Feast of Saint James, 2002
James 1:13-20

In our gospel passage, James admonishes us to a certain kind of conduct regarding listening and speaking. Specifically, he teaches us that we ought to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath. These may seem unrelated, at least listening and speaking, though related to each other, may seem unrelated to anger, but all three of these are related not only to each other, but to God's nature and creative work. This morning, I want to talk about the connection between the nature of God and the nature of the world that He made, and how an understanding of the broad structure of reality is relevant to how we approach these subjects.

In verse 14 of the passage that we just read, St. James identifies our misplaced desires as productive of sin and death. He then contrasts this with God's unchanging nature and character, and the resulting good and perfect things that are brought forth by Him. So, in James' worldview, God exists as an eternally good and perfect being, who is the author of all that is good and perfect in the world. Sin is not a result of God's working or failure, but of misplaced desires on the part of creatures.

So this is the background for St. James' understanding of how we ought to view the subjects of listening, speaking, and anger. His teaching on these areas is not arbitrary or ad-hoc, but follows from his view of what God is like, and what God has done in creating the world. In following James' instruction on these subjects, we are bringing our lives into conformity not only with the will of God, but with the nature of God; we are becoming qualitatively more like Him as our character reflects His will. In doing this, we are also realizing the proper function of our own natures. In other words, not only is there a morally right way for humans to live, but a functionally right way. By doing what is right, we are using our natural capacities in the proper manner, much as we use a hammer properly to drive nails, but improperly when we use one to drive screws.

To begin then with hearing, what are some of the ways in which we ought to think of our listening habits if we are to understand God's design of us, and will for our attitudes and conduct. Most obviously, we are commanded to be swift to hear. To view reality as God does, entails that we view the world as something that exists most fundamentally as something naturally good that reflects the goodness and glory of God. Whatever distortion of the nature of creation that has taken place as a result of sin, we ought to approach creation, and this includes the people in creation, as image bearers of God, and consider that we have things to learn of God by paying attention to them. Sometimes, unfortunately, we learn by the bad examples or sinful actions of people, whereas we would like to only see good and positive things.

But the idea that I want to emphasize here is that God has given us an entire universe that teaches us about His nature and character. So, we ought to regard the world as a revelation of God, and thus, be swift to hear in a very broad sense. We should be thoughtful, attentive people in general, and when we take this attitude and apply it to listening, it obviously follows that we will be swift to hear in the particular sense employed in this passage. We will be people whose basic disposition is to listen and hear, because we will be people who view the world as a manifestation of God.

Now this doesn't mean that we will exercise no discernment as to what is good to pay attention to and immerse ourselves in. In fact, taking seriously the doctrine that creation is a communication of God to us, we will take more seriously to focus our attention upon it in a discriminating manner, so as to form our minds and thoughts more closely to God, and to cultivate a Godly character. Just because the basic purpose of creation is to reveal God, and that therefore our basic attitude toward others should reflect God's intent that we should learn from others as a whole, it does not follow that any particular individual or feature of creation is worthy of a significant amount of our time or attention. In fact some things may be harmful to us either because they contribute to the development in us of a distorted image of God, or simply because they distract us from other, more edifying, pursuits.

The converse of this is that we should be slow to speak. While some people have personalities that are more quiet or introverted than others, I think that there are some broad issues related to this admonition that apply to all of us. To be slow to speak, as the flipside of being quick to hear, means more I think that just not talking. These instructions taken together, especially given the surrounding context, suggest that James is trying to paint a picture of a certain kind of person who has foresworn the use of hearing and speaking as a means of manipulation, and sees these things as sacred gifts to be viewed in the context of a life of love and service to God. This is why these things are connected to anger, as we will see in a few minutes.

First though, I want to talk about a few ways in which the desire to manipulate others affects the way in which we undertake listening and speaking in our daily lives. One effect that this desire influences our conversation is that we simply don't listen any more than we need to in order to formulate a response. Sometimes we listen enough to be able to respond with a nod or a 'huh' at the right time, so that we might appear to be listening. Often also we listen enough to get the basic idea of what someone is saying, but once we have this then immediately we cease really paying attention, and begin to formulate our response. We are thinking more about what we are going to say next, than about what someone else is actually saying.

Part of being a mature Christian is being a mature adult human being. Part of the latter is being able to listen. While I don't think that it is wise to lay down detailed instructions that would supposedly apply to every situation, by and large, if someone is speaking to us, we should pay attention, or at least do them the courtesy to let them know that we are busy or focused on something else at the moment and can't. Pretending to listen is usually simply dishonest. Now having said this, I am well aware of the fact that there are particular circumstances and situations that have to be taken into account when assessing communication styles, and again, I don't mean that every conversation must involve absolute concentration on the part of both or all parties concerned. But often when we don't listen, it is not because we are doing something more important, but because we are being lazy or selfish. What I want to point out is that on St. James' account of things, our basic attitude should be that insofar as listening is a means of learning, and learning is a means of drawing closer to God, we should be quick to hear, eager to listen, because we understand that more often than not, if we listen, we will learn something, and, when all is said and done, that is usually a good thing.

Another aspect of this topic that James addresses directly is being slow to speak, and this is different than what we just talked about, though of course it is related. While being swift to hear should follow from the positive value that we ascribe to creation in general and other people in particular, it may not be immediately evident why a disposition should to be slow to speak would follow.

Of course, insofar as we can't speak and listen at the same time, this would be pretty obvious. I think, though, that St. James has more in mind, especially in light of his reference to anger in the next clause of this passage. In addition to being slow to speak because we are ready and willing to listen; understanding creation in general, and the people in it in particular, as bearing the image of God and manifesting His nature and character should cause us to be very hesitant to impose ourselves upon it. This does not mean that we should never use our power to influence our surroundings, or those that we come in contact with. James says that we should be slow to speak, he does not tell us to stop speaking altogether.

Speech is a kind of power. Words shape ideas, and ideas can and have radically changed individual souls, as well as cultures and civilizations. When we use words, we are using the primary tools that Jesus used in His ministry. Words are important, they reflect who we are, and they are capable of penetrating into the depths of another person's being. Individuals and nations are seduced through words. And individuals and nations are brought into the realization of spiritual life in large part through words. When we speak, we must be very careful that our words are edifying and will have a good and wholesome effect. God will require from us an account of 'every idle word'. Later in this book, St. James talks about the importance of controlling our speech: [Read James 3:1-13].

When we consciously choose to refrain from hasty speech, and make a thoughtful effort to control when we speak and what we say, we will quickly come face to face with the reality that in actually submitting our words to God, we are in a practical way giving up the most powerful thing that we possess, and we therefore have to live in concrete dependence upon God to provide for us. When we limit our own speech, we are limiting our ability to control the attitudes and actions of others. This is contrary to our natural desire to regulate our world, and to ensure as much as we can that the things that we value are in our power.

But if we respect the integrity of creation, we will realize that exercising power over it is something that we should be slow and careful in doing. We are changing something made by God to manifest Himself. When we attempt to alter or manipulate things, especially people, we are presuming to enter into the creative and redemptive work of God. While we are in fact called upon to do this, we must do so with great care, and with the understanding that we are being called upon to do sacred work.

Perhaps it will be easier to see now why this relates to anger. We have seen that our quickness to hear should be a consequence of the realization that the world is of God and made to reveal Him and His goodness, whatever caveats we may have to make because of the reality of sin. Further, because of the dignity of creation and it's purpose as a manifestation of God, and because of God's goodness and provision for us, we should foreswear the use of speech to manipulate others or to secure goods for ourselves. Rather, our speech should be seen as a means of edifying others, and serving to glorify God. If we do these things, there will be no place for anger in us, except insofar as we perceive that which is evil and contrary to God. Contrarily, if we do not have these attitudes, if we despise the world around us, and cling to the idea that we must control the means of providing for our own happiness, we are only a short step away from anger.

God made us to be angry at times. When confronted with evil, our natural, and quite healthy, disposition is to anger. However, if we regard communication as a means of securing certain things for ourselves, then at the first frustration, we will immediately become angry. To the degree that we view and employ communication as a means of imposing ourselves and our will on others, we will be setting ourselves up to regard any divergence from our desires as evil, and the proper object of anger. Notice that the key here to living in a Godly way is not to constantly exercise willpower. It is to learn to view things in such a way that the good and right thing to do is the natural and easy thing to do. If St. James is right, then ultimately the way of life that produces people quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, will be the product of understanding things as they really are, and our virtuous behavior will be not only morally right, but sensible and reasonable.

If we understand that God is the sovereign author of all things, and recognize that all good and perfect things come from Him, and are the product of His unchangeably good nature and character, then we will be able to rest in His providential care, enjoy the good things that we receive, and focus ourselves on drawing near to God, and helping those around us to do so. This kind of person will be swift to hear because he delights in God and His creation, slow to speak because he, in love, is concerned to do good and edify, and resting and trusting in God does not feel a need to manipulate others. And this kind of person will therefore be slow to anger, because he will not be readily frustrated, upset, offended, or frightened. This kind of person will possess a rational and godly serenity, and this will be evident in the things that this mature person says, and in the way this kind of person values and therefore listens and responds to others.

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