Pastor's
Weekly Sermon
Pentecost 21B October 17, 2021
James 5:13-20
Community of Care Part 1
Today We come to the last in our series of sermons on the Book of James. A Book that has had many practical things to say about living the Christian life. James was teaching his congregation in Jerusalem how to live out what he called "the Royal Law," or the Royal Law of Jesus' love. We all know that law. It’s “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
In chapters 1, 2 and 3 We’ve considered James’ teaching on treating everyone impartially, and on how to bridle our tongues. HE explains how faith without good works is a dead and lifeless faith. And he encourages us to persevere and “Keep on, keeping on” doing the right things even when it gets tough. Hoopoemonae)
There’s a curious thing I found in the series of Lectionary readings from James each week. The Lectionary skips over chapter 4 altogether! Interesting. As I looked thru chapter 4 I think the Lectionary committee was trying to shield us from so very harsh stuff. James has some very pointed things to say about those who are rich and follow the wisdom of the world, rather than the wisdom from above—the wisdom of Jesus Christ. He is not subtle when he condemns those you rely on their our resources and their own power rather than the power of God. I think the committee was trying to spare us his bone rattling blast!
Today, we jump ahead to chapter 5 to the end of James’ letter. This is such a 180 degree contrast to his chapter of condemnation. In our reading today James is giving us his vision of what Christian community can be, and ought to be. It is a vision of a community of prayer and care. It’s a community that turns to God in all things.
I’ve been thinking deeply about the pieces of this passage and I find them profound. It’s deeper than just recommending us to pray. I want to spend a little time unpacking this passage.
He begins by saying, “are any among you suffering? They should pray. Suffering can be any trial a person is going thru. It might be financial woes or job difficulties. Maybe it’s family problems or strained relationships, or maybe a health challenge. These situations can drag us down, lead us into depression, cause us to isolate ourselves or sometimes just freeze in our tracks not knowing what to do. The first thing we need to do, James writes, is to turn to God in prayer. Don’t rely on our own limited powers and limited wisdom—turn to God first. I used to have a Seminary prof who gave us the mantra “Pray before you start.” He started every class and every meeting with prayer. That’s good advice. Lean on our relationship with God before we make any decisions.
Next James turns to those who are joyful: Are any among you cheerful? They should sing songs of praise! Don’t hold it in. Let it out! Give thanks to God and share the good news with the community. Doesn’t that sound like our time of joys and concerns each week. I think this is an important one for our spiritual well-being. The attitude of gratitude helps us build up our Thankfulness muscle. The more we share our joys and give thanks, the more blessings we begin to see all around us. You might notice also that here in church on the days we have many joys to share you can feel the lightness in the whole congregation. Joy is contagious! Spread it around!
The funny thing is, we are far better at listing our concerns and fears rather than our joys and praises. Each of us can practice this each day. Joys don’t have to be large earth-shaking events. It can be anything that brings joy and delight to your heart. Remember the widow who found the missing mite she had been seeking? I looked up how much a mite is worth. In todays money it’s about 1/8th of a penny! She found her lost 1/8th of a penny and she was overjoyed enough to invite the neighbors over and throw a party. What little blessing or joy has made you smile this week? Share it so the rest of us can smile and enjoy it too.
Now we come to, “If there’s any sick among you, they should call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil. The prayer of faith will save the sick.” Those who are sick can become isolated and invisible and alone. Years ago my dad suffered with lymphoma and went thru cancer treatment. Both he and my mother felt isolated. Mom lamented that folks would say, “Oh, I’m praying for you.” she said, fine but no one came out to visit dad and see how they both were doing. We all know from this last year of physical distancing how important the presence of other human being; friends and family can be, It’s not just important it’s essential. Just the caring presence of another person can be healing in itself.
In seminary I did a year of Chaplaincy at Kettering hospital. One night, when it was my turn to be on call, I was called to the surgery waiting area to be with a family whose mom was in emergency surgery. I got dressed and headed down to the waiting area. I’m no good in the middle of the night. My brain doesn’t turn on. I can’t think of anything to say. I sat with them feeling useless. All I could do was sit there and pray for them.
The next day a call came to the chaplain’s office and a man asked to speak to the chaplain who sat with them the night before. I picked up the phone. It was the gentleman whose wife was in surgery the prior night. He wanted to thank me for being with them thru it. And he asked me “Why would you do that for us? You don’t even know us? But it meant so much to us to have you there with us.” I was astounded I had felt helpless and ineffective but this man told me how much it meant to him and how grateful they were.
That incident convinced me of the worth of the gift of presence. Just showing up as a loving, caring presence was all that was all that they needed. I didn’t have to have words of any kind, my presence with them was more than enough. Remember this when you know someone is sick or struggling. Just showing up can be a powerful gift of God’s love to a suffering person.
James is empowering the sick to act and reach out to the community and call for their active participation in their healing. Sometimes it’s difficult to ask for prayer. It can be a vulnerable thing to do. I felt it when I asked you all to pray for my brother. I felt like I was letting you all into my family’s private affairs. That’s a vulnerable thing to do. But this is the very thing that builds intimacy and caring. And those qualities build a community of loving care.
I think every minister has had the experience of a church member telling them that they were in the hospital last week. And we ministers say, “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Oh pastor, I didn’t want to bother you.” they say. I’ve got news for you… Bother Us! We want to be able to be there to pray with you and hear your story…. To support and encourage you. take the risk of being a little vulnerable. Your story may help someone else too.
Now there is another side to praying for each other. This is very important. There is a responsibility that goes with it. If someone takes the step of asking for prayer and sharing their stories, we who hear it have the responsibility to hold their story as sacred. They have to be able to trust that their story won’t be the subject of gossip or spread around outside the circle of prayer. We can only share ourselves where there is an understanding that what we say will be held in trust. Trust and respect are essential to building a healthy community of caring.
Think about some of the groups you have been a part of in your life. I’m willing to bet that some of the best ones have had an atmosphere of trust at their core.
Well, I’ve preached long enough and the things I’ve given you are more than enough to take in for one day. So this is a good place to stop. James has more to say to a caring community: “confess your sins one to another that you may be healed.” We’ll delve into this statement in 2 weeks on October 31. Until then, May God’s blessings be with you. Amen.
James 5:13-20
Community of Care Part 1
Today We come to the last in our series of sermons on the Book of James. A Book that has had many practical things to say about living the Christian life. James was teaching his congregation in Jerusalem how to live out what he called "the Royal Law," or the Royal Law of Jesus' love. We all know that law. It’s “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
In chapters 1, 2 and 3 We’ve considered James’ teaching on treating everyone impartially, and on how to bridle our tongues. HE explains how faith without good works is a dead and lifeless faith. And he encourages us to persevere and “Keep on, keeping on” doing the right things even when it gets tough. Hoopoemonae)
There’s a curious thing I found in the series of Lectionary readings from James each week. The Lectionary skips over chapter 4 altogether! Interesting. As I looked thru chapter 4 I think the Lectionary committee was trying to shield us from so very harsh stuff. James has some very pointed things to say about those who are rich and follow the wisdom of the world, rather than the wisdom from above—the wisdom of Jesus Christ. He is not subtle when he condemns those you rely on their our resources and their own power rather than the power of God. I think the committee was trying to spare us his bone rattling blast!
Today, we jump ahead to chapter 5 to the end of James’ letter. This is such a 180 degree contrast to his chapter of condemnation. In our reading today James is giving us his vision of what Christian community can be, and ought to be. It is a vision of a community of prayer and care. It’s a community that turns to God in all things.
I’ve been thinking deeply about the pieces of this passage and I find them profound. It’s deeper than just recommending us to pray. I want to spend a little time unpacking this passage.
He begins by saying, “are any among you suffering? They should pray. Suffering can be any trial a person is going thru. It might be financial woes or job difficulties. Maybe it’s family problems or strained relationships, or maybe a health challenge. These situations can drag us down, lead us into depression, cause us to isolate ourselves or sometimes just freeze in our tracks not knowing what to do. The first thing we need to do, James writes, is to turn to God in prayer. Don’t rely on our own limited powers and limited wisdom—turn to God first. I used to have a Seminary prof who gave us the mantra “Pray before you start.” He started every class and every meeting with prayer. That’s good advice. Lean on our relationship with God before we make any decisions.
Next James turns to those who are joyful: Are any among you cheerful? They should sing songs of praise! Don’t hold it in. Let it out! Give thanks to God and share the good news with the community. Doesn’t that sound like our time of joys and concerns each week. I think this is an important one for our spiritual well-being. The attitude of gratitude helps us build up our Thankfulness muscle. The more we share our joys and give thanks, the more blessings we begin to see all around us. You might notice also that here in church on the days we have many joys to share you can feel the lightness in the whole congregation. Joy is contagious! Spread it around!
The funny thing is, we are far better at listing our concerns and fears rather than our joys and praises. Each of us can practice this each day. Joys don’t have to be large earth-shaking events. It can be anything that brings joy and delight to your heart. Remember the widow who found the missing mite she had been seeking? I looked up how much a mite is worth. In todays money it’s about 1/8th of a penny! She found her lost 1/8th of a penny and she was overjoyed enough to invite the neighbors over and throw a party. What little blessing or joy has made you smile this week? Share it so the rest of us can smile and enjoy it too.
Now we come to, “If there’s any sick among you, they should call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil. The prayer of faith will save the sick.” Those who are sick can become isolated and invisible and alone. Years ago my dad suffered with lymphoma and went thru cancer treatment. Both he and my mother felt isolated. Mom lamented that folks would say, “Oh, I’m praying for you.” she said, fine but no one came out to visit dad and see how they both were doing. We all know from this last year of physical distancing how important the presence of other human being; friends and family can be, It’s not just important it’s essential. Just the caring presence of another person can be healing in itself.
In seminary I did a year of Chaplaincy at Kettering hospital. One night, when it was my turn to be on call, I was called to the surgery waiting area to be with a family whose mom was in emergency surgery. I got dressed and headed down to the waiting area. I’m no good in the middle of the night. My brain doesn’t turn on. I can’t think of anything to say. I sat with them feeling useless. All I could do was sit there and pray for them.
The next day a call came to the chaplain’s office and a man asked to speak to the chaplain who sat with them the night before. I picked up the phone. It was the gentleman whose wife was in surgery the prior night. He wanted to thank me for being with them thru it. And he asked me “Why would you do that for us? You don’t even know us? But it meant so much to us to have you there with us.” I was astounded I had felt helpless and ineffective but this man told me how much it meant to him and how grateful they were.
That incident convinced me of the worth of the gift of presence. Just showing up as a loving, caring presence was all that was all that they needed. I didn’t have to have words of any kind, my presence with them was more than enough. Remember this when you know someone is sick or struggling. Just showing up can be a powerful gift of God’s love to a suffering person.
James is empowering the sick to act and reach out to the community and call for their active participation in their healing. Sometimes it’s difficult to ask for prayer. It can be a vulnerable thing to do. I felt it when I asked you all to pray for my brother. I felt like I was letting you all into my family’s private affairs. That’s a vulnerable thing to do. But this is the very thing that builds intimacy and caring. And those qualities build a community of loving care.
I think every minister has had the experience of a church member telling them that they were in the hospital last week. And we ministers say, “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Oh pastor, I didn’t want to bother you.” they say. I’ve got news for you… Bother Us! We want to be able to be there to pray with you and hear your story…. To support and encourage you. take the risk of being a little vulnerable. Your story may help someone else too.
Now there is another side to praying for each other. This is very important. There is a responsibility that goes with it. If someone takes the step of asking for prayer and sharing their stories, we who hear it have the responsibility to hold their story as sacred. They have to be able to trust that their story won’t be the subject of gossip or spread around outside the circle of prayer. We can only share ourselves where there is an understanding that what we say will be held in trust. Trust and respect are essential to building a healthy community of caring.
Think about some of the groups you have been a part of in your life. I’m willing to bet that some of the best ones have had an atmosphere of trust at their core.
Well, I’ve preached long enough and the things I’ve given you are more than enough to take in for one day. So this is a good place to stop. James has more to say to a caring community: “confess your sins one to another that you may be healed.” We’ll delve into this statement in 2 weeks on October 31. Until then, May God’s blessings be with you. Amen.
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