feast that God has prepared.
--
Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from James 2:1-10, 14-17 on September 6, 2009 at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas.
