Lenten
Sermon Series: Lessons from James
James
5:1-20
Those who have been regularly
attending worship will know that we have spent this season of Lent reading the
book of James together. James has been a
wonderful companion for us on our Lenten journey, as the author of James offers
many insights into sinful human behavior and the corrective actions we can
take.
The main focus of the book of James is
the idea that how we act, how we behave in relationship to other people, should
be a reflection of our faith. As James
famously states, “faith without works is dead.”
James has called us to specific acts of faith including caring for those
in need, and not offering special treatment to the rich. James has also warned us of the dangers of careless
speech, and the selfishness that resides in each of our hearts. James has offered examples of arrogance, and
how we can overcome arrogant actions in the things we do and say, showing a
closer reliance on our faith in God rather than our own actions to get us
through.
Today is our final sermon in the
series, as we study the words here in chapter 5, the last chapter in the book
of James. You are encouraged to follow
along and you will find our reading on page 982 in your pew Bible.
(Read 5:1-6)
This first section for today continues
with the ideas we were discussing last week, namely how our arrogance shows in
the things we say and do. The example
that James offers today is the arrogance of wealth, and James saves his
harshest critique for the rich oppressors.
James calls upon the rich to weep and
wail. Those who have spent their lives
investing in the closed economic model, reaching and grabbing for all they can
attain for themselves, will suffer in the end James warns. Your riches will not save you, and in the
last days they will amount to nothing.
Moreover, James warns, if riches have been obtained at the cost of
withholding wages, unfair business practices, or enjoying pleasures at the
expense of others, our riches will lead to a harsher judgement.
We have to remember last week’s
discussion connecting envy and violence.
James argues that we always want more, and that we are willing to kill
to get it. If there is only so much
stuff in the world, then I am willing to knock other people down in order to
get my share. James argues that it is
this sinful behavior that has enabled folks to be rich, and it is by this sinful
behavior which they will be judged in the end.
Lest we think this isn’t about us, in
his commentary on James, Luke Timothy Johnson points out;
“Envy and arrogance take a public form in economic and
political systems that privilege the few and punish the many, that exploit the
resources of the earth for the extravagant life-style of those privileged to
live in the first world rather than the third, that reduce the laborers in the
fields (and factories and sweat shops and fast-food eateries) to slaves by
systems of reward and taxation that perpetuate inequity, that so marginalize
major portions of the population that they are unable to sustain their
existence at a meaningful human level, that commit legal murder against the
innocent by means of litigation and the corruption of the courts. . . James
tells us that we cannot close our eyes to these realities, that even if we
cannot by ourselves change them, somehow we must by our own changed lives
challenge them and that, in our own envy and arrogance, we stand within that
same distorted view of the world and, therefore, under the same judgement of
God.”
(Read
5:7-11)
After slapping us on the wrist and
telling us all the things we have been doing wrong, James now switches gears to
offer us instructions on how to live as the community of faith. James encourages the faithful to be patient
and wait, as the coming of the Lord is near.
Here, James refers to the second coming of Christ, who will bring
judgement in his wake.
As the community of faith waits, the
people are called to strengthen their hearts.
This is not an admonition to keep our hopes up; rather it is a call to
keep focused. The Christian community is
called to endure in faith, until the time of judgement arrives. Until the Lord comes, the rule of oppression
leveled by the rich and powerful in our world will continue. Under such negative and stressful circumstances,
people will be tempted to turn against each other. Instead, James encourages the community to
stand strong together. Just like the
prophets or Job, the Christian community is called to suffer in faith, until
the compassion of the Lord rescues them in the last days.
(Read James 5:12)
James now goes on to detail the life
of faith within the Christian community, beginning with a discussion of
oaths. This may sound familiar to you because
Jesus says this in the gospel of Matthew.
We are encouraged to be plain and trustworthy in our speech. Our yes is yes and our no is no.
If we are not honest and clear in the
community of faith then we cannot get the work of ministry done. If we are not honest in our communication,
then we open the door to manipulation and deceit within the community of faith
itself. James wants us to stand strong
together so he encourages us to be truthful and clear with each other. We don’t need to swear oaths, if we have
first built a foundation of trust within the community.
(5:13-20)
In the final section of his letter, or
sermon, James continues to offer encouragement to the Christian community in
how to live in ways that are different than the ways of the world. Following along the thought of clear speech
that was offered in the earlier verse, in this passage James is encouraging the
community of faith to share the truth of their experiences with each
other. Those who are suffering should be
lifted up in prayer. Those who are
blessed should lead the community in singing songs of praise. And those who are ill should call the church
to their bedside.
This section on illness is important
because it contains subtleties regarding the ways of God and the ways of the
world conversation that we had last week.
Sickness is a threat to any community, as it can spread among us and
harm us all. In a world of competition
and closed resources, the natural response is to leave the sick person behind
rather than to risk the spreading of sickness.
James is revolutionary then, when he calls the community to gather
around the sick person instead. We are
to pray together, to touch each other, and to show that the sick person is a
vital member of the community of faith.
We come together in solidarity, even when it may put the community in
danger, as a sign of our faith in God and our rejection of the ways of the
world.
The community is encouraged to confess
our sins to each other. This is a call
to be honest about who we are in our private lives, when we come together as a
community of faith. We are called to
pray together, so that the community itself may experience healing and
grace. James mentions the power of
prayer Elijah experiences and suggests that the Christian community can share
in that power as well, if we are willing to be honest with each other and to
pray together.
Finally, James encourages us to bring
back into the fold any that may wander from the faith. This is a bit touchy, as James is asking us
to correct each other when we see sin.
This was a common moral teaching in the time of James through it can be
a bit of a challenge in our modern time and place. Rather than engaging in slander, judging, or
grumbling against one another; if someone is causing problems in the community
or headed in the wrong direction, we are encouraged to gather around them and patiently
help them redirect. I am sure you can
imagine this resulting in anger and hurt feelings, but in James’ mind, this is
the way the ideal Christian community would operate; mutual confession and
mutual correction, all within a culture of support and honesty.
We can see here at the end of the book
that James offers none of the traditional closings that many other letters in
scripture offer. That is one of the
reasons it is often thought that this wasn’t a letter at all. Rather, the letter of James is a famous
sermon and teaching tool that was passed around among the early Christian faith
communities.
Because this isn’t a letter addressed
to a specific time and place, we could argue that this is a sermon addressed to
the church as a whole. And I hope that
throughout the past five weeks, you have noticed with me, how readily James’
sermon could be addressed to this very church.
We too live in a world that is driven by selfishness, envy, and greed. We too are in danger of speaking harsh and
negative things about our neighbors. We
too have fallen prey to the ways of the world and the fallacy of a closed
economic system over the truth of God’s deep and vast abundance. We too, as a community, would benefit from
clear speech, more prayer, care for the sick, and mutual correction.
This Lenten season, the letter of
James has been a worthy companion on our journey of faith. I am hopeful that like me, you have found the
message that James offers to touch your life as an individual. I know I am trying to engage with the world
in a new and better way each day. Following
the teachings of James, I want my actions in the world to be a sign of my faith
in the Lord, marked by integrity in thought, speech, and action. I hope that you do too. These lessons from James are a wonderful
instruction for the church and for our particular community of faith. Thanks be to God for this wonderful little
book hiding in the back of our Bibles!
Amen.
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