It’s all about mercy - James 2:1-13
We were driving I-85 the other day on our way to a meeting with other pastors in the nearby congregations, and it happened. It was at one of those zipper merges onto the interstate and we saw him. He seemed homeless, begging for money on the road. He weaved in and out of the cars jangling his cup and muttering something I couldn’t quite make out. “We had somewhere to be. We were focused on getting there. We didn’t have spare cash easily accessible.” Or, that’s what I told myself as we drove off. People begging for money, especially in big cities, is not uncommon. But don’t we all find ourselves thinking “please don’t look at me, just keep walking?”
Looking back, the problem wasn’t money, because the sin wasn’t in not giving. There are many other ways to help those in need around us and handing out bills at stoplights may not be the way most have specifically chosen to go about this. No, the real problem was the disdain in my heart and the sense of ego that led me to judge that person unjustly. “This is someone to be ignored, they should be getting a job,” instead of thinking, “This is a soul bled for and died for by Jesus whom he calls me to love as I love myself.” All too quickly we jump to conclusions and judge others as not worthy of our time, attention or efforts because ultimately, it just doesn't benefit me to stick my neck out for them, what would that gain me? Too quickly we bypass mercy and jump right to judgment. Today the Holy Spirit slows us down and invites us to see that the Christian life is not one of snappy ego-driven judgements, but rather one of mercy. In fact we are led to see that the Christian life is all about mercy, mercy for me and mercy for the meek.
The Christians living in Judea to whom James wrote his letter were living in a tough time. Jesus had returned to heaven and left his followers to tell the world about all that he had done. To most of the world, however, these new Christians were a joke. To others they were simpletons with a cause. To many others they were bad business people for loving and giving generously to others. Still to some they were the object of scorn, and the target for persecutions. All of this made being a Christian in the early church a difficult thing to be. James outright admits to the hardships in their lives as he writes at the beginning of chapter 1 saying “consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds.” But pure joy was probably not how most people would have described their persecutions and hardships. They were desperate for anything that might help to lift them out of their humble lives. So in the first verse of our text, James warns them saying, a Christian “must not show favoritism.” It seems that all their efforts to avoid hardship had caused them to show special favor to those with status, wealth, intelligence and prestige who could make their lives more comfortable.
James cuts to the quick with an example. It sounds like the makings of a good joke, ‘suppose a rich man and a poor man walk into a dinner party,’ but then things get serious, James says, “If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” Can you picture that host's rationale that night? “Well, the rich man fits in with the others at the table. He came in wearing fine clothing accessorized with expensive jewelry. He belongs. He’s one of the guys. Plus having a prestigious guest like this coming in, looks good for me and maybe he will invite me to one of his lavish parties too. But not so much with that poor man, he looks like he stumbled in here on accident. He doesn’t know anyone here. He doesn’t dress like the rest of us either. He just doesn’t look like one of us. In fact, he seems to have more in common with the servants, than an honored guest. So, I will make him stand like a servant, or else he can sit by my dirty feet.”
James says that that host, just put on the black robe, picked up the gavel and made himself a judge, and a judge with evil thoughts at that. What the world might brush off as “having a preference” or at worst “a little tiny bit of favoritism,” James exposes as acting like a wicked judge because favoritism always has a selfish payoff. Doesn’t that seem true? It is more beneficial for me to befriend that young professional couple with the newest tech and trendy styles because it looks better to be seen with them than with others. It’s easier for me to put on a big smile and live out my faith toward the charismatic person at the store than to the poor man out front. It’s more fun to laugh and joke with my coworkers even if it’s at the expense of other coworkers whose hard work in fact makes my life easier. Or maybe it's more comfortable here at church to stick with my group rather than to step outside my bubble of familiarity. We, more often than we would like to admit, are guilty of dusting off that black robe, picking up the gavel and judging others too.
But it’s worse than ‘just being judgemental.’ The Holy Spirit calls favoritism, murder. If we go back to our days in Catechism class and look at the definition of murder, 1 Jn 3:15 tells us “anyone who hates his brother is a murderer.” Favoritism is murder in your heart against another person. And so James in verse 11 says, “He who said, “you shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.” Favoritism makes us guilty of breaking God’s fifth commandment and all the rest of them too. Just one sin, little as it may seem, is still sin. Any hint of sin, makes us irreversibly lawbreakers.
The other day I had a tire pressure warning light come on in my car. It was the fourth time in the last two months that I had seen that light come on and so I took it to the mechanic. After looking it over he concluded that I had a slow leak as the result of tire-rot on the side of the tire. He told me that he could grind it down, smooth it out and patch it over with some sealant. He assured me that this solution typically resolves the problem about 85% of the time. While I haven’t seen if I am one of the 85%, one thing is true, that tire is not what it once was and it never will be again because any leak, no matter how small it is, is still a leak. Best case scenario, it's been patched up and will last a little while longer. Worst case scenario, I need a brand new tire in the near future.
Isn’t that what we try to do with our judgy hearts and ego driven attitudes? We know that deep down inside we are irreversibly broken and yet we too try to cover up the sin-rot of our hearts and patch over our shortcomings saying favoritism isn’t that serious. We have failed to do the very thing for which we were created, to serve our God without partially as he calls us to. But unlike my patched tire, the makeshift patch of our own hearts is a totally insufficient attempt to ever correct the deep-seated root of the problem.
Jesus too, lived in a world that judged others by outward appearances and chased after metrics of honor and status. But he never once gave in. Rather, Jesus actually sought out the marginalized of society, like the Samaritan woman at the well who had been cast out for her numerous husbands. Jesus voluntarily had dinner with Zacchaeus, a tax collector who the rest of society had written off. Jesus spoke with and healed ten of the most visible broken people around, the lepers, even though only one would thank him. Jesus didn’t cast a stone at the woman caught in the act of adultery whom the Pharisees were all too eager to put to death. Jesus watched as the widow gave pennies on the dollar to that of the rich and commended her generous and abundant gift.
Since Jesus associated with people like this, lawbreakers of every kind – people who had nothing to offer to Jesus – then there is hope for me too. The same Jesus who drew water with a Samaritan, dined with a tax collector, healed the sick, protected those with a sexual past and commended even the poorest of society, bled and died for their sins and ours the same. While we have nothing to offer God, he has everything to offer to us. No favoritism there, just sins paid for. For all the moments we’ve shown favoritism and for every other sinful act, Jesus’ mercy covers it. What astounding mercy for them, what amazing mercy for me.
That’s why James calls Jesus “glorious” in verse 1. While the world honors those who can give, God shows mercy to those who have nothing to give. Being poor typically means there’s little to no inheritance to look forward to. But not so with our God. As James says in verse 5, “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him?” God’s plan of salvation uplifts the poor and meek so that we too may enjoy the glorious benefits of that mercy every single day and so that we can look forward to an eternity of God’s never-ending mercies.
Such mercy for me fills my heart with gratitude, gratitude that God wants to flow out to others in mercy. And you know what? This cutthroat world we live in craves mercy. The never-ending pursuit of bigger and better turns life upside down as we fight to be at the top. In the fast pace of this life we forget that underneath every patched up and charming exterior is yet another poor lawbreaker in desperate need of God’s mercy who is just like me. But they are also a soul for whom Jesus bled and died just like me too, and if Jesus showed me mercy, how could I hold it back from others.
Maybe that means greeting that couple you meet out in the community that seem so different from you – and realizing they too have skin and bones just like you. Maybe it means having a meaningful conversation with those going through a tough time instead of ignoring them. Maybe it means pulling up a chair and befriending that coworker who seems distant at the start, but who, deep down, could really use a friend like you. Maybe it means stepping outside of the social bubble here at church and reaching out to that other member or visitor who feels unnoticed or out of place, offering them a warm and welcoming connection. God’s mercy is the exact opposite of favoritism and that is the mercy we get to show others. Mercy that doesn’t earn us a mere servants’ spot at God’s feet, but mercy which makes us rich in faith and honored guests at the banquet feast of heaven.
Because the opposite of favoritism is mercy, let mercy flow from us fully and freely, not seeking any personal payout. Reflect mercy as we have been shown mercy because as James says in the last verse of our text this morning, “mercy triumphs over judgment.” By God’s grace let mercy triumph in your thoughts. By God’s grace let mercy dominate your deeds. By God’s grace let mercy be the master of your mouth. Give Satan no foothold in your heart with favoritism but let mercy triumph over judgment. Because the Christian life is all about mercy; mercy for me and mercy for the meek. Amen.
