Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Back in 1966 when our family first moved here to the ‘Rocket City,’ you could spot them from a mile away. The ‘NASA men’ were easily identified. White dress shirt, skinny black tie, black dress pants, black shoes, and pocket protector in place full of pens, mechanical pencils, and a slide rule. To be honest with you, they were very intimidating for an eight-year-old boy to encounter. That was the way they dressed every day for work as they engaged in the mission to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade (remember the challenge from President John F. Kennedy in 1961?). These guys were anything but casual. The business they were in was deadly serious, as would be horribly illustrated in 1967 with the fiery deaths of Apollo astronauts Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee. ‘Casual’ would get someone killed.
Of course, these days the ‘NASA men’ don’t look the same. While they are still seriously involved in the risky business of space, fashion has changed significantly for them as it has for virtually everyone. ‘Casual Friday,’ once a novel idea, has been expanded to all the days of the workweek and to every profession under the sun. Nowadays it’s not just the rocket boys, but even the bankers, lawyers, and doctors have ‘gone casual’ (my apologies to any unnamed family members and Church Officers!). Now whether or not this is a good thing will have to be determined by someone much more astute than I am. But what I do know—what is irrefutable—is the fact that the ‘casual’ revolution has conquered the Church as well.
All around town we see those signs that advertise ‘Casual Worship’ services (I would suppose that this is in opposition to ‘Serious Worship’ services). And this trend is represented in every denomination, even ours. Pulpits, once a universal symbol of the authority of God’s Word, have been replaced with barstools, the transcendent emblem of ‘cool.’ Sermons (the very word is said to be way too authoritarian, too ‘preachy’ for our casual culture) have been replaced by ‘talks’ or ‘teachings.’ Suits and ties once worn by serious Ministers of the Word and Sacraments have been replaced with jeans, hoodies, custom tees, and tatted-up biceps. And apparently, all of this—which is done ostensibly in the name of evangelism and cultural relevance—is propelled by the (idolatrous?) desire to make people feel comfortable. But is this good? Is it helpful? Does it please the Lord? Has the casual revolution served the interests of the Gospel and the glory of God, or will it eventually give way to disaster for the Church?
I bring all of this up today because this is the subject James, the brother of Jesus, broaches in his Epistle—James 1:22-25. His immediate concern is with those believers who take a ‘casual’ approach to the Word and to the things of the Kingdom of God. Embedded within his sobering exhortation to “be doers of the Word” (v. 22) is the simple illustration of the man who “looks intently at his natural face in a mirror” (v. 23). But his intense looking at himself in the glass is not really all that serious after all. For he soon “forgets” what he saw reflected back at him in the mirror. He only took a ‘casual’ glance at himself, and then promptly went about his business unaffected, unchanged, and unmoved. James says that if we are like that when we hear the Word of God, then we are simply “deceiving ourselves” about our Christianity, about our love for Christ, and about our commitment to His eternal Kingdom (v. 22). A ‘casual approach’ to the Word will do great harm indeed. It could very easily kill your soul.
This coming Lord’s Day we will take a careful and deliberate look at this passage. To the degree that we approach it in humility and with spiritual sobriety, the Lord will teach us all about putting the Word into action. And oddly enough, we will even discover a certain blessedness and joy in our ‘serious’ approach the things of His Church and Kingdom.
Let us now prepare our hearts to come before the Lord, not casually, but with the blessedly sobering expectation that our King will actually be there to meet with us. And as we find ourselves in His majestic and awesome presence, He will sound His Holy Word—“the perfect law, the law of liberty” (v. 25)— that brings light and life to all who believe!
I love you all, and can’t wait to worship our Savior and Lord with you this Sunday!
Seriously His and yours,
Mike
Announcements
Youth Bible Study for all of our Middle and High School students and guests resumes this Sunday from 4:30-6:30 at the Church House. Contact Mr. Ken Burnett for more information.
Our next New Members and Inquirers Classes will be held on Sunday September 11, and Sunday September 18, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM at the Church. Both classes are required for membership. Registration is available in the Narthex.