September 9, 2018     Justice and Mercy For All                                  
       Several years ago, when I was a camp counselor, I had an experience that really challenged me to think about how I treated others. At the time, I was a high school senior, and saw the world from a rather self-centered point of view. 
       It happened one of the first weeks of camp, when I was a counselor for a group of 7th and 8th graders. In that group were some high energy, attention seeking kids, and the other counselor for the group and I found ourselves drawn to them. So at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the same group of kids would scramble to sit at our table. Now this went on for the first 3 days of camp, when the camp director pulled the two of us aside, and pointed out the favoritism that we were showing to one part of the group. 
        He made it clear to us that we were a Christian Church Camp, and that as the leaders of the group we were called to model a world where everyone is included and everyone is valued as part of the community. Which brings us to our epistle lesson this morning. 

         In our reading from James, James writes, "Brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism, really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?" He then goes on to question his church on how they treat rich and poor. Do they treat the rich with special consideration, offering to them the best seats, and treating them with honor, while telling the poor to sit on the floor? James then tells them that when they do this they transgress against the commandment of God, and to remember that they are called to love their neighbor as themselves - which I believe means, we are to treat all people, not just the rich, as we would want to be treated, with honor, dignity, and respect. 
         Now, I think that most of us know this, but in the midst of our lives, just like when I was a teenager, we can be so focused on ourselves that we forget what we are doing, and how we treat people differently. We do this because the world has always operated under a patronage system, where people rely upon the rich to offer them work and jobs and wages. And the world also tells us to look down on those who are poor, who don't get along, who are characterized as lazy, strange, dirty, or sinners. 
          In contrast to this, we as Christians are called to model the behavior of Christ, who suffered himself to show compassion to the poor, the sick, the troubled, the outcast, and the unclean. Our Christian Churches are called to be places of welcome and fellowship, a space where rich and poor are not considerations, and all are treated as brothers and sisters in Christ. In these actions, we show forth the glory of Christ, that stands in direct contrast to the way of the world. In our discipleship, we offer hope to those in need, and a vision of a better world, in which all people are valued as children of God. One in which there is Justice and Mercy for all. And that's the good news of Jesus Christ!