It doesn’t matter if it is the right wing, or the left wing, that is injured.  A bird needs two wings to fly.  When you see that tell-tale sign, a robin hopping on the ground, one wing drooping a little bit, you know.  That bird is in trouble.

            But in our Christian lives, I think that many of hop around like that bird.  One wing strong, and the other one weak.  One wing up, and the other one down.  We are unable to trying soar, to reach amazing heights, unless we strengthen both of our wings.

            I’m talking about faith versus works, a debate that goes all the way back to the beginning of our faith.  We hear Paul proclaim that you are saved by faith and not through works.  And the response we hear from the book of James, “Faith without works is dead.”  And many of us limp around with one strong wing, while the other one droops to the ground.  Faith versus works – how can we strengthen both?

            Martin Luther called the book of James an “epistle of straw.”  He declared that it was easily consumed by fire, and when the straw was burned away, you did not have the pure gold nugget of the gospel remaining, you had nothing.  In other words, according to Martin Luther, the book of James was not worth much.  Luther had his reasons for not liking this book.  First of all, Christ is not emphasized in the book of James.  The words “Jesus Christ” are only found twice in the entire epistle.  Furthermore, there is not one mention of the cross or Jesus’ death.  There is no mention of baptism or the important of believing in Jesus.  The word “grace” does not occur at all in the book.  No Christ, no grace, no atonement, no death on the cross, no baptism.  No wonder Luther called it an epistle of straw!

            There is another reason Luther immensely disliked this book.  Its emphasis is on works.  Luther believed that we are justified by grace alone and not by any works that we do ourselves.  But James writes that we are justified by works and not by faith along.  James says you need to do the work of God in the world in order to be a Christian.  And Martin Luther simply does not agree.           

            But when we look closely at our scriptures for today, and at the history of our Christian tradition, I would argue that they are both right.  We find salvation, hope, and joy, when we strengthen both of our wings, when we engage in works of justice, peace, and love, and when we live in faith, resting in the grace of God.  We need both wings – faith and works, labor and rest, grace and responsibility.

            Now some of us really, really like James.  We don’t need the emphasis on Christ, on grace, on atonement, on the cross, on baptism.  What we need is a strong rallying cry to do the work of God in the world.  And that is exactly what James offers us.  Get up, stand up, work on behalf of the oppressed.  We hear it directly in our scripture reading, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.”  And since we know that “orphans and widows” is a broad category intended to apply to anyone who is oppressed or impoverished, we know exactly what to do.  In order to truly serve God, we must work on behalf of those who are hungry, alienated, ostracized, or exploited.

            The major problem in James’ church was that he was a part of a wealthy congregation.  And many of these wealthy Christians wanted to just believe, to just have faith, to just love Jesus, and call it good.  But James said that is not enough.  There are more statements against wealthy Christians in the book of James, this tiny little epistle, than in any other book of the Old or New Testament.  James declares, “It is not true, it is not the real thing, when you call yourself a Christian, and don’t follow Christ with your own two feet.”  For James, the lessons of Christ are not ones to be studied, they are ones to be lived.  Discipleship is about what we do with our feet!    

As Peter Rhea Jones has noted, this letter “could actually bring off a renewing of the Christian life. There will be a recurring temptation to tame the powerful social message of this flaming letter, to domesticate it and calm its biting, all too relevant message into palatable terms. If this message of James is allowed to go out unmuffled, it will rattle the stained glass windows.”

             It is absolutely true that this message is radical: We are to be doers of the Gospel, and not simply those who hear it.  We are to care for the most vulnerable.  Only then are we truly following Jesus.  
This wing is absolutely important.  But I would suggest that there are many in this congregation, and many in the world, who do follow Jesus and walk in solidarity with those who are oppressed.  I would suggest that many of us offer our time, money, energy, and efforts on behalf of social justice.  I would suggest that many of us have wings that are strong when it comes to doing works.  And therefore, I would suggest that there are some of us who need to invest some time in strengthening our other wing, the wing of faith.

And that is where we turn to Isaiah.  And the five first words of our scripture reading are worth listening to, “For I am about to…”  In this text, it is God who says this.  “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.”  And then again, “Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy.”  In the first two sentences, we hear this three times.  I am about to create, I am creating, and I am about to create.  It is God doing this work of justice and peace, it is God creating a world of love and joy.

Now, some of us love the idea behind this text.  Trust that our God is at work in the world, trust that our God is creating something new, trust that our God is in charge.  We have faith that God’s love is stronger than death.  We have faith that God’s hope is stronger than despair.  We have faith that God’s promises will hold true.  And so we read this text from Isaiah, and we envision this future: where weeping will be heard no more, where children will not die, where we will all enjoy the fruits of our labor.  We have faith in God and we trust that justice and peace will reign in this world.

            When we listen to these words in Isaiah, we realize that it is not all up to us.  We see that God is always creating, always working in the world, and that the salvation of the world, justice and peace and joy, do not rely solely upon our own efforts.  We can relax and rest in our faith.  We can trust that God is at work, and we do not need to do all the work ourselves.  Faith becomes as important as works.

            This weekend, we celebrate Labor Day, and it is a time when we are supposed to reflect upon the meaning of labor, and the efforts of so many people who fought to help us achieve balance between rest and work, to achieve justice for those who labor.

            The celebration of Labor Day emerged out of conflict.  In the late 1800s, conflicts between the government and the labor movement were intense and often violent.  During the Pullman strike between labor unions and railroads, a number of workers were killed by the United States military.  In response to this abuse of power, Labor Day emerged, as a way to reconcile the labor movement with the U.S. government.    

            Over time, the labor movement, often in partnership with Christian leaders, became the source of many of the benefits that we enjoy today.  Vacation, holidays, weekends, workers compensation, and health insurance are among the accomplishments of the labor movement.  Early on, the Social Gospel movement affirmed that faith and religious values should plan a major role in securing justice for working people.  

Labor Day is more than symbolic. It reflects the prophetic concern for justice for the hardworking, poor, and vulnerable. It is part of our Christian tradition.  In fact, within our own denomination, the United Church of Christ, we have a strong history of standing with the Labor Movement, and advocating for the rights of low-wage workers.

In California’s Coachella Valley, grape growers were trying to break up a strike called by the then fledgling United Farm Workers.  Two thousand miles away in St. Louis, at the United Church of Christ General Synod 9 in 1973, delegates were debating how best to respond to an urgent call from Cesar Chavez when the decision was made, "Let's go to California."  So it was that 95 volunteers, supported through the gifts of UCC people, chartered a DC-9 and quickly found themselves face to face with what one participant described as a line of armed thugs. In tense but nonviolent witness, the cross won out, and the strike succeeded in securing rights for some of the most marginalized people in our country.  They put their feet where their faith was, and they lived out their love for God by loving some of God’s most vulnerable children.

In the work of the Labor Movement, we see the importance of both wings.  The work that is done to secure the rights of other people, and the rest that we all need in order to survive, and thrive, in this world.  On Labor Day, we do rest.  We take time to enjoy the world, to enjoy one another, to relax and unwind.  But this wouldn’t be possible without the tireless work of human beings, committed to achieving God’s justice in this world.  This wouldn’t be possible without an enormous amount of work!  

The labor movement is not a Christian movement, although countless numbers of Christians have dedicated their lives to this work.  But the values of the Labor Movement are values that can help us to have balance in our Christian lives.  We need to work for justice. Yes, James is right, faith without works is dead.  But we also need rest, time to take care of ourselves, and trust that someone else can do the work for a little while.  For people of faith, we can rest, because we can trust that God is in charge, and it does not all rely on us.  But at the same time, we must work, for justice is achieved when we labor together.

Barbara Brown Taylor writes about how hard it is to find balance between faith and work, between labor and rest.  “I had never been any good at saying no,” she writes.  “No, I won’t.  No, not today.  Phrases like these struck me as the antithesis of the gospel.  When did Jesus ever say no to anyone who needed something from him?  To follow his example meant skipping meals in order to tend the people lined up at the door.  It meant abandoning your plans to get away and rest for awhile when you saw how many people had followed you to your resting place.  It meant giving to everyone who begged from you, going the extra mile, and handing your cloak to someone who had only asked for your shirt….

“I decided to take a rest from trying to be Jesus.  No, I won’t.  No, not today.  Today I will consent to be an extra in God’s drama, someone off to the side watching the scenery unfold with self-forgetfulness that is not available to me at center stage.  Today I will bear the narcissistic wound of knowing that there are others who can say my lines when I am not there, including some who can say them better, and that while God may welcome my willingness to play a part, this show will go on with or without me, for as long as God has breath to bring more players to life.  Today I will take a break from trying to save the world and enjoy my blessed swath of it instead.  I will give thanks for what is, instead of withholding my praise until all is as it should be.”

We need someone to be center stage.  Center stage in the work for justice and peace, center stage in acts of grace and mercy, center stage in the struggle for equality, love, and compassion.  But we also need to be compassionate towards ourselves.  Sometimes, we can step back and let someone else play that part.  Sometimes we need to bear that narcissistic wound of knowing that there are others who can say our lines.

We need both wings in order to soar.  We need faith in God that allows us to trust that all will be well, that God can work through other people, and not just us.  A faith in God that allows us to rest.  But we also need works – a faith that is lived out in deeds of justice, in a life of compassion, in feet that march towards peace and equity.  We need to be the hands of God in the world, the feet of Jesus, the presence of the Spirit.  We cannot just sit around and believe.  We need both wings.  

So which wing do you need to strengthen?  Where do you need a little exercise?  Do you need to work on your faith?  Then lean back, rest, and let God be God for awhile!  Do you need to work on your works?  Then take action, get on your feet, say yes, and choose to be God’s hands today!

No matter which wing you need to strengthen right now, God will help you to fly.  So let us work, and let us rest.  Let us labor, and let us trust.  And let us all soar on eagle’s wings, lifted by the love of God.  Amen.