The Power of the Congregation

September 30, 2012 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 “The Power of the Congregation” 18th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Cut your bills in half A man was recently arrested for a scam that he had going. He was advertising that he had a sure fire way to guaranteed to cut all of your bills in half. You had to order a kit with all the necessary tools that you need. The kit was $250. But inside the envelope was a pair of 50 cent scissors. A surefire way to cut bills in half As we look at the last chapter of James this morning. It may not offer a surefire way to cut your bills in half. But it does offer a surefire way to cut your worry in half. And that surefire way is through prayer. But for James, it is more complicated than that. In chapter 5 – James talks about the power of prayer – but he more specifically talks about the power of the prayers of the righteous. The righteous are those who follow the ways of the righteous. Elijah and the righteous There is a story of Elijah visiting his rabbi on a regular basis. And one day he was six hours late. When he finally arrived, the rabbi asked what took him so long. Elijah said that he had a very important task. First he had to wake up Abraham, wash his hands, wait while he prayed, and then put him back to sleep again. The he had to wake up Issaac, wash his hands and put him back to sleep. And then he had to wake up Jacob, wash his hands in purification, wait for him to pray and put him back to sleep. The rabbi asked why he didn’t just wake them all up at the same time and let them pray together. Oh if I Let them pray together, their prayer would have been too powerful. The world can only take them so much goodness in one place. James says that there is power in the prayers of the righteous. As a matter of fact, James says that there is power in coming together as a congregation once a week. There is power in our worship for ourselves and for the world. Are you suffering, then pray, are you celebrating – then sing, are you sick, then call the elders to pray over you. The church was the first HMO – the church was the place where you come if you have a problem. The church is a place of healing and well being. The people of the church have the power to change things. James says that when you are sick – you should have the elders pray for you and anoint you. But who are the elders? In the United Methodist Church elders are ordained clergy. In many other denominations elders are lay people who have been special training or special authority to do the work of the church. But I think that it is important to point out today that is not James understanding of elder. Because for James – an elder is someone who is a part of the church. You don’t have to have special training, or be of a certain age. You just have to have a relationship with God that is lived out in the church. If you know God – you know all that you need to know to be an elder. We all have the power of healing – the power of healing is given to ordinary church members – with the understanding that faithful church members are not ordinary. We get our power from God. From trusting in God and following Jesus. John Wesley says that everything that happens to us is a result of prayer. God hears the prayers of the faithful. If you look in Mark 9 – it talks about what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus. To be a disciple. There is a lot in Mark 9 – but I want to talk about the middle verse, where Jesus says that if our hand sins, it is better to cut it off then to go to hell with it, or because of it. A man’s arm goes to jail I heard a story of a man in court because he had robbed a store. The lawyer’s defense was that it was the hand and not the man who was guilty. The hand was not a part of the man’s body, and did something the man did not want. The judge sentenced the hand to ten years in jail. The judge said that the hand had to pay for what it had done. The man was free to accompany the hand to jail, or he could leave it behind. Everyone in the court room was surprised when the defendant thanks the judge – detached his artificial arm and walked away. In our ordinariness, we are still human and we are still prone to sin. James reminds us to stay connected to our community. Mark reminds us to disconnect ourselves from the parts of us that make us sin. Of course Jesus would know that the sin is not in our hands, or our feet, or our eyes. The sin is in our heart. Remember what goes in our ears and eyes, comes out of our mouth, lives in our heart and is acted upon with our hands and feet. It is the sin in our hearts, not the sin our hands and feet that lead us down the wrong path. Have you wandered away from righteousness, James says – let the elders lead you back to God. Confess what is in your heart James says that one of the most important aspect of being a disciple is being able to confess what is in our hearts and to let it our, so that we can be free. The community of elders should always be a safe place for us to confess and be held accountable. Confession is healthy, because it releases us from bitterness. If we hold it in our hearts, it destroys us. If we let it go – we can move on. The good news Bishop Woodie White, a retired United Methodist pastor – lives in Chicago for awhile. But he said that no matter how bad things get in our lives – everything always ends with the good news of Christ. It has been an interesting ride through the book of James. He has said some pretty harsh things to us. but he ends in the good news. Are you suffering – pray, are you in need of testifying about what God has done for you – sing; are you sick – ask the elders to pray for you – and if you have sinned – confess and ask forgiveness. The good news for today is that there is power in the prayers of the righteous – all of us together are the righteous. We are the elders of the church. Not because of what we know, but because of who we serve. Our strength is in how we work and trust together. Faithful – let us unleash the power of God - Let us pray…..