All The World's A Stage - August 30, 2015

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James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

"All the world's a stage, and All the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances." So said William Shakespeare in his play As You Like It.
All the world's a stage. At home we play our roles as parents and children, brothers and sisters. At work we take on the duties assigned to us, hoping to please our superiors. Within the community we assume responsibilities and interact with others. And yes here at church people fill a variety of roles.
It is natural and normal for us to be aware of how others perceive us, like actors who respond to the audience's laughter, boos, or even snores. In and of itself there's nothing wrong with that for we live and respond to each other.

All the world's a stage. Sometimes, however, our actions can become solely for show. When actions do not match a person's words we call them hypocrites. The Greek word means an actor.
Sadly our lives are filled with examples of people who have a disconnect between what they say and what they do. Bill Cosby has spoken to black teens about the importance of the role of the father within a family. Since many black families lack an involved father I thought Cosby's words were well said and that he was just the person to say them. Now we learn that Mr. Crosby groomed women to trust him and then took advantage of them sexually. Suddenly his advice to young black men lacks credibility. He seems like a hypocrite, as well as a sexual predator.
Many years ago my husband lived in Hamilton, Ohio. The mayor of the town took a strong and public stand against pornography. Then one night the police were called to a motel where they found him in a compromising position with, well, shall we say a professional woman. Ask Doug for the details, which are not appropriate for this sermon. The mayor was a hypocrite whose public stand was merely an act.
In today's Gospel lesson, Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees because his disciples do not observe the purity laws of the Hebrew Bible which called for ritual washing. Jesus in turn challenges the Pharisees, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'" He points out, "There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."
Pharisees get a bad rap in the Bible. They were not bad people. In fact, they were the leaders of the synagogue. Today they would be the active church members who come to church every week, support it with their pledges, and volunteer when needed. I am grateful for all of you.
The problem with Pharisees, first or twenty-first century, is that so often we can get so intent on the outer show of faith that we forget about the inner connection with God. All the world's a stage. We can be hypocrites, though we may never make the headlines or do the kinds of things that a Bill Cosby has done. We too can have a disconnect between the moral values we espouse and what we practice. We can distort our sacred teaching about the Truth and substitute ourselves in its place.
Our reading from James calls us from hypocrisy to integrity: "Be doers of the Word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the Word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like."
Several years ago at a meeting of the Moscow Interfaith Association, one person was promoting an event called "Finding The Center," The host church where we met had provided some snacks including a new version of Oreo cookies, which were just the chocolate wafers without the cream. "I guess we do need to find the center," I commented.
The center or core of our lives is based in God. Our lesson from James begins, "Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights." All that we have and all that we are is based in God. Remembering who we are in God both humbles and centers us.
Finding our center in God moves our attention from what we look like to others to who we are as God's children. Instead of worrying about what the reviews will say in the paper the next morning we focus on the script itself. The core cannot be divided, only strengthened.
Jesus' discussion with the Pharisees notes that sin does not come from outward impurity, it comes from within. We think a sin before we do it. Thought gives rise to deed. James notes how often people are quick to speak and quick to anger. He calls us instead to be slow to speak and anger and quick to listen. With our center based in God our inner spirituality gives rise to outward morality which is consistent with what we say. Faith then is not an act put on to impress others but a life lived with God. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus advised people, "Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door." "When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." Prayer and giving are thus between you and God and not a show put on the impress others. Faith is not an act. It is a life lived with God.
That life lived with God calls us to our relationships with others, to the other actors in the drama, especially the ones with bit parts which are so easily ignored. Over and over the Bible talks about true religion or faith. James says, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God . . . is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." Centuries earlier Isaiah had said, "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, . . . Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house?" And Micah said, "He has told you what is good, and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."
Faith is lived out today as we care for those who struggle in life, as we welcome those who are different from us, as we learn to call all people brothers and sisters, as we live in a way that recognizes all lives matter.
Integrity begins as we recognize our need of God. "I can't do this on my own," we say and turn to God for the strength to do justice, to give up our worry about how we look to others and respond to where God is leading us.
Integrity is furthered as we develop complete inner honesty. In the words of Alcoholics Anonymous we conduct "a searching and fearless moral and spiritual inventory of ourselves." We look for the ways that our outer actions do not match either the words that we say or even more the inner call from God.
And then we turn back again to God. We meet with the author of the Script. We make the time each day to immerse ourselves in prayer. John Wesley spent an hour each day in prayer, waking at four or five in the morning to meet with his Creator, before embarking on the tasks before him. He read the Bible, what he called the Book of Life.
Christians the world over have made that choice. Realistically, the night owls among us may find that taking that time in the evening is for them more productive than getting up early in the morning. Parents of young children may find that nap time is their only chance. When you do it is not as important as that you do it.
With the strength gained from God we can then reach out in love and mercy to the world.
All the world's a stage? Ah, the drama of faith goes on. Truly, the world is our parish. Let us be doers of the Word.