CALL TO WORSHIP
OPENING COMMENTS
- Today is the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (acc. to the CWC).
- Today, we begin a series of readings from the book of James.
- Our keynote passage, for today’s discussion, is James 1:17-27.
OPENING SONG
FIRST MESSAGE
- Ordinary Time: James
From the TRANSCRIPT …
We are profoundly transformed by the relationships in our lives. The people closest to us shape who we are and who we become. Imagine the impact of being in a close relationship with the Creator of the universe.
God promises to draw close to us as we draw close to him. This divine relationship is at the heart of our transformation. Jesus’ incarnation is the ultimate proof of God’s desire to be near us, to walk with us, and to transform us.
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be challenging to live out our faith. But the book of James provides us with timeless wisdom, guiding us on how to truly follow Christ.
James, the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, wrote to Messianic Jews facing persecution. His message, influenced by Proverbs and the Sermon on the Mount, is a source of wisdom for us today. It can be captured in three essential teachings …
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- James teaches us to speak with love. Words have power – they can heal or hurt, build up or tear down. As followers of Christ, we are called and empowered by the Spirit to speak life and love into every situation.
- James also emphasizes showing compassion to the poor and marginalized. True religion, he says, is to care for those in need. Our faith is made visible through our actions of compassion and service.
- And most importantly, James calls us to orient our lives around the way of Jesus. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.’” (James 4:7-8).
As we humble ourselves and seek the presence of God, we discover his strength and guidance graciously bestowed upon us. Our journey of honoring him finds its foundation in the depth of his love for and desire to be in relationship with us.”
So, as we go about our daily lives, let’s remember James’ wisdom: speak with love, care for the poor, and yield to the Spirit’s guidance. In doing so, we reflect Christ’s light to the world.
Let’s embrace the transformative power of relationships, becoming the dawn that breaks through the darkness, bringing hope, love, and peace to everyone we encounter.
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:7-10
Amen.
FIRST READING
James 1:17-27.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
19 [c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [d] overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone [e]among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
27Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
- An Overview of the Book of James (courtesy of THE BIBLE PROJECT)
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
In verse 17, James reminds us that we have been incredibly gifted by God, and we are not left to our own devices. Despite our circumstances, we are to see how incredibly blessed we are.
When we experience our own trials, we also may forget just how much has been given us in Christ. As difficult as life can get, we are not to take matters into our own hands. It would seem that this is what may have been happening with these Jewish believers. Their forgetfulness of who they were — their true identity — and what they possessed in Christ, led them to fall back into poor speech and behavior. (Notice James 1:21).
James urges us on with the metaphor of planting. When our lives develop the weeds of immorality, filthy talk, anger, and falsehood, the truth planted in us gets choked out. This happens when we decide to take our behavioral cues from a corrupt society. Instead, we are to make room for growth in our lives. The Message Bible continues this theme in verse 21: “In simple humility, let our Gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.” (James 1:21 MSG)
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
19 [c] So then (NU Know this or This you know) my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
In this passage, James stresses how important our actions are. Those who would like to merely relegate their faith to an intellectual system of beliefs will not be fans of James. What is important to James is how our beliefs work themselves out in our lives and in our church. One of the first things that James takes on is listening … James insists that we be “quick” to listen.
The primary point here is to listen to God and God’s word. James 1:18 describes a new birth God has given his people by the word of truth of the good news about Jesus; James 1:21 is a command to accept the word planted; and James 1:23-25 elaborate on the contrast between the person who only listens to the word and the one who both hears and obeys it.
So many of us are geared towards listening just enough to be able to find a gap where we can interject something into the conversation – we do this with God, and we do this with others. Or we listen just enough to respond. As those who are in participation with Jesus, we need to learn to listen to others before we respond.
Unfortunately, far too many of us are too quick to speak and slow to listen. So, what does it look like to be quick with our listening skills?
In 1957, Carl Rogers and Richard Farson wrote a paper titled, “Active Listening.” Part of active listening involves listening to understand. This is where you absorb and fully comprehend what the other person is saying. This listening is empathetic in nature, where you are more concerned about understanding the other person than quickly reacting or responding.1 Studies have even shown that those with active listening skills are healthier, more successful, and more content in life than those with poor listening skills. No doubt, a healthier church is a church full of members who listen well to each other.
Along with listening, or the lack of it, James addresses the issues of being quick to speak and exhibiting anger. Speech comes easily to us, especially when we are angry. So, what was it that James is seeing as sources of anger for these Jewish believers?
- According to William Barclay …
Ovid bids men to be slow to punish, but swift to reward. Philo bids a man to be swift to benefit others, and slow to harm them.
In particular the wise men were impressed by the necessity of being slow to speak. Rabbi Simeon said, “All my days I have grown up among the wise, and have not found aught good for a man but silence … Whoso multiplies words occasions sin.” Jesus, the son of Sirach, writes, “Be swift to hear the word that thou mayest understand…If thou hast understanding, answer thy neighbour; if not, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, lest thou be surprised in an unskilful word, and be confounded” (Sir.5:11-12).
Proverbs is full of the perils of too hasty speech.
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- Prov.10:19 “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent”.
- Prov.13:3 “He who guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin”.
- Prov.17:28 “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise”.
- Prov.29:20 “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him”.
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the really good man will be much more anxious to listen to God than arrogantly, garrulously and stridently to shout his own opinions. Many of us would do well to listen more and to speak less.
It is James’ advice that we should also be slow to anger. He is probably meeting the arguments of some that there is a place for the blazing anger of rebuke. That is undoubtedly true; the world would be a poorer place without those who blazed against the abuses and the tyrannies of sin. But too often this is made an excuse for petulant and self-centred irritation.
The teacher will be tempted to be angry with the slow and backward and still more with the lazy scholar. But, except on the rarest occasions, he will achieve more by encouragement than by the lash of the tongue. The preacher will be tempted to anger. But “don’t scold” is always good advice to him; he loses his power whenever he does not make it clear by every word and gesture that he loves his people. When anger gives the impression in the pulpit of dislike or contempt it will not convert the souls of men. The parent will be tempted to anger. But a parent’s anger is much more likely to produce a still more stubborn resistance than it is to control and direct. The accent of love always has more power than the accent of anger; and when anger becomes constant irritability, petulant annoyance, carping nagging, it always does more harm than good.
To be slow to speak, slow to anger, quick to listen is always good policy for life.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [d] overflow (abundance) of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
James urges us on with the metaphor of planting. When our lives develop the weeds of immorality, filthy talk, anger, and falsehood, the truth planted in us gets choked out. This happens when we decide to take our behavioral cues from a corrupt society. Instead, we are to make room for growth in our lives. The Message Bible continues this theme in verse 21: In simple humility, let our Gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life. (James 1:21 MSG).
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
We all know what a mirror is used for, right? We are trying to see how we are going to show up in the world. Is my hair disheveled? Do I have broccoli in my teeth? … and so on. In verse 25 the words “looks intently into” are from the Greek word “parakypsas” and literally means “to stoop down” in order to have a good close look. Stooping down requires intentionality.
The perfect law of love is to continually be held up to us. When we gaze into its beauty, we will not easily look away, but we will remember how we are to show up in the world. James is asking us to consider what we see, to remember and reflect on what it is that we have been blessed with. In this way, we are truly free to live out who we were created to be.
What happens, though, when we forget what we were supposed to gaze upon? What happens when we can no longer acknowledge the Father and all the gifts that he has showered upon us? We become consumed with ourselves and how we are being treated. The last thing on our minds are the needs of others and people truly in need.
26 If anyone [e]among you (NU omits among you) thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
27Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
When we acknowledge the Father and all the gifts that he has showered upon us … we become more and more interested in the needs of others and people who are truly in need.
The care for orphans and widows was mentioned sixty-six times in the Old Testament. So, these words should not have come as a surprise for the Jewish believers. These were the most vulnerable people in Jewish society. Perhaps we should be asking who is the most vulnerable in our communities as well?
Perhaps when we truly care for these members of our society, we become less prone to becoming “stained” or made corrupt by the world. Maybe if more of our time went towards meeting the needs of others, we would be better equipped to acknowledge our own blessings. The good news should be preached, the gospel should be shared with others, but let us not neglect those who need to see proof of our words manifested in our actions towards them. Our hearts honor God when we provide for the most vulnerable among us.
WHAT IS THE MAIN TAKEAWAY?
CONCLUSION
From the Lectionary notes …
James is showing us a snapshot of what a Christian looks like.
- The Christian is someone who genuinely listens to others, and who recognizes the overwhelming generosity of our heavenly Father.
- The Christian is one who is not easily angered but responds out of the righteousness that we have received.
- The Christian is one who has been made free by contemplating Jesus’ law of love.
- And the Christian is not one who merely gets caught up in speaking about the faith but articulates that faith clearly by their actions to those in need.
Who is God placing in your path? It’s an invitation to participate with Jesus, sharing his love and life, which includes a lot of listening.
CLOSING SONG.
CLOSING PRAYER
How Does a Christian Live?
James 1:17-27 NIV
Whether it’s in the movies, on TV, or in other forms of media, Christians are often portrayed in a negative light. Many times, we are presented as people who are judgmental, narrow minded, and hypocritical. Not all of this criticism is undeserved. Sometimes, someone needs to point out when we are living in error, someone to correct our thinking about how it looks to live as a Christ follower. Enter James, the half-brother of Jesus.
Although he was a half-brother of Jesus, he was a “full” disciple. No one could question his commitment to the gospel, as he was also the leader of the church in Jerusalem. As such, he had an urgent message to the Jewish believers who were being spread out due to persecution and famine.
As we read today’s pericope, let’s keep in mind what this young church was up against. To say that they weren’t exactly having an easy time of it would be an understatement. As we do this, let us also consider how this message is still relevant for the church today. Let’s see what James has in mind for how a Christian is to live.
[Read James 1:17-27]
In this passage, James stresses how important our actions are. Those who would like to merely relegate their faith to an intellectual system of beliefs will not be fans of James. What is important to James is how our beliefs work themselves out in our lives and in our church. One of the first things that James takes on is listening. Did this make your top ten list of things that a Christian should be actively doing? And yet, James insists that we be “quick” to listen.
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry… (James 1:19b NIV)
The primary point here is to listen to God and God’s word. Verse 18 describes a new birth God has given his people by the word of truth of the good news about Jesus; verse 21 is a command to accept the word planted; and verses 23-25 elaborate on the contrast between the person who only listens to the word and the one who both hears and obeys it.
So many of us are geared towards listening just enough to be able to find a gap where we can interject something into the conversation – we do this with God, and we do this with others. Or we listen just enough to respond. As those who are in participation with Jesus, we need to learn to listen to others before we respond. Unfortunately, far too many of us are too quick to speak and slow to listen. So, what does it look like to be quick with our listening skills?
In 1957, Carl Rogers and Richard Farson wrote a paper titled, “Active Listening.” Part of active listening involves listening to understand. This is where you absorb and fully comprehend what the other person is saying. This listening is empathetic in nature, where you are more concerned about understanding the other person than quickly reacting or responding.1 Studies have even shown that those with active listening skills are healthier, more successful, and more content in life than those with poor listening skills. No doubt, a healthier church is a church full of members who listen well to each other.
Along with listening, or the lack of it, James addresses the issues of being quick to speak and exhibiting anger. Speech comes easily to us, especially when we are angry. So, what was it that James is seeing as sources of anger for these Jewish believers?
Earlier in this message, we talked about the trials that these believers were having to go through. They were enduring persecution as well as famine. Imagine that you were once prospering, that all your needs were met. You were in good standing in your community and respected by your neighbors. But now, your family has cast you aside. You have been disfellowshipped from your Jewish community. Your neighbors give you dirty looks as you walk by. Accusations and insults are hurled at you. And on top of all of that, you don’t even know if you are going to eat today. How would this make you feel? Can you empathize with them?
James doesn’t allow the believers to use their trials as an excuse to lash out in anger, which would poison their witness with harsh words.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights… (James 1:17 NIV)
In verse 17, James reminds us that we have been incredibly gifted by God, and we are not left to our own devices. Despite our circumstances, we are to see how incredibly blessed we are.
When we experience our own trials, we also may forget just how much has been given us in Christ. As difficult as life can get, we are not to take matters into our own hands. It would seem that this is what may have been happening with these Jewish believers. Their forgetfulness of who they were — their true identity — and what they possessed in Christ, led them to fall back into poor speech and behavior.
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. (James 1:21 NIV)
James urges us on with the metaphor of planting. When our lives develop the weeds of immorality, filthy talk, anger, and falsehood, the truth planted in us gets choked out. This happens when we decide to take our behavioral cues from a corrupt society. Instead, we are to make room for growth in our lives. The Message Bible continues this theme in verse 21:
In simple humility, let our Gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life. (James 1:21 MSG)
If you are a fan of metaphors, James is your guy. In fact, in this letter, James uses more metaphors and analogies than Paul uses in all his epistles combined. He began with planting, but now switches things up to talking about the use of mirrors.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. (James 1:23-25 NIV)
We all know what a mirror is used for, right? We are trying to see how we are going to show up in the world. Is my hair disheveled? Do I have broccoli in my teeth? … and so on. In verse 25 the words “looks intently into” are from the Greek word “parakypsas” and literally means “to stoop down” in order to have a good close look. Stooping down requires intentionality.
The perfect law of love is to continually be held up to us. When we gaze into its beauty, we will not easily look away, but we will remember how we are to show up in the world. James is asking us to consider what we see, to remember and reflect on what it is that we have been blessed with. In this way, we are truly free to live out who we were created to be.
What happens, though, when we forget what we were supposed to gaze upon? What happens when we can no longer acknowledge the Father and all the gifts that he has showered upon us? We become consumed with ourselves and how we are being treated. The last thing on our minds are the needs of others and people truly in need.2
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27 NIV)
The care for orphans and widows was mentioned sixty-six times in the Old Testament. So, these words should not have come as a surprise for the Jewish believers. These were the most vulnerable people in Jewish society. Perhaps we should be asking who is the most vulnerable in our communities as well?
Perhaps when we truly care for these members of our society, we become less prone to becoming “stained” or made corrupt by the world. Maybe if more of our time went towards meeting the needs of others, we would be better equipped to acknowledge our own blessings. The good news should be preached, the gospel should be shared with others, but let us not neglect those who need to see proof of our words manifested in our actions towards them. Our hearts honor God when we provide for the most vulnerable among us.
James is showing us a snapshot of what a Christian looks like. The Christian is someone who genuinely listens to others, and who recognizes the overwhelming generosity of our heavenly Father. The Christian is one who is not easily angered but responds out of the righteousness that we have received. The Christian is one who has been made free by contemplating Jesus’ law of love. And the Christian is not one who merely gets caught up in speaking about the faith but articulates that faith clearly by their actions to those in need. Who is God placing in your path? It’s an invitation to participate with Jesus, sharing his love and life, which includes a lot of listening.