Sermon Tone Analysis

James 2:

James

James 2:

James

There’s this vicious cycle that I, and many others, have to be a part of on an almost weekly basis.

It’s a cycle, so it could start at any of these points, but let’s say it starts with politics.

A group of lawmakers goes on television and defends their latest cut to some support program as good business sense, or benefiting the American taxpayer.

These lawmakers almost always claim to be Christians, and when asked how they reconcile this action with their Christian faith, they say something like “I believe helping the poor is the job of the Church, not the government.”

A person on TV - usually a lawmaker - talks about how it’s important to them as a Christian that we help the poor, but they think the government should leave that to the churches.

A church

Then Sunday comes, and because the program that was helping them is unable to do so any longer, low income households find themselves having to give less.

Meanwhile, upper income households who benefited from the recent tax break, and agreed with those lawmakers who said helping the poor was the church’s job, don’t increase their giving accordingly.

During the week, church boards meet and treasurers everywhere break the news: giving is down.

Bills are up.

They can’t *not* pay the bills or the payroll, so it looks like they’ll have to cut their ministry budget, again.

The next morning, pastors answer the phone.

It’s those people who were impacted by the budget cut, wanting to know if the church can help them.

Sorry, the pastors say, but we just don’t have the funds.

Have you tried calling 211? [Explain 211]

So they call 211, and they keep going until they either find help - usually from a federally funded program - or their situation gets worse and they qualify for the original program’s new, stricter standards.

The cost of those programs increases and lawmakers restructure them again.

After all, it’s the church’s job to help the poor.

I don’t tell you this story to convince you of an economic theory, or of the respective roles of church and state in providing for society’s vulnerable.

That’s a worthwhile conversation to have, but it’s not my point, and neither is it the point of James, the author of this morning’s reading.

Rather, the point is that passing the buck and refusing responsibility have become second nature to us, so much so that it’s made liars of us all.

As we read James this month, you’ll discover quickly that he’s not the type of guy to mince words or sugar coat things, and this series of passages is no exception.

He offers his readers a hypothetical situation: Imagine someone who you love like family is destitute.

They don’t have food.

They don’t have shelter.

They don’t even have enough clothing to protect them from the elements.

And then imagine that you or someone else goes to them and says “Hey buddy; I’m praying for you.

Sure hope you get a bite to eat and a place to sleep tonight.

Okay, see you later.”

You may as well have done nothing at all.

Your kind words are not nourishment, and your words, however warm they may be, will not protect from the elements.

All you did in that moment was make yourself feel good about yourself.

If you’d really hoped your loved one would receive food, you’d have provided some of your own.

If you really hoped they would find a place to stay, you would have offered them a couch - either yours, or that of someone you know.

If there was some reason you couldn’t do that - like, maybe you know this person you love is dangerous to themself or to others - you would have found some other way to make sure they get the help they need.

But by your inaction, you proved you did not care.

Now, there’s this pernicious story that tends to travel among Christian circles.

It’s this idea that if we will just say the right words in the right order, or pray this special prayer, or acknowledge the truth of some basic principles, then when we die, Jesus will give us a get out of Hell free card, because going to Heaven is what Christianity is about.

I intentionally described that in such a way as to sound ridiculous, but seriously, this is one of the biggest fights that’s been going on among Christians for centuries.

It’s one of the big reasons Protestants exist, because many believed the Catholic Church was teaching something called “Works-based righteousness,” when “salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone.”

And they’re not entirely wrong.

But what James knew - and what I think we all know, if we’re honest - is that our actions reveal what we truly believe.

If we proclaim Jesus’s words are true, but live like they aren’t, then we show ourselves to be liars, and our faith to be false.

But if we have true faith in the teachings of Jesus, then our actions will follow our faith, and our works will show that our faith is alive.

Is your faith alive?