“A totally corrupting habit”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, September 4, 2023
James 2:1-13 (Forward, p. 37) CEV p. 1273
Today’s passage warns against favouritism in the church, and while we haven’t been very alert to it or aware of it within our churches—more on that later—we are all too aware of this within history and within wider society:
-favouritism in families: we have seen in the Scriptures the terrible
impact this had with Jacob and Esau, or with Jacob’s own sons, but
then too think of the family rifts, often generational, that occur when
there is favouritism in terms of inheritance;
-favouritism in industry or the marketplace: there often seems to be
one rule or regulation for the very rich and another one for those
who aren’t, for instance, in labour standards or the environment.
And likewise, in terms of accommodations or access to food
resources or clean, safe water.
-favouritism in national politics: we have often seen it take place
where one interest group or province is favoured over others,
simply because that is where the votes are or because it is seen
as ‘politically correct’;
-favouritism in world affairs: preference is given to countries that can
supply us with oil or other needed resources, rather than to those
that truly need our help or business (e.g. Haiti).
But, is there, as James talks about in the early church, favouritism in our churches today? I think that there may well be, but largely unintentional:
-one of my former parishioners—at St. James’, Saskatoon—pointed
out that St. James’ favoured those with disposable income, when it
hosted church suppers and auction sales that were beyond the reach
of certain people. And even the expectation of bringing something to
potluck suppers made it difficult for people on a severely limited and
fixed income;
-another person pointed out that our services favour people who are
very functionally literate, able to handle books and papers with ease
and able to find their way through them quickly—probably people
with English as their first language or with English as one of their
primary functioning languages;
-and then there are the subtle things that come up with volunteering
within the church, such as the unmentioned or un-thought out
expectations that you will bear some costs yourself. For instance,
I often wondered why volunteers at the diocesan level were paid a
lower mileage rate than paid employees. After all, doesn’t it cost the
same to run a car?
-there are probably other things as well, like our expectations in terms
of worship styles and behaviours, that might indeed be limiting that
those in the majority are unaware of. And, what about finding your
way around the building and knowing where things are located?
That kind of thing certainly puts newcomers at a disadvantage.
-I don’t see the discrimination between the rich and the poor that
James speaks of, but that too ‘may’ be present at times!
Anyway, all this is certainly something worth being on the watch for and being ready to address. And this, certainly, is where people who haven’t been ‘part of the loop’, part of the status quo for years, can be of help. They can point out things that the rest of us haven’t noticed. We do indeed want to love and care for everyone, with no one excluded or left out—just as God is with us--so this would be a great help.
Forward notes: “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?” (verse 1)
“Faith and favouritism clash. When our words, actions, and even values are calibrated to favour powerful and wealthy people to the exclusion of others, questioning that order can feel out of line, scary, even immoral. That order can make subscribing to its ‘partiality’ protocols (James 2:1) seem like the only viable option.
“But James reminds us that God does not abide by structures of inequity. God does exactly the opposite of what an inequitable society prescribes.
Instead of exalting wealthy people and oppressing impoverished people, God chooses the poor in the world to be heirs of the kingdom. God devises a different kind of community, where poor people find respect and hospitality and where practices of privileging the powerful at other’s expense come to an end.
“Whenever I have encountered such a community, I feel like I am witnessing the true heart of Christian faith. Struggle does not disappear, but all can show up and practice faith in God and in one another.”
Moving Forward: “How can you help to build a place where all people find respect and hospitality?”