August 29, 2021
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-23, selected[1]
“Be doers of the word, and not
merely hearers” (James 1:22). This message from James may sound like common
sense, but it was considered scandalous by Martin Luther, the Protestant
Reformer. Luther called the Letter of James “an epistle of straw.”[2]
For Luther, the Letter of James did not fit into his doctrine of justification
by faith alone. What do I mean by that? Justification by faith is the
theological principle that salvation comes to an individual by God’s grace
through faith, apart from any works of merit. This is outlined by Paul in the
letter to the Romans. In other words, we are “saved” not by anything we do, but
only by faith in Jesus Christ. Luther had more appreciation for the
“theological” letters of Paul than for this letter of James, which focuses its
attention on the daily practice and acts or works of Christian life.
Of course, I think faith is very
important. It’s part of my job description. But perhaps James was reacting to
something he was experiencing in the early church. One commentary on James
explains: “For some, justification by faith meant having faith without a
commitment to others, without works. James, then, is trying to correct this
idea by introducing works as an important element in justification.”[3]
James saw a lack of integrity among those in the community to which he wrote.
He criticized those who thought of themselves as if they were isolated
individuals with no relationship to the wretchedness around them. He spoke out
against those who were quick to speak and to get angry, but did nothing to
change the circumstances that oppressed the poor, the orphan, and the widow.
We could offer that same
critique to contemporary Christianity. Many of the attributes James criticizes
are going on in churches today: hypocrisy, corruption, favoritism, gossip,
divisiveness, navel-gazing, and a focus on saving ourselves for heaven rather
than helping our neighbors escape the hell they are living in right now. If you
have a big building that survived a hurricane, but you don’t offer to shelter
those whose homes did not, I don’t think you actually have a church.
It is not only our failure to act, but also the words that
we choose that can undermine the labor of love, justice, and peace. James tells
us to “be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). We all
know that words spoken in the heat of anger are the ones we most often regret.
Words that are motivated by fear, pain, and frustration are often the most
destructive, and are a quick way to cause a break in our relationships. James
counsels us to slow down, to think before we speak, before we cause harm with
our mouths.
Jesus has a similar warning in the passage from Mark. It is
the things that come out of us, our words and actions, which can cause harm and
defile us. Racial slurs and stereotypes, labels that dehumanize and shame,
oversimplification, and outright deceit are poison that destroys community and
relationships, and eats away at us from the inside. We cannot be who we are
called to be when we allow the evil within our hearts to spill out of our
mouths. We cannot reflect the word of God unless we bridle our tongues, and
speak instead from the love and kindness that are also implanted in our hearts.
James must have sat through his fair share of contentious
gatherings, and maybe even a few political campaigns. He understood that unless
anger is transformed, unless it is tempered with patience, anger alone cannot
make things right. “Be quick to listen” (James 1:19), he says, because it is in
listening and in being listened to that we open ourselves to a welcoming,
trusting relationship with one another. It is hard work, especially for those
of us who are impatient, quick to judge, or have already made up our minds, to
listen, really listen, to the other person. Patient listening can, however, redirect
anger toward solving the problem and not just treating the symptoms.
When we look in the mirror, what
are we like? Are we “hearers of the word and not doers” (James 1:23)? Honestly,
we all fall short of perfection. I know I do. And that is one of the reasons
often given for why people are leaving the church: hypocrisy, and the way that
we fail to live up to our rhetoric. All are welcome here, but if your toddler
makes too much noise, or you haven’t showered recently, or your skin is covered
with tattoos, you will probably receive some “looks” if not an overt indication
that maybe you’re not really welcome.
What we need to remember, and to
practice with one another as the Church, is that we are not perfect. We are not
the Kingdom of God. We are not the community of saints. We are a community of
people who are trying to become saints. We are the broken people of God trying
to find the Kingdom. We are imperfect, “hearers who forget” (James 1:25),
wicked, sordid, angry sinners. But we’re trying. And we must be patient with
one another as we try. We must listen to one another, learn from one another,
and grow in faith with one another.
The Letter of James calls on us
to live up to a high standard. James is trying to elicit integrity from us,
that is, consistency in hearing, seeing, believing, speaking, and doing. We’ve
all heard the gospel stories, we’ve learned the Great Commandment; does that
change how we act? Do we really love God with all of our being? What do we do
that shows that? Do we really love our neighbors? What do we do that shows
that? How is the way that we live informed by our faith?
I have a friend who is an
aggressive driver. She was ordained a few years ago, and now she has a “clergy”
sticker in her car window. I remember her telling me how now she has to be
careful about how she reacts to the other drivers around her. I had one of
those stickers too, and let’s just say, I take a lot of deep, calming breaths
while driving.
There are evil intentions in our
hearts. There is “fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness,
deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly” (Mark 7:21-22). But, we
were created by “the Father of lights,” from whom we receive “every generous
act of giving, with every perfect gift” (James 1:17). These intentions are in
our hearts too: generosity, kindness, love, faithfulness, hope, respect, peace,
and truth. But we must do these things, not just hear them, not forget—when we
turn away from the divine mirror—that we have light inside us that is longing
to shine forth.
We have work to do. It is the
work that was begun long ago by those in the Old Testament who cared for the
widow, the orphan, the stranger. It was given a new life by Jesus of Nazareth,
who always found the pressing issues of those in need to be more important than
any dogma or fine theological point. It is the work of loving our neighbor
actively. It is the work of showing evidence of our faith through our actions. It
is the work of taking responsibility for our anger, learning to listen well,
and becoming builders of the community of Christ.
Our work is to move ourselves
and the world around us ever closer to becoming the realm of God. We are the
first fruits, the early signs of God’s new creation. We can embrace both the
good and evil intentions of our hearts, and take responsibility for our words
and our works. We can, with humility, accept our potential for construction and
destruction, and seek to develop the best in ourselves, in one another, and in our
community. In this way, together, we can transform the world. Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Luther’s Works, vol. 35, Word and Sacrament I (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1960), pp. 395-397.
[3]
Elsa Tamez, The Scandalous Message of
James: Faith Without Works Is Dead (New York, Crossroad, 1985, 2002), p.
53.
No comments:
Post a Comment