Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 7-8, 2024
“No Difference” James 2:1-10, 14-18
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
Lisa Tofano was baptized, confirmed and married at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Des Plaines, Illinois. A year ago Lisa and her husband John were back at the church to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary. But it wasn’t to attend a worship service but to enjoy a meal. That church had become Foxtail on the Lake, a nice restaurant.
In the article by Ellen Rosen of The New York Times she tells us that many churches, now closed, are being used for other purposes. Some churches have become restaurants, breweries, hotels, art centers, theaters and even sports complexes. In the article, Ellen Lindner, a sociologist and a Presbyterian minister said that she expected that as many as 100,000 Protestant churches, 20% of all existing Protestant churches, to close their doors by 2030. I hope she is wrong.
Churches face many challenges. But there is something greater than simply the challenges of declining numbers and demographics. Churches can lose their purpose and their mission. Churches can lose their passion, their heart and their love.
Look at what James says to us, “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also 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 2:1-5) A snobbish church is not Christ’s church. A snooty and uppity church is not Christ’s church. A church run by cliques is not Christ’s church.
Pandering to the powerful and wealthy, the beautiful and the handsome, is how some businesses run. Some people get ahead in life by such ways. But that is not how God’s church should be. Such pandering or partiality is shallow. It is a violation of the law of love. Jesus said, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24) In Leviticus we read God’s command, “Do not pervert justice, do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” (Leviticus 19:15) James makes it clear, “Don’t show favoritism.”
There is no favoritism with God. Rich. Poor. Beautiful or not. That is not how God looks at people. Do you remember the account in the Old Testament when God told Samuel that He had rejected Saul as the king of Israel. Samuel was to go to Bethlehem and pick one of Jesse’s sons as the next king. Jesse had 8 sons, 7 were present when Samuel arrived, and one, the youngest, David was gone, tending the sheep. The oldest, the strongest passed before him. But none of the first seven were chosen. The unlikely one, the youngest, David, was chosen. Of this the Lord had said to Samuel as the first seven were not selected, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7)
We make judgments too quickly on people. We will judge them by their tattoos or the lack of them; by the color of their hair, the length of it or their lack of it; by the decal on the hood of their car. To our shame that is what we do. God doesn’t judge by such shallow standards. And neither should we.
Jesus is our model here. Jesus looked for the people nobody else wanted. When He called Matthew to be His apostle He got pushback. Matthew was a thief; his reputation was no good. The good people, the church people asked, “Why does your teacher (Jesus) eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’”? Jesus overhead the question and he responded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (See Matthew 9:11-13)
You know the Parable of the Lost Son, right? It is the account of the younger son who despised his father, made a mess of his life and knew he had to go return home, broken and repentant. The Father, the picture of God Almighty, waited for his son, saw him from a distance and came running to him. He embraced him, wept over him and welcomed him back to the family. Do you remember why he told that story? Jesus was involved in the lives of the outcasts in society. He spoke to them. Cared for them. Healed them. Had a heart for them. The prelude to the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son was this, “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2)
There is no difference among all people. All of us are sinners. All of us fall under the condemnation of God. All of us are guilty of failing to be what God has called us to be. In Romans 3 Paul speaks, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Verses 10-12) Later in the chapter he gives this analysis, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Verses 22-23) We’re all in the same mess. We all need grace, forgiveness, a new beginning.
And that is what God gives. Freely. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus. I know that I have mentioned that God has no favorites. I’m quoting right from the Bible here, Romans 2:11, “For God does not show favoritism.” But maybe I should say this differently. All people are His favorites.
One of the teachings of the church is called “Universal Atonement.” By this we mean that Christ didn’t just die for those who would come to faith but He died for the sins of the whole world. Everybody’s sins were covered when Jesus died. Paul writes, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (II Corinthians 5:14-15) The Bible says this about the desire of God for all people, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” (I Timothy 2:3-6)
In my neighborhood there is a newer church which seems to be doing well. It is called Abundant Life Church. On one of my Sundays off I worshipped there. The sign, as you enter the front doors says, in big, bold, print, “WELCOME HOME”. That is how the church, that is how this church, must be. No noses stuck up, no snobbery, no pretension. A church is a place to welcome sinners into the hands of a Savior who died for them and rose again.
James, says that because there is no difference between us – we all need the new beginning from Jesus, and because we are all his favorites – there is a difference in how we live our life. He calls this new way of living the royal law found in Scripture. It is the law of love. He writes, “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.” (James 2:8-9) God’s royal law is this, “Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) God’s royal law is “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) No difference. It applies to all of us and it applies to what we do for others.
Folks, our cup has been filled to overflowing with God’s love and grace. We are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus. We will be in God’s presence forever due to the work of Jesus. We are called to live in the same extravagant and gracious way with all people. Amen!!
