| Fifth Sunday after Easter , 2001
James 1:22-27 Doers of the Word
John the Almsgiver lived in Alexandria from AD 560 to 619. He became bishop of that city at a time when the church was demoralized. Many had left the church to follow the monophysite heresy. (The Monophysites held to the false doctrine that Christ possessed only one nature, rather than His two distinct natures of divinity and humanity.) John set about to bring the people back to the orthodox faith by an exemplary, godly life, and by ministering to them in practical ways. He founded and endowed hospitals, maternity clinics, homes for the aged, and housing for travelers. He helped the poor of the city, not only by gifts, but by regulating weights and measures according to Biblical law (Leviticus 19:35-37). He forced the clergy truly to become ministers by ministering to others. He provided aid for refugees and sent relief to victims of war and famine. In every area of life he sought to adorn the gospel of grace with gracious works. The last will and testament of John the Almsgiver says that he found the church's coffers full and left them empty: "I have done my best to render to God the things that are God's."
Like John the Almsgiver, Christ calls us to be doers of the word. This is the theme we want to explore today. Reading now James 1:22:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Saint James cautions us of the danger of self deception. Those people who merely hear the Word and never get around to doing it are deluded. They deceive themselves. There are Christians who fool themselves concerning their Christian walk. They think they are spiritual when they are not. One of the greatest theological mistakes of the modern church is this notion that one can be saved and utterly lack the fruit of true righteousness. Some evangelistic methods promote the idea that one can hear the Word for salvation, and then opt out of doing the Word. For them, godly action is merely a better choice, not an absolute requirement. Such a view is not the gospel; it is cheap grace. The Bible teaches another view. Yes, salvation is a gift, but it costs everything.
The authentic gospel starts with the fact that we are saved by grace and not by works. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." We thank God that our salvation does not depend upon what we do, but upon what Christ has done on the Cross. It is insanity to think we can purchase our own salvation through our own good works. It is the blood of Jesus shed at Calvary that covers our sins and reconciles us to God. Hearing the gospel and receiving it is one thing. However, once we have heard the Word, James requires that we do it as well; that we show forth the fruits of true conversion.
We should each one of us pose this question, "What is the evidence that I am truly redeemed?" It is a legitimate question because St. Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." If we are truly saved then there will be some necessary results; we will produce righteous fruit. The true believer will be marked by a turning from sin, a changed lifestyle, a commitment to Christ's lordship, indeed a passion for godly conduct. And, if this passion for godly behavior never surfaces, then the person who claims to be a Christian is self-deceived.
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; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 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.
The Word of God is compared to a mirror. How does the Bible act as a mirror? It reflects both God's holiness and man's sin. We learn how to please our heavenly Father, and we learn what displeases Him from Holy Scripture. Hence, if the Word of God reveals our sin like a mirror, then it is useful for self-examination, and self-examination is a good thing for a Christian. We too often overlook our sins and become indifferent to our spiritual condition. If we give the Word sustained attention, then it examines us; it reflects our flaws and sins, and shows us the glory of God. Most of us know about the skin cancer called melanoma. It causes many deaths every year, especially for people who have a lot of moles. The most common melanoma takes advantage of excess sunlight on moles to produce tumors. Doctors therefore recommend that we periodically examine our bodies for odd looking spots. The best way to do a self examination is with a full length mirror and a hand mirror. Looking carefully in the mirror we should try to detect problems. A quick glance will not do. Moles bigger than six millimeters are suspicious. Those that change color or shape, or begin to itch and hurt are also suspicious. Funny looking markings may mean the onset of melanoma, and we'll need to see a doctor. The mirror helps detect the danger.
If we are to use the mirror of God's Word profitably, then we must gaze into it carefully. James warns us not to merely glance, walk away and forget, but to look into the perfect law of liberty. The word "look" in the Greek means literally "to look with penetrating absorption." In effect, the process of examining our hearts and lives in the light of God's Word is a process that demands time, attention, and humility. Five minutes with God each day will never accomplish a thorough spiritual examination.
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.
Many commentators point out that the Greek word James uses here for "religion" does not mean all that religion is. Rather, the term is limited to the outward practice of religion. In our parish at St. Luke's the visible and external expression of religion is our traditional architecture, ritual, music, and Prayer Book liturgy. In most other churches the outward appearance includes a stripped down architecture, a worship team, worship leader, guitars and overhead projector. James has a tough message for all of us. It is an admonition for both traditional and contemporary churches. We should be aware that it is perfectly possible for a parish to be so taken up with the beauty of its buildings and the splendor of its liturgy that it has neither the time nor the money for practical Christian service. It is possible for a parish to have a first rate worship band, a dynamic worship leader, blissful easy listening music, and yet, the believers could walk out the doors of their church and not even get to first base when it comes to saintly living. James gives us a very serious warning -- the externals and experiences of worship, whether that worship be in elaborate vestments, or noble liturgy, or in sublime emotionalism -- all of it could come to naught if there is no moral behavior.
Specifically, James demands that we bridle our tongues. If we cannot learn to bridle our tongues then our religion is worthless. We are religious jerks. What does a bridle on a tongue refer to? The bit is put in the horse's mouth and the connecting bridle governs and guides the horse. A bridle signifies restraint and control. We must be able to control our words and the way we speak. James suggests that the tongue is like an ungovernable horse. It is naturally wild and out of control.
The tongue's capacity for good and evil reminds me of Jack London's White Fang . I just finished reading that book recently to my sons. White Fang's mother is half wolf and half dog; His father is all wolf. Which means White Fang is three quarters wolf. His mother raises him in the wilds of the Yukon like any other wolf. When he is still young an Indian named Gray Beaver catches and raises him. White Fang becomes loyal to Gray Beaver but he is a terror to all other animals. He learns to kill squirrels, rabbits, lynxes, dogs and other wolves. He is simply too fast and cunning for them. Then the gold rush hits Alaska and countless gold miners and settlers swarm north in search of riches. Gray Beaver travels to Fort Yukon in order to trade his moccasins and skins; he takes White Fang with him. Fort Yukon is a small port city. Every two or three days a steamer comes in to the bank and stops for several hours. The steamers always have canines tied on board and their owners are eager to unleash their dogs on land to get some exercise. Unfortunately, White Fang sees this as a chance to have fun.
It became a game. The dogs would come trotting down the gangplank and out upon the Yukon shore, and as soon as they saw White Fang they would rush at the wolf and chase him. They did not know what they were doing. Typically they charged at him barking. He sprang to the side. They did not know what had become of him; and in that moment he struck them on the shoulder, rolling them off their feet and delivering his stroke at the throat. This stroke was usually successful. The stricken dog rolled in the dirt, to be pounced upon and torn to pieces by the pack of Indian dogs that had been waiting for White Fang to do his work. White Fang would stand back and watch. He enjoyed it all.
Like White Fang, the tongue is capable of great mischief. The Apostle James brings up the problem of uncontrolled speech several times in his letter. Perhaps the churches he was addressing were particularly immature in this area -- anger, gossip indulgence, exaggeration, boastfulness, half-truths, irritability, lying, murmuring, rudeness; there are so many ways in which to use the tongue to harm and destroy. Someone once said, "The tongue is a monster of caprice, full of deadly venom." He was correct. We can control much of the world around us but we cannot seem to bridle the tongue. Many Christian people came to gain a degree of mastery over their bodies. That nevertheless, is relatively easy compared to gaining mastery over the tongue. Few are those who grow by God's grace to the place where they can keep their tongue bridled. It is the hardest thing to tame; yea, it is a daily struggle. Woe to the person who gives up the fight to control his tongue! Nothing tears apart a family or a church like out of control language.
The story of White Fang is a good one because the killer wolf does become tame, and becomes extremely valuable to his new master. In like manner we become valuable to our divine Master when we learn to bridle our tongues. May God grant us mercy in this realm of holiness.
Pure 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.
In the previous verse James has already told us that there are two kinds of religion. There is pure religion and there is counterfeit religion. The one is genuine; the other is fake. The one brings fresh power, new joy, rich fruit; the other produces impotency, misery, and loss. Now St. James sets before us an evidence of genuine religion. Mercy toward those who suffer is a test of true religion. The widow and the orphan are singled out. In ancient times these were the people most vulnerable and destitute. In his book Gates of Fire , Steven Pressfield illustrates the plight of orphans in ancient Greece. Xeones and Diomache are a brother and sister. They are made orphans when an invading army sacks their city and slaughters their parents. Fleeing in panic, there is no place of refuge for them; no orphanage. They wander the countryside with a blind 70 year old slave named Bruxieus, and they do what ever it takes to survive: hiding in the hills, sleeping in caves, and eating whatever they can find. As an adult, Xeones recalls his years as an orphan boy:
Before, on my father's farm, we had caught wild birds for our pigeon coop, or to make breeding pairs, or just to hold for an hour before returning them to freedom. Now we ate them. Bruxieus made us devour everything but the feathers. We crunched the little hollow bones; we ate the eyes, and the legs right down to the boot, discarding only the beak and the unchewable feet. We gulped eggs raw. We choked down worms and slugs. We wolfed grubs and beetles and fought over the last lizards and snakes before the cold drove them underground for good. We gnawed so much of the herb called fennel that to this day I gag at a whiff of that anise smell, even a pinch flavoring a stew. Diomache grew thin as a reed.
If we were to encounter such poor wretches, how could our hearts not go out to them? The Church responded to such realities in heroic ways. Why did they exert so much energy in helping the poor and needy? Jesus set the example, and the apostles followed. St. James, inspired by the Holy Spirit, insisted that we must live out our faith. Faith without corresponding works is altogether worthless. "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their trouble." In other words we are to flesh out our compassion with deeds of kindness and charity. The example of Jesus and the apostles has guided the Church for 2,000 years and we walk in those noble paths.
What can we do as a church? How can we become doers of the Word? We face some obstacles. Without our own property it is hard. What is more, trying to extend the incredible blessings of the covenant to people who don't even know how to want those blessings is even harder. Then we are operating in a society of single-parent families who are addicted to welfare checks, federal housing and other government handouts. We don't want to promote such parasitic behavior. Moreover, the secular state's attempt to meet the physical needs of people while ignoring their spiritual needs has been an unqualified disaster. These are mistakes we need to avoid.
As a church attempting to faithfully serve the Lord by serving others, it is hard to know where to start. But we can do a few things. Jeni Ford's budgeting class is an important first step. If all of us can begin to practice responsible monthly budgeting, then we will have more resources to help the poor. As a church we ought to be generous to help people in emergencies. We should continue our support of the Orange County Rescue Mission. They do great benevolent work. If you have food, clothes, or shoes to donate, let me know and I can give you their phone number or address.
Regardless of what the church does, families and individuals have a responsibility to obey God. The Lord demands that you be a doer of the Word. The purpose of our epistle lesson on this fifth Sunday after Easter is to remind you that you have a duty to demonstrate the authenticity of your faith. God calls you to go out of your way to help others. You cannot forever run from the mess that our culture is in. You are called to show compassion, to care for those who hurt, to help those who are needy. If you regard yourself a Christian, this is the service Christ calls you to render. Ask God to show you the many ways that you can be a doer of the Word.
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