19 September 2010
Psalm 93, 96; Esther 3:1-4:3: James 1:19-27; Matt. 6:1-6,16-18

Mordecai, as a Jew, could not bow down and do obeisance to Haman, he was not the Lord’s anointed, he was simply a man of local honor. The entire culture seems to have been a respect based culture in which disrespect was punished severely, here by putting to death all the Jews and the first time by setting aside Queen Vashti for disrespecting the king. Haman has enough sense to know that it would be petty to frame the issue in terms of himself so he does it by playing to the king’s vanity, they won’t respect his orders, they only obey their king, their God. The ploy works and now the die is cast for the date on which this edict will take effect. There are 11 months to wait and to sort out what can be done.

Whatever you do, do unto the Lord. That would essentially sum up the Gospel reading today. What does it mean to do all these things in secret? If we do things unto the Lord then we have no reason for pride and we cannot receive acclaim from others. Much of what Jesus says here is also said by the prophets, particularly Isaiah. The people of God have always had a penchant for showing their religiosity and piety to the world, we are often proud of our humility. Jesus affirms all these things but tells the people not to emulate the religious leaders for they have received their reward from men for all they do. Some of the people I admire most are those whose charity is not known to others. Do we do what we do for the sake of vanity or because we love others as He loves them?

James focuses his epistle on doing what you believe, life and belief in concert with one another. Some accuse James of being “works oriented.” What we have tended to forget in our struggles with right doctrine over the past few decades is that our faith is not simply about doctrine, but about the change in our lives due to our faith. If believing that we have received eternal salvation, forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, and that Jesus’ life is an icon of perfect humanity, life as it is supposed to be lived, doesn’t cause us to change our own life here, its goals and aims, its preoccupations and its trajectory, then we don’t truly believe. In Jesus we see that our lives are to be poured out unto God for His glory and in His service and if we don’t take up the cross and follow then we cannot truly call ourselves Christians. It is never the works that save us, the works we do are a thankful response to grace.

O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.