Tasting the Gruel of Love

True Picture

Dr. Larry Thorson
March 1, 2009

James 1:13-25[i]

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each of you is tempted when you are dragged away by your own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶ Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

A young college graduate embarked on what he hoped would be a promising career in sales. He was outgoing, witty, and enthusiastic. His company assigned him his territory. It was a rural area in the Midwest. His responsibility was to sell the latest in farm equipment to the farmers in the area. With great fervor he memorized the strategy sales pitch and left his office to spread his message of "better farming through better equipment."

His first two visits had not resulted in a sale. But he could sense that the two prospects had been listening as he had rattled off his litany of better yields, faster harvests, and more long-term profits due to updated equipment. He noted in his customer data base beside each name, "Initial cultivation promising, return for follow-up visit."

Then, he stopped in front of his third farm house. The elderly farmer sat on his front porch gently munching a cracker as he rocked in his rocker. With a flourish the young salesman bounced up the rickety steps to the porch.

"Howdy," he exclaimed.

"Howdy, yourself," came the response.

"Sir, can I show you a catalog of modern farm equipment?"

"Nope," said the old farmer.

"Well, sir, don't you want to know how to improve your farming methods?"

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, the thoughtful old farmer raised his head and looked the young salesman directly in the eyes and said: "Son, I don't farm half as good now as I already know how to farm."

That’s how I feel when I read the Book of James and when I preach to you. We already know the things it tells us to do. That's its point. Knowing what to do is not as important as doing what we already know to do. What we profess and what we hear is never as important as what we do.

James gives us the wonderful image of a mirror held before us which enables us to see the true picture of who we are in the light of God's love. That’s why I’ve entitled our five week Lenten series, “True Picture.” As we prepare for Easter I want us to get an accurate, true picture of who we are.

Today's text has a threefold message: receive the word and do the word so you will reflect the Word and recognize yourself as a follower of Christ. Hearing and doing are one.

The early Christian church that James was a part of met for worship as small groups of people, often meeting in secret because of opposition. Their order of worship was geared toward self-disclosure and confession. It was sort of like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where everyone has to admit that they are alcoholics or sinners. This was often followed by pleas for forgiveness and plans for making restitution. A period of fellowship then concluded their gathering.

The early church followed this worship formula until A.D. 325 when Constantine assumed control of the church for all Roman citizens. With an eye toward making the church acceptable, Constantine replaced the requirement of open, personal disclosure with private confession to a priest. Finally, in the thirteenth century, the church made private confession to a priest an obligation you had to do at least once a year.

Verbally acknowledging one's failures and short-comings, whether to God in prayer or to one's brother and sister in Christ, is vital to emotional stability. It’s one of our most effective methods of obtaining relief from guilt.

But the early Christian church did more than pray and confess. Its members made plans for restitution so their lives could mirror their beliefs.

Reparation, the process by which one makes amends for wrongs or injuries done to others, has been a part of the Christian tradition since the start of the church back in James’ day. The Bible, over and over, talks about how one's relationship with other human beings provides an accurate measuring stick for the status of one's relationship with God.

James cautions us that after looking at ourselves in this mirror we not go out into the world and forget what we, as Christians, look like and begin reflecting the world. If we have a relationship with Jesus Christ we’ll reflect that relationship and look it instead of taking on the world's persona.

The persona was the mask which actors in Greek drama wore during plays. One character could play many roles. By changing the persona, the mask, a character changed personality. One could easily slip into another role and be a different self.

James is arguing for a self in which beliefs and behavior within the church are consistent with one's actions and attitudes beyond the doors of the church. Hear the word and do the word.

Appearances are important. Given the Jewish background of the epistle of James, there is much similarity with an ancient rabinnic story about two families, the family of Garmu and the family of Abtinos. The Garmu family were the experts in baking the showbread for the Temple. Twelve special loaves were placed on the golden table of the Sanctuary and exchanged for new ones each week. The Abtinos family were the experts in making the incense used in the Temple ritual by the priests.

The elders of the Garmu family decided not to teach their skills to anyone outside the family, and the same decision was made by the Abtinos elders. The result was that the special methods of baking the showbread for the Temple and of making the holy incense were closely guarded secrets which no one outside those two families could ever learn.

The rabbis were not happy with the policy of the families and were afraid that the Temple service would be endangered if they allowed such a monopoly to continue. So they called in other specialist bakers and perfumery experts from Alexandria in Egypt to replace the two families. But things did not go at all well. The new bakers were unable to make the Temple loaves stay fresh all week, like the showbread of Garmu; and the incense of the Alexandrians did not send its smoke up in a perfectly straight line like the Abtinos incense.

So the Temple heads called in the heads of the two old families, but they refused to come. Finally, after their fee was doubled, they came before the Temple administrators who asked them why they did not instruct others in their skills. The Garmu and Abtinos patriarchs gave the same answer. The two families were concerned that outsiders might use the skills to their financial advantage and make the showbread and incense for purposes of idolatry.

In addition to their passionate concern that items used in the holy Temple would not be misused for idolatrous or secular purposes, the families of Garmu and Abtinos were highly praised for their moral concern that no one in their families should be suspected of using Temple material for their own purposes. That is why members of the Garmu family never ate pure bread loaves in case anyone would suspect them of eating Temple loaves or using the baking material for their own use. Similarly the women members of the Abtinos family never wore perfume so that there would never be any suspicion that they were taking some Temple incense ingredients for their private use. Indeed, they were so firm in this matter that before one of their men married a lady from another family, they stipulated to the bride that perfume was not to be used by their womenfolk, in order to rise above suspicion (Yoma 38a).

The historical story about the two families contains a powerful ethical lesson as noted by the late Rabbi Chaim Pearl, a noted authority on Judaism. The ethic is known in Hebrew as "For the sake of appearances." A situation should not only be correct, but it should appear to others that it is correct. In that way, outsiders can derive a good example from witnessing what is right. A great judge once declared: "It is not only necessary that justice be done; it is important that justice be seen to be done."

There’s a story in the Bible where after the children of Israel had completed the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness, Moses made a complete record of how every item had been used. The gold and the silver, the brass and every precious item were accounted for, to the very last piece.

Why did he do this? Moses did this for the sake of appearances so the image of himself that he saw in the mirror of God would match the image of himself that he held forth to others. He could not allow himself to forget what he looked like. It was not only necessary for Moses to be honest in the sight of God; it was also important for Moses to be honest in the eyes of the people. He had glimpsed a high image of himself and he would not allow himself to look at himself otherwise.

May you, during this season of Lent look in the mirror and instead of seeing an aging face, see a true picture of what God looks like in your face. We were made in the image of God and when we sin and do bad things whether we think it’s bad or not we distort that picture of God. May you be willing to use this as a season of repentance and time to pay back those you have hurt.

Before we go to communion think about the times and the places where you hurt someone including God and what you might be able to do to make it up. What reparation will you make during this season of Lent?

Repentance and reparation will not make you right with God. It will only show you how much you need a savior. To be right with God you need to open your heart to Jesus Christ and ask him into your life. Turn the keys of your life over to Christ and by the power of God’s powerful Holy Spirit you will be the true picture of God in the mirror. Amen.

Adopted from a sermon written by Harold C. Warlick and published on www.esermon.com.