Sunday 5 sEPtEMBER, 2021

Reflection:  "Living a Good Life"

Psalm 125

Prov. 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

Mark 7:24-37

James 2:1-10, 14-17

This week we’re continuing our look at the book of James, and you may remember that last week I compared the book of James to the book of Proverbs, in that they both contain a lot of helpful sayings and information about how we should be living our lives.

Now, a proverb is described as just a pithy statement, expressing some truth in a striking and memorable way.
They were normally written by a scholar for a student, teaching them how to lead a moral life, with proper respect for God.

The writer of Proverbs is promoting the idea that the objective of life is the attainment of wisdom, i.e. integrity in God’s eyes.

We all know that life is full of choices and unfortunately we just have to turn on the nightly news to see far too many stories about so many young people, usually men, killed in motor vehicle accidents, or caught up in fights outside a late night drinking venue, where sometimes just one punch can result in the loss of an innocent life, usually from making bad choices.

Often, throughout the collection that makes up the book of Proverbs, one proverb may not appear directly related to the next, so reading them aloud in succession can sometimes make them hard to follow.
Instead, I’d recommend that you look on each one as a little nugget of inspiration and joy, and savour it before moving on to another.

Scholars of Hebrew poetry, which is what these proverbs essentially are, may take minutes, hours, or even years of careful meditation, analysis, and reflection before they grasp the full meaning of what the proverb meant when it was first written and how it now relates to their lives.But don’t let that deter you.

Instead, let it challenge and inspire you to further discovery and enlightenment.

Our reading this week from James Chapter 2 reminds us that, as followers of Jesus, our care for the poor can't be just about having our consciences pricked and simply sending money to a charity.
Nor is it only about building or supporting programs to help folks get a "hand up” - be they governmental, faith-based, or led by other non-profit organisations.
It’s not even only about addressing and reversing the root causes that lead to conditions of poverty in the first place.

Granted, all of these are critical places for church members to be actively engaged.

But all of them can also be exercises in missing the point.

What matters most of all, James reminds us, is building real relationships of mutuality and respect, in recognition that the poor - like the wealthy and all those in between - have both much to offer and much to give.

People who are engaged in hands-on ministries with the poor, whether in their local community, or around the world quickly learn this truth.
James calls on individual Christians and congregations to account for the ways they actively dishonour the poor.
Anytime we do this, we fail to fulfil what he calls the "royal law": i.e. to love every neighbour as we love ourselves.

Once again, we're faced with being admonished by James in this context.

When he says "stop doing this bad thing", we should also hear "keep doing this good thing", and ultimately that is what he’s after.   
Not just to stop doing the bad thing, but to do something positive instead.

Can we think of some practical examples of how to achieve this?

Luckily, James gives us one example in the early verses of Chapter 2 – “seating practices” – when he tells us a story of someone coming into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, followed by a poor man in filthy old clothes.

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?

We happen to know that the early Christians in Syria took this teaching so seriously that they instituted a practice that if a poor person showed up at a meeting, and no seats were available in the congregation, the bishop would have to yield his seat to the poor person!

I like to think that we wouldn’t discriminate here in Lane Cove, but it certainly would test us if a homeless person, probably long overdue for a wash, wanted to sit next to us in a pew, wouldn’t it!

Another example would be if we totally ignored the hard of hearing by not putting in a hearing loop – maybe as a cost saving measure – or then not bothering to turn it on?
Would it be like putting out a big sign that they could read, saying: "Deaf people not really welcome here."

Similarly, we could have ignored the needs of the mobility impaired and not installed ramps, or banned walking frames inside the building.

Maybe we could decide that bringing the Uniting bus here is getting to be too much trouble, but it wouldn’t be a very good example of our faith in action, would it?

Luckily, we DON’T think that way.

​Isn’t it great to see the excitement surrounding the Paralympics every 4 years, just following the able-bodied Olympics.
Here are a great bunch of athletes, physically and mentally challenged in various ways, all giving their best to perform for their country.
Their feats are just as, or even more worthy than the exploits of the able-bodied Olympians a few weeks earlier.

Do we see our congregation actively making room for the gifts and needs of all persons, so that we can all live together as the one body of Christ, showing no partiality, but truly loving every neighbour as ourselves, i.e. fulfilling the "royal law"?

I know that we can and, on the whole, are doing so, here at Lane Cove Uniting Church, so I’m sure that I don’t need to spell them all out for you.

Our faith needs to be more than just a feeling of wanting to do more for our fellow man, especially those who may be less fortunate than we are.

As James summed it up in this morning’s reading – “faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.”

This Sunday is Father’s Day in Australia and it’ll be a particularly hard time for many of us, as we can’t gather together as we usually do, to honour our fathers.
In our family, we often defer the celebration of a special day until we can be sure that the whole family can celebrate together.
Maybe that’s what many of us will have to do in 2021, as the COVID19 virus is spreading throughout the community.

You may be feeling isolated and lonely, but know that there are others feeling the same way, so don’t hesitate to reach out with a phone call. It will help both of you to feel connected.

Stay safe and well and consider your fellow man by becoming vaccinated and following the health guidelines.

​Pastor Rick