This is a time for generosity. Based on the Book of James, Chapter 1

Labor Day is usually good to run away for a last weekend or it is a weekend of lots of labor.  Some got the boat out, some visited family.  Some did football.  Our youth worked hard yesterday straightening the sanctuary and do the first football parking. 

Yesterday, Penny and I decided to power-wash our deck in anticipation of its needed coat of stain.  The equipment rental stop was a breeze.  He even loaded the machine in the back.  It was a good thing I saw that the hose was all muddy before he put it in.  As you know the gas motor always starts the first time at the rental place and it takes 20 pulls at home.  And the gas cap was not on tight for the ride home.  Not too much spilled out.  I got it all together just right and when I got it going I had a yellow nozzle in the handle and it flew off into orbit.  I never did find it so I think they can use it in the space station.  Sooo…I used a stream-nozzle which was a terrible idea.  After getting most of the deck clean I saw that the high-pressure stream tore grooves in the wood.  I am sure some major sanding will help.  Penny suggested that if I was better at it, I could do art work…like I meant to do that.  Then when I needed to get a screwdriver I ran in and left the drawer open near floor level.  Penny ran in to get something else and ran into the drawer.  So I have messed up the deck, and my wife’s leg, the power-washer, and I broke a part on our outdoor umbrella. I think the hot fudge sundae did help the apology about leaving the drawer open.

The book of James almost did make it into the Bible.  As late as the year 170 C.E. it was excluded.  And even when it made it in the New Testament it had mixed reviews.  One of the reasons it was not appreciated was that it only mentioned Jesus 2x.  It sounds more like a book out of the Old Testament…like Wisdom Literature.  And if you read it, it sounds like letters a college student might get from their parents…lots of good advice.

I am really glad that it made it in the Bible just for that reason…good advice.  I need that…a lot.  Faith has a being part and doing part.  James is clearly about the doing.  James would have liked a holiday to celebrate the social and economic contributions of those who work.  I grow more grateful every year for those who labor outside year round constructing and maintaining what makes our lives easier and more comfortable.

In every pew there is an offering envelope.  Most of us don’t use them to put in our checks.  Some of you even have a bank draft that just comes out automatically.  Wallace Bubar tells of his early days in church.  The offering envelope at his home church had 6 boxes you could check as you put your offering each Sunday: attended worship, brought Bible, read Bible daily, studied the Sunday School lesson, prayed daily, and gave an offering. 

I laughed when he described the reaction of the church members when new people came in that were not carrying Bibles….Did you see that?  They are not bringing their Bibles. They must be Methodists or Presbyterians.

Jesus talks about one vital sign: What we do for and with the least, the last, and the lost. 

James and Jesus present opportunities for us to welcome the Word of God into our lives.  That is good.  That is like getting the coach’s instructions for the play.  But the execution of the play is essential for anything to get done.  Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to grow angry…those are good.  This is practicing the Word of God.  In the morning I look in the mirror; I also need to do shave and comb my hair.  I need to remember always that in Christ I am both free and responsible.  This is the way that spiritual blessings come our way.

I think it would be could to put our 6 guiding values on that envelope.  Each week we could write on it one way you lived out or saw lived out one of our six guiding values at your work.

The older I get the more I realize how much other have helped me in my journey.  I grow more grateful every year. 

Religious people are always in danger of being seeing themselves as blessed because they are good, having the inside track into heaven.  Being a faithful follower of Jesus does not guarantee great wealth or health.  On television one of our members listened to a witness by a couple whose house had been spared from a wildfire.  They talked about how good God had been to them.  Their neighbors on both sides lost their homes.  Yes, they had been spared.  But they could have been talking about how they were going to help their neighbors.

Jesus admonishes us, “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”   Mt. 25:40

James tells us to be doers of the world and not merely hearers.  Jesus asks, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?”  Feed the hungry.  Provide water for the thirsty.  Relief for victims of Hurricaine Issac.  Visiting the prisoner.  James says that faith without actions is worthless.  That part is stretching it a bit. 

I think the first steps of faith are the eagerness to hear the word of God, to treasure the Word of God.  But the second part of that is being changed by the word so you have to take in it, in love, to the world. 

This means you can keep perspective.  I love this prayer by Kierkegaard.

Lord! Give us weak eyes

For things that do not matter

And eyes of clarity

In all Your Truth.

I agree with Harry Emerson Fosdick that those who live most fully in life are the ones most grateful.  Those persons who feel they did not get what they deserve in life do not live greatly or generously.  Others evaluate their lives, think they have broken about even, and conclude that they got about what they earned.  Rarely do you see any exceptional living from them either   Those who believe they have received far more than they deserve are among those who do great living.

(PARAMEDIC)

Everything we do for one another and the world begins and is grounded in what God has done for us.  God cares for the whole world and creates it anew with the Word of God.  God blesses us, nurtures us, and gives us the talents and skills to make things happen. 

James knows that small actions and good words can profoundly affect how the world goes.  The power of human speech to lift people or hurt people is great indeed.  Anger is an expression of care and concern, protest and improvement.  It can alert us to wrongdoing and can help make things better. 

Words create a world of meaning.  They alarm, harm, uplift, inspire, degrade, or silence someone.  According to James we cannot bring God’s goodness through revengeful or evil speech, which only spreads destruction.  James tells us to get rid of that way of being in the world. 

It is hard work to be quick to listen and slow to speak.  We are quick to judge, impatient with ourselves and with others, especially when we disagree and have already made up our minds. 

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

By acknowledging and taking responsibility for our own anger, we may exercise self-control and become decision makers and shapers of holy community.   James wants us to be responsible, take seriously our emotional lives, our religious faith, and our behavior.  We are God’s new creation, a strong current to transform the world. 

It is at the heart of God to give.  The generosity of God is where all good things begin.  Nothing shows that better than the life of Jesus.  Jesus came to show us what this kind of life looks like.  To be generous is to be lined up with what God is like.  And we participate in this meal because it helps us remember just that. 

Children’s Moments

Need: a sponge and a large bowl of water.

This morning I want to talk to you about the most important thing there is in the whole universe.  And I will demonstrate it with a dry sponge.

Does anyone know what the most important thing is?

GOD’S LOVE.  First, look at the sponge.  It is dry and hard.  In fact if you rub it on your arm, it feels scratchy.  There is not much use for a crusty, dry sponge.  What does it need?  It needs water.  What do you think is going to happen to the sponge.

It soaks up the water and gets softer.  In fact, now it is quite full.

This experiment is like what happens when we come to worship.  We think we have nothing to share or to give, then we begin to soak up God’s love.  We do that by learning stories in the Bible….like Esther.  The longer we are around God the more God’s love fills us and runs off us to others. 

We can see that is Jesus.  Love is not shown by hurting someone, or pushing, or taking things that are not ours.

(After a few seconds the sponge will be drier.)  The water has stop running.  There are times again and again when we feel less loving.  There are times when I am sad and cannot tell anyone much about the love of God.  So being in church helps me remember God’s love.  It is there even when I cannot feel it or talk about it.

The wonderful thing about living with God is that when we run dry and feel love on love, we can turn to God and he will refresh us again.

Never forget God loves you and that he gives that love all the time.

Prayer….Thank you God for loving us all the time.