James 2:1-17 Come As You Are – Stay and Be Transformed Grace 9/6/2009

James asks some stinging questions in today’s reading. Two in particular have to do with outward behavior as a sign of inward belief. The first, “Do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?” In other words, can you really believe in Him since you act that way toward others? And the second is, “What good is it if you say you have faith but have no works?” Faith without works, James argues really isn’t faith because true faith gets worked out in life. These two questions are different but related. What a powerful witness to Jesus Christ it would be to the world if every Christian and every Christian church took these questions to heart in the way we deal with people!

"The best story that I've ever heard that demonstrates this principle is the story of Bill. Bill had wild hair, wore a T-shirt with holes in it. He wore dirty jeans and no shoes. He was a "biker" who had become a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus was a very conservative church, which had expressed a desire to reach out to the college population and to the younger generation as a whole, but they really didn't know how to go about it.

Soon, after Bill's conversion, he decided to go to church in this conservative church. He walked in with no shoes, with his dirty jeans, his T-shirt with holes and his wild hair. The service had already started and so Bill started down the aisle looking for a place to sit. The church was packed that day and he couldn't find a seat. The people in the congregation were obviously looking and feeling a bit uncomfortable with this newcomer, but no one said anything. They just stared.

As Bill got closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, a silence fell over the congregation. Finally, Bill was at the front of the church and had not yet found a place to sit. And so, he just dropped himself down on the floor, right in front of God and everybody. About this time, the pastor noticed that one of the ushers on duty that morning, began making his way toward Bill.

Now the usher was in his 80's. He had silver-gray hair and wore a 3-piece suit. He was a godly man, very elegant, very dignified, and one who very much appreciated things being done "decently and in order." He walked up the aisle with a cane, and as he approached Bill, every eye in the sanctuary was on the usher. Everyone knew what he had to do, and no one blamed the usher.

The only sound to be heard was the clicking of the old man's cane. Even the pastor was silent waiting for the usher to do his job. It seemed like an eternity for the old man to reach Bill. And then, as the usher reached Bill, he dropped his cane on the floor, and with great difficulty, he lowered himself to the floor right beside Bill, to worship with him, so he wouldn't be sitting there all alone. { Boy what a welcome ministry that guy had!)

The entire congregation was choked with emotion. And when the pastor finally spoke, he said, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget. Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read."

What a thought. A church that accepts folks just like Jesus did. Rich young ruler or crooked tax collector – both with money. Lame, crippled and blind beggars – all poor and downtrodden. Jesus accepted them all the same and sought to give them wholeness through healing and forgiveness, taking care of their outer and inner needs. Isn’t that what God wants for His Church. That we accept people where they are and help them move toward a place of holiness and wholeness in Jesus. He accepts folks where they are. He doesn’t leave them there! Isn’t this what He wants Grace to be like? A place where folks are welcome and accepted whether rich or poor, black or white, healthy or ill, saint or sinner. A place that is more like a field hospital than an exclusive club. Come as you are - stay and be transformed - become well, whole, better, holy. Are we like this? Yes, I think we are. Can we grow in being more like this? Yes, I think we can. We certainly have room in the body of Christ that is Grace Church to step out in the demonstration of our faith by works of ministry within the church, our community and in the world.

I ask you to be honest with yourself and to ask yourself the questions that James is asking in today’s reading. Do you treat some with favoritism or do you treat all equally well? Do you have a faith that is alive with active ministry or dead because there is no action of faith in your life? If you’re just not sure how to understand and deal with people different from you, talk with others who deal with people different from them and learn how to do it. It takes some work and time but it is possible to become good at it.

Let me end with three brief thoughts:

Be encouraged by what we as a church are doing.

Be challenged by how much more we can be doing if everyone takes their part.

Be doing your part. AMEN