Sermon: James 2:1-7/Mark 7: 24-37

Theme: God's Grace

Something was said to me recently that wasn’t new, but hit home in a different way.  The comment was:  Everything from God is given…  Everything from God is given: it is a gift.

We know this – grace is the basis of our faith – and yet that simple fact touched me again and released some of the tension in me.  There is nothing I can do to make those ‘God moments’ happen – they are not as a result of my effort, or my goodness, or my ability.  They are graced moments given by God.  

I think that our lives are probably littered with those moments but often we are not awake enough – alert enough – to recognise them and relish them.  So, there’s a letting go of the straining to achieve and of the effort (because all is grace) and there’s a waking up to what is already there: waiting for us to notice.

There’s a tension in this – letting go and waking up feel like opposites.  And I find a tension within me because I long to draw nearer to God, and yet my faith teaches me that there is nothing I can do to make it happen: everything from God is given.

The words and stories that we find in our reading today are helpful in this tension.  There is nothing we can do to earn or achieve God’s presence but look at these words.  What todays readings speak to me of is our attitude.  Because our attitude can definitely get in the way of God’s grace – prevent it from reaching us.

Our reading in James is subtitled: ‘Favouritism Forbidden’.  These are strong words from James.  He points out that when you favour the rich and dismiss the poor you have ‘become judges with evil thoughts’ (v4).  When I reflect back I can’t think of times when I have favoured the rich and dismissed the poor but, honestly, it wouldn’t take long to think of a time when I have favoured one person over another.  Part of me feels like that is ‘just human’: one of those things that I just can’t change, but life has taught me differently through the grace of God.  I can honestly say that there have been people in my life who I have found difficult and avoided, but when I have let go of my discrimination and judgement something has opened up within me and changed within me.  There has been some kind of release.

Because you see, God does not discriminate.  That is difficult for us to get our heads around: how can God love that awkward, bossy, angry, violent, aggressive, patronising, self-important person as much as me?  Well, he does.  And it is when we can leave our prejudices behind that we can walk a step nearer to God’s grace.  The picture that comes into my head is of God’s grace literally pouring into the world.  When we discriminate it is like we put up an umbrella and we stop God’s grace and love from reaching us.  Maybe God’s grace feels a bit too much for us – some how we need that protection. More and more I just want to be soaked in it.  It is completely from God but letting go of my prejudice will help me to stand in a place where it can reach me.

Our Gospel passage gives us two more clues as to what we can do to change our attitude and be in the right place in our hearts to receive God.  In our Gospel we have two healings.  They are quite different.  In the first a Syrophoenician woman comes to ask for healing for her daughter.  Note that, in this passage, Jesus is wanting to stay hidden.  I wonder if he was seeking out rest and refreshment?  But the woman comes and falling at his feet, makes her request.

Jesus’ answer sounds harsh: First let the children eat all they want for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.

How would you respond to that? How would it make you feel? In our current culture where offence is so easily given and taken I can imagine people being outraged – getting up and walking out, but not the woman in our story, she says: Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.

She is able to accept what Jesus has said and she trusts in his love, his generosity and his power – she knew that he could help her.  She accepted her position and believed Jesus could and would help her. And it is this that seems to change Jesus’ response – he says to her: For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.  It is almost as if Jesus is compelled to respond and heal because of the woman’s words.  Her words must have come from her heart – they were not ‘just’ words.  So, here is another way to put ourselves in the way of God’s grace: to humbly and sincerely know our status and to have complete confidence in God’s love.  Again, I can’t earn God’s healing or grace – it is a gift of God – but is it my attitude that is getting in the way?

Lastly, the story of the deaf and mute man.  It does feel in these stories that Jesus is reluctant to heal.  We read that the people who bring this man to Jesus beg him to touch their friend.  Jesus takes him away from the crowds and then: put his fingers in his ears, then he spat and touched the man’s tongue.  I wonder what is going on in the man’s head…!  I wonder if he trusted Jesus?  I wonder if Jesus needed to do those things?  However, what I find more interesting is the word that Jesus speaks.  He says to the man: be opened.  We can take that literally:  physically his ears needed to be opened and  a metaphoric opening of his mouth was also necessary.  But to me there is something more significant going on here, spiritually.  It’s like there is some kind of blockage in the man that needs to be opened.

I wonder which part of us is blocked.  Have we closed ourselves off from God in some way?  Can we submit to Jesus and let him open us up?

God’s grace, God’s touch, God’s love is not earned – it is given freely as a gift.  This life we have is a gift from God.  There is nothing we can do to earn God’s grace – that is why it is call grace.

But let us examine our hearts – are they ready to accept the gifts that God is showering on us:

Have we rid ourselves of discrimination?

Are we aware of our status before God?  Yes, we are his children, but do we come with the humility which acknowledges God for who God is?

Do we have faith in God’s power, love and generosity?

Have we opened ourselves up to what God wants to do in us?

Can you picture yourself standing in the showers of God’s grace? Can you come out from the shelter, put down the umbrella, even take off your coat and hat: God wants us to receive and absorb all he has to give!