Blessed in What We Do
“Blessed in What We Do” by Pastor Rosanna McFadden
Good morning! This Labor Day Sunday I want to consider a text from the book of James. By tradition, this “letter” was written by James, the brother of Jesus. And although it begins with an opening like 1st century letter, it was probably not addressed to a specific person or congregation, but is a piece of ethical instruction — New Testament wisdom literature, similar to some of the admonitions and practical advice which we would find in the Old Testament Proverbs. And like Proverbs, James is less of a sustained and developed theological treatise than it is a series of instruction and advice. The book of James has its admirers — we’ll get to them in a bit — and one well-known detractor — who called it an “epistle of straw.” Reformer Martin Luther held Paul’s writings on justification and grace to be the central tenets of the gospel, and was not a fan of instructions for ethical living being elevated as part of the biblical canon.
You may know that members of the Church of the Brethren have long been drawn to this book, and particularly some of concepts of this first chapter and the verses which Joe read for us this morning. I like the directness of the New International Version which has verse 22 translated this way: Do not merely listen to the word . . . Do what it says. If the idea of doing stuff resonates with you, you might just be Church of the Brethren — or you might be over-steering into a theological ditch. Either way, this passage is worth a closer look.
It may seem counter-intuitive to be talking about what we do on Labor Day Weekend. Of course, the very name Labor Day is an acknowledgement that this long weekend with an extra day of rest is a celebration of work and workers and the many kinds of work which fuel our economy and our homes and our families. Sunday is traditionally a day of rest because of the example of the Creator on the seventh day of Creation, but that assumes there was work going on the other six days — otherwise a day of rest would be . . . just like any other day. And just to be clear, I am advocating for rest. I happen to be a big fan of rest — sleep, of course, which I have been pretty good at ever since my children were old enough to take care of their own rest — but especially intentional, purposeful rest; the kind of rest which renews and recharges. The kind of rest which supports work and ministry and helps grow the kingdom of God.
First of all, our attitudes about work and rest should be grounded in this foundation statement in verses 17–18: Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. There is a lot going on in these two verses, and I especially want to consider the idea of Christians as first fruits. It’s kind of a curious phrase, and it goes back to sacrificial offerings in the ancient Jewish agricultural system. First fruits are the first portion of the harvest — whether that is olives or grapes or wheat, or whatever. The Hebrew word for this is bikkurim, which literally means “the promise to come.” You can see the symbolism, right? We offer God the first of what we have, not what is left over after we have taken what we need for ourselves. And we give that offering because of the promise to come — we have just begun the harvest and we have faith that there will be more, first for God and then for us and even enough to share with those in need.
So here’s what’s curious to me. When the author of James is talking about first fruits, he’s talking about people; he’s talking about us. We are supposed to be a kind of first fruits of what God has created. I hope you can remember and say Creekside’s vision statement with me. You can’t see it from the Worship Center, but it’s written in 6” tall letters on a banner in the Gathering Area. Say it with me:
Rooted in God Growing in Jesus Bearing Fruit in the Spirit
Bearing fruit is not just something we do, being fruit is something we are: to the core. Maybe if someone had explained that to Martin Luther he might have felt better about what comes next in verses 22-25. We’re not supposed to merely listen to the word of God, we are called to embody it — to Be the words by what we do in our lives. Brethren love the story from 19th Century America when someone approached a quiet Brethren farmer and asked “Are you a God-fearing Christian man?” And he replied, “Why don’t you ask my neighbors?” This is what we Brethren love about the book of James — the idea that a theology where we hear the word and say Halleluia! Yes! I believe that is incomplete if it stops there. If we believe in God and his Son Jesus Christ, that will change how we act — how we manage our anger, how we speak about others, how we care for vulnerable people.
I mentioned earlier this idea of over-steering into a theological ditch. On the road of the Christian life, we have the solid ground of God’s love for creation — not just humanity, but the world. We have the teaching and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the promise to come of Christ’s return and the redemption of creation. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to inspire and guide us. That’s not a comprehensive list, but those things should run through the center of who we are as Christians. Off the edge of one side of that road is the idea that my faith is between me and God and it’s no one else’s business. I know that God loves me so I can believe whatever I believe and do whatever I want because I know Jesus has already forgiven me. I don’t have to be part of any community of faith because I don’t owe anything to other people as long as I’m right with Jesus. Off the other side of the road are statements like this: I don’t have to believe in Jesus if I’m a good person. I am kind to everyone, I work for worthy causes, and if treat other people the way I want to be treated; Jesus was a wise teacher who taught us how we ought to live, and working at it as hard as I can.
Now, I strive to steer down the center of this road, but I know which way my alignment is prone to pull. I resonate with this statement from James, who describes Christians like this: [people who are] not forgetting what they have heard but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do. Being and offering first fruits to God is how we are blessed in what we do. It is also how we are blessed in what we are. Those aren’t two different things, they are two different ways of expressing the same thing.
I think this is worth considering in regard to our work and rest — not as two completely separate activities, but as different ways of serving the same purpose: the purpose of living a life which gives glory to God. I don’t believe you have to be a monk or a mystic or even paid clergy to do work which gives glory to God. Whatever our paid work, or our unpaid work, what we must do or what we choose to do, we can be people who acknowledge that every good gift comes from God, and we can celebrate God’s unchanging love for us. Whatever our rest, we should see it not just as the absence of work, but as time to be intentional about caring for ourselves because we are important to Christ and the kingdom. Not only for what we do, but for who we are. Rest is an affirmation of our worth, but also an acknowledgement that we are not in charge of the kingdom of God — that job belongs to a Jewish carpenter, and he’s waaaay better at it than we could ever be. Our willingness to rest is directly related to our ability to pray — not my will, but your will be done. We trust God enough to rest, we obey God when we are called to act.
So this Labor Day I invite you to be blessed in what you do, and valued for who God has created you to be. I hope we can travel the path of the Christian life with the guardrails of trust and obedience to keep us on the road, and the companions of Christ and each other along the way.This morning we will have the service of anointing. I’d invite you to consider who you are as a first fruit to offer to God, and what you can do to affirm the promise to come. I will anoint you as a sign of the presence of the Spirit with you for forgiveness, healing, strengthening of faith, and as an offering to God, who is the author of every good and perfect gift.