Being a Witness

Last Friday was the Feast of James of Jerusalem. James was described in the Gospels as the “brother of our Lord.” By tradition James was a child from a previous marriage of Joseph who would have really been a step-brother of Jesus. It is also possible that he was a cousin who lived nearby and was like a brother to Jesus.

Adding to all the complication is that there are as many as eight people named James in the New Testament. The bishop told us yesterday there were three, and that is a number that is commonly accepted. It is interesting to me that James was famously not a believer. John 7:5 tells us that “not even his brothers believed in him. Now you know that since Friday was a feast day, he must have had a change of heart somewhere along the line.

St. Paul gives a list of the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15. He tells us in verse 7 that “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” We know that when Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul had a change of heart and believed. Maybe the same thing happened to James as well.

We do know that James had a change of heart somehow, and he became a believer. He became the first bishop of Jerusalem. He died a martyr in what was really a judicial homicide. He was set up, tried and sentenced to death. He was thrown from the roof of the Temple and then stoned. Having survived all this, someone finally smacked him in the head with a club. Icons and stained glass with James often have a club in the depiction somewhere.

I am struck by one item in the life of James, and that is at the first Council in Jerusalem. This is recorded in Acts 15, and it was one of the early conflicts in the church.

There are really two major pushes for evangelism. One is within the Jewish community. Practicing Jews are converted. There are also Gentiles who are converted – so Greeks for example hear the Good News proclaimed by someone like Paul. They accept the faith, join a congregation and are baptized. The mission work within the Jewish community is identified with Peter, and the evangelism to the Gentiles is identified with Paul.

There was a conflict in the early Church, and the First Council of Jerusalem was held to try to settle it. You can see how this might be very divisive. If you are evangelizing Greeks and tell them that to be a Christian they have to observe Jewish laws, it could be a show stopper. It would mean they would have to give up cheeseburgers and shrimp cocktail. They could not wear poly-cotton blend shirts. They would have to get circumcised. The Jewish laws about some things were a barrier to conversion.

The First Council of Jerusalem addressed these issues. Now you can think of issues that divide the church today. A few years ago,it was the ordination of women. Essentially the question was “Are women full members of the Church? Can they be called to ordained ministry?” Like the folks at the First Counsel of Jerusalem, people struggled with whether to be hard liners and strictly interpret things or to cast a wider net and be open to the idea that women might be called in the same way men were.

Was Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians just intended for them or was it intended for us? He said it was “shameful for a woman to speak in church.” What is the context? Does that mean it is shameful for one to speak here? Obviously I don’t think so. The only shame I feel when Mother Susan preaches is when I ponder how she is a better preacher than I am.

James of Jerusalem is also known as James the Just. He makes a decision, and everyone defers to him despite the fact that there are some verses in the Bible that seem to say “no.”

James says that we should accept the Gentiles as they are and not make them observant Jews first. He says they have to abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication. He reduces the dietary laws to not eating animals which have been strangled and from consuming blood.

The response to this was interesting. Paul had famously refused to circumcise Titus in Galatians 2. Now after the Council of Jerusalem, Paul has won the conflict. In other words James came down on the side of Paul. The Jewish requirement to circumcise men no longer has to be observed because the Council decided it was not necessary. So what does Paul do? He has Timothy circumcised before the next mission trip.

I think that Paul softened his stand and realized there was a benefit for evangelism to having Timothy observant to Jewish law. The Gospel was being proclaimed to Jews and Gentiles. There was no point in throwing up a barrier to anyone. If Timothy is circumcised and converts don’t have to be, it is a win-win. Timothy takes one for the team,

Romans 14: 1-4 tells us

Welcome those who are weak in faith,* but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. 2Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgement on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4Who are you to pass judgement on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord* is able to make them stand.

Philippians 2.12 also says we are to  “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

I think that by nature, we work out the salvation of our brothers and sisters and don’t give it much thought. We need to be attending to our own salvation.

I bring all this up in part because the Diocesan Convention was yesterday. Our own diocese is very happy really and fairly free from conflict, but that does not mean we are all on the same page. There are issues in the national church that have people wringing their hands.

I think the lessons of the First Counsel of Jerusalem are these.

We have to be willing to discuss conflict in community. As soon as we are unwilling to discuss differences, we are not going to do anything but divide the church. I am going to call this one openness.

We have to be willing to submit to authority. The hardliners did not get what they wanted. They did not leave the church but were committed to the Gospel and continued their work for the Kingdom. This one is obedience.

Paul, who “won” the conflict, saw the wisdom of the opposing viewpoint and softened his stand. The hard liners had a point, and Paul was willing to listen to them for the sake of the Gospel. This response might be a little tough to categorize, but Paul here was flexible and he was not arrogant.

Now, here is my question. Who is the James the Just of our day? I think I would like out next bishop to be a James or a Jane the Just.

Here is another question. Who are we at the Council of Jerusalem? We are the elders and apostles. We are not the people being evangelized. We are the ones would are laboring in the Fields of the Lord, and as Paul asks, “Who are you to pass judgement on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall.” We are called to witness. We are called to seek and serve Christ in all persons. We are not called to judge.

In today’s Gospel, we hear of sight being restored to Bartimaeus. I got distracted by thinking about Diocesan Convention and thinking about James. I want to leave you with a couple of thoughts about Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus does not have to see to believe. Jesus tells him “Go; your faith has made you well.” Thomas famously has to see and touch before he will believe. What does it take for us? At what point are we convinced? Jesus does not tell Thomas he is a bad disciple, but he provides the evidence he needs. Thomas believes.

At the end of the day what is important is that we are transformed by Jesus. Each of us loves the Lord, but we are all different in the way we come to him. Some of us are more skeptical and some of us are more willing and able to believe. It is important that we get there though, and it is important that our faith changes us. Bartimaeus gets his sight. We let the light of Christ into our lives, and we get sight too. We get eyes for God’s hand in the world. We see the things in the basement that need some attention. One way or another we have to be changed by following Jesus.

How has being a Christian changed us? We should be able to identify specific things in our lives that are different because we follow the Lord.

I would like you to tell one other person this week how that your faith has changed you.

I have said these words in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Sermon preached by Fr. Tom at St. Thomas, Plymouth

October 25, 2015; Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost Year B (Proper 25)

 

Job 42:1-6, 10-17

Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22)

Hebrews 7:23-28

Mark 10:46-52