Christ in everyone I meet

Isaiah 35:4-7a
James 2:1-10, 11-13, 14-17
Mark 7:24-37

We have all seen it. There is always an urge to do it, especially in a large church that needs the financial support of wealth donors. It is the survival of the fittest in churches. The elevations of people with money or power over those who have neither.

I have seen it many times myself in various and sundry churches. They get their choice of pews. The may even have an assigned parking spot in the lot. And if anyone dares to sit in their pew or parking in their spot, there will be a "come to Jesus" moment!

James tells us in our reading today that we as a church should not operate like that. "My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?" (James 2:1) James is so disconcerted about the behavior of the church under him that he ask them if they even still believe in their Savior. Their display of worldliness has him concerned that they have lost their faith altogether.

"For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?" (James 2:2-4) When I was younger, my family did not have a lot of money. We were just at the poverty line, to be honest. And we visited many different churches of many different denominations. While people in those churches never (to my knowledge) told us we had to sit in the back of the church, it was certainly apparent from their looks that we were expected to sit in the back and keep out of sight. The people who sat in the front pews or even sat on the platforms were those that wore their jewelry boxes to church with them. They drove the BMW's and Jags. They owned the million dollar homes.

They also did not say a word to us. They did not welcome us to church and they had no care or concern if we never darkened the door of the church again. And as to be expected, they had the most powerful voices at the church meetings too. But the less wealthy or less powerful members of the church sat and waited for them to decide the direction of the church.

"Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. 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? You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors." (James 2:5-9)

And yet James reminds us that God chose the poor to be rich in faith! What a marvel! What a wonder! The lest in the eyes of man are great in the eyes of God!

But if we allow ourselves to become mesmerized by the glitter of gold and silver, then we ignore those who are rich in the eyes of God. We dishonor them and by doing so we open ourselves up to sin. We convict ourselves of show favoritism and become no better than the Pharisees that Jesus condemn on a regular basis for being hearers of the word and not doers.

It the duty of the church to be blind to one's social status or financial status. Living by that creed may not build large edifices here on earth, but it will help in building a mansion in heaven. And we should be mindful of the fact that when we meet people, we are meeting Christ in them. If we shun someone because they are poor, then we are also shunning Christ in them. And by doing so, we dishonor Christ! We reject Christ! That is why James asked if the church had lost its faith. Because by their lack of respect for all people, they rejected Christ in those they felt were beneath them.

I am reminded of the story of Saint Martin of Tours. he story is told that one day while on patrol in the dead of winter, a man, who was poor and had not proper clothing for the weather, came to Saint Martin for assistance. Saint Martin did not have anything but the clothes on his body, but feeling sorry for the man, he took out his sword and cut his cloak in half. He gave the man half the cloak and kept half for himself. The next night, while sleeping, he had a dream in which Christ came to him wearing part of his cloak! Christ spoke to him and said, "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clad me." When Saint Martin awoke, he found his cloak had been restored!

Remember that story the next time you meet someone who is homeless, poor or appears to be homeless or poor. They may not be Christ himself, but one thing is for sure, they carry within them a spark of Christ!