|
Living GraceFaith without works is . . . dead. James 2:26
In his first three sermons, Harry has given us an overview, a reminder of the characteristics of being Presbyterian, what we believe – God’s sovereignty and grace, how we worship – an emphasis on God’s word – and what we are about in the world – caring for our neighbor. For this morning’s sermon, however, I returned to the lectionary for some direction about what to preach. As you may recall the lectionary is a proscribed set of readings used by many churches world-wide each Sunday.
So, I went to the lectionary with both Harry’s sermons. I also, and more particularly went to the lectionary with the events of these recent weeks on my mind – the 5th anniversary of September 11 tomorrow, the 1st anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and, of course, the tragedy in our community of flight 5191. So, as I approached the lectionary, I was really hoping to find one of those wonderful scriptures of comfort like the psalmist’s words that our sovereign God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1) or Paul’s assurance that in God’s abundant grace nothing can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus (See Romans 8:38-39). Yet the passage that leapt off the lectionary page for today was the passage from the letter of James. As I have alluded to, James, at least according to some, is one of the most practical and one of the least sentimental books of the Bible. In its very first chapter, James tells the church, in no uncertain terms, that it is to be doers not just hearers of the word. As Frances Taylor Gench, our Pace Warren speaker this year, writes: In five short chapters, the letter of James discerns (among other things) the relevance of Christian faith to our speech, to our economic pursuits and business practices, to our experiences of trial and temptation, to our responses to discrimination, and to people in need, and to our life together in the Christian community. [1] In some ways, James seems to be a fitting continuation of Harry’s sermons, or at lest in part, on what we believe as Presbyterians. In Harry’s words, ‘[w]e are a people committed to this world" and to serving God as we "seek the good of our neighbor." In very concrete and practical terms James’ tells the church, which is you and me as Christians, as Presbyterians, that what we believe becomes real only if it pervades the practical, concrete ways we live our everyday lives in the world. Well, as I said, when I first approached the lectionary, I was hoping for something a little less worldly, a little less concrete and practical. I was hoping for something a little more sentimental, a little more poetic and comforting. I certainly didn’t have in mind a passage on how we needed to be living – a test of do’s and don’ts that most of us probably wouldn’t pass with flying colors. I was hoping for something with just a little more assurance of God’s amazing, steadfast love and grace. Yet, there it was, the letter of James, the most practical book of the Bible. Very quickly, however, I began to realize that James, despite my first impression, really does give us the assurance we are all looking for. James’ concrete and practical words about Christian living are words of grace ever bit as strong and offering ever bit as much comfort as those words specifically describing God’s love and grace. I became convinced that James’ list of do’s and don’ts aren’t to be read as an indictment of our less than perfect lives, but as a description of a living grace of comfort and hope for our less than perfect lives. James isn’t giving us a test that says this is what you must do to earn God’s love. James is reminding us about the kind of grace that Jesus preached – the living grace of God’s love reflected in bringing sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed, food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothes to the naked. This is a living grace of love, not a set of rigid duties or responsibilities. I visualize it as a way of living that is the spring that literally gushes from the well of God’s love for us – a love that is an unmerited, pure gift – a gift of grace. James assumes that we know about this gift of God’s love for us in "our glorious Lord Jesus Christ," as James reverently refers to Jesus. James assumes we know that we are saved by grace. Assuming this saving grace, James says to us, "Open your flood-gates, let God into every single corner - every single word, every single action, every single decision – yes, every single corner of your lives. This is living grace, and it is the kind of grace that will change us and can change the world. This living grace is the way we get a glimpse of the overlap of the earthly and heavenly life that God intends in our world – a glimpse of the world, that the Isaiah passage describes, a world where the lame shall leap, the speechless shall sing and where the refreshing waters shall fill the dry deserts. [2] Yes, know and be at peace, we are saved by grace through faith alone. This grace however, is not a quiet and passive grace. It’s a loud and living grace. Its not cheap grace as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said. It’s a grace that requires investment of our hearts, our hands, our feet and our voices. It requires an investment of our resources - our time and our money. Living grace requires an investment of our whole selves. It’s a grace that begs us to set priorities for all parts of our lives that put God first and the world second. This kind of grace, this living grace, is the answer to the questions we often ask of God in times like these last few weeks, times when we are reminded just how tenuous, how broken the world is. We ask, "God, why don’t you do something about this world" Living grace our answer, and so God says to us, "I did do something, I made you." God says: I made you to be doers, not only hearers of my word. Yet, God doesn’t say, "I made you and now it’s all up to you." If this were so, we’d still be reading James as a self-defeating test of do’s and don’ts. God says, I made you, yes; and God says I am with you – strengthening your hands and calming your fearful hearts, in those beautiful words from Isaiah we read this morning. The strength, the power to live a life of grace is not our strength, not our power. It’s God’s power in and through Jesus Christ - a power we can claim as we turn again and again to God in study of the Word, in prayer, in worship, in fellowship, in service. And, the more we turn, the more we surrender, then the more of God’s power we are able to claim and the more we will know the gift of living grace. And, so we find that James' letter is, after all, both poetic and comforting. The letter is a reminder of the living grace that is real, that is possible in our everyday lives. This is the living grace that is the "answer" and is our true source of hope and comfort in the shadow of the September 11th’s, the Hurricane Katrinas, and the flights 5191 of our earthly life. A member of the congregation shared with me something she wrote last Wednesday night and gave me permission to share it with you this morning. It’s a story that spoke to me of the poetry and comfort in James’ words about living the Christian life. Our friends, Les and Kaye, died a week ago last Sunday in the crash of Comair 5191. . . . For a week, friends have been gathering together almost daily to grieve, remember, laugh and cry. Last night [which was last Wednesday] there were so many mourners at the mortuary that the line snaked throughout the entire first floor. People were coming in one door and leaving by another. The parking lot was so full that cars had to be parked on side streets. We were lucky to find a space beside Broadway Christian Church, which is about a block away. . . . My friend, Bob . . . [who was with me] is a member of the church next door to the funeral home. A wing of the church houses a distribution warehouse for God’s Pantry, which supplies food to the needy. Bob works as a volunteer in the center a couple of evenings a month. As we passed the parking lot of the church, we noticed people standing around the door of the center. At that moment a woman appeared beside us. She was wearing jeans and a tee shirt. She had long blonde hair and she smelled of cigarette smoke. She asked us if we knew anything about this church. Bob asked her why she wanted to know. She told us that there was no one to let the people into the center to get food. She said the door should have been opened about forty minutes earlier but it was still locked. There were many people walking up and down the street that she could have stopped. But she picked Bob. What a miracle that he knew the combination of the security lock and remembered it! The two of us opened the center and spent the next two hours helping those folks get their monthly groceries. Most of our friends went to a local restaurant for refreshment and more tears when they left the funeral home. Bob and I missed that time when the crowd was consoling each other. We were not meant to be there. We were meant to be in the parking lot of Broadway Christian Church. The woman, who stopped us, told me later that she had never been to God’s Pantry before so she did not recognize Bob as a worker. Why did she pick the one person out of the crowd who could help her and the others? I will never have an earthly answer to that question but I believe God sent Bob and me there so those twelve families could have food to eat for the next month. I witnessed this event and will never forget it. I know that Les and Kaye would have done exactly what we did. Maybe their spirits were at God’s Pantry last night. How blessed Bob and I are to have been there with them. [3] We are all blessed to be saved each day by God’s amazing love and grace. We are even more blessed when we can live out this grace, when we can reflect this love in how we live, in the concrete and practical ways we use our feet, our hands, our voices, and our resources. And, you know what? It just seems to work out that the more we live this grace, the more we surrender to God’s power in our lives and God’s ways for our lives, then the more we know not only the strong and real comfort, but also the undeniable hope and promise of God’s amazing grace even in a world of 9/11’s, and Katrinas, and flights 5191. Now all glory be to God our Creator, our Redeemer and our Sustainer Amen. _________________ |
Darla
Blatnik