Sunday LinkUp – 08September2024 – James 2:1-17

CALL TO WORSHIP

 

OPENING COMMENTS

• The theme for this week is the Lord’s inclusive love for all.
• In our main message today, we’ll see where James, the apostle, warns the Jewish believers to not be guilty of showing favouritism.

 

 

OPENING SONG

 

 

 

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FIRST MESSAGE

 

• Jesus Interrupted 
• Greg Williams 

 

From the TRANSCRIPT …

Have you ever been interrupted? We all have! Kids especially have a gift for knowing the worst time to burst in the door and throw off the whole trajectory. Every one of us has some story of the kid who yelled at church or loudly announced his bathroom needs during a quiet moment.

Mark 7 records one of the oddest interactions Jesus has—and it’s the story of an interruption. Jesus had just had a fiery confrontation with the Pharisees not long after John the Baptist was executed. He was also strategizing his mission and going through Israel and from there out to the world. At this point, he was laying low for a little while, as Mark says: “And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know” (Mark 7:24).

Even before he can enter a time of privacy, a worried mom interrupts Jesus. A Syro-Phoenecian woman begs him to heal her daughter—right at that moment when he’s trying to not draw attention to himself. He enters into a verbal sparring match with her that may leave us scratching our heads:

 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Mark 7:27-28 (ESV)

Huh?! On the surface it looks like Jesus is insulting this woman, even calling her “dog”—a common slur for Gentile people. It would be reasonable if he were upset by her interruption during this strategic moment.

But look closer. The word he uses is actually a term of affection like “puppy.” He’s hinting toward a change, a softening of the division between people. Look again and you can see, by her witty response that she’s engaging with Jesus, almost joking with him.

True, he is strategically laying low right now. True, he is called to Israel first to fulfill the narrative of the gospel. But he can’t help himself—this determined, headstrong woman captured his heart at that moment.

And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”
Mark 7:29 (ESV)

This is Jesus, interrupted. We will see later in the chapter—as Jesus fulfills a prophecy of Isaiah—that Jesus moves very carefully within his bigger story. His life and actions tie together the story of Israel and redemption.

But the greater theme of this particular story of interruption is generosity—God’s overflowing love that doesn’t always go “according to plan.” Determined and worried parents, overly active children, and faith-challenged disciples become part of the epic story.

The interruptions drive the plot.

How are we being interrupted today? Are the kids ruining our concentration? Is a difficult person calling us outside “office hours”? These moments are often uncomfortable and never predictable, but they are grace moments and Jesus is there in them. Perhaps they are part of the plot of your life with him.

This is Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

 

FIRST READING

James 2:1-17

2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. ² For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in ^[a]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in ^[b]filthy clothes, ³ and you ^[c]pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴ have you not ^[d]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? ⁷ Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; ⁹ but if you ^[e]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.   

¹⁴ What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

 

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SPECIAL MUSIC

 

 

 

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SERMON (Interactive)

 

INTRODUCTION

Today, we are going to be looking at a passage of scripture found in James 2:1-17.   James was aware of how the poor among them were being treated without respect.

James is going to have to call out the believers on their behavior and the favoritism that they were affording the well-to-do in their midst.  James has a lot to say to us about how to treat our brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as presenting us with the challenge to prove our faith by our actions.

We are going to start by looking at the first four verses of our passage.

 

• James anticipated that some of his readers might defend their partiality to the rich as simply loving the rich man as their neighbor in obedience to the law.b. If you show partiality, you commit sin: The problem isn’t that one is nice to the rich. The problem is that one does show partiality to the rich, and is not nice to the poor man! So you can’t excuse your partiality by saying, “I’m just fulfilling the command to love my neighbor as myself.”
• “This commandment, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, is a royal law, not only because it is ordained of God, and proceeds from his kingly authority over men, but because it is so useful, suitable, and necessary to the present state of man… we give the epithet royal to whatever is excellent, noble, grand, or useful.” (Clarke)

 

 

 

CLOSING PRAYER

 

 

 

 

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Lectionary Notes

 

Compassion Over Favoritism

James 2:1-17  NIV

 

One Sunday in November of 2013, a Mormon bishop by the name of David Musselman posed as a homeless person outside the church he attended.  He recalled that while a few people offered him money, most people had a negative reaction towards his presence.

Much of the congregation were indifferent towards David and simply ignored him, but five people were so offended by the sight of him that they took it upon themselves to ask him to leave.  Undeterred, David took his seat in the front row as the service started.

When it was time for the bishop to speak, David took to the stage, much to the shock and dismay of the congregation.  Then he revealed his true identity.  He said he wanted to see how a homeless person would be treated if one of them decided to show up.  It was an experiment that would prove to be quite revealing to that congregation.

Today, we are going to be looking at a passage of scripture found in James 2:1-17.  What James is going to be addressing may sound like the situation we just heard.  Although James may not have shown up dressed as a homeless person to one of their gatherings, he was aware of how the poor among them were being treated without respect.

James is going to have to call out the believers on their behavior and the favoritism that they were affording the well-to-do in their midst.  James has a lot to say to us about how to treat our brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as presenting us with the challenge to prove our faith by our actions.  We are going to start by looking at the first four verses of our passage.

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.  Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes comes in.  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,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?   (James 2:1-4 NIV)

James is not just referring to someone wearing a customary gold ring.  He is drawing a sharp contrast we would all be familiar with.  To modernize this for us, picture someone pulling up in their brand-new Lexus or Mercedes.  They are decked out as they exit their shiny impressive vehicle, wearing an Armani three-piece suit and sporting an expensive Rolex watch.  How is this person likely to be treated?  After asking if they are lost, we may be tempted to give this person the royal treatment.

Now, picture someone whose appearance is the total opposite of this person.  Maybe their shoes, if they are wearing any, are completely worn out with holes in them.  Their clothes haven’t been washed in months and from the smell of it, they have not bathed in a long time as well.  How will we treat this person?

James would argue for equal treatment in either case.  If the rich person is shown favoritism over the poor person, then we have a problem.  James is asking us to dig deep into our motives for how we treat others.  Part of having a healthy church is recognizing where we are not operating with healthy behaviors and attitudes.  This is where we honestly admit when we erroneously place a higher value on certain people over and above others.

The Christian community gets all excited when we find out that a certain celebrity or athlete is now professing their faith in Christ.  It’s as if an “important” person we admire has now legitimized our faith in the eyes of the world.  There is something about this that strokes our egos a bit.  But why is a high-profile athlete coming to Jesus any more important to us than when an unhoused person has made the same decision?

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: 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?  But you have dishonored the poor.  Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?  Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?  Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?   (James 2:5-7 NIV)

James now proceeds to point out the obvious flaws in their thinking.  These believers were stuck on the external trappings of this new member.  “He’s a big deal!”  “He’s a winner!”  At this point, James offers some rhetorical questions to challenge their thinking.  In essence, here’s what he is asking:

“Is it really the person who’s on top of the world that most often sees their need for Christ, or is it those who know that they have already hit rock bottom?  The kingdom of God is so near to them.  These people are ripe for the good news.  Can’t you see that?  Besides, which one of them is more used to getting their way and who wouldn’t think twice about ruining you financially in court?”

Note: Further study would reveal there were three clear flaws.

1) their attitude was diametrically opposite to God’s long-standing concern for the poor with no partiality (Deuteronomy 1:17, Leviticus 19:18, and Zechariah 7:9-10),

2) the rich were exploiting and persecuting the church,

and

3) the believers’ actions violated the “royal law” of love for neighbor.

James is continuing to share the long-standing tradition of the fair treatment of the poor.

• In Luke 14:13, Jesus said, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.”
• In Deuteronomy 15:11, it says “Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.”

James, then, is not presenting a novel idea to these believers.  He is insisting on participating with an idea that was birthed in our heavenly Father’s heart ages ago.

If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “you shall not murder.”  If you do commit adultery but do not commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.  Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.  Mercy triumphs over judgment.  (James 2:8-13 NIV)

James is writing to Jewish converts to Christ.  These are a group of people who are well acquainted with the Law of Moses.  As such, he wants to drive his point home to such a degree that the message goes to their very core.

In verse 8, he sites one of the two great commandments to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

The phrase “really keep” has extreme emphasis and is used only twice in the New Testament, (the other occurrence in Romans 2:27).  This phrase means to “bring to perfection” or to “bring to completion” and is much stronger than the Greek word used for “observe” or “keep” used later in verse 10.

Not “really keeping” the law was seen as breaking the law.  Being accused of being a lawbreaker is not something that James’ audience would have had an easy time hearing.  He allows no wiggle room either, as if they could claim that at least they were not adulterers or murderers.  Maybe not, but they are still lawbreakers.

If the Jewish believers were unwilling to act kindly towards others, how could they possibly think that they will be treated with mercy?  Instead, merciful kindness wins out over judgment every time.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? CCan such faith save them? CSuppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. CIf 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? CIn the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead. (James 2:14-17 NIV)

Here we come to perhaps the most famous quote from the book of James: “faith without works is dead.”   So, in context, what is James communicating to us?  He is telling us that it is more than not discriminating against others; we are also obligated to do something for them.  We are not merely to tolerate their presence among us; we are to make them feel welcomed, and we are to address their needs.

Sadly, we need to make something clear.  Some come to a body of faith to take advantage, and they are unwilling to help themselves.  This is a different topic.  Here, James is talking about brothers and sisters we worship with who come to a place of (genuine) need.  He is not telling us to meet every need of those who seek to take advantage.

So, this just took James’ message to a higher level.  A level that moves us to taking responsibility for our siblings who require our care and assistance.  This echoes what James wrote in James 1:27 that God considers caring for the most vulnerable among us as the purest form of religion.  A faith that is alive will concern itself with a focus that looks beyond oneself.  He is exhorting us to trust God with our whole being as we look outward to minister to others.

Faith reorders our own desires away from securing our well-being by our own efforts, from enhancing our image by associating with glittering celebrities, and summons us to make our friends among the shabby poor, and to trust the provision of God, who gives freely to all.²

We live in a time where celebrities are worshipped, where those who seem to have it all are seen as more valuable and worthy.  It looks like we have this in common with first century believers.  And yet, James speaks loudly to our present culture.  He reminds us to esteem our siblings whom the world may despise.  He would agree with Paul’s statement that “we regard no one from merely a human point of view.”

As we put our faith into action, we do so by tangibly loving our neighbors as ourselves.  This is what pleases our Father, who in his heart, sees all of us as his treasured possessions.   We welcome all to our assemblies with a seat of honor not based on class, but on the esteemed value God has placed on all his beloved children.