James Week One - Walk the Talk

Reading: James 1:17-27

Preacher: Joshua Taylor

Comfort food, a cosy fire, home baking, a good series on Netflix.

All of us have different ways of coping with being in lockdown.

What is your go to for comfort?

You don’t have to ask me twice, to grab a good book, put on the kettle, get cosy on the couch and have a little “me time.” I quite enjoy quiet introspection and time to chill.

In fact, sometimes I wonder if for me this comes just a little too easily.

And then I picked up the book of James.

It’s like an ice-cold shower to my bubble of comfort.

A bracing verbal slap.

The book of James is a robust critique of any inkling that the life of the Christian should be comfortable, settled, predictable, or safe.

Rather it is a summons to learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus in a world that can feel like a dumpster fire. It is an invitation to unflinching loyalty and obedience to Jesus, and a life grounded in Him, and not to be tossed to and fro by what life throws at us.

James isn’t light reading.

It will disturb you. That’s guaranteed.

As Tim Mackie, from the Bible Project puts it “(James) is a beautifully crafted punch in the gut for those who want to follow Jesus”

And yet somehow at the same time I find the blunt clarity of this book a balm to the soul – an invitation to follow a saviour who isn’t scared of suffering and who brings healing and wholeness in the midst of the mess of life.

In fact, right now, the book of James feels just like what I need – a reminder of the call on my life to embody the good news of Jesus, to live it out, in a world that desperately needs hope.

So, I’m really looking forward to journeying together through this book for the next few weeks. I invite you to read it. To take time with it – to let it shake you up.

Today, our reading jumps in at verse 17, so I invite you to turn to James 1:17-27 with me.

Jerusalem & James - The context

James, who wrote this letter, was the brother of Jesus and the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

James wrote this letter particularly to Jewish followers of Jesus scattered throughout the Mediterranean world.

What we know about the church in Jerusalem is that they were living through extreme hardship. The faced famine and poverty. They also lived through great persecution and suffering.

We read about this in Acts chapter 8 which says: “And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.” (Acts 8:1)

James’ letter is grounded in suffering.

It is grounded in hardship.

It speaks of what it means for the Christian community to be faithful and resilient, trusting in God through hard times.

James opens the letter saying “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

James is part of a church suffering and in pain and he essentially says – let this be an opportunity for us to be resilient, grow in faith, and become all that God has made us to be.

How can James be so sure?

What gives James such confidence in the midst of hard times?

I think the clue is in verse 17 of chapter 1.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 

These words resonate deeply for me right now.

James makes the point that even in the midst of change and trouble, God is good.

The point that James makes is that while the world is changeable, while everything else is in flux – God is stable and steadfast.

You may not agree – you may wonder why if God is good there is so much suffering in this world.

However, James does not spend hours debating this point or trying to defend God’s honour in the face of suffering. So, in the spirit of his letter, I’m not going to do that in this sermon. (That’s a topic for another day)

However, the point that James asserts is that even though everything else changes and shifts – God is constant and faithful.  

James can only frame up suffering and trouble and hard times as an opportunity for growth in the much bigger picture of a God who has created this world, loves this world, and has not given up on this world.

Without this piece in the story – suffering has no meaning.

Yet, with the Christian story – suffering and trouble is set within the context of a much bigger story in which God has come to bring salvation and hope.

James calls God “the Father of lights.” This image is a picture of God as the creator of the stars and moon.

In him there is no variation or shadow of change. This is likely to refer to the changing patterns of the moon – it waxes and wanes, in contrast God doesn’t change – he is steadfast and sure.

Every good gift comes from him.

Apparently in one of the liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox church, James 1:17 is the last reading from Scripture before the worshippers leave the church.[1]

I wonder if this week we could learn this one by heart.

I challenge you, (and myself) to let this one sink into our bones right now:

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

In those words, we can find genuine and true comfort.

James doesn’t make this point as an armchair philosopher; he writes this from a community that is bruised and broken and yet knows the love of Jesus walking among them bringing new life and hope.

James makes the point that in the midst of the decay and brokenness in the world, God is bringing about new creation and his people, the church are called to be the first fruits of his creatures.

James’ letter is a call for the Christian church to grow to be like Jesus so that the world may know the goodness of God. What we find through the letter is a collection of wisdom pulled together that forms a picture of what it looks like to be a Christian.

WALK THE TALK

In verse 19-27 James challenges the church to “walk the talk”, to be “doers of the word not only hearers.”

In Luke 11 Jesus says the same saying “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Jesus and James know that there can easily be a difference between what theologians call our “espoused theology” and our “operant theology.”

For instance, my espoused theology might be that God is generous and therefore calls us to be generous. This is what I espouse, what I say.

And at the same time my operant theology could be exemplified by the fact that I spend all of my money on myself on new clothes and gadgets that I enjoy.

James exposes this kind of clash in our lives, and challenges it.

When James talks about “the word” he is referring to God’s promises and commandments to his people, especially as revealed in Jesus’ teachings.

He outlines what it looks like to be a doer of the word.

James highlights how the church can walk the talk in three ways.  

1) Wise and loving speech

2) Helping the helpless 

3) Pure & Wholehearted worship of God

These three themes will set the tone for the whole book of James.

I think they are invaluable for us to hear today when we think about what it might mean to walk in the way of Jesus.

Wise and loving speech

James borrows from the wisdom tradition of the Bible, saying “Be quick to hear, slow to speak.”

Proverbs 17:28 says: “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

James insists that followers of Jesus should learn to use their speech wisely.

In a world of sound bites and salacious gossip, biting our tongue and being willing to listen is a profound way to show the love of Jesus.

James knows that words are important. If unrestrained they quickly lead to violence.

I wonder how our words right now might be wise and loving?

I’ve noticed so many arguments and opinions online about lockdown and vaccinations. The internet has given everyone a platform, and made it hard to tell fact from fiction. Misinformation is rife.

How might followers of Jesus bear witness to God’s love through wise and loving speech? I think the opportunities to show the goodness of God are profound in this particular area.

What if Christians were known as those who were willing to listen deeply, and to speak thoughtfully and only when necessary?

Helping the helpless

As well as emphasizing the importance of our words, James says that true religion is “to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction.”

James draws on the great tradition of the prophets like Isaiah a who implored the people saying:

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” (Isaiah 1:17)

James highlights the widows and orphans as does Isaiah because in the ancient world these were the most vulnerable people in society. There was no social welfare – women and children often would find themselves in vulnerable situations without support.

The point is this – followers of Jesus are called to help the helpless, whoever that may be in our context. It may be the lonely neighbour down the street with no support, it may be immigrants finding their way in a new country, needing help and a warm welcome. It may be the homeless, or those suffering with mental illness, rejected by their family.

At times its hard to know where to start.

We can so easily be overwhelmed by so many people who need our help.

This week a really practical and helpful article by Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber where she asks herself some questions to clarify how she can contribute and care rather than being paralyzed by the massive need of the world.

She says this:

“What’s MINE to do, and what’s NOT mine to do?

What’s MINE to say and what’s NOT mine to say?

And the third one is harder:

What’s MINE to care about and what’s NOT mine to care about?

To be clear – that is not to say that it is not worthy to be cared about by SOMEONE, only that my effectiveness in the world cannot extend to every worthy to be cared about event and situation.  It’s not an issue of values, it’s an issue of MATH.

So, I try and remember, 1. We are still living through a global pandemic and that means the baseline of anxiety and grief is higher than ever and shared by everyone. 2. The world is on fire literally and metaphorically. But 3. I only have so much water in my bucket to help with the fires. The more exposure I have to the fires I have NO WATER to fight, the more likely I am to get so burned, and inhale so much smoke that I cannot help anymore with the fires close enough to fight once my bucket is full again.

So, I try and tell myself that It’s ok to focus on one fire.”[2]

I think this is really helpful.

Pure & Wholehearted worship of God

The third and final point James makes about walking the talk is that we are called to pure and wholehearted worship.

James says, “Keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Taken the wrong way I think this can lead to an exclusive mindset in which Christians isolate themselves in a holy bubble.

Rather, James’ message corresponds with his idea of being undivided in our loyalties. As Jesus teachers, one cannot serve two masters. There is an invitation in this letter that we will see unfold – those who follow Jesus are called to do so with wholeheartedness and undivided devotion.

To be unstained by the world today, for me, looks like not letting the cynicism that characterizes so much of our thinking cloud my worldview. To be a person of hope, knowing that God is good and has good plans for this world. Of course, that isn’t always easy to do, but it is the invitation here from James.

So, this morning as we begin to read James together, we are invited to see how Jesus stirs us from our inclinations to comfort and instead seeks to build a resilient faith within us.

My hope and prayer is that as we explore this book together that God may give us courage in our faith.

[1] Luke Timothy Johnson, The Anchor Bible Series: James.

[2] Nadia Bolz-Weber, “If you Can’t Take in Anymore, There’s a Reason.”

Sourced here: https://thecorners.substack.com/p/if-you-cant-take-in-anymore-theres?fbclid=IwAR0Jgbp0hTWTQyHXYEpRgvgHSfSDey30erugzCTirwRlja1fwHuPIRdj4eI