The Rev. Neale L. Miller

Sermon for January 14, 2007

Texts: Psalm 45:1-2,6-9/James 1:17-27

Title: “The Doer’s Guide”

              Jesus once asked an important and provocative question, “What, [he asked] are you willing to do to inherit eternal life? There once was a man who was more diligent than most in pursuing the question.  The Gospel of Mark tells us that a man approached Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Though we are not told why he believed Jesus might be the source of such information, there he was.  Assuming the role of a good rabbi, Jesus pointed him to the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.”  A faithful and obedient Jew, the man could confidently report that he had obeyed the commandments to the letter.  Mark tells us that “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”

              Experiencing a surge of pride that he had won the Lord’s favor, the man’s self-confidence soared.  Yet its ascent was quickly interrupted, for Jesus had more to say.  Obedience to the commandments, it would appear merely propped the door to eternal life open.  More was required of the person who hoped to enter and enjoy its fruits.  But what more could there be?

              “You lack one thing,” declared the Lord; “go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”  “One thing you lack.”  Supposing he had won the race, the man was prepared to accept the gold medal.  It happened, however, that he had not crossed the finish line as he had supposed, but had only completed the first leg of the race with the much more challenging section up ahead. 

              “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  How orderly and rational things would be if we were given a checklist against we could measure our progress toward the prize.

The commandments served that function among some of the people with whom Jesus dealt.  Be right with the commandments, they counseled, and you will be right with God.  Only in human hands the law became perverted, and was used as a justification for other laws and protocols that, in effect, displaced the God they were meant to serve.  Righteous according to the law, the worshiper felt no compulsion to pursue righteousness elsewhere.

              The priests, teachers, scribes, and other functionaries who represented the religious establishment of Jesus’ day, and thus had the most to lose should the rules under which they operated he changed, jealously guarded their authority.  Sought out to instruct, counsel, and judge, their authority, indeed their reason for being, derived largely from the law.

              The fact that a Jew would come to Jesus seeking counsel on theological questions, questions over which the temple asserted authority, immediately establishes grounds for controversy, for Jesus was not part of the religious establishment.  Who was this Jesus, his adversaries demanded, and what was the source of his authority?  No one could charge him with ignoring the commandments, but what about the other parts of his message?

              It was the other parts of his message that stopped Jesus’ petitioner in his tracks.  The man was guiltless under the law.  But he was also a man of means, a man with assets he valued.  How could he give up all of that and commit to a new life, the nature of which he could not even begin to envision?  “Sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me”

              When I was in college and seminary in the majority of my professors typically handed out a course syllabus at the first class meeting.  The syllabus identified the course required reading, the content and length of the papers to be written, the exam dates, and often gave a percentage breakdown of how each requirement would count toward the final grade.  Occasionally, however, a professor deviated from the normal practice, and chose to evaluate us by more subjective, basing our grade on a single project or on class participation.  I would say the majority of us, though we might complain about the reading, the papers and tests actually preferred to have our performance measured by those means, rather than the more loosely composed standards.

              “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.”  “Professor, what must I do to earn a good grade?”  If I can do something to inherit eternal life, obey commandments and laws, I have some control over the future.  If there are regularly scheduled exams and graded essays, I can determine the grade I will receive.  But what if doing, earning, my personal exertions do not qualify, or qualify less that I, at least, think they should?  What if other expectations are levied that can’t be tallied as neatly as commandments obeyed or tests passed?  What then?

              “Look at me, Lord, look at how worthy I am?”  Check the resume, you won’t find a blemish.  I have obeyed every commandment; I have not neglected a single law.”  Professor, I have aced all the tests, written thoughtful essays, and led many of the class discussions.  Look at how worthy I am.

              It is striking, isn’t it, that those who come to Jesus with the most going for them in the personal righteousness department, most often come away from Jesus with the least?  Comes a time when these righteous receive their comeuppance.  They are not condemned as sinister or bad people, rather they learn that all the efforts that count for  so much to them and to the world, really don’t count for that much in the eyes of God.  What really counts in the eyes of God is surrender that may extend to the surrender of all those things we hold dear. The message of Jesus is quite consistent on the matter of surrender; “get rid of it, and follow me.”

              But our natural response is to say, “Surely there is another way, surely Lord there is something I can do, something better defined.”  “Surrender, Lord, is just too open-ended, isn’t there a workbook, a curriculum, or guide I can follow that will make me righteous?”

              To those Jews who believed that the law was just such a workbook, curriculum, the Apostle Paul said, “think again.”  In his letter to the church at Rome Paul offers perhaps the single best treatment to be found on the issue of law, what we do, and grace; what God does.  “But now apart from the law [Paul writes], the righteousness of God has been disclosed… the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.  For there is no distinction, since all sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”  In sum, Paul is saying that the law has its place, but it is grace that saves.

              If this business of doing things like following the law or attempting through other means to win God’s favor is jettisoned as a strategy for this life and the life to come, can we really ignore doing altogether?  We face a conundrum don’t we?  Though we cannot “do” our way into the kingdom through obedience to laws, we cannot entirely ignore doing either.  “Give up your riches and follow me.”  No, adherence to the commandments was not enough, more doing was asked of the man.

              Of all the writings that collectively comprise the New Testament, the Epistle of James, more than any other, stresses the Christian’s obligation to act upon one’s faith.  In fact, on the surface it appears that James is advocating works righteousness.  That may have been reason enough for the great reformer Martin Luther to denounce James as “an epistle of straw, destitute of evangelical character.”  Be that as it may, James is an important voice to be heard, “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” 

              The root of hypocrisy is talk unsupported by action---the “do as I say, not as I do” thing.  Yet insofar as our standing before God is concerned “works righteousness” is a more dangerous, and common, failing.  The apostle Paul took to task those who sought to justify themselves through their works. While Paul did not deny the importance of work undertaken to build the kingdom, those efforts were not given the same standing by Paul that James gave them.

              “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers.”  The word, of course, is God’s word, the “doing” everything that might give the word visibility in the world.

              The gospels repeatedly remark on the large crowds that gathered around Jesus to hear him preach and teach, the likewise report how quickly the attraction wore off when Jesus charged his audience to act upon his message.

              Jesus’ ministry was all about equipping people to do the work of God’s kingdom, and when ministry today draws its authority and power from the risen Lord it has the same aim.  It is easy to lose focus in ministry, to mistake the satisfaction of personal needs with the goals to which Christ points.  It is never sufficient, friends, merely to gather on Sunday to hear some uplifting music, hear selections from Scripture read, and a sermon preached.  Experiences in worship may well bring comfort and consolation, perhaps even challenge some of us to reassess our attitudes and outlook on life, but passivity does not foster growth. 

              It is one thing to hear, it is another thing entirely to do.  It is one thing to display piety and use Christ’s name in the public square, it is quite another to make common cause with the poor, the marginalized, and those deprived of justice and human rights.  “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this [James declares]: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

              The story goes that a North American missionary went out one day to preach in a barrio of a Brazilian city. Taking John 3:16 as his text, he stood on the corner proclaiming the love of God for all people. A crowd gathered. One man in the crowd interrupted the missionary, 'You are wrong, Señor, God doesn't love us.' But the preacher was adamant. 'Oh, yes. God does love you. God gives all good things, including the Christ, for you.' The Brazilian, waving his arms at the squalor surrounding him, replied angrily, 'Then somebody has been messing with the love of God!' If God gave the earth for all people to share and enjoy, someone has been 'messing' with God's plans.

              The point James is attempting to make is that someone is “messing with God’s plan” when the sincere sentiments and righteous indignation expressed from the pulpit, and in the church mission statement, don’t find their way into a plans to do something about structures and policies that need changing.

              “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”  Jesus is the doer’s guide.  You will not find the zeal of Jesus committed to the issues that so often detain us, but instead his zeal is reserved for every child of God’s creating who is needy or oppressed. His zeal is directed against human hypocrisy, self-righteousness in its near infinite variety.  Christ challenges us to be doers, and there is a whole lot of doing that needs to be done.

              Works cannot justify us in the eyes of God, that proposition is central to the faith you and I embrace.  But what is faith if we show no inclination to follow where Jesus is leading? 

As leaders of the church your session and I are committed to following that lead with greater intentionality, as we identify new ways to match our gifts with the needs of this city and world. But how that might happen is anything but self-evident.

                 This past week our mayor and civic and religious leaders assembled at the spot where our city’s first murder in the new year occurred.  Symbolically important, perhaps, but how can the resources of community and churches be deployed to address the rampant crime in this city?  What does following Christ in that context mean? While the church and our civic partners may embrace Christ’s message of peace and justice, the implementation of his agendas demands creativity and a sturdy, sturdy faith commitment. No, the answers to the challenge we have is not self-evident.

               The Lord’s agenda is quite clear, the implementation, the doing, is the challenge you and I are called to meet. Join your session and me as we pray for the gift of discernment.

PRAYER

              Our Father most high, at the invitation of your Spirit we have come.  Sanctify this place and this hour and make them holy, that each person who has come here may experience the power of your presence. Where senses have been dulled to the content and rhythm of worship, O God, awaken us that mind and heart may be present to the message you would impart.

               Lord, we are burdened by personal doubts and inadequacies for we know we have failed both you and neighbor.  We have enjoyed opportunities and advantages in abundance but we have neglected to acknowledge the source of our blessings.  In our failure to trust you, O God, we selfishly hoard our time, talent, and money.  We accumulate more, but the more we accumulate fails to satisfy, and we remain hungry and unfulfilled.  Grant us wisdom for the living of these days, the ability to distinguish the superficial from the eternal.  Grant us the will to seek the eternal.

              O Christ, you are the word of life, you are the love of God enfleshed.  Defeating death on the cross, you won our salvation.  Ransomed from sin and death by your sacrificial act, we live in the knowledge that we have been redeemed. Not by our exertions, but by your suffering we have been reconciled to God the Father.  The barrier that our sins created has been destroyed, and by grace we have been liberated to live in freedom.  Blessed Savior, may that freedom which was so dearly obtained not be casually accepted, but esteemed as the surpassing gift it is.

              Lord, what are all our good deeds, all our displays of piety worth, if love for you does not inspire them? Preserve us from hypocrisy, the self-conceit and self-deception to which we are so prone.  Lord, let us seek to be no more than we already are in your sight, sinners redeemed and reconciled with thee.  And in the confidence that such knowledge bestows let us live, not seeking the world’s approval and rewards, but the treasures stored up for us in heaven.

              In your mercy strengthen those who live under the curse of war.  Protracted violence has caused many to abandon hope. The weapons of intimidation and threat have silenced voices of protest.  O God, deliver us from the curse of the tyrant and the angry 

zealot.  May the peacemakers of the world build new constituencies that can inaugurate the change that is so necessary.

              In gratitude, O God, we remember a man of peace who gave his life in the cause of peace and justice. The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. lives on as we observe his birthday. May that legacy inform efforts underway in our city to root out the causes that breed crime and violence.

              O Spirit, to whom all hearts are open, and all desires known, attend those who bring special needs and concerns before you this day.  Many feel overwhelmed, frightened, confused, or lonely.  Hear our pleas for relief, for strength.  Brace us to withstand adversity with the courage and faith you inspire.  Teach us patience, O Spirit, that in your silence we not judge you absent.

              As part of your great body, the Church, we gather today, O Christ, praying that you empower us to be what you created us to be, even as we pray the prayer through which you are known around the world…