Faith in Action

September 8, 2024 homily on James 2:1-10, 14-17 by Pastor Galen

“My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality” (James 2:1)

Two People Walk into a Church

Imagine this scene with me: A Rolls Royce pulls up outside our church, and out steps someone wearing Armani clothes, and a watch or piece of jewelry that is worth more than this church building. They walk in through the center doors of our church and stand at the back of the sanctuary, waiting for someone to escort them to a seat.

At the same time, someone walks in wearing dirty and frayed clothes. Their hair is unkempt, and it looks like they’ve been sleeping outside. They slip in the back door on the other side, waiting for instructions about to where to sit.

Now, let’s say that you’re the greeter on duty that day, and you’ve volunteered to welcome visitors and show them to a seat. You notice the two people standing at the rear of the sanctuary. You’re only one person, so you can’t welcome them both at the same time. Who do you greet first?

No doubt we would all be tempted to greet the person wearing the Armani suit with the expensive watch or jewelry first. After all, they must be a person of some importance. Perhaps they’re a celebrity, or a wealthy tycoon. We’re accustomed to showing deference to people like that. We think their time is valuable, and we wouldn’t want to keep them waiting. Plus (we may think subconsciously to ourselves), it would be nice to have an incredibly wealthy person join our church. Perhaps they could help us make the necessary repairs we need on our church building! Or perhaps they could give generously to help us expand our mission and outreach in the community. The wheels in our minds start spinning about all of the ways that this person might be a benefit to us and our church community. And so, desiring to ingratiate ourselves with this person, we roll out the proverbial red carpet and show them to the best seat in the house. 

At the same time, we may not feel too concerned about keeping the person with dirty and frayed clothes waiting. After all, they’re probably accustomed to waiting for things. And besides, they may be here because they want or need something, and so they probably won’t mind waiting while we get the other person situated.

Faith in Jesus Does Not Show Partiality

But James says here in James chapter 2 that it wouldn’t be right for us to show preferential treatment to the seemingly more wealthy person, or to dishonor the person who seems poor. At least not if we have faith in Christ! 

For James, true faith expresses itself through action, and if we treat anyone as better than anyone else, for any reason, then our actions are not in line with the faith we profess in Jesus Christ, who treated every person he encountered with dignity and respect, no matter who they were.

By way of background, James, the younger brother of Jesus, was writing to a congregation that didn’t have a lot of resources. Back then, there really wasn’t such a thing as “middle class,” and so people were either rich or poor. There was no middle ground. Given that he speaks about the “rich” in verses 6 and 7 using the third-person pronoun “they” rather than “you,” he obviously doesn’t think of the congregation he’s writing to as being inherently wealthy. Even if there were people in the congregation who had been born into wealthy families, it’s very probably that their faith in Jesus Christ put them at an economic disadvantage in their society, since non-Christians may not have wanted to do business with them due to their professed faith in Christ. And so James is generally writing to Christians who were poor. And yet he knows how tempting it can be for all of us to show deference or “partiality” to those who are wealthy, for all of the reasons I mentioned earlier. 

Now, as in the Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, James makes his argument about not showing preferential treatment to the wealthy based not only on spiritual truths and principles but also on nature and reason. He points out to his readers the ridiculousness of giving preferential treatment to wealthy people who obviously cared very little about them. After all, the people James was writing to were often being oppressed by the very same wealthy people that they were tempted to show preferential treatment towards! James writes, “Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?” (James 2:6-7) 

James is saying, essentially, “Why are you giving special treatment to people who so obviously do not care about you?”

The Rich and the Famous

Recently I came across a similar sentiment in the University of Maryland’s Independent Newspaper The Diamondback, in an article entitled “Why our obsession with the rich and famous is a cultural dead end.” In the article, the author points out,

Americans have an obsession with glamour. We live in a society that glorifies wealth and perfection. From music to soap operas, we love to admire the lifestyles of the rich and famous, the young and the beautiful…

And this is so true. As a society, we are obsessed with following the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Even if we do not rub shoulders with a lot of super-wealthy or famous people on a daily basis, they’re spotlighted on news and social media. Many people spend a lot of time and effort keeping up with what’s happening with the Kardashians or other rich and famous people. We’re interested in what’s happening in their lives, in part because it’s a way to mentally escape from the challenges that we face in our own daily lives. But similarly, the same people that we so often try to impress are the very same people who often care very little about us. 

Faith Expressed Through Action

Now, the overarching theme of this passage is not really about wealth or poverty. Rather, it’s about our actions lining up with the faith we profess in Jesus Christ. At the end of the previous chapter (James 1), James instructed his audience to “be doers of the word and not merely hearers” (James 1:22), and he said that “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:26). A few verses later in chapter 2, James writes, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? (James 2:14). And “faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). 

For James, faith in Jesus Christ is not just about believing the “right” things. Rather, true faith results in action. And that includes caring for the poor and those in need, and not showing preferential treatment to anyone, including those who have a lot of resources. 

Notice in this particular case, James is not saying that there’s anything inherently wrong with being wealthy. Rather, what’s wrong is treating someone better than someone else simply because they’re wealthy or because they have more resources or for any other reason. And it’s wrong for us to ignore, despise, or treat someone poorly just because it seems they don’t have a lot to offer us.

In reading James 2, one verse that always sticks out to me is James’s question, “What good is it…if someone claims to have faith but does not have works. Surely that faith cannot save, can it?” (James 2:14). And then a few verses later: “So faith by itself, if it has not works, is dead” (James 2:17). 

At first glance, this seems to contradict what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9 when he writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). And so we might ask, who’s right—James or Paul?

But Paul and James are not in contradiction here. James is not saying that we are saved by works, but rather that true faith is expressed in action. And Paul is not saying that works are not important, but rather there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, since salvation is the gift of God. I think Paul would agree that faith should impact the way we live. In fact, “faith” is at the root of the word “faithfulness.” Being faithful to something or someone is being loyal, and loyalty is not just an intellectual exercise. Loyalty involves action, as does faithfulness and faith. True faith expresses itself in action, and James goes on in chapter 2 to provide two Biblical examples of this: Abraham and Rahab, whose faith in God was expressed in action. For Abraham, that meant being willing to offer his son to God. And for Rahab, that meant putting her own life at risk to provide hospitality to the Israelite spies who came to spy out the land of Canaan in Joshua chapter 2. True faith results in right action.

How Shall We Then Live?

The question that we should always ask ourselves in response to any passage of Scripture, is “How then shall we live?” What does this mean for us on a daily basis?

1. Let’s revisit the scenario I described earlier. Instead of greeting one visitor first and making the other wait, what if we invited both to come together and greeted them at the same time, even introducing them to each other? Perhaps we could even encourage them to sit together. By doing this, we could set the tone that everyone is equal in our congregation. 

2. There are other ways we show preferential treatment to some people in our society over others, and that is with our time, attention, and resources. What if we spent some of the time and energy we currently devote to keeping up with the latest celebrity gossip getting to know our neighbors, or volunteering at a local nonprofit organization? Or, instead of clicking on the latest headline about a rich and famous person who is caught up in yet another scandal, what if we clicked on a story about an everyday person who is doing something good in their community? Instead of purchasing from companies owned by wealthy shareholders, what if we made an effort to support local businesses whenever possible?

3. Recognizing that true faith results in action, let us ask ourselves how we can live out that faith in our daily lives. We should strive to avoid favoritism, not just within the walls of our church, but in all our daily interactions with others. Every person we encounter deserves to be treated with the same dignity, respect, and kindness, regardless of their social status or outward appearance. If we are to be a community that reflects the love of Christ, we must commit ourselves to living out our faith in tangible ways.

Just as Jesus treated every person he encountered with dignity and respect, and just as Jesus gave himself for every one of us, no matter our status in society, so too our faith should compel us to love our neighbors and even our enemies, and to treat every person we encounter with dignity and respect. 

Let us go forth, not just as hearers of the Word, but as doers, reflecting the love of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet.

Amen.

Questions for Personal Reflection in Response to Today’s Sermon:

1. If you were the greeter in the scenario described in Pastor Galen’s sermon, who would you be more likely to approach first, and why?
2. How does your faith in Christ challenge you to treat everyone with equal dignity and respect, regardless of their appearance or wealth?
3. How does your understanding of “faith in action” align with your daily choices and behaviors?
4. How can you use your resources, including your time and money, in ways that support the well-being of your community?
5. What can you do to set a tone of equality and inclusion in our congregation, ensuring that everyone feels welcomed and valued?