Daily Devotion – August 31, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
James 2:1-5
2:1 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?
2:2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in,
2:3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,”
2:4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?
Here is James, scolding his brothers and sisters in the early Christian congregations. That is what James is famous for doing.
But he is making a good point here, saying that God has chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith. God has often said throughout the scriptures that humans look of the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. And here, it appears, the congregation members are welcoming in the rich with open arms and telling the poor they cannot sit down anywhere in the gathering but must stand in the back or sit at someone’s feet.
James is in fact warning the church members that making these distinctions between rich and poor, discriminating against people for how they look or seem, this will not go well with God, who has promised the very Kingdom of God to anyone who loves God.
James isn’t the only one sending this message. Jesus told parables just like this one. It is a familiar theme. And in these days when we might be wondering if we should bother to notice the plight of our human brothers and sisters who are routinely discriminated against because of how they look or seem, we may also be the ones James is pointing at and scolding.
We, today, really do need to notice the poor and not favor the rich. We, today, ought to be certain that anyone at all is welcome in our churches and in our communities. Because God has already promised God’s kingdom to them.
Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us status as your children. Help us to realize that all your children, rich and poor, are heirs to your Kingdom, and that you don’t make distinctions as we humans do. Please give us bigger hearts. Amen.
