FAVORITISM IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!

      When I became a pastor, a friend told me to buy a clergy shirt and a collar... and wear them when I renewed my driver's license. He said it would come in handy. In one of the churches I served, we had a food pantry and we gave a lot of food to needy people. Sometimes we would invite them to join us for worship... and I remember the day when one of them showed up. He came to church in clothes that were not particularly Presbyterian. His hair was unkempt and he took a seat in the rear (where most of our members were sitting). He didn't say much, but his mere presence made our saints nervous because he didn't fit in. In the song, Big Boss Man, Elvis sings, "Big Boss man, can you hear me when I call? Well, you ain't so big... you're just tall, that's all." Maybe so, but research shows that tall people get better jobs and earn more money than their shorter counterparts-$800 per year, per inch, according to one study.
      There are many ways in which we favor some people and put others down, aren't there?Everybody knows that, unless it's closing time, the pretty girls get more drinks and dances than those are aren't so pretty... unless they have dark skin... because it's been shown that dark-skinned African-Americans with Master's Degrees have less chance of success that light-skinned African-Americans with Bachelor's degree. There are a lot of reasons why some people get more love and opportunity than other people do, and ability is only one of them. I know of a small church, not all that far from here, that became aware of the fact that a gay man had moved into their small town. They had their eyes on him, and they knew he was planning to attend their church on a Sunday morning that was Communion Sunday. So they held a quick meeting before worship and agreed that it would be a sin to invite a gay man to the Lord's Supper. My brother, Randy, was gay and he was never accepted in a mainline church... not even when he died of AIDS. There are many ways in which we favor some people over others, including the barriers we place before those who are disabled. Then, too, there are the matters of money and prestige, which are generally enough to get you the best seats in the house. James speaks of this in the 3rd chapter of the book that carries his name and Hank Williams Jr. sings about it in a song entitled, "The American Way." In part, his lyrics go like this: if you fly in from Birmingham, you'll get the last gate/if you blew in from Boston, no, you sure won't have to wait/ and I'm learning a little more every day about the power of the dollar and the people with white collars and the good old American way. I've noticed I don't get much help when they see my blue jeans/ some slick with a suit walks up/oh, can I help you please?..."

      Favoritism.Tall men and pretty women, Nob Hill and the bottoms. I call the physician "Doctor," the boss, "Mr," and the sales clerk, "Jimmy." It's the way we roll. It's part of us. I read of a holy man who was about to be elevated to a higher status... when an important member of his community died. It fell upon this holy man to conduct the funeral and it was a big deal in his village. Well, things went fine at the funeral service itself, but after the service this holy man turned down his "promotion," noting that he was not yet ready... because he had allowed the deceased man's status to affect his ministry. I found, he said, that I was more anxious than usual and when the palms of my hands started sweating, I knew I was not yet able to see people as God sees them. Status, money, titles, they affect all of us. Favoritism is intertwined with how we think... but IT'S NOT ALLOWED IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD! It is a sin, according to James. It violates the Image of God that each of us bears- the tall and the short, the rich and the poor, the gay and the straight, the black and the white, the old and the young, the urban and the rural, the educated and the uneducated, the Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, and the Muslim too. Each of us bears the image of God, and the Biblical record is clear. Genesis 1:27- So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them; Galatians 3:26f- So, in Christ Jesus we are all children of God... there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor male or female, for you are all one in Christ. And I would add, no rich nor poor, no black nor white, no old nor young, no big nor small, no any other way at all... in which we favor some people and discriminate against others!
      There is no favoritism or discrimination in the Kingdom. There are no whites-only cafes, no Alzheimers Memory centers, no cheap seats, no southeast bottoms, no second-rate citizens... not after what Christ did to tear down barriers and open wide the gates of GRACE... not with the Imago Dei within us... not with the Holy Spirit imbuing us with eyes that see Jesus as he stands in our food lines, sleeps in our shelters, lies in our nursing homes, or begs for a dollar as we pass by on the street. He may appear in farmer's overalls or a hoodie. He may appear with lock of blond hair or with dreadlocks. If we want to see Jesus, we need to look into the eyes of the men and women who need to experience His grace. If we want to manifest the Image of God that we bear, we will quit judging others and drop our holier-than-thou personas. Instead, we will throw a party when our prodigal son or daughter stumbles home; we will welcome others as we find them; and we will forgive and forgive and forgive, to the point where other people laugh at us. If we choose to show the world that we are "in Christ," we will tear down all barriers that prevent others- no matter what they look like or how much money they have- and open our hearts... so that the winds of grace, acceptance, and renewal blow freely and powerfully in all that we do.
      Over the years I've seen a number of "angels who flew to close to the ground" (to use Willie Nelson's words) and I've seen how they soared when they received God's acceptance, love, and grace. I've seen men and women, of all ages, sizes, and colors, find peace in who they are... even if they've spent their lives doubting themselves and never quite believing that God loves them simply because they bear His image! Pastor Lu was a pious man. He was born among the tulips in Pella, Iowa and he was reared in the Reformed Church of America. He came from a world that was mostly white and well-behaved. So it's not surprising that he was more than a little nervous when he walked into the Eppley Center to meet me for the first time on the 6th floor of the alcoholic's unit... but he visited me anyway. Without judgment, he welcomed me into his world and he invited me to begin a new life in Christ. He told me that God loved me and he acted as if he did too. He accepted me at a time when being accepted was what I needed most. Pastor Lu was a decent preacher, but he was a marvelous minister because he looked at every person he met through the lens of faith... and saw the image of God in others!
      There are people in our lives who are doing well and there are others who are struggling. We know people who are svelte and we know others, like me, are not. We know people who have risen to the heights of their careers and we know others who can't seem to get untracked. We know people who live exemplary lives and we know others who seem to be majoring in sin. We know old people who've forgotten too much and we know young people who haven't learned nearly enough. We know privileged white people who were born on 3rd base and we know people of color who would be absolutely great... if only someone would give them chance. We know people who are gay and we know people who are straight. They are all our brothers and sisters and each one of them bears the Image of God! Amen.