INVITATION TO A CARING COMMUNITY

A Sermon for Pentecost 19

September 30, 2018

James 5:13-20

The book of James offers us a vision of a caring community—of people who are committed to the practice of their faith and in doing that, are committed to one another. Because of our faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ (James 2:1), it says, we put away anger, we listen, we care for the widow and orphan in distress, we act with gentleness, we treat poor and rich alike, we love our neighbor as ourselves. He covers all that and more in the first part of this letter.

Now, he moves on to describe other practices for a caring community and these include: prayer, the singing of songs of praise, being present to one another and when healing is needed, offering the laying on of hands and anointing—administered by the elders. So this is a group of people who not only believe but live it out their belief together. They look to God for healing but they realize something significant: They, themselves, are that healing presence to one another. God is always relational and so a Christian community is centered on relationship as well.

What do you lack? James writes at the start of the letter that whatever you lack, God will provide. Turn to God in prayer, trusting that God will respond “generously and ungrudgingly” (James 1:5). That confidence is now reiterated at the end of the message. He says that prayer has the power to “save” the sick, to “raise them up,” and to offer the “forgiveness of sins” (James 5:5). To pray in this way together as a caring community is powerful. If does not offer some wistful hope of the peace in the hereafter but of a praying, healing, vibrant community that transforms people right here, right now.

What do you think about prayer? How do you pray? We often think of prayer as an individual endeavor. In your quiet time alone, you pray to God. Most people I know are not confident about praying out loud anywhere. Ever. They much prefer to have the pastor pray for them. 

But that’s not how James is talking about prayer here. For him, it is not an individual thing to be done by yourself—I mean you can do it that way but it really is a communal thing. We pray together. So not only do we feel closer to God, but we feel closer to one another. We sense a deep belonging. 

Maybe that’s how it was in the first century church to whom James was writing, but that’s not very *today* is it? Today we’re an individualistic culture. Got a problem? Fix it yourself. Go buy a self-help book, try a little harder, grin and bear it, make better use of the happy face emoji. Even our social media doesn’t necessarily make us more connected to one another. It can easily become a way to showcase our individual identities and brag how many “friends” or “retweeters” we have. So instead of lifting others up by our posts, we just make them feel jealous. We, as a society, feel more alone than ever.

Let’s admit it: It’s hard for us to even imagine the kind of communal life that James is talking about. He’s not holding up an individualistic lifestyle at all. He’s not telling us we have to be awesome and get others to notice us. Instead, he’s suggesting the opposite. Want to belong? Want to be in a healing, relational community? Then be vulnerable. Be yourself. And let that true self be known. It’s an imperfect self loaded with shame, regret and self-doubt but that’s okay when you’re in a caring community. In fact, you can confess your sins to one another. Seriously? Confess your sins? That’s the last thing most of us would think about doing. It’s damn scary. But it opens the doors wide for forgiveness and unity. Keep in mind that the community to which this letter was written was one that was in conflict over class discrimination. They had many squabbles and it was hard for them to be kind to one another.  And yet, James advised that they risk being rejected and confess their sins to one another with radical openness.

And if that wasn’t enough, James told them to pray for one another and together. Why? Because it is effective and powerful. And it heals. 

Think of a time when someone prayed for you. How did it feel to know that someone, or perhaps a whole congregation, was praying for you? And now think of a time when you prayed for someone else. What was that like? Did it cause you to feel more connected to and loving towards the recipient of your prayer? Of course it did. We may not understand the mysteries of prayer and it may not always work in the magical way we want it to but we do know that prayer is social glue. It holds us together even when that seems like a miraculous thing to do.

If we take this letter seriously, it offers an important invitation to become a caring community. Like the community to which James wrote, we’re far from perfect. Perhaps you’ve been hurt by others. Maybe you don’t quite feel like you belong or that it’s safe to be your true self here.  You may well feel afraid.

That’s understandable. But think for a moment why we are here (other than the coffee). I think we’re here because we believe in God and we want help to keep that faith alive. We know that the love God has for us is limitless. In Psalm 23 it says that goodness and mercy are following us—they are actually pursuing us and will not stop because that’s how much God desire us. This love is here for us. And it is so helpful to know that we’re not alone. Right next to us in the pews are other beloved children of God who are saved by grace. God deems us all worthy and like a loving parent, wants us to get along.

If we believe this, then let’s risk living this way. Why not? Let us endeavor to love one another as God loves us. Let us sing praises of thanksgiving, let us confess our sins to one another, and let us pray for one another and with one another, trusting that the healing of God comes to us most profoundly through one another. We have the chance to be a gift to each other. A healing, marvelous gift. Open your heart and be that gift.  Open your heart and be that gift.

Later in our service, we will follow this advice from James and you’ll have the chance to come forward for prayers of healing with the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. Normally, the pastor alone says the prayer but today, we’re going to try in the ancient church way and invite our church elders (in our case it will be our church council) to join in the circle or prayer for each person. May these prayers heal us  and bring us closer together, closer to being the kind of caring community we are called to be through the boundary-breaking love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

© 2018 Laura Gentry

RE-PRIORITIZE NOW

A Sermon for 19th Sunday after Pentecost
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Mark 10:17-21

Sometimes when you are driving along, road signs can be quite funny, especially when they seem to be stating the obvious, like: “Caution: Water on road during rain.” Gee, I didn’t see that one coming.

Some road signs confuse, like one I saw that said: “Keep Right” and next to it was an arrow to the left. Or another one: “Entrance only. Do not enter.” Hmmm?

Other times, there are signs that can be taken either way like: “Lane closed to ease congestion.” And you are saying to yourself: But my nose isn’t congested at all. I am breathing just fine. Why should they close a lane for me?

One that stopped me dead in my tracks was a sign on a busy highway where an interchange was coming up. The sign read: “Re-prioritize now.” It meant that you should get into the lane you want for the interchange, but I read it’s deeper meaning. In fact, it sent me into a state of metaphysical dread. I thought: HOW does this road sign know me so well? How does it know my priorities are all out of whack? What can I do to re-prioritize now? Needless to say, I was so engaged in this line of thinking that I missed my exit.

Re-prioritize now! That is what Jesus is inviting  the man in today’s gospel reading to do. This guy approaches Jesus with a question and instead of a simple answer, he is given an amazing but demanding invitation. This is a man with great spiritual passion, he runs up and kneels before Jesus. He asks: "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He sounds pretty serious. We can imagine his longing eyes peering up at the teacher with anticipation. Clearly, he is filled with a spiritual hunger that he needs satiated. He's been a follower of God all his life and he has followed the law. Yet somehow, he knows he's not yet at peace. It reminds me of the U2 song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." So now he has come to ask for advise about how he can find that inner peace for which he is searching. It stops Jesus in his tracks and forces him to acknowledge the question.  

The answer Jesus gives him is filled with love.  "You lack one thing," he says. "Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor and you will have treasures in heaven."

This is radical claim that Jesus is making on the man. He's showing him how much he needs the mercy and grace of God. Working to earn salvation on his own is futile. He can never do it. Only with God is this possible. Can he put all of his material wealth behind him and cling to God first and foremost? An exciting opportunity to re-prioritize has been presented to him!

Do you remember the old “Nestee Plunge” commercial where they showed happy people holding a glass of iced tea falling backward into a pool? It was as if to demonstrate that the flavor of the tea could take you away—it would make you want to absolutely surrender to it. As kids, we spent long hours at the pool trying to reenact this scene. You know, it’s really hard because you have to trust that the water will break your fall, will hold you up and keep you safe even when you can’t see where you are falling.

In a spiritual sense, that’s what Jesus was inviting the man to do. He understood the Savior's absolute call to take the plunge and fall into the arms of God’s grace. But he just could not trust. He couldn’t let go of his own control and place himself fully into God’s care. Yet the man slumps down with grief because his things have a higher priority in his life than the call of Jesus.He is to encumbered by the cares of the world. So he walks away without accepting the invitation. What about you? Do you accept the invitation? Are you ready to re-prioritize now?

The famous author Henri Nouwen wrote a story about an incident that happened to him. He was walking along the road and then found himself on the ground. It happened so fast he didn’t know what hit him. When a man man came to his assistance, he realized that he’d been hit by the rearview mirror of the man's van. At the hospital, Henri thought about the accident further. He writes: “Faced with the possibility of dying, it came to me that the mirror of the passing van had forced me to look at myself in a radically new way.” It was a metaphor for him to consider how God may be calling him to re-prioritize his life.

Henri found it difficult to be in a position in which he was not in control. He had to let go and trust the doctors to perform surgery on him and get him back on the road of health. And on a spiritual level, he had to trust God in a way that was deeper than he had ever trusted before. He writes of this: “What I experienced then was something I had never experienced before: pure and unconditional love. Better still, what I experienced was an intensely personal presence, a presence that pushed all my fears aside and said: ‘Come, don’t be afraid. I love you:’ a very gentle, nonjudgemental presence; a presence that simply asked me to trust completely. It was not a warm light, a rainbow, or an open door that I saw, but a human yet divine presence that I felt, inviting me to come closer and let go of all fears.”

For Henri, death then lost its power and shrank away. He allowed God’s love to surround him and keep him safe. He felt it was a homecoming. Jesus was saying: come home to me. And Henri came home.

You and I are being give the same priority: re-prioritize now. Whatever is standing in the way of your intimacy with God has to get out of the way. Let it go. Take the plunge of faith. Let go of your fears and come home to God. This alone, offers you absolute freedom. As baptized children of God, we know that we can trust God to carry us. May you say yes to this call today.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, we give you praise that your promise is strong enough, your love faithful enough that you will not let us go. Whatever our life's circumstances, I pray that your presence would be tangible, your promise uplifting that we can let go of our old lives completely and fall into your arms of limitless love. Amen.