Proper 18

If I believe taking care of my car is really important it would lead me to get regular oil changes (on my mind since I spend a small fortune on our cars last week).

If believe physical fitness is important it would lead me to eat a purposeful diet and get regular exercise.

The point is not that the action has to be there to PROOVE the confession, it’s just that if the confession were true the action would almost be inevitable.

Our conviction would lead us to prioritize certain actions.

So it is with our faith.

Because faith in Jesus is not about confessing some abstract truths (like 2 + 2 is 4) and then just going on with our lives.

Faith in Jesus is confessing a whole NEW understanding of life itself that is different than what we naturally operate in apart from God’s intervention in our lives.

Jesus refers to himself as The Way and uses imagery like the wide path that people are naturally on and the narrow path that follows him.

The path is the one that leads into the kingdom, into the way things are meant to be, into the life that is truly life.

Faith in Jesus is confessing, “I believe HE is the way” and then choosing a particular path.

Faith then is following.

And just like if you were traveling and the driver said “I think turning right is the way to get there, I’m team right” and then kept going on the same path you’d be confused

The only things that would keep someone from turning right are if they simply couldn’t (like something was preventing them), if there was something they valued MORE than getting to the destination, or if they didn’t really believe it was the right way at all

Let’s look here at this text.

When James says, faith without works is dead, what he’s saying is that faith is following.

And remember, last week we talked about how God loves us and doesn’t NEED us to do anything for him in order for him to love us.

And I said we have to hold onto that core truth even when the conversation shifts to how we should live as Christians.

So here we are.

It’s not that God demands we do a bunch of STUFF to prove anything. It’s just that if we really believe Jesus is the way then there will be evident STUFF in our lives.

James then brings this conversation down to the ground in some real-world application.

Let’s talk about favoritism, he says.

“Y’all are gathering to confess that Jesus is the Way but you’re not turning right to follow the way of Jesus. You’ve stayed on the wide road of the world.”

Here’s the way of Jesus

Love you neighbor as yourself

Blessed are the poor for the kingdom belongs to them

Whatever you did for the least of these you did for me

But you all are scheming and networking and valuing the rich over the poor DURING THE WORSHIP GATHERING

Here’s the way of Jesus

Not serving money as the source of your hope

Not playing power games and cozying up to people of influence for security

Not participating is he exploitation of the poor by the rich

But you all are focused on getting in with the rich folks DURING THE WORSHIP GATHERING

CAN YOU SEE HOW YOUR ACTIONS DON’T SUGGEST THAT YOU REALLY TRUST JESUS IS THE WAY?

The letter of James was probably written to a collection of house churches throughout Palestine made up of Jewish believers.

And It’s very likely that they’re facing real persecution and poverty and so it would make sense that if someone of influence comes into their assembly they’re gonna see it as an opportunity.

So we might have grace for them but this is exactly where the rubber meets the road.

We find ourselves in REAL positions where we have two choose to turn left or right or keep going straight.

And few situations are harder to choose the way of Jesus than when the prospect of comfort and power are right at your fingertips

And can I tell you, to this day there are very real temptations for people who confess Jesus to cater to people with money and influence.

In the local church it happens all the time and we can right it off as “well if we want to do more ministry we need resources” but in effect it reinforces that money is our real Lord and it creates situations where people with money have more power in the faith community

There can be so much scheming

We want to renovate the worship center and build a climbing wall so we really need to make sure the wealthy are on board

The Evangelical obsession with gaining political power also falls into this category because FOREVER people who confess Jesus have made concessions in their faith to align with leaders they think might be able to do something for them

But I would echo James, “Aren’t these the same people who are exploiting you and slandering the name of Jesus?”

In the economy of the kingdom the rich and proud are brought low to participate in the faith community with humility, as a member of the body on equal ground with everyone else

If X, then Y.

If we truly believe that Jesus is the way to the life that is truly life, then we trust him and make the turn in real, consequently ways.

We elevate Jesus over money and we don’t play power games

ESPECIALLY if, when people are actually in need and there’s something we can do about it and we offer them if thoughts and prayers.

The way of Jesus moves us toward tangible action

It calls us to live differently

It calls us to have our own desires and priorities and practices TRANSFORMED

Not to earn rewards from God but to become who we are meant to be and to find the life that is truly life.

And I want to close by saying … this is one of those sermons that can feel more like a challenge than an encouragement

And I know we’re all tired and maybe aren’t in the mood to be called out and challenged

But I want us to realize that this is ultimately good news because it means that our faith has SUBSTANCE.

We don’t gather to confess some ideas that don’t really touch down in real life.

We’re not playing a game.

We’re not just pacifying ourselves with some conceptual spirituality

We gather to confess that we believe Jesus is the way to something entirely new.

And that he is actively working to make things new and that he has called us to participate