What About "Those" People?

James 2:1-9

I want to take you back to Middle School for a moment—painful as that may be—because in Middle School we are trying so hard to figure out who we are. We compare ourselves to everyone and anyone. Any difference—no matter how minute—looms large in our eyes. Any fault is presumed so massive that is a wonder the government does not issue warnings! In Middle School, groups are tribal. We find a group that welcomes us, and we cling to it, immediately raising the barricades against any and all outsiders. We cannot and will not tolerate any person who may not fit because our own insecurity cannot overcome the risk of welcoming someone different—our flimsily constructed self will collapse at the least brush with challenge. So, we surround ourselves with the like-minded, complimentary, and those who seem to reflect everything we think we are. We create a cocoon of safeness. 

Well…hold on a sec…that is starting to sound a bit like social media at the moment…a forum full of folks way beyond Middle School…but…seemingly as troubled by openness as any Middle School cafeteria…

I want us to stop and sit a moment…

Haven’t we moved way beyond Middle School? Look at us—for some of us that was a LONG time ago…but I wonder…what is going on with us?

Let me posit a suggestion…we live in a time and place as uncertain and as insecure as any Middle School—so uncertain that grown men and women—you and I—are fearful. We do not know what is coming, nor who is bringing it. Differences have become grounds for declaration of social warfare. Disagreements have become grounds for total withdrawal instead of invitations to sit, listen, talk, and explore why we see things so differently. Simple pastimes like watching Sunday afternoon football have become, not diversions from the workaday world, but yet another place where we have to declare our allegiance to one side or another. Buying sneakers is a political act in this time and place.

Now before anyone throws up their hands and storms off—not unexpected in a time and place like ours—sit with me a bit longer.

As James writes to his new congregation, he reveals that our struggle is neither new nor unique. He saw and dealt with much the same thing in his church. His little congregation also felt insecure. They felt wary of different folks. They were wondering just who they should welcome into the fold. Some had decided it was pretty easy—just flock to the well-dressed, well-heeled, and wealthy—they will immediately contribute—they can finance the building project—they will bring other fine folks with them to join…

And James rains all over their parade…

Any community of Jesus will immediately move to be with the poor, welcome the disenfranchised, and open to anyone the world rejects, and that community will do so FIRST AND LAST AND ALWAYS! 

BAM!

So much for the proposed welcome wagon committee…

Go to the closing thought in this paragraph of his epistle. 

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

We’ve heard that somewhere else before, haven’t we? I think Jesus said that, right?

Interestingly, James ENDS his teaching with that thought, but I think it better if we move it more to the front.

I want you to consider NEIGHBOR for a bit. 

We immediately think of the folks who live next door, around the corner, and in the family compound. Jesus thinks immediately of THE HUMAN BEING CURRENTLY DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF US AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. That person is our neighbor. That’s whom we are to love. That’s whom we are to care for as we care for ourselves. 

What that means for us is that we really need to get out of Middle School. 

We need to let down the walls of our defenses, exit the mighty fortress, and maybe take a break from posting opinions on Facebook. We need to get out and mix and mingle. We need to find someone different and sit with them. We need to sit, listen, talk, and explore life, the world, and why we are the way we are. We need to de-weaponize the trivial things in life—I really don’t think Jesus cares much which sneaker is preferred by which person—he’s far more worried about the actual person in the shoes. So should we be. We need to really take seriously the human beings before us as human beings. What do they really want? What do they really need? My thought is that as we get to know the human beings all around us, we will discover a great many similarities. Most folks want to be safe. Most folks want to be happy. Most folks need to be loved. Most folks need their basic necessities with ready access. Most folks need to be taken seriously and valued simply because they are human beings.

That was what James was trying to get through to his congregation. They  needed to stop looking at new faces only from the perspective of what they would bring or give to the community, but rather they needed to look and see what the community might bring or give to them.

That is the self-emptying, embodied compassion of Jesus writ large.

And that is the work set before us a community of Jesus.

Get out of Middle School—get into the world—it really, really needs some grown ups right now!