Sermon Title: "Hearing & Doing "
Date: August 30, 2009
Minister: Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson:  James 1:17-27

 

Martin Luther, the great 16th century Catholic Augustinian monk turned Protestant Reformer, did not like the letter of James.  In fact, he seriously questioned whether or not it should remain part of the New Testament canon.  Obviously, his argument was knocked down by his contemporaries and this letter did remain part of the New Testament or we wouldn’t be reading it today.  And truthfully, I’m grateful that he didn’t get his way on this one because I think he maybe tried to “throw out the baby with the bathwater.”  But I’ll return to that in a moment.

You see, Luther did have his reasons for disliking the letter of James.  He lived in the middle of one of the great theological debates in history about how individuals receive God’s grace.  Luther and his supporters argued fervently that faith in God alone is what is required for God to freely bestow grace upon us.  We need only open our hearts to God. 

And Luther was very skeptical of, if not adamantly opposed, to anyone who argued that good works (or actions) could win God’s favor.  Particularly when the discussion of faith was minimized and works were emphasized.  So he was concerned that the letter of James and its discussion on works was contradictory to his beliefs about grace and possibly contradictory to the teachings of Paul, with whom Luther deeply resonated.

Now Luther had some good reasons for being so skeptical because he saw some real abuses of power by some of his opponents.  For instance, during his time it was not uncommon for some (not all, but some) priests and other religious elites to offer indulgences to their parishioners in exchange for money. 

Essentially how this worked is that these priests would convince people, many of whom were pretty poor and uneducated, that they could buy their own salvation or the salvation of a deceased loved one by making a financial contribution to the church.

Luther was disgusted by this, and justifiably so.  And these abuses of power and practices of manipulation provided fuel to his fire and fodder to his argument that faith in God’s grace alone is sufficient.  So, Luther was very skeptical about any teachings or writings on works.

So, back we go to the letter of James.  But here is where I think Luther missed the mark.  I don’t think James is arguing that good works bring us into favor with God.  I think James is advocating a response to God’s grace; a response to God’s love already present in our lives, freely given, not earned.  James’ discussion on being not simply “hearers of the word”, but “doers of the word” who act, is a reflection on what it means to live in light of the love of God in our lives.  To be “doers of the word” who seek to act with compassion and foster community is to live in gratitude for God’s love.  To strive to be “doers of the word” who work to be living expressions of God’s love is, I think, a testament to the transformative, inspiring power of God’s love, of God’s grace, rather than a contradiction to the idea of grace.

You see, at its core, the letter of James is not a theoretical, theological treatise.  It is a work of “wisdom literature,” a genre that is concerned less with abstract ideas and beliefs and more with the down and dirty, nitty gritty practice of one’s spirituality.  Wisdom is distinguished from knowledge in its practical nature and concern for how to live and act daily.  The belief piece, the knowledge piece, is sort of a given for James.  He is asking instead, “Ok, we know God loves us, so what do we do now?  How do we as Christians walk the talk, live in light of God’s love, act with integrity, and practice our faith?”

So, with these questions on his mind, James examines what implications faith has in our individual lives as well as how this practice of faith plays out in our communal lives together in our communities of faith and arguably in our broader local, national, and global communities.

This portion of James’ letter opens with an affirmation about God’s grace in stating that “every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.”  In other words, God, who James nicknamed the Father of lights, is the gift-giver, so now the question is how do we receive the gift?

Well, James goes on to say, “let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.  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.”

Now I don’t know about you, but when I hear this it sounds to me like perhaps James has had some bad experiences in his travels and dealings with different Christian communities he has encountered.  Perhaps he has endured some conflict, witnessed some discontent, and seen some angry reactions to whatever circumstances a particular community was facing at the time. 

My guess is that as a work of wisdom literature with a concern for the practical, these statements are not merely rhetorical devices, but are honest reflections on real life situations James has encountered. 

So, having probably seen a lack of community cooperation, James implores his readers to take on an attitude of receptivity, humility, and openness.  He encourages them to strive toward unity and kind treatment.  And I think he has hopes for community which doesn’t bicker and talk at each other, but really listens to one other and engages in real dialogue with one another.

So he goes on to encourage his readers to be “doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”  In other words, he encourages us to respond to the gift of God’s love, to be vessels of God’s love in the world, to walk the talk, and strive to live with integrity.

A simply stated challenge, perhaps not so simply implemented.

Next, James puts forth a metaphor of what it is like to hear, but not do.  It is like “those who look at themselves in a mirror…and on going away, immediately forget what they [look] like.”  Sort of a strange image, isn’t it?  I mean who forgets what they look like that quickly?  In fact maybe sometimes early in the morning we wish we’d forget a little quicker than we do!  Oh well.

But what I think James is getting at is that to hear and not do is like taking a cursory glance, a quick look, a hurried glimpse.  It’s not committed, purposeful, and sincere.  And for James, the practice of faith is not a hurried affair.  It cannot end with hearing (that’s only the first half); it must involve doing.  It is a process.  And it involves being opened up, transformed, and renewed by God’s love.  And it involves more than just talk.  It involves a long, sometimes breezy, sometimes arduous, and always intentional walk.  And all along the way, as James encourages, we are to be in the business of reflection: deep, critical, serious reflection on what it means to live in response to God’s love and what it means to endeavor to be channels of God’s love in our communities.

Finally, James goes on and gives his readers an example of what walking the talk or “pure religion,” as he puts it, looks like.  It is “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

We, as modern readers, have to unpack this statement a little bit.  You see, in the ancient Near Eastern context, widows and orphans were usually the most marginalized individuals in society.  In a largely patriarchal culture, husbandless women and fatherless children were left to the whim of their local communities without men in their families to provide for them.  So it was up to the community then to decide how they would respond to these women and children in need.  James is, of course, advocating that they be cared for, brought into the fold, and not forgotten.

So what about the other piece of James’ statement?  What does it mean to “keep oneself unstained by the world?”  Well one thing is obvious to me.  James sees that God’s ideals and the world’s ideals don’t necessarily match up.  Well, we could probably go on for awhile making a list about some possible connotations of this point and how it may or may not play out in our own contexts.  But, given this statement’s proximity to James’ call to care for the orphans and widows in their distress, I think at least on one level, James is talking about selfishness.  Even in James’ cultural context money, power, and individualistic ideals proved to be tempting idols that could pull an individual away from the community and away from the effort involved in a faith journey marked by humility and integrity.

So let’s stop for a moment and think about this.  How does this touch your faith life?  What does it mean to strive to be not simply hearers of the word, but doers as well?

Karl Rahner, the great 20th Century Catholic theologian, is known to have encouraged people of faith to state that we are always in the process of “becoming Christian” rather than we “became Christian” or we “are Christian.”  He too felt that the life of faith is a journey rather than a momentary choice.  Sure we have particular moments that stand out for us; benchmark moments, milestones, memorable and formative experiences.  But, we are always in the process of becoming, walking onward, reflecting on where we’ve been, taking stock of where we are, and imagining where we’re going, striving not just to hear, but to do.

Like many in our nation, I have been thinking a lot about the healthcare debate this week.  And I can’t help but wonder how James’ message to us today might shape the practice of finding solutions to our healthcare problems in this country. 

It seems like different approaches to dialogue are certainly present.  One on hand, I’ve seen some reports about people striving to have real dialogue and really investing themselves in the issues.  On the other hand, I’ve seen a lot of political spin, bickering, and fear mongering.  And I wonder how some of these discussions might be transformed if we all paid attention to James’ call to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”

I’ve also been listening in these debates for whose voices are present and which institutions and communities we are called to be accountable to.  Certainly private insurance companies, pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, doctors, business owners, politicians, and others have weighed in. 

But are we also listening to the voices of the “widows and orphans” in our midst, those without insurance, those who have been denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition, those working just a few hours under full-time whose employers have denied them coverage because they are only “part-time” employees, those who are underinsured whose claims have been denied on a technicality, the elderly, the chronically ill, those who have faced mountains of medical bills?  I just hope we and our lawmakers are listening to their experiences too.

Healthcare is a huge and complicated issue, and obviously I’m not trying to solve it right here right now; neither am I siding with one political or social group over another.  Instead, I’m just trying to voice some hope for cooperation, for community involvement, for participation in the democratic process, and for real solutions that meet the needs of real people. 

I’m calling myself to accountability and issuing the same call to other people of faith, like James did, to practice what we preach, to be not simply hearers of the word, but doers of the word, to care for the widows and orphans in our midst, and to consider not only our own personal needs but the needs of those in our broader communities.  Let us go do our part.  Amen.