Happy Halloween!  This week I heard a contest on the radio:  tell a scary story in five words or less.  Listeners called in with some great entries.

Sorry, we’re all out of coffee. That does make for a scary day!
I’m shopping with teenagers. That could make for a scary credit card bill!
Narrow staircase, no shoes, Legos. Whew!  I can feel that one!
Oven broke on Thanksgiving day. Or, similar, Forgot to thaw the turkey!

 

It is indeed possible to tell a pretty scary story in just a few words.  I think that is the premise behind the phrase, “Trick or treat!”  With those three words, children scare us into giving them candy, so we don’t have to suffer the consequences of them playing a trick on us!

James had a knack for telling scary stories in just a few words.  He is writing to early Christians, people who were pioneers in our faith, and listen to what he says to them:

You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. Wow, that’s a scary story!
You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly.  Who ever heard of PRAYING wrong?  Now that is a scary thought!
Cleanse your hands, you sinners. What were these early Christians up to?
Purify your hearts, you double minded. What were these early Christians focused on?
And perhaps worst of all, James says, “Adulterers!” He tells the early church that they are not being faithful to Christ, who loves them like a husband loves his wife.  They have betrayed the one who loves them most and best.

 

With that one word, James tells a very scary story, the basic story of humanity:  God loves us with a steadfast, faithful and true love.  But we are not able to return that kind of love to God.  That is a true, and if it weren’t for the grace of God, scary story.

Reading this section of scripture is like visiting a spiritual cardiologist, and finding out we have a blockage.  A blocked heart.  Talk about a scary story in five words or less!  Instead of loving the Lord our God with ALL our hearts, those early Christians were loving God with only a portion of their hearts.  Their hearts are divided, and James is urging them to repent—to unblock their hearts, and return to fully loving their Lord.

Early in my ministry, there was an older lady in my church, Lucille.  She had been a member there for ages and was deeply loved.  She hand-painted the nativity scene that was put on display every year at Christmas.  Her husband retired early from his job and worked as the church secretary for $1 a year.  They were salt of the earth kind of people.  You know the type.  When they asked you to help with a church event, it was almost impossible to say no.

So when Lucille asked me to accompany her to her cardiac catheterization procedure, I went.  It seemed like an odd request, because she had three daughters who lived in the area and would be there, too.  I wasn’t sure there was any special support I could offer.  But Lucille was insistent that she wanted me there.  I assumed it would be a long three hours in the waiting room, anxiously waiting to hear if Lucille’s heart blockages could be treated.

But after a short time, the cardiologist invited us to a viewing room where we could watch the whole procedure.  We could see on the screen, big sections of Lucille’s heart were dark because a blocked artery was keeping the blood from flowing there.  We watched as the doctor threaded a balloon into the vein with the blockage, and then slowly inflated the device.  Within a short time you could see the blood moving past the blockage, and the area that was once dark, became filled with little vessels and capillaries flowing with blood.  It was amazing!

Within a few days, Lucille was free of her chest pain.  She had a whole lot more energy.  She was able to do a lot more things.  Her heart was no longer suffocating, but was now fully alive, and fully able to do its work for her.  She received a new lease on life.

This is exactly what Jesus wants to do for us.  He wants to fix our broken hearts.  He wants to give us new life.  Whether our hearts are grieving because we have lost a loved one, or because we have sinned and lost part of ourselves, Jesus comes to make us whole.

Our key verse this morning is known as the Shema.  “Hear, O Israel:  The Lord your God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”  Those are the first words of faith learned by every Jew, in every place, for thousands of years now.  The Shema is the central teaching of Judaism.  It sums up everything that made the Hebrew people distinct in the ancient world:  there is One God, not many gods, and this One God is alone worthy of our complete devotion.  The Hebrew God wanted his people for himself.  Creator God did not want to share people’s hearts with those little g gods, or with idols, or with anything else that might compete for his people’s loyalty and devotion.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength–this command was recited every day by the Jewish people in Jesus’ day.  It would have been recited every day by the people James is addressing.  Clearly James is convinced that this central teaching of Judaism is a central teaching of Christianity, too.  God still desires our whole hearts.

Last week I had surgery to fix my deviated septum and reduce inflammation in my sinuses.  I’ve had trouble breathing through my nose for many years, and finally decided to try a mechanical solution so I don’t need as much medication.  The surgeon had good news for me—my blockages could be unblocked!  The bad news, though, is that sacrifice will be required in order to experience this healing.  I had to sacrifice a week of my life, a week lost to wooziness from pain medicine and discomfort from the procedure. I had to give up enjoying my life for ten days or so, in the hopes that I will be able to better enjoy my life in the days ahead.  Only time will tell if the results of the surgery were worth the sacrifice.

The good news of the gospel is that our spiritual blockages can be unblocked.  Yay!  The bad news, though, is that sacrifice will be required in order to experience this healing.  The cross, the central symbol of our faith, reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice.  But we need to sacrifice, too.  When I was in seminary, I had some classmates from different Christian traditions, and I was introduced to the term, “sacrifice of praise”.  That struck me as odd, because I generally enjoy worship.  It’s not a sacrifice for me to attend.  But that expression came about because in order to praise, we must sacrifice.  Sacrifice the fantasy that we are in charge.  Sacrifice the fantasy cultivate, as James says, “friendship with the world” and still be in good relationship with God.  That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun and enjoy the blessings of this world.  I plan to watch football on Sunday afternoon, and have some Halloween candy, and hopefully get a kick out of seeing some kids in great costumes.  We are called, though, to sacrifice our desire to have anything other than God rule in our hearts.

A blocked heart.  Talk about telling a scary story in five words or less!  Thanks be to God, there is a cure, and that cure is grace.  When we come to see our spiritual cardiologist, we can be sure that the Divine Physician treats us with pure compassion.  Mercy always triumphs over judgment.  But in order to receive this mercy, James says, we must submit ourselves to God.  The way to a pure and whole heart is through humility.  It’s remembering that we are not in charge.  We need God, not only for each and every breath here on earth, but also for a life that will extend beyond our time on earth.

The heart catheterization is a very common procedure in America, and you can find many videos of it on You Tube.  The transformation is immediate and amazing.  Unfortunately, when we visit our spiritual cardiologist, we do not always get such immediate results.  But don’t let that dissuade you.  It takes time to make a masterpiece.  If we continue to submit ourselves to God, God will lift us up. God gives grace to the humble.  God gives his very life blood to us!  May the grace and peace of Christ move through us in powerful and transforming ways, healing our hearts, and giving us communion with all the saints, now and forever.  In the name of Jesus, Amen.