Reflection: "Actions Speak Louder Than Words"The book of James is an unusual book in the New Testament, as in many ways it is more like the book of Proverbs from the Old Testament and it’s considered to be a part of what is called the “wisdom literature” of the Bible. Unlike most books of the NT, which are letters, this one is a book of worthwhile sayings strung together. It was not written for any particular congregation - like most of the Epistles were. It’s thought to have been written between 50 and 60 AD, two years before James (brother of Jesus) was martyred, and its audience would have been the Jewish Christians scattered throughout the regions outside of Israel, as James was considered a Pastor to those groups. He didn’t write, as Paul did, to the gentile Christians, but to the Jewish Christians, who were in disarray and needed to hear again the authoritative voice of the Jerusalem church’s leader. His aim was to instruct those who were experiencing tensions between their allegiance to the Torah and their newfound faith in Jesus. James knew that it was tough for many of the followers of Jesus scattered around the known world and his advice was to look for the joy in the trials they faced. The reason for the joy was that enduring these trials would build up faith, as it does when we put our trust in God. Faith was vital for James and we have seen many times that real faith results in real action. Faith wasn’t something airy-fairy to James – he believed that if faith doesn’t result in everyday action, then we’re just kidding ourselves. Real faith results in real works - and not necessarily overly “religious” works either, but real works - like being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. Real works like caring for the orphans and widows in need. Just over 100 years ago, the Australian Inland Mission, which later became Frontier Services, was established, with the Rev. John Flynn as its leader. I’ve heard that John Flynn very nearly didn’t become a minister of religion, because he kept failing Hebrew. However, one of his professors stuck up for him because he knew that John had such a good pastoral heart. I think Flynn must have been paying attention to the Letter of James in theological college, because he showed what practical Christianity is really about, when he ministered in body, mind and spirit to all whom he met across the outback. And, surprisingly, his lack of Hebrew wasn’t really an issue!! One reason I support Frontier Services is because it shows the practical Christianity that James was so keen about. There’s another reason why this practical type of Christianity is so important. When we’re under pressure, the best way of finding some joy in the midst of the trials we face, is to get to work on showing love to others in simple down-to-earth ways. James says when we do that, we not only pass on God’s love to others, but some of that love rubs off on us on the way through, and we then know the joy of the Spirit of God in our life. James gave the Christian Jews some practical and concrete examples of how to live their lives. He gave them a list of empathic behaviours described in this section of the letter (empathic meaning to put yourself in the other person’s shoes) like: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger…” To treat people this way is a generous way to allow others to fully express themselves in a relationship. To be open to people is to be open to God; and to be open to people is to participate in, and make known, God’s purposes – to “be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves” – in all aspects of life. There’s a story about St. Francis of Assisi, who, in the 13th century, gave up his life as a wealthy man, to live in poverty. He was praying in an ancient church, badly in need of repair, when he heard a voice coming from above the altar. He heard: “Francis, go and repair my church, which you will see is falling into ruins.” Francis went to get his tool chest, but God told him: “Not the bricks, Francis, the people are in need of repair.” So, Francis went out and took care of orphans and widows. The voice of God still speaks to us, telling us to go and repair the church - which is falling into ruins - and we know that he’s not talking about fixing the guttering, but he’s talking about the people in Lane Cove, in Forbes and other places – i.e. the people who make up his church throughout the world. So, we should be grateful to James for plainly expressing what we’ve all sensed: namely, that God is the source of all goodness, all blessings and all generosity. To the secular mind it makes no sense, for example, to thank God for the food on the table - when it was so plainly earned, purchased, and prepared by human hands. Yet the men and women of faith perceive the behind-the-scenes truth: that all our blessings originate with "the Father of lights" that we read about in Deuteronomy. I mean, we don’t confuse the one who sorts letters in the mail exchange, or the postman who delivers the letters, with the person who wrote the letter, do we? So, too, we recognize that God is the actual author of our blessings. Also, we’re well-rebuked by James' insight on anger. His joining of "slow to speak" with "slow to anger" is a sobering message to us, because we recognize in ourselves how often quickness to anger is accompanied by quickness to speak our mind. When we’ve been hurt, indignation always seems like the righteous way to act. Therefore, we’re tempted to give full vent of our anger to others, convinced that it’s justified and righteous. James, however, invites us to consider the question of just what our anger produces in the end. I’ve learned that very lesson, when I look back with regret on what I know my anger has sometimes produced. Meanwhile, James invites us to ask ourselves how an alternative to anger would produce God's righteousness in any particular situation. Think before you act! In another story about St. Francis, a woman went to him to ask what she could do to be forgiven for her gossiping. St. Francis told her to take feathers and place one at the doorstep of everyone she had spoken ill of in the town. She did so and returned to the wise saint. Francis told her to then go and retrieve all the feathers. When she attempted to do so, they were all gone. By that time the feathers were scattered by the wind - all around town. Once again, she returned to St. Francis and told him about the feathers. He said to her, "It is good that you wish to repent and be forgiven of your sin, but the damage of your words is done and cannot be taken back." Do you remember the old aftershave commercial on TV, that featured a startling slap on the face, followed by the recipient saying, "Thanks, I needed that!"? So it is that James gives us a bracing, but sometimes well-needed, slap. His sobering critique is not of people who have no religion, or a different religion. No, his "slap" is across the faces of those of us whose "religion is worthless" simply because our tongues are uncontrolled and our hearts deceived. If we are to heed the words of James, then we must ensure that we don’t become too comfortable with our religion and start taking for granted that we have it all together. We must be vigilant and keep looking for ways that we can manifest God’s love for his people in tangible ways. Less talking and more doing is a good motto for us to decide to live by. God made us with 2 ears to hear, 2 eyes to observe and 2 hands to do things with, but only 1 mouth to speak. So let’s try to remember to only speak half as much and to never speak angrily to, or ill of, other people. In other words: “Preach the gospel daily and if all else fails, use words.” God’s richest blessings on you all……………..Pastor Rick
1 Comment
Karen
29/8/2021 10:09:36 am
Thank you Rick for your thoughtful message enriched by your examples. I particularly like the example of St Francis - so relevant for us to heed and outwork that message today too.
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