James 2:1 "My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favour some people over others?"
Our church is in a sermon series on the book of James for the summer. James is one of those books of the Bible that really puts you against the wall. Are you serious about your faith or are you just putting on a show? Are you willing to give anything up or is Jesus just an added bonus in your life?
The sermon on partiality/favouritism really got me. I want to be gracious. No, I do not want to give the rich people the best seats. No I do not want the poor to have to stand in the corner in the back. I want the church to be more like a hospital where broken people can come, than like a country club that has a dress code and a financial requirement. Or do I? Do I really want to see broken, weird people come to Jesus? If I do, do I hope it happens outside the church, after which they get cleaned up and THEN they can come to church? I'm not gonna answer that, but I can tell you about some people I've come across lately in three different churches, one of them being my own.
There is a loud, disruptive man who clearly has some special needs. His timing for everything is off whether its the liturgy or singing or the prayer. Did I mention that he is very loud? He annoys me. There is an older woman who is different. I am not sure she is homeless exactly, but that's definitely the vibe (and smell) that she gives off. She too is not quiet and can be quite disruptive. I hope she doesn't sit near me. There is an obviously down on his luck man who walks into church in the middle of the sermon. He goes to sit in the front row, eats loudly and calls out during the sermon (and I don't mean the odd amen). The pastor knows the man by name and is not ruffled in the slightest. After this continues for awhile, one of the other pastors goes to sit with the man and he settles down. I find him a nuisance. There is a woman who comes in late. She is bedraggled, for lack of a better word. She is also wearing a tshirt with the playboy logo written rather large on it. I am shocked that someone would wear such a shirt to church. I am indignant.
Do these sound like gracious Christian responses to you? They sure don't to me. In the case of the last woman, I found out later about her struggles and how far she has come in her walk with Jesus. Turns out it was a miracle that she was there at all. I don't know how much clothing she has and whether the offending shirt is actually an improvement. I am ashamed. I vow to do better. Because do you know who was offended by the noisy, dirty, outcast people Jesus associated with? The Pharisees. Enough said.
