Doing the Word

James 1.17-27

17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. 26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

NOTE: The Greek Text of James 1.17-27 follows the Sermon.

In nomine Domini. Amen.

The Letter of James. 108 verses of encouragement for the practice of responsible action amid the complicated realities of life.

The Letter of James — written to give wisdom to the followers of Jesus.

The Letter of James — composed to answer the question “how can we be faithful in the world? How can we make a difference? How can we put into action this overwhelming thing called faith?

The Letter of James — it reads more like a sermon or an essay than (let us say) the Letter of Paul to the Romans.

The Letter of James — Instead of being placed in the New Testament in the category of “Catholic Epistles” (a term that dates from the 4th Century C.E. and means simply “general” or “universal” letters that have something to do with the church, something to do with the community of the followers of Jesus, like I & II Peter, I, II, III John, and Jude) — instead of placing the Letter of James there it should more properly be placed in the category of “Wisdom Literature” (like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job).
However, no matter really, because as we say “it is where it is, and it is what it is.” But then comes the question: who did write this letter and when?

On that point scholars are divided into two groups. The first group holds that the author, James, is none other than James, the brother of Jesus, James, who is the leader of the early Jerusalem Church. James, who was himself martyred just before the outbreak of the First Jewish – Roman War of 66-70 CE — sometimes called in Hebrew המרד הגדול [ha-Mered Ha-Gadol] “The Great [Jewish] Revolt.”

The second group of scholars believes that the letter was written well into the Second Century C.E. and is pseudonymous — (ψευδώνυμος from ψευδής “false”— and ὄνυμα “name”) [just as Gus Portokalos says in that magnificent theological movie of 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding: “Give me a word — and I’ll show you that the root of that word is Greek.”]

In any case, Second Group Biblical Scholars explain that just like the Gospels were written by an anonymous individual or perhaps a group of writers and then later ascribed to: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — much like that, so the Letter of James was written by an unknown follower who deliberately associated the wisdom contained in these 108 verses with a revered leader of the Church from the past — thus, James.

Martin Luther in the 16th Century labeled this an epistula pabulae — an epistle (letter) of straw [the Latin word pabula is the word for straw or fodder (i.e. what you feed to animals); it also contains the basis of the word pablum (i.e. what you feed to babies) — you get the point Luther was trying to make?
He said, mostly because he was “Luther” and in his humble opinion the Letter of James did not mention Christ enough, nor did the letter emphasize justification by faith as Paul did in his letters to the various churches halfway through the First Century C.E.

Later on, in response to critics and friends, he withdrew his invective. But of course, what he first wrote is the very statement which is always remembered, just as when First Year Students in Lutheran Seminaries choose not to read the Letter of James because? “It’s an Epistle of Straw! Luther said so.” And why would I know Lutheran Seminarians say this? You can guess yourself, or ask me later.

Either way and in any case, we should read and study this letter as if it has something to do with us as followers of Jesus, because it does.

We should read it with an eye to understand how we are directed — or let us say moved or perhaps pushed, at the very least led out of the safety and protection of our religious communities — and plunged into the world in which we live. And being so directed, move, pushed, led out we are compelled to living lives of faith, love, and mercy — or as we say here in this community each week “Let us breathe into ourselves the gifts of God: the gift of Peace, the gift of Love, and the gift of Hope.

That weekly-breathing is the true meaning of the word inspiration. It is what the Latin word (inspirare) literally means “breathe into” — when we do this each week what happens is not only are we comforted, and brought into a silence of peace here in the Church — what happens is that we are truly inspired — in a holy and sacred way such that things happen to us, and things begin to happen because of us.

My particular understanding of the Church and it’s life of worship is like that. What takes place here, when we come into this “sacred space” is: we are changed. Something happens to us. We are different when we leave than when we arrived. We may come in with grief and sadness and worry, but we leave with hope and promise. We may enter with depression, but we leave with the comfort of the Holy One, and the blessing of others in this community of faith. We may breeze in to this [garden/sanctuary] with so many unanswered questions, but we leave with at least the kernel of resolution beginning to grow inside of us. We may arrive with satisfaction, but we leave with an understanding that the center of ourselves is actually found outside of us — in a word, in the Word, in the utterance of the One who says to each of us and all of us, “your sins are forgiven.”

What happens is that we become those very ones that the Letter of James insists that we are: doers of the Word and not hearers only.

It happens. It happens as we allow ourselves to be immersed in the ancient Story — the Story of Creation, and Exodus, and the Journey; the Story of compelling words by the Prophets and the Women and Men who are our ancestors in faith; the Story of Jesus and his small gathering of people whom we called “friends” and who were propelled into life by overwhelming Love.

We learn (here) that this Story is not a distant tale, but is about us. We are the ones in the Story. We are the ones who hear the words, and the Word. And this morning, as every morning, we are changed by hearing it and become those who take the Story, take the Word and place it where it counts — out there in the world where lives that are in pain and suffering can be made whole again, because of what we do.
Not because of what we think. Not because of what we might someday do. But because of what we do when we take what has be given to us, what have heard (and this morning what we have literally tasted, from the Bread and Cup) — take what has been given to us and find paths into a world that is so often in pain and division and turmoil.

We are changed, even if we don’t know it at first — but we are — and the work (on this Labour Day Weekend) the real work, the work of love and compassion begins out there — with us — because we “DO the Word.”
And let us all say: Amen.

James 1.17-27

17 πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστιν, καταβαῖνον ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν φώτων, παρ’ ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα.18 βουληθεὶς ἀπεκύησεν ἡμᾶς λόγῳ ἀληθείας, εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἀπαρχήν τινα τῶν αὐτοῦ κτισμάτων.19 Ἴστε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί. ἔστω δὲ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχὺς εἰς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι, βραδὺς εἰς τὸ λαλῆσαι, βραδὺς εἰς ὀργήν·20 ὀργὴ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δικαιοσύνην θεοῦ οὐκ ἐργάζεται.21 διὸ ἀποθέμενοι πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν καὶ περισσείαν κακίας ἐν πραΰτητι δέξασθε τὸν ἔμφυτον λόγον τὸν δυνάμενον σῶσαι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν.22 Γίνεσθε δὲ ποιηταὶ λόγου καὶ μὴ μόνον ἀκροαταὶ παραλογιζόμενοι ἑαυτούς.23 ὅτι εἴ τις ἀκροατὴς λόγου ἐστὶν καὶ οὐ ποιητής, οὗτος ἔοικεν ἀνδρὶ κατανοοῦντι τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ·24 κατενόησεν γὰρ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀπελήλυθεν καὶ εὐθέως ἐπελάθετο ὁποῖος ἦν.25 ὁ δὲ παρακύψας εἰς νόμον τέλειον τὸν τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ παραμείνας, οὐκ ἀκροατὴς ἐπιλησμονῆς γενόμενος ἀλλὰ ποιητὴς ἔργου, οὗτος μακάριος ἐν τῇ ποιήσει αὐτοῦ ἔσται.26 Εἴ τις δοκεῖ θρησκὸς εἶναι, μὴ χαλιναγωγῶν γλῶσσαν αὐτοῦ ἀλλὰ ἀπατῶν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ, τούτου μάταιος ἡ θρησκεία.27 θρησκεία καθαρὰ καὶ ἀμίαντος παρὰ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὕτη ἐστίν, ἐπισκέπτεσθαι ὀρφανοὺς καὶ χήρας ἐν τῇ θλίψει αὐτῶν, ἄσπιλον ἑαυτὸν τηρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου.