Virtues of Rich and Poor

This week we have three proverbs offered to us about the rich and the poor.

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.

The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker of them all.

Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.

Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.

Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate;

for the LORD pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

The psalmist declares that it is he who trusts the Lord who abide forever unshakeable.

James warns us that we should not favor the rich, honoring them and cowing to them for their continued tithe, attendance and patronage. “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?” How many a church treasurer has become the church dictator? How many a power-player leverages their bedraggled minister by threatening to withdraw? Isn’t it the respectable that more often show themselves least worthy of respect?

Instead of taking the respectable as favorites, James challenges us to favor the down-and-out. Not a very practical way to run a ministry, I know. Yet, James makes it a matter of faith. If we had a faith-full heart, it would bubble out with action. We would not say to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet not supply their bodily needs. No we would do… compelled by faith—compelled by heart, driven to act, meeting the needs. We don’t show partiality, meet the needs of the rich and poor a like.

Faith without works is dead. In verse 26 James says it again, “The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.”

God as doer

Over and against James do we see Jesus showing favoritism to the Chosen people over the Syro-Phoenician woman? Is it a matter of election? As the psalmist says, “The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.” God is in charge, he chooses.

But Jesus chooses to heal. The psalmist also says

“Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.”

And this Almighty God of the Election also told Isaiah,

“Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped…”

The voice of the Lord rolls down through prophesies of the ages declaring I will heal. The voice rolls off the tongue of the God’s own Anointed in response to the Woman, and flows in his saliva as he touches the tongue of the deaf man. His stopped up ears hear the voice. Ephphatha!

Love songs and full hearts

Moses says, “What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees?” In one breath he is extolling the precious intimacy of God and in the next exhorting the people not to let the righteous decrees slip from tender hearts. Listen, watch, keep.

The Psalmist says those who may dwell in the bosom of God are those who live rightly. James gives his famous and much debated treatment of Faith and Works, this week calling us to be doers of the word and not hearers only. As Tozer says, Faith is the adoring gaze of a soul on her God.

Works of righteousness are then the overflow of a full heart. The Sons of Korah sing a wedding song for the king with sweet fragrance and beauty. Solomon sings of his lover’s full heart as he comes to her saying “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one and come with me.”

Jesus called his disciples to him, giving them a new way. “It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life; it’s what you vomit – that is the real pollution.”

What is our heart full of? Will it overflow with love, beauty and fragrance, or vomit lust, hypocrisy and hate?

The season

I'm thinking I will start with James and then Jump back to Mark. If I don't preach James now, I'll have to wait another three years, and I think the road to Jerusalem will make excellent material for stewardship. To better connect with the children, I am thinking of building a set on the stage representing the dusty road to Jerusalem and put places for puppets to come up too. I think I'll try to put all the visuals I'll use durring the series out as part of the set.

I think I'll concentrate on the Epistles for Advent, focusing on Paul's prayers for the churches as the await Christ's coming.

Click here to see a chart of themes.

Looking ahead

This week I find myself at a crossroads. The lectionary offers two lectio continua choices. I could do a five week series in James possibly followed up by a seven week series in Hebrews (probably my favorite NT book). Or I am offered a 12 week course back in Mark taking us to the end of the season, chapters 7-13.

This fall I want to cover themes of stewardship and also mobilize gift oriented ministry from the laity. I have a feeling one of these options will cover these themes nicely. The lectionary has yet to let me down. I'll have to do some reading ahead tomorrow.

Context and Exegesis from uniting church

Political context

"As it can be seen from the brief paragraphs describing the scenarios in Egypt and Mesopotamia there was little time or energy for intrusion into Palestine which allowed David to extend his empire without interference from the Empires either side. This does not deny the military acumen and charisma that David needed to weld the tribes together and fight as a cohesive unit."

Narritive flow

The flow of the above narrative is well thought out and is liturgically interesting if one compares it with the Eucharist in which elements of both are present. The presence of God (cloud, bread & wine), the reminder in the great prayer of thanksgiving of God's actions in history, prayer of confession & petition, blessing of elements and people...
Solomon's prayer begins with a three fold act of praise: there is no God like you, keeping covenant and steadfast love, the covenant that you kept with David (vv.22-24)....
The prayer changes to that of petition in which Solomon asks for God to be present in the temple in order that he will be able to hear the plea of his people Israel (vv.27-30)....

Theology and message

However, Solomon in reiterating the promise changes from a prayer of praise to petition and seeks God to keep his promise to David, but adds the condition "if" your children walk before (v.25). This becomes the explicit theology which gives the explanation why they ended up in exile, that is, they failed to keep the statutes and walk in God's ways.

Verses 27-30 begin with the rhetorical question, But will God indeed dwell on the earth? The answer is a profound theological truth that nothing in heaven and on earth can contain God. Therefore, we cannot possibly expect God to be contained in this temple. However, that doesn't prevent God heeding their prayer from heaven and God said that his name would be present. It is a wonderful précis of immanent & transcendent theology. God is present both, in heaven and will hear their prayers as directed towards the temple (not necessarily in the temple), and is immanent because his name is present in the temple. This incredible reassurance that no matter where you are God will and can heed your prayer. If the exiles can pray toward the temple and know that God is not contained in the temple, but is present everywhere what hope it could give them.

The lectionary chosen from the seven specific petitions is that one focussing on the foreigner. This word, which means someone who comes from a foreign land is quite a deliberate move away from the word used of a person who is a sojourner in Israel. The petition asking God to hear the prayers of such a person is quite extraordinary and we probably have little concept of the radical nature of this request. These foreigners will have heard about God and have accepted the lordship of Yahweh. They come now to Jerusalem and pray and Solomon petitions God to hear their prayer. If God will do this all people will know of God and honour him. Around 400 BCE there was conflict between foreigners who were part of the worshiping community and those who wanted to get rid of them ( See my book, Inclusive voices in Post- Exilic). The theology present in these verses is before its time.

A late start.

I just returned from my vacation. I had been working a few weeks ahead, so I thought I'd be ok, but here I come home and find I didn't write anything for this week yet. Its Friday and I haven't started my sermon yet. Not even the study. :D At least vacation was worth it!

I am going to preach the dedication of the temple. That caught me as I read it before I left, as did Psalm 84. I love that song, Better is One Day! I guess I've gotten that far. Oh, I also found a picture I think I'll use this week: