15 Pent Proper 17
1 Sep 2024
Labor Day weekend, which in my mind is the unofficial end of summer. As a child a dreaded it because I knew I would be going back to school, and I did not like school. But I did, and do, like to work. I truly believe humans are built to work. From pre-recorded history to the present humans have had to work to survive. I was astonished to read that nomadic and other non-agricultural societies may have had more leisure time than we do today. Americans apparently spend more time working than Europeans and younger Americans have to work more hours to meet the basic needs of life. As humans our work has served to clothe, shelter, and feed us. Although I don’t number myself among those who are artistic, humans from very early have created things of beauty. Cave paintings found in France, dating back thousands of years, are profoundly beautiful works of art. Music has been made by humans on drums and flutes and with voices for eons. We have sought to make meaning of the world. Neolithic stone circles were made with great intention. Death has often been rendered as something more. Perhaps the pyramids of Egypt epitomize our fascination with death and the afterlife more than any other monument.
We are more than mere flesh and bone and blood. We have a purpose as human beings. Humans have, from literally time immemorial, felt a sacred calling. Can’t you feel it as well? I believe God has revealed God’s own self in many ways, over many times, to many peoples. And in doing that we are given our sacred role in life. We walk the walk, the sacred walk. James certainly made that clear. If all we did was say thank God I am saved and then went on without changing how we conducted our lives, we would have gotten the message wrong, so wrong. Martin Luther notoriously did not like James, thinking it ignored grace, but I believe Luther missed the profound message of James, the one that says we are God’s hands and feet and eyes and ears. Being a Christian demands you live an active life of being just, merciful, and loving.
But there are pitfalls. Luther was right when he expressed concern that we find ourselves in an endless trap of questioning our salvation. Are we good enough? Have we done enough?
Some folk believe that, no matter what, they did not get all that they should in life. Some are content with what they have. And some believe that they have been given more than they deserved. The first group are likely people you don’t want to be around and surely don’t want to be your leaders, whether in government or business, for they will only do what serves themselves. Those who are content are good to be around, but perhaps will never become the movers and the shakers of the world. Those who believe that they have been blessed beyond what they deserve are the ones who will give the world the most.
So what is it we are to do, or not do? Jesus was, let’s face it, pretty upset today. He often is. Hypocrisy is something he does not abide. Not only hypocrisy, but useless ritual. Notice he does not condemn anyone for handwashing or pot washing, and those of us sitting here today know that both are important for our health, but he does condemn both ritual for its own sake and, even more starkly, the perversion of God’s commandments.
Honoring God with our lips but not our hearts…. Well Jesus is having none of that. Go to the temple and put in your coin, but neglect your parents and you are perverting the way God desires for us to live.
We can honor God with our rituals, but only if we do not neglect to care for each other and for creation. We are saved by grace but we live into that grace by our lives. I hope I am one of those folks who knows they have received far more than they deserved. In fact I know I have received more than anyone could hope for. I hope I can continue to turn my life and my possessions to making the world a better.
I see in many of my daughter’s generation a disdain for so many things older people hold more dearly. There are many reasons for that, but the lack of free time and resources are factors. Those who have, have a lot and those who don’t have little.
This Labor Day then let us remember the value of real work; work that feeds the community and each other. Work should be meaningful, as should our rituals. For those who have much wealth, I would suggest you think hard on what James has to say. For those who are caught up in religion as ritual I would suggest you read Mark’s words. It is what comes out of you that counts!
Let us close with a prayer, written by Will Willimon.
Creative God, who fashioned the world and all of its inhabitants, who flung the starts into the heavens and set the planets in their courses, we give you praise, that you have deemed to give us creative work to do in your world . We thank you, that you left enough work to be done that we can contribute to your creation with the work of our hands, hearts, and minds. Give us the strength to do the work that is set before us. Give us good work to do all the days of our lives. And help us, when our work is done, to be able to enjoy the promised rest, to lay down the tools of our labor and rest secure in your love rather than in our achievements. Amen.
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