(James 2: 1-12)
I’m an idealist. I firmly believe that when you take an oath, you do everything within your power to live up to that oath. For me, an oath is something special. It means I have been extended the opportunity to stand for something inviolate and that a great amount of trust has been placed in me to, the best of my ability, perform the obligations of my calling. I’ve taken that oath to “protect, defend and preserve the Constitution of the United States” several times in my lifetime. Twice as a police officer in two different states, twice as an assistant prosecutor in two different states, and twice as an elected prosecutor in two different states. I fondly remember standing in the governor’s office of the State of Texas in the capitol building in Austin being administered the oath of office for District Attorney of San Jacinto County by Governor George W. Bush as I placed my hand on our family Bible. The solemnity of the ceremony left a lasting impression on me and I worked hard to honor the oath that was made to all the people I would come into contact as I faithfully performed the duties of my high office. In my naivety I have assumed that all who take such an oath will avoid violating it at all costs.
I remember one instance where an oath-taker violated his oath in a manner that I still remember vividly to this day. It was when I was a defense attorney practicing law in East Texas. I was retained by a young black female who had been arrested and charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance. It was during the early 1990s when crack cocaine was prevalent, especially in the black community. She was a user who had agreed to buy some crack cocaine from a local dealer for a person she didn’t realize was an undercover officer. She didn’t have much of a defense and was looking at a prison sentence of up to twenty years. I was able to secure a plea agreement to the lesser-included offense of Possession of a Controlled Substance with a recommendation of ten years, suspended and probated for ten years. We appeared before the judge, who shall remain nameless as he is not worthy to have his name spoken, who accepted her plea and set sentencing for June 19th. He then caught himself and said: “Oh, you probably don’t want to come back to court on one of your holidays.” I bristled and said: What? The judge said that June 19th was Juneteenth and that my client probably didn’t want to come back to court on one of her people’s holidays. My client grabbed my arm and whispered it was alright and told the judge she’d come back. For those who don’t know, Juneteenth is the day word arrived in Galveston, Texas that President Lincoln had emancipated the slaves. Maybe he thought he was being cute and clever, but I was incensed at his thinly veiled racism. My client pulled me back from the ledge as she knew the judge had all the power to reject the plea offer and she would, more likely than not, get a prison sentence on the higher end of the 2 to 20 year range. It was just his way of reminding my client of who was who, and who held all the power. He was not being complimentary, and I highly doubted he would speak to a white defendant that way. The irony that we were in Liberty County was not lost on me.
And it’s this double standard that the Apostle James, Jesus’ brother, is talking out in our scripture reading for this morning. The second chapter of James is, to me, one of the most significant New Testament writings for anyone who considers themselves a Christian, a practicing Christian. In it, he argues against favoritism and for the necessity of good deeds, walking your Christian faith, and living up to the oath you took when you became a believer to love your neighbor as yourself. James is telling us that we must commit our minds and hearts to Christ, that right actions are the natural by-products of true faith, and that faith without deeds doesn’t do anybody any good, it’s useless. James says, as believers, we shouldn’t show favoritism and, as an example, says: Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but you 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?”
Discrimination, it’s as old as the Bible. It was wrong then, it was wrong in the 1990s, and it’s still wrong. It’s un-American and un-Christian no matter how you slice it. We discriminate for no good reason other than we want to make ourselves feel better about ourselves at the expense of another person or race of people. Last week we heard Nathanael scoff: “Can anything good come from Nazareth” when he heard the Messiah was from Nazareth. Nathanael, from nearby Cana, looked down on people from Nazareth who were also Jews for no good reason other than he and other Canaanites wanted to feel superior to their Nazarene neighbors. The story of the Samaritan woman at the well was also one about racism and discrimination. The Jews hated the Samaritans because, at no fault of their own, they were a conquered and mixed-race people, and no self-respecting Jew would be caught dead talking to one of them. It was Peter in Acts 10 who said: I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. And, it was the Apostle Paul who, in Galatians 3: 28, said that There is neither Jew nor Greek, slaves or free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
James asks the pointed question 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 those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? When I read that, I thought how timely and how true, as we’ve had a front row seat to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. And it doesn’t have to be that way. On paper and in theory, it’s not supposed to be that way.
The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America states: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. This is essentially a mission statement and that everything that follows, the Constitution, subsequent amendments, and legislation passed by Congress are geared towards supporting and advancing that mission statement, with the goal being to form a more perfect union. And Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. If recent events have shown us nothing else, it has shown us that we are far from forming a more perfect union, that all men and women are not treated equally, and that there is more work to be done in attaining that goal. The blame for not moving closer to these lofty goals does not lie solely with the oath-takers, those we’ve elected to govern us. We too are partially to blame and also bear a responsibility in doing what we can to help form a more perfect union.
So, what do we do? Well, as Followers of the Way of Christ and United Methodists we have added our own layer of responsibility, our own oath to Christ and the least of his brothers and sisters. Paragraph 162 of our Social Principles in our Book of Discipline says: The rights and privileges a society bestows upon or withholds from those who comprise it indicate the relative esteem in which that society holds particular persons and groups of persons. We affirm all persons as equally valuable in the sight of God. We therefore work toward societies in which each person’s value is recognized, maintained, and strengthened. As United Methodists we must recognize and admit that many of the members of our society are not viewed as equally valuable and that our society here in the United States and around the world has fallen short of the glory of God in this respect. And, as United Methodists, we must act and speak out as our silence is just as damning as words spoken in hate, anger and divisiveness. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his Letter from the Birmingham City Jail. The contemporary church is often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the Church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the Church’s silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are. He spoke those words over fifty years ago. So, we have to ask ourselves; as a church, are we weak, is our voice ineffective with an uncertain sound, and do we support the status quo just to get along and not make any waves? Does the power structure of our society, our governing bodies, take us seriously or even know we exist? Are we silent in the face of injustice or, worse yet, do we vocally support the status quo because it is within our comfort zone?
James says in verse 8, 9: If you really keep the royal law in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. James is referencing Leviticus 19: 18 where God said to Moses: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. A glance back at Leviticus 19 makes it evident that loving one’s neighbor involves things like promoting a just legal system and attending to the rights of the poor and oppressed. We cannot possibly say we love our neighbors when we do nothing, nothing to alleviate the suffering of the underprivileged and vulnerable in our world. There will be no mercy in judgment for anyone who hasn’t shown mercy.
God views all people as equals, and if he favors anyone, it is the poor and the powerless. So, if we say that Christ is our Lord, then we must live as he requires, showing no favoritism and loving all people regardless of whether they are rich or poor, like us or unlike us, different or the same. This we must do if we are going to form a more perfect union with our Creator, to enjoy our life with Christ, the liberty and freedom from sin, and to pursue the happiness of knowing our future, and the future of others, is secure.
Please pray with me.
Lord, how we want to be Christians in our hearts. How we want to be more loving to all our brothers and sisters, the poor, the disadvantaged and the oppressed who need to feel the warmth of your love. Lord, how we want to be more holy leading lives of righteousness where we seek your truth and justice. And Lord, how we want to be more like Jesus in our hearts so that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can be a stronger church with a voice that will be heard by those who are content with the status quo. Move us Lord in all our efforts to form a more perfect union with all your children, loving all our neighbors as we would love ourselves. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.