Favourite Things

•September 4, 2012 • Leave a Comment

We all have favourites – favourite films, favourite food, favourite place to go, things that make us feel safe…

James 2:1-17

Warning against Having Favourites

2 My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you won’t treat some people better than others. 2 Suppose a rich person wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings. And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. 3 You must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. 4 That is the same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would be acting like a crooked judge.

5 My dear friends, pay attention. God has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world. He has also promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who loves him. 6 You mistreat the poor. But isn’t it the rich who boss you around and drag you off to court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who make fun of your Lord?

8 You will do all right, if you obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves. 9 But if you treat some people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you have sinned.

10 If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all. 11 The same God who told us to be faithful in marriage also told us not to murder. So even if you are faithful in marriage, but murder someone, you still have broken God’s Law.

12 Speak and act like people who will be judged by the law that sets us free. 13 Do this, because on the day of judgement there will be no pity for those who have not had pity on others. But even in judgement, God is merciful!

Faith and Works

14 My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? 15 If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food, 16 you shouldn’t just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? 17 Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!

What we shouldn’t have is favourite people – those we stop and speak to, and those we don’t; those we listen to, and those we don’t; those we cut some slack, and those we don’t; those we help, and those we won’t; those we give respect to, and those we don’t…

James reminds us that God’s way does not treat some better than others – if it were we might not find ourselves as secure as we think – so why would we do any different?

If someone important looking turns up, do we treat them differently to someone who doesn’t dress so well?  Would we treat the mayor differently to a homeless person if they both cam into our church one day?  You would hope not – but… really?

Or are there some people we like, and others we find very difficult?  Do we treat them the same?

God welcomes all into his kingdom, and it is no business of ours to do differently – for we only welcome people on behalf of God.

We show our faith, by acting as God does.  How can you do that where you are today?

Lord,

may I love and live for you.

May my ways be your ways,

your love my love,

your acceptance mine

– may I see no favourites,

just people you love and welcome

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Take Care

•September 3, 2012 • Leave a Comment

A proverb is a simple saying to express a truth.  This reading contains three snippets around the subject of rich and poor:

Proverbs 22

A good reputation and respect
are worth much more
than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor
are all created
by the Lord.

What would you want more –  To have lots of money?  Or to be treated with respect and have a good reputation?  I guess the answer to that is a whole lot easier if you have at least some money!  But if you have nothing, if you are struggling for every last thing – how can you feel respected?

Yet we are reminded that we are all made the same.  We all have the same needs, fundamentally anyone else is no different to us.  Which raises the question of how do we treat the poor?  Do we look down on them?  Or treat them as equals?

We all need food, warmth, shelter, hope and love.  How do we make that happen for those who need it?

8 Troublemakers get in trouble,
and their terrible anger
will get them nowhere.

9 The Lord blesses everyone
who freely gives food
to the poor.

Do we give to those who need it?  It’s coming up to the Harvest season, when we sometimes think about those who have less of a harvest than us.  But what about the rest of the year?  And what about those who have food and money, but lack other things?  How can we go about caring for them – as we show our commitment to God and his ways?  Do we give freely?

22 Don’t take advantage
of the poor
or cheat them in court.
23 The Lord is their defender,
and what you do to them,
he will do to you.

How would you want to be treated if you were the person in need?  Or if it were your children or parents?  I would want to feel that there would be love and care, people willing to go our of their way to help.  Is that how I behave to others?  Because that is what God asks of me?

Lord,

give me eyes to see,

and a heart to understand,

the needs that are all around.

Help me to give,

not just the easy things,

but of myself,

and what is really needed

Posted in bible, God, Lectionary, Religion
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Only Following the Rules that Suit

•August 29, 2012 • Leave a Comment

I guess we can all have selective hearing and remembering when it comes to rules.  Some seem so much more important that others.  Some more relevant, some we just don’t like…

Mark 7:1-23

The Teaching of the Ancestors

Some Pharisees and several teachers of the Law of Moses from Jerusalem came and gathered around Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples ate without first washing their hands.

3 The Pharisees and many other Jewish people obey the teachings of their ancestors. They always wash their hands in the proper  way before eating. 4 None of them will eat anything they buy in the market until it is washed. They also follow a lot of other teachings, such as washing cups, pitchers, and bowls.

5 The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?”

6 Jesus replied:

You are nothing but show-offs! The prophet Isaiah was right when he wrote that God had said,

“All of you praise me
with your words,
but you never really
think about me.
7 It is useless for you
to worship me,
when you teach rules
made up by humans.”

8 You disobey God’s commands in order to obey what humans have taught. 9 You are good at rejecting God’s commands so that you can follow your own teachings! 10 Didn’t Moses command you to respect your father and mother? Didn’t he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? 11 But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they own has been offered to God. 12 You won’t let those people help their parents. 13 And you ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do a lot of other things that are just as bad.

What Really Makes People Unclean

14 Jesus called the crowd together again and said, “Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. 15-16 The food that you put into your mouth doesn’t make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean.”

17 After Jesus and his disciples had left the crowd and had gone into the house, they asked him what these sayings meant. 18 He answered, “Don’t you know what I am talking about by now? You surely know that the food you put into your mouth cannot make you unclean. 19 It doesn’t go into your heart, but into your stomach, and then out of your body.” By saying this, Jesus meant that all foods were fit to eat.

20 Then Jesus said:

What comes from your heart is what makes you unclean. 21 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, 22 unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness. 23 All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God.

The Teachers of the Law decide to pick a fight with Jesus about his disciples washing their hands – or not, that becomes about something much bigger.

The teachers of the law always washed their hands before eating, as well as all the utensils they were going to us.  Quite sensible advice, but they were using their advice to control others, and miss the point – again.

So, Jesus turns it around to them

why are you so careful about what you put in your mouth, yet care so little about what comes out?

They were so concerned about the minutiae of the laws, jumping on people if they got the tiniest thing wrong, yet didn’t worry about the bigger picture of their own behaviour.  Not washing your hand or your pot right seemed important to them, yet they didn’t worry so much about the things coming from their own hearts – evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, greed, meanness, deceit, indecency, envy, insults, pride, and foolishness – they are the things that really upset God.

Like in the James reading – it’s important to be angry about things that are really wrong, to worry about the right kind of thing  – not to try to pull people up on things that don’t matter, or aren’t what worry God.

  • What are the important thing?
  • What rules matter and what are less important?

Forgive me Lord

for the times I get my priorities wrong,

worry about the wrong things,

not the things that trouble you.

May I not focus on small things,

and leave big matters unchallenged.

May my focus be on what pleases you.

Posted in bible, Jesus, Religion
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