Don't judge people by their covers
Commentary
Object:
Shorthand might be an efficient way to take quick notes, but it’s a lousy way to typecast people. Yet the temptation is there. One glance, and we act as if we know someone’s complete history. These scriptures invite us to avoid stereotyping individuals based on their economic, ethnic, or cultural background, especially when it comes to the poor or the outcast. Proverbs invites us to see the poor as those favored by God. James wants us to see the outsider as the face of his brother Jesus. And as for the gospel passage, this seemingly very audacious text shows Jesus temporarily limiting someone’s access to God’s grace based on their ethnic background -- at least until someone calls him on it.
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
The book of Proverbs can be hard to get a handle on -- it consists mostly of strings of sayings from a variety of sources, some of which have been identified as beyond the biblical tradition. There is no plot or thread. It is quite different from other books of wisdom such as Ecclesiastes, which has the framework at least of a monologue by an individual.
Wisdom literature is interactive. It’s kind of like medicine on the shelf -- we should read the directions and decide if this particular “medicine” is applicable to us. One should not only read a proverb -- one should also wrestle with it.
It is thought by many that the book of Proverbs as we have it was compiled as a training manual for young men who would end up in the court. It teaches one how to interact with both the powerful and the powerless in order to be successful.
There are several styles of proverbs. The first two readings consist of two separate proverbs, while the third is a couplet containing a single connected thought. That final reading expresses a thought that is consistent with the rest of Proverbs, and also with the gospels -- God is the advocate for the poor. If you take advantage of those without money or power, you are directly challenging God! Verse 2 places poor and rich on an equal footing. Verse 9 invites those in the court -- and those of us who are part of the first world -- to recognize that generosity is not an onerous obligation but an opportunity for blessing.
By contrast, injustice and anger are counterproductive tactics (v. 8), because what is to be prized more than station, pride of place, and titles are a good name and good relationships. It is too easy for Christians, like the general population, to accept the anecdote as typical of a particular economic, social, or ethnic group. It takes work to see people as people.
It’s worth it.
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
The letter of Jacob (which comes to us as James in English, traveling through the Italian form of the name, Giacomo) contains more echoes of the words of Jesus than any book of the New Testament other than the gospels themselves. This is not surprising. It purports to come from the pen of a brother of Jesus who, according to various verses in the New Testament, was at first skeptical of the ministry of our Lord. After a special appearance from his brother following the resurrection, he became the leader of the Jerusalem church. The nickname for the believers in Jerusalem was “The Poor.” James was admired beyond the confines of the Jewish Christian community of Jerusalem, and when he was murdered by the religious authorities in the year 62 AD he was mourned by nearly all.
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of echoes of the words of his older brother Jesus in this book, so we might well suspect that there are also echoes of sayings of Jesus that are not recorded in the gospels. In this passage James warns believers against giving favorable preference to the rich and well-dressed. Certainly Jesus during his ministry reached out to the poor, the suffering and sick, and the outcasts, while remaining a thorn in the side of rich and powerful.
There is some question whether this letter is the earliest document in the New Testament, unless perhaps Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians can claim the right of first place. One can see one side of the argument that challenged the early Christian church, that of the question of works and faith. One might even say that James is challenging if not the apostle Paul then his followers, who may have taken James’ assertion that we are saved by faith and not by works to task. What good is faith if it does not result in works? The wry, even sarcastic comment that wishing the poor and suffering to enjoy a good meal and warmth when we refuse to see that they are fed and clothed demonstrates that our profession of faith is empty and meaningless.
Mark 7:24-27
Care for the poor, seeing people as they really are, avoiding stereotypes -- good lessons all. In this astounding story Jesus seems to be caught in the same trap as many of us -- that of failing to see someone as a person. Prior to this passage Mark has shown Jesus healing not only the daughter of the rich religious worker Jairus, but also the poor woman with the flow of blood which made her ritually unclean and also broke. Jesus even shows respect to a centurion and heals his servant. But in this story it almost looks as if Jesus was being rude. He brushes aside a Syrophoenician woman’s request for her daughter to be healed. What is interesting is that the woman speaks back to Jesus and gives as good as she gets. One can say that Jesus was demonstrating the stupidity of prejudice. Or maybe one might say that Jesus acted this way as an object lesson for his disciples. Or one can say that Jesus, being fully human as well as fully divine, needed to grow like all of us into full discipleship.
Although in our culture dogs are often family, Jesus is using the term in an insulting manner! What is fascinating is that the Syrophoenician woman does not accept this label. She seems to push Jesus beyond his comfort zone so that he comes to see her as one worthy of praise and help. He heals her daughter. I like to say that no one is zapped dead by lightning by talking back to God -- not Job, not the prophet Habakkuk, and not the Syrophoenician woman!
This may not be comfortable for some who will hear your message -- or to you. At the very least, however, the passage challenges us to push our ministries beyond comfortable boundaries to include those on the margins or behind.
This kind of mixing among Jews and Gentiles was bound to happen, because in Mark Jesus crosses back and forth into Gentile territory and back. Certainly those boundaries would not have been so clear anyway because Galilee was in the midst of diverse populations. Ministry to God’s people, regardless of shared or unshared backgrounds, is possible when we live where God’s people can be found.
If nothing else, allow yourself to be pushed by this text to see people as real people and not as labels.
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
The book of Proverbs can be hard to get a handle on -- it consists mostly of strings of sayings from a variety of sources, some of which have been identified as beyond the biblical tradition. There is no plot or thread. It is quite different from other books of wisdom such as Ecclesiastes, which has the framework at least of a monologue by an individual.
Wisdom literature is interactive. It’s kind of like medicine on the shelf -- we should read the directions and decide if this particular “medicine” is applicable to us. One should not only read a proverb -- one should also wrestle with it.
It is thought by many that the book of Proverbs as we have it was compiled as a training manual for young men who would end up in the court. It teaches one how to interact with both the powerful and the powerless in order to be successful.
There are several styles of proverbs. The first two readings consist of two separate proverbs, while the third is a couplet containing a single connected thought. That final reading expresses a thought that is consistent with the rest of Proverbs, and also with the gospels -- God is the advocate for the poor. If you take advantage of those without money or power, you are directly challenging God! Verse 2 places poor and rich on an equal footing. Verse 9 invites those in the court -- and those of us who are part of the first world -- to recognize that generosity is not an onerous obligation but an opportunity for blessing.
By contrast, injustice and anger are counterproductive tactics (v. 8), because what is to be prized more than station, pride of place, and titles are a good name and good relationships. It is too easy for Christians, like the general population, to accept the anecdote as typical of a particular economic, social, or ethnic group. It takes work to see people as people.
It’s worth it.
James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17
The letter of Jacob (which comes to us as James in English, traveling through the Italian form of the name, Giacomo) contains more echoes of the words of Jesus than any book of the New Testament other than the gospels themselves. This is not surprising. It purports to come from the pen of a brother of Jesus who, according to various verses in the New Testament, was at first skeptical of the ministry of our Lord. After a special appearance from his brother following the resurrection, he became the leader of the Jerusalem church. The nickname for the believers in Jerusalem was “The Poor.” James was admired beyond the confines of the Jewish Christian community of Jerusalem, and when he was murdered by the religious authorities in the year 62 AD he was mourned by nearly all.
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of echoes of the words of his older brother Jesus in this book, so we might well suspect that there are also echoes of sayings of Jesus that are not recorded in the gospels. In this passage James warns believers against giving favorable preference to the rich and well-dressed. Certainly Jesus during his ministry reached out to the poor, the suffering and sick, and the outcasts, while remaining a thorn in the side of rich and powerful.
There is some question whether this letter is the earliest document in the New Testament, unless perhaps Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians can claim the right of first place. One can see one side of the argument that challenged the early Christian church, that of the question of works and faith. One might even say that James is challenging if not the apostle Paul then his followers, who may have taken James’ assertion that we are saved by faith and not by works to task. What good is faith if it does not result in works? The wry, even sarcastic comment that wishing the poor and suffering to enjoy a good meal and warmth when we refuse to see that they are fed and clothed demonstrates that our profession of faith is empty and meaningless.
Mark 7:24-27
Care for the poor, seeing people as they really are, avoiding stereotypes -- good lessons all. In this astounding story Jesus seems to be caught in the same trap as many of us -- that of failing to see someone as a person. Prior to this passage Mark has shown Jesus healing not only the daughter of the rich religious worker Jairus, but also the poor woman with the flow of blood which made her ritually unclean and also broke. Jesus even shows respect to a centurion and heals his servant. But in this story it almost looks as if Jesus was being rude. He brushes aside a Syrophoenician woman’s request for her daughter to be healed. What is interesting is that the woman speaks back to Jesus and gives as good as she gets. One can say that Jesus was demonstrating the stupidity of prejudice. Or maybe one might say that Jesus acted this way as an object lesson for his disciples. Or one can say that Jesus, being fully human as well as fully divine, needed to grow like all of us into full discipleship.
Although in our culture dogs are often family, Jesus is using the term in an insulting manner! What is fascinating is that the Syrophoenician woman does not accept this label. She seems to push Jesus beyond his comfort zone so that he comes to see her as one worthy of praise and help. He heals her daughter. I like to say that no one is zapped dead by lightning by talking back to God -- not Job, not the prophet Habakkuk, and not the Syrophoenician woman!
This may not be comfortable for some who will hear your message -- or to you. At the very least, however, the passage challenges us to push our ministries beyond comfortable boundaries to include those on the margins or behind.
This kind of mixing among Jews and Gentiles was bound to happen, because in Mark Jesus crosses back and forth into Gentile territory and back. Certainly those boundaries would not have been so clear anyway because Galilee was in the midst of diverse populations. Ministry to God’s people, regardless of shared or unshared backgrounds, is possible when we live where God’s people can be found.
If nothing else, allow yourself to be pushed by this text to see people as real people and not as labels.
