Last week we learned that our God is like the next door neighbor who loans you his lawn mower and gives you fresh snap peas from his garden. Whatever you need (though not whatever you want), he’s happy to give it to you. Just ask – even if it’s the middle of the night! But our text today says that God is even closer to us than a next door neighbor. Yes, he’s closer in the sense that he loves and cares for us more than your next door neighbor does, but he’s also closer in another way. James, the author of our text, says that Jesus is at the door! How would you like to have a neighbor like that – one who stands outside your door all day long? You wouldn’t appreciate that invasion of privacy. But with God nothing we do, say, or even think for that matter is private. He knows it all doesn’t he? James reminds us of this fact because he doesn’t want us to forget that this world and our lives as we know it are coming to an end. Judge Jesus is at the door ready to burst in on humanity. Therefore James teaches us to be content, and to be patient. Let’s find out why James would encourage these two attitudes.
Listen again to how James, the half-brother of Jesus, starts our text. I’ll read to you from the Message translation. “And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you’ve piled up is judgment. All the workers you’ve exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up. But all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse” (James 5:1-5).
Whenever we longingly look at the lives of the rich and famous and wish we had what they did, it would be good to dig out these verses and read through them. Of course James isn’t suggesting that all those who are wealthy are evil. We know that wealthy men like Abraham and King David will stand with the believers on Judgment Day. Therefore James is speaking of those who take pride in their riches like the farmer in our Gospel lesson this morning (Luke 12:13-21). He’s also speaking against those who have taken advantage of others to get ahead, and who have used their riches to make their lives more comfortable without any thought to the less fortunate. You won’t want to be one of those people come Judgment Day. James says that their wealth won’t count for anything then. In fact all it’s going to do is make them a bigger target for God’s wrath.
Since we’re not rich I guess we don’t have to worry about the judgment that James speaks about, right? You know that’s a foolish way to think. First of all, we are very rich. I’ve shared these figures with you a couple of years ago when we studied James in Bible class but I think they’re worth sharing again. Did you know that if you earn $50,000 a year, you are richer than 99.7% of the world’s population?! (globalrichlist.com) Still a student and only have a part-time job? Let’s say you make $3,000 a year from that job. You’re still richer than 82% of the world’s population! And the thing is you don’t live on $3,000 if you still receive food, housing, and medical care for free courtesy of Mom and Dad. Add those benefits to your annual “income” and I’m sure it would boost your “rich” status into the 90% range.
The fact that we don’t think we’re very rich shows just how big of a problem the sin of greed is in our lives. We don’t think we’re rich because we’re not content with our homes, our clothes, our cars, or our toys. We want more. We want bigger and better. And we think we can pursue such wealth without any effect on our spiritual health. A Chinese pastor over a decade ago saw this mentality among his members. They had for so long lived under communism which did not allow for private businesses. But once it did, these people ran as fast as they could from the grip of communism into the jaws of consumerism! The pastor made this observation. “Consumerism makes you think…you can have lots of things and Christ as well. In reality, you just end up with lots of things, and most of the time you don’t even realize Christ has gone” (Li Tianen).
Would that be a problem for you, friends, if Jesus was not part of your life? Would you gladly trade him and your faith for a private jet and a fully staffed vacation home? “Of course not!” we thunder. And yet we find it easier to wish for and dream of owning a nicer camper or more electronic gadgets than praying for and pursuing a stronger faith through the diligent study of God’s Word. That’s shortsighted James reminds us. Everything that you own now will rot and burn on the last day. Why end up suffering the same fate because you loved money and things more than you loved God? Judge Jesus is at the door. Be content with what God has given to you. For one thing it’s quite a lot. Marvel at how rich he has made you that you enjoy abundant food and wear comfortable clothes. And why has God given us so much? Not so that we may horde this wealth and spend it on ourselves, but so that we may have the privilege of helping others with it. One easy way to do that, of course, is through our congregational offerings. That goes to help people in the most important way by bringing Jesus to them.
But James doesn’t just urge us to be content, he also teaches us to be patient. Listen again to the second half of our text. “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (James 5:8-11).
James probably warns against grumbling here because his listeners were being taken advantage of by the unbelieving rich. When you’re having a bad day the temptation is to take your frustrations out on those around you. Don’t do that, says James. Judge Jesus is standing at the door! He hears all the unkind words that we speak and will eternally punish us for them if we don’t repent but casually dust them off as a woodworker might do with sawdust. But sin is not like sawdust; it’s more like a splinter that pierces relationships.
But it’s also comforting to hear that Jesus is at the door because it means that there will soon be an end to all of our trouble and pain. Really? Will the End really come soon? James wrote these words 2,000 years ago and we’re still waiting for Jesus to return. We need to keep in mind that the Lord’s “soons” and “quicklys” are not to be estimated by our impatient arithmetic (Lauersdorf). Jesus has not returned yet because he wants as many people as possible to come to faith in him first (2 Peter 3:9).
I picture Jesus like the parent who has told his child to clean his room many times but has been ignored. So now he has given the child five minutes to get the job done or face the consequences. But such a parent isn’t eager to “bust” his child. He wants him to succeed. So as the countdown comes to the final seconds the parent will count like this: “Five, four, three, two and a half, two, one and three quarters…” The parent extends his patience so that his child may accomplish the task and escape punishment. That’s what our God is like. When we remember that his patience is leading to the salvation of more people as they come to know and believe in Jesus for forgiveness, we will gladly bear up under our burdens.
When the going gets tough though James urges us to think of how Old Testament prophets patiently put up with a lot. If you let out a big sigh when you think of the tough employer you have to work for, think of Joseph. Although he had to languish in prison because of his employer’s false accusation, the Lord used that incident to get him in position to fill the number two spot in Egypt. When you face adversities from fellow Christians, think of Moses. He patiently put up with the Children of Israel for forty years even pleading on their behalf when they sinned and were facing God’s punishment. When you face loss of possessions, family, and health, remember Job. In the end God restored him and gave him more than he had before. Our Lord is full of compassion and mercy James assures us (James 5:11). We know he is because Jesus patiently endured insult, pain, and hell to pay for our sins of greed and unkind words. Would he endure all that for nothing – so that our lives would be eternally miserable? No. A day of glory will come for all believers as surely as morning follows night.
The sermons from the last three Sundays have reminded us that our God is not far away. He’s like a good next door neighbor to whom we can go for anything we need. He’s also standing at the door ready to open it to eternal judgment and to everlasting salvation. Don’t let the love of wealth, or your current problems cloud your faith in him. Be content and be patient. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
(Review of Luke 11) Last week we heard Jesus teach a parable about a neighbor who responds to a midnight request. How are we like the man making the request? How is God like the neighbor?
Why did James speak so forcefully against the rich in our sermon text?
“But I’m not rich!” How does that attitude probably show that we’re actually quite greedy?
“Consumerism makes you think…you can have lots of things and Christ as well. In reality, you just end up with lots of things, and most of the time you don’t even realize Christ has gone” (Li Tianen). Is it possible to pursue wealth and remain a Christian? Explain your answer.
James urges us not to grumble, because Judge Jesus is at the door. How is that statement both Law and Gospel?
When we’re tempted to grumble because of life’s challenges, James says we should think of the Old Testament prophets. Which OT prophet can serve as a role model for what you’re going through right now? Why?
