Readings: James 2:1-11, 13-17

This morning I participated in the final celebration of our church's 50th anniversary--it's been a season of different events that have encompassed the past 50 years of the its existence. The sermon as well as the readings worked beautifully with a portion of the church's mission statement: "Living life abundantly through the worship of God and service to others". The "worship of God" comes to us pretty normally, living in a spiritual environment. The "service to others" however, sometimes becomes a bit muddled. I found myself questioning my ability to be in service to others as today's readings were shared: James 2 speaks of two qualities that we as Christians are expected to possess and practice--no favoritism based on wealth or power and diligently doing good works. 

We try, but how well do we succeed?

"For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, 'Have a seat here, please,' while to the one who is poor you say, 'Stand there,' or, 'Sit at my feet,' have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors" (3-4, 9). Why is it that we tend to lean toward favoritism to those who are clean, well-dressed, or nice-looking? Perhaps it's because we, for whatever reason, feel a bit more safe and comfortable around people who are more like ourselves. We are out of our comfort zone and don't really know how to react when someone is different from us...so we avoid them. Many times we sit in frustrated silence because we know this isn't right--we feel it in our gut. But, nevertheless, we can't make ourselves take that step. It just all seems too much of a gamble.

This feeling has increased over time in our country to the point of truly taking its toll on different groups of our population. Worldwide, it has become criminal; here at home, embarrassing.

I was reading an article in The Smithsonian that spoke of the book by Michael Harrington. The Other America was published back in 1962--yet its theme rings just a true today. Our poor, many times, become invisible. As Dwight Macdonald wrote in the review of the book, "Everything seems to go wrong with them, They never win. It's just boring." So true. How many times have we found ourselves in varying degrees of concerned conversation about a person with barely enough health care or basic necessities to get by only to surmise that they "just can't catch a break." Doomed to failure. These aren't the folks that we stereotypically picture in our minds, parading about on ridiculous talk and reality shows. These are the good, salt-of-the-earth folks that have tried all their lives to make it and now, they simply can't. This can be changed...one person at a time. No big, sweeping reforms. Following the word of God will do it. "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill' and yet yo do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead" (2:14-17).

This week, if you see or think of someone who is having it really rough (this won't be difficult), help them. That's it. One person at a time, one meal at a time, one lift to somewhere at a time, one good deed at a time. No need to have the big fundraiser...that's too overwhelming. Just one small gesture at a time. And listen to their story. The answers to helping them many times lie in what's going on in parts of their lives we either don't know about or don't bother to know about in this business of life.

One person at a time...peace be with you.