Monthly Archives: September 2024

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Heavenly Prescription for Prayer

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“Heavenly Prescription for Prayer”

James 5:13-20 (5:13) – September 29, 2024

How many of you remember being really sick? So sick that you had to stay in bed for days, or perhaps even had to go to the hospital? Thank goodness here in the Chicago area we have many devoted doctors and excellent hospitals to choose from, and to figure out exactly what is ailing us. And, thank goodness we are able to have effective medicine prescribed for us when we are sick, too!

Except – what do we do when our hearts and spirits are feeling sick? Anxious, or disturbed? Where do you and I go when our faith in God seems shaky? We could perhaps go to the doctor or the hospital, but they probably will not have the right tools or equipment to help when you or I have spiritual afflictions. [1]

This is our fifth week looking into the letter of James, and we have seen over the past few weeks that James is a very practical man. He displays a great deal of common sense, and does not pull punches when it comes to talking straight to his friends scattered around Asia Minor. (The area to the north and east of present-day Palestine.)

Let’s hear from James about this very problem: “Are any among you in trouble? They should pray. Are any among you happy? They should sing praises. 14 Are any among you sick? They should send for the church elders, who will pray for them and rub olive oil on them in the name of the Lord. 15 This prayer made in faith will heal the sick; the Lord will restore them to health, and the sins they have committed will be forgiven.”

What I have seen in these past weeks and months are the overwhelming number of people with heightened emotions and reactions to anxious, even fearful situations. As someone involved in pastoral care and trained as a chaplain, I notice these things. In our scripture reading today, we find the apostle James talking straight about how to pray, and thus deal with things similar to these things he mentions: heightened, negative emotions and reactions to anxious situations, not to mention physical needs, too.

The apostle James was a practical kind of guy. We can see that from this short letter, the only letter he wrote, included in the New Testament. He gives some practical advice to his readers on how to live a faithful and effective Christian life: how to live faithfully with others in society, how to control the tongue, how to turn away from evil and towards God. Here, in the fifth chapter of James, he turns to prayer. As we look at this passage, James tells his friends how to pray, in very practical terms, almost the same way as a doctor with a prescription pad might write it out.

What are the beginnings of this spiritual prescription? You and I need a special place and a special way to access God; we need to be open and willing, in this place! You and I need God – especially through the Holy Spirit – to help our hearts and spirits feel renewed, and we need the body of Christ–all of us–to help us strengthen our faith. In fact, we all need each other. [2]

When I was a hospital chaplain, working in critical care units like the Emergency Department, Intensive Care, and trauma support all over the hospital, my primary job would be that of compassionate listener—even before prayer, and also as a heartfelt part of prayer.

Now that I am a hospice chaplain, compassionate listening becomes an even more important part of what I do, not only for my patients, but for their loved ones. I suggest for all of us to consider a heart of compassion and a gentle hand of mercy. It’s time to put our defenses down and instead experience the vulnerability of listening to one another.

“If someone has a story to tell, the greatest gift you can offer is simply to listen. You don’t need to have answers or wisdom. You probably don’t need to say anything except, ‘I hear you. I believe you. I’m sorry you experienced that.’ In the compassionate version of the world I yearn for, we offer one another solidarity, a listening ear, and a tender heart.“ [3]

Another way of defining this spiritual prescription is through prayer – corporate prayer. James says, “16 So then, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you will be healed. The prayer of a good person has a powerful effect.“

Again, I am reminding us all, this exercise of prayer is not meant to be only for persons in isolation. It’s true, as a hospice chaplain, I see many people isolated in hospitals, in care centers, all alone in their rooms with no one to hold their hands or offer them a kind word of compassion or comfort. James would give us – fellow Christians – the practical advice to come alongside the sick persons in prayer and fellowship, even solidarity.

My commentator Dr. James Boyce echoes this very call from our letter-writer: “James knows a wisdom that is communal, especially in its faithful exercise of prayer. Twice he charges that confession should be “to one another,” and that we should pray “for one another,” if we have any expectation that the promised healing is to take place (James 5.16). Such prayer exercised within and on behalf of the community has power — James says it is “effective.” [4]

I think all of us can agree that as God’s people, we all need regular repentance and soul-searching, no matter what. We are also all in need of healing, personally, and certainly communally. Isn’t that what James tells us here?

At the end of this 5th chapter, this practical how-to manual on the Christian life, we can follow the heavenly prescription James sets forth. We can pray. We can worship. “We learn about how to be God’s people by reading the Bible. We find ways to serve – to do spiritual exercises that both help the world and strengthen us. We develop relationships within our faith community [or church] that are healing and helpful. And we learn to be generous – to share the many good things God has given us with others.” [5]

Whether it is the healing touch of the laying on of hands, or a simple hug from a sister or brother in Christ, or the potent power of prayer or the relief of corporate confession, active participation in the Body of Christ is preventative medicine at its best. What are you waiting for? There’s no co-pay, third-party billing, or lifetime limits on God’s grace and love. Prayer is our heavenly prescription from God.

Alleluia, amen!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/09/rx-for-broken-lives-and-faltering-faith/

[2] https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/09/rx-for-broken-lives-and-faltering-faith/

[3] https://fosteringyourfaith.com/2018/09/30/time-for-compassion/

[4] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-2/commentary-on-james-513-20-4

[5] https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/09/rx-for-broken-lives-and-faltering-faith/

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Wisdom from Above!

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“Wisdom from Above!”

James 3:13-4:3 (3:17) – September 22, 2024

            I wonder if you can think of people who are called the best at something? The greatest athlete in a sport? The smartest student at your school? The best chef or best writer or best driver or best of anything? Just imagine how much bitter jealousy that comment can promote. Or, how much selfishness and blind ambition all this empty striving and competition leads to!

Worldly “wisdom” is anything but wise, according to our letter writer James. I am sure you recognize these jealous, covetous people. They regularly moan and kvetch and sometimes outright quarrel about what they have or about what they don’t have. James tells us about these dissatisfied, disgruntled people in our Scripture reading today.  

            Just listen to his description: “If in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don’t sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. 15 Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic. 16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.”  

This kind of worldly striving, dog-eat-dog attitude is definitely not what James has in mind for us, as believers in Christ. He shines the spotlight on how believers ought to live. Listen! “13 Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom.”

Can there be a sharper contrast between the dissatisfied, selfish, boastful worldly “wisdom” and the Godly, humble, beneficial wisdom and way of life that James talks about here? Not likely. Remember, in this practical letter, this how-to manual, James advises his friends on how to live in a way pleasing to God.

            It’s true that this fancy, flashy excitement can be attractive, even seductive, on the surface! But, all that is just for show, simply surface, an inch deep, and nothing more than worldly dissatisfaction, boastfulness and jealously. But, let’s be truthful – which of us is not tempted, sometimes, by the alluring or bright and shiny trappings of the way of worldly “wisdom?” Which of us doesn’t fall in step with others who might be jealous, or bitter, or selfish – sometimes? Most important, which of us leaves the simple, quiet, godly life of contentment for the flashy, glitzy (and shallow) excitement that so soon fades?

            Let’s consider the worldly, flawed way of thinking and being, for a moment. Carolyn Brown, retired Children’s Ministry Director, has written a prayer for this reading. Listen, if you would, and see whether these words from Ms. Brown do not resonate in our hearts.

Dear God, we want to look amazing.  

We want great clothes, cool shoes, a great haircut. We want our homes filled with our stuff.

We want all the best people to be our friends. We want to be the first, the best, the most, the greatest. So we grab and hold and demand. We even kick and punch to get what we want.

Forgive us.

Teach us to let go, to open our hands and hearts to others. Teach us to be content with what we have and to share it.

Teach us to think as much about what OTHERS want as what WE want. Teach us to be as loving as Jesus. Amen. [1]

            This prayer penetrates straight to the heart, let me tell you! I want to ask God for forgiveness, and to help me live in a loving way, like Jesus. I hope you do, too.

            This prayer makes me think of the Jewish High Holidays, which are quickly approaching. During the month before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, faithful Jews prepare for these holidays by examining their hearts. They meditate and pray, and ask forgiveness of God, of others, and of themselves for the sins and shortcomings of the past year.

            We also have a weekly time of confession and prayer at the beginning of each worship service. Thank God we receive the assurance of pardon each Sunday from our loving Lord! Yet, we keep on sinning. We still need to keep confessing our sins and shortcomings, and receive that assurance of pardon and forgiveness. Is it any wonder that we have this very practical how-to manual of how to live the Christian life by our letter-writer James, in the New Testament?  

            James assures his readers of Godly wisdom, because he describes its results. “Believers need to submit to the wise rule of God through the Spirit of God, a rule which purifies from within.” [2] The practical consequences of this wise rule of God are easy to observe. People who live God’s way are peaceable, considerate, gentle and non-combative! Does this sound very worldly to you? Certainly not selfish or jealous or bitter!

            What I wonder: how is the life of Jesus any mirror to our personal lives? Jesus is certainly recorded as merciful and loving. That is displayed over and over again in the Gospel record! When I think of our Lord Jesus during that three-year period of time in Palestine, I cannot think of anyone more sincere, honest or peaceable. More real and yet penetrating to the heart. I would love to have just a fraction of that Godly attitude and lifestyle as part of mine!

What – practically – can we take away from this reading today? Can we concentrate on living like Jesus? Living the Jesus way is peaceable, considerate, gentle and non-combative. Jesus is sincere, honest, and real. Can we make a commitment to live like Jesus?

This is the how-to of living a life pleasing to God, being filled with the presence of God. “[You and I] are works in process. This isn’t about completion and the satisfaction of a job well done; it is about a journey of discovery and transformation. But peace [gentleness, mercy, and lovingkindness] can be our companions in the journey to keep our feet on the path.” [3]

            Practical James would wholeheartedly agree! Keep on keeping on. Live in God’s way, in the wonderful, honest presence of Jesus. It’s a sure-fire way to have God draw near to each one of us. Alleluia, amen.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2012/08/year-b-proper-20-25th-sunday-in_30.html

Worshiping with Children

[2] http://www.lectionarystudies.com/sunday25bee.html  

[3]  https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/doers-of-the-word/seventeenth-sunday-after-pentecost-year-b-lectionary-planning-notes

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What about the Tongue?

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“What about the Tongue?”

James 3:1-12 (3:1-12) – September 15, 2024

How many of us can remember that old playground saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me!” children and young people may put on a brave face when they are teased, hurt and picked on. Children and young people can be particularly mean, teasing each other, with left-handed compliments, and even downright insults. But, what insight does this Bible reading from James give us about this very problem?

Let’s hear again these serious words from James. “Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! 6 And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself. 7 We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures—wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 8 But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison.”

Such a little part of the body – the tongue! And yet, despite the playground saying, the tongue can really hurt. “When people are called nasty, dirty names they know what the name caller thinks of them – and that hurts. Those people can be strong, not believe the name caller, and work to prove they are better than the name caller claims. But, it still hurts.” [1]

Names can cause pain, internally. The hurt feelings can smart and fester for a long time. And sometimes, people remember mean words, nasty words or harsh words years after they heard them. Sometimes even decades later. Words can come back to haunt us – either words we have said, or words we have heard. Internalized. Taken to heart.         

Who hasn’t been on the receiving end of a nasty argument, or mean, angry words? Sometimes, words can even change the way we think about ourselves.

Our letter-writer James would whole-heartedly agree. Remember, in this letter the apostle James writes a manual of Christian living. A how-to book on how to live a life pleasing to God.

The big problem with mean, hasty or thoughtless words is that they cannot be unsaid. Once the words have been said out loud – or, sometimes worse, printed electronically in social media – the mean or hasty or thoughtless words are out there in public, whether texts, or tweets or TikTok. These various kinds of words cannot be taken back. And, James cautions all of us on the danger of a tongue that just flaps in the wind! Or, as James says, burns like a forest fire or is fast acting as deadly poison!

Commentator Rev. Dr. Derek Weber thinks further about mean, nasty name-calling and the destructive nature of words. “In our normal catalog of sins, gossip is somewhere far down the list. We are much more concerned about other kinds of misbehavior. James would have us reconsider our hierarchy [of sins] and raise our awareness of the power of words to bring harm to the body of Christ.” [2]  

In Yiddish folklore, there is a story about a woman who would gossip and make false accusations about her neighbors. She never understood the implications of her words until the wise rabbi of her village decided to demonstrate it to her. He told her to get a feather pillow, cut the top off, and run around town with it. As she did that, the feathers flew away and fluttered all around the town. The wise rabbi then told her to collect all of the feathers that flew away and put them back in the pillow. She just couldn’t. It was an impossible task, she told him. “Maybe now you will understand,” he explained, “for you see, your words are like those feathers. Once they get out, it’s impossible to put them all back in.”

Our letter-writer James would so much agree! “As God’s children we are to be careful how we use the power of words. We are called to bless rather than harm, to seek justice and peace for all rather than revenge or harm.” [3] And, I do not want any of us to think that God is just a frowning or disapproving Supreme Being in the sky, ready to hurl thunder bolts at anyone who sins and lets their tongue run on and is a name caller and a gossip.

No, God is serious about sin, that is true! However, we can think of God our Heavenly Parent sort of like a well-loved elder who you and I love and cherish so much, who we do not want to disappoint, who we very much want to do our very best for!

Let’s flip this around, and look at our words from a positive light. Recall how you felt when someone said good, positive things to you or about you. How did you feel, deep down inside? Just think hard about the positive, beneficial impact of these words! James tells us we can certainly bless one another, just as much as we let slip mean or hateful words!

How can we build up each other with our words? What kind of effect would positive affirmations, sincere compliments and just plain being kind have on our daily interactions? I mean all of our interactions, it doesn’t matter with who. Family, friends, acquaintances, even people you meet on the street. Even people who don’t look like us, or speak our language, or wear familiar clothes. Maybe, especially different folks!

I offer the following challenge: find ways of blessing others through kind words, affirmations, and positive reinforcement. Look for everyday opportunities! Try it for the next week, and then the week after that. This is as much a challenge for me as it is for you! Please, find ways of blessing others. [4]  Remember, in this letter the apostle James writes a manual of Christian living. A how-to book on how to live a life pleasing to God. James encourages us to bless each other.

Please, consider turning to your neighbor, to the person in the next pew, and saying, “God bless you!” “God be with you!” Do it, right now. Please. That’s the way to live pleasing to God.

Finally, how would Jesus speak? Would Jesus say kind, helpful, encouraging, positive words? Would Jesus bless people? Do that. And, God will be so pleased!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2012/08/year-b-proper-19-24th-sunday-in.html

[2] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/doers-of-the-word/sixteenth-sunday-after-pentecost-year-b-lectionary-planning-notes/sixteenth-sunday-after-pentecost-year-b-preaching-notes

[3] https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2012/09/the-gratitude-attitude/

[4] Ibid.

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Playing Favorites!

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“Playing Favorites!”

James 2:1-10, 14-17 (2:17) – September 8, 2024

            Sometimes, my husband and I step back and observe our fellow human beings. For example, when we are at a coffee shop, or walking through a park. My husband calls it “people watching.” And sometimes, we catch snatches of conversation, too. Some of these bits of conversations are quite revealing! Sometimes, we can even hear about relationships between these people, and their family or friends. These relationships are not always the most healthy.

            Who has all really healthy, happy relationships in their family? Or, friend groups, and acquaintances? Do you – do I – have friends or family members who are mean sometimes? Or who gossip? What about family who have bad habits, like rooting for the wrong sports teams? Or to be more serious, what about friends or family members who play favorites? Who prefer certain people because of their fancy clothes, or their popularity, or how much money they have?

            That is exactly what James is talking about here in chapter 2. This letter from James is so practical! Yes, he does refer to theological concepts now and then, but James wants to give us a manual of Christian living: living the way we as believers are called to live! The description in this reading today is a pertinent, hard-hitting example. 

            James says, “Suppose a rich man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes to your meeting, and a poor man in ragged clothes also comes. 3 If you show more respect to the well-dressed man and say to him, “Have this best seat here,” but say to the poor man, “Stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my feet,” 4 then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgments based on evil motives.”

            One of my biblical commentators says, “The problem is ‘status serving’ – favoritism. Playing favorites! We are easily attracted toward the successful, wealthy and beautiful people. Yet for James, such partiality is something quite evil.” [1] Playing favorites is definitely not a way for anyone to please God, or to live the way we as believers are called to live. 

            The Gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary today also has some difficult, hard-hitting points. Jesus and the disciples are in the racially-mixed area of the Decapolis, near the Sea of Galilee in the far north of Israel. A Gentile woman approaches the Rabbi Jesus while He is at dinner, and asks Him to please heal her daughter. Jesus says some challenging words to her about being a Gentile. She convinces Jesus to help her and heal her daughter, which He does.

            This Gospel reading deals with favoritism and being partial to one group while excluding another group. Who would Jesus exclude? Would He exclude me and my family? Would favoritism include you? How about your children, or grandchildren? 

            These are difficult issues raised by both the apostle James and the Gospel writer Mark.

            Favoritism is all over the place! At work, in the school room, on sports teams, at home. Even – perhaps, especially, as James says – in our local churches. “To seek out the ‘beautiful’ people in our congregation and give them honour because of wealth, status in society, looks, youthfulness, race, education, breeding, success….. is a most ugly way to develop a Christian fellowship. Favoritism is rife in society, let it not exist in our church.” [2]

            Preferring one person over another or one group of people over another is a very worldly way of approaching life. James tells us point blank that we are not to behave this way. Period.  If we take the bare bones approach and look at what the apostle Paul tells us, that we are all one in Christ, and that we are to all love one another, as both Paul and John remind us, some might say we can all simply join hands in a big circle around a campfire and sing “Kum-by-yah” feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and that would be more than enough for the Christian life.

            If that simplistic attitude and short-sighted way of behavior was the only thing we had to do to live the Christian life, then the Christian life would be an insular, warm-and-fuzzy thing indeed. But, as James tells us throughout this letter, there is much more to the Christian life. In this letter, he gives us a how-to manual. A manual for living the way believers are called to live.   

            If we take the example that James gives us, one quick solution would be to simply buy the poor person a new outfit. See? Now the two people coming into church look the same! But, that is only a shallow, simplistic quick-fix for the situation. Instead, James “is asking them to treat the [poor] man with the same respect they would offer a well-dressed man.  Learning to do that in a culture that separates and creates fear between the richer and the poorer requires practice.” [3] This problem goes deep down in people’s attitudes, and is much more serious – even insidious. James says plainly, “Don’t be snobs! Don’t play favorites!”

            I can remember a church I attended some years ago was part of a group of houses of worship that hosted midday meals for the homeless once a week, as well as hosting a warming center during the winter months for five hours in the afternoon and early evening, allowing the homeless to gather inside in a safe space that was warm and welcoming. My husband volunteered at the warming center, and some of those friends who attended regularly mentioned how grateful they were for the church opening their doors freely.

            Yes, make sure our internal attitudes line up with the way that is pleasing to God. Remember, practical, matter-of-fact James shows us a manual for Christian living. Does God choose favorites? What if you are one of those excluded homeless people, or left-out high school kids, sitting at the loser lunch table, with no way to even get close to God? Shut out from God’s loving, caring, nurturing presence?

            Thank God we are always God’s beloved children! We are always the favorites – all of us! Here is a quote by Max Lucado. See if it resonates with you. “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If God had a wallet, your photo would be in it. God sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning Face it, friend – God is crazy about you!“

            Does God choose favorites? No! That is the way God feels about each one of us! Please, remember that as you go into the world. Treat every single person you meet as a very beloved child of God – because, they are! No matter what, no matter who!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] http://www.lectionarystudies.com/sunday23be.html

[2] Ibid.

[3] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2012/08/year-b-proper-18-23rd-sunday-in.html

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Go to Work for God!

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“Go to Work for God!”

James 1:17-25 (1:19-20) – September 1, 2024

This is Labor Day weekend, all across the nation, a weekend to picnic, to barbeque, to go to the beach or pool one last time, or a weekend to get out into nature. This is the unofficial end of summer, and the beginning of our fall schedule. Even the college football season started this weekend! You know it’s got to be fall when football begins and baseball winds down.

But, it’s also Labor Day weekend – commemorating “when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.” [1]

            What does the history of our holiday of Labor Day have to do with this Bible reading from the first chapter of the letter of James? Just this: “God is at work for the health of this world God loves so much.” [2]     

            We know this letter is from the apostle James, but who on earth is he writing to? He says who, several verses back, and in fact throughout the letter. He is writing to his fellow believers in Christ, those who are dispersed, who are scattered far and wide. James refers to these fellow believers as “beloved” and “brothers,” so you can tell that he has a relationship with them. In other words, James is not just writing to some stranger in another city.

            I don’t know about you, but when I’m communicating with someone I know, it’s a lot easier for me to be open and to come straight out with important stuff I need to say.  I think it’s the same with the apostle James, especially since I’m familiar with this letter and its contents. He must have known some of these people pretty well, because he talks straight. He doesn’t pull his punches. And, what he’s communicating here in chapter 1 is pretty significant.

Remember how James began this passage? “Every generous act of giving…comes from above.” That means every generous act of giving. Not some generous acts, not only Christian acts of giving (whatever those might be). But ALL generous acts of giving. Period. No matter WHO does them. They all come from above – that is, from God, or Godly impulses. All that we do that is good comes from God, which is an amazing statement. [3]

            We all can do God’s work, all the time. Not just on Sunday.

            A natural follow-up to Godly giving and Godly working is Godly listening. James says, “19 Remember this, my dear friends! Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. 20 Human anger does not achieve God’s righteous purpose.” Not only are we to listen well, what does James say next? Don’t get angry!

            James has the following advice in the following verses: “So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.” My goodness! What is James doing here, writing a heavenly advice column? It certainly sounds like it. And, heavenly advice it is, too.  

            James even gets down to specifics. Avoid these behaviors! Don’t be slow to listen! Don’t be quick to anger! Plus, promote these behaviors! Instead, be quick to listen! Be slow to speak! And most important, be “eager to care for those most vulnerable. All of these things are within our reach.” As commentator Dr. David Lose says, “What parent doesn’t want to be slower to anger with his or her children? What friend doesn’t want to be a better listener? Aren’t all of us in a position to offer help and support to those in need?” [4] James here is encouraging all of us not just to think the faith, but to do it.

            Here, James is dealing with the Law. God’s rule book. James is a faithful Jewish follower of God, and as such is thoroughly steeped in the Mosaic Law code, or God’s rule book. Moreover, he has a pragmatic way of looking at the new way of living that comes from following his Messiah Jesus. Again, don’t just think the faith or hear the faith. Instead, do it!

            I return time and again to Carolyn Brown, retired Director of Children’s Ministry and commentator on the nuts and bolts of the Bible. She breaks things down to simple, straight forward truths. She says of this reading, “At the beginning of the school year children are learning the rules for their new classes, teams and clubs.  The rules tell them who they are and how they act in each situation.  Knowing that is important to them.” [5] 

            Just so with James. God’s rule book is important to him, too! Plus, following the way of God, following these acts of giving, acts of mercy, or advocacy, or support, or friendship are available to any of us. All of us, all the time. This manual for Christian living is NOT just something we do on Sundays, not just when we are in church or thinking heavenly thoughts. We can go to work for God anytime. All the time. Anywhere. Everywhere.  

            Dr. David Lose suggests that we try something for this coming week. Each of us consider this challenge. “write down one place [you] will be in the coming week where God could use [you] to listen, to be patient, or to care for those in need.” [6]  We are hereby all commissioned as God’s co-workers and partners. We all can continue to help make this world a more trustworthy, safe and healthy place, to work for God on this Labor Day, and every day. Alleluia, amen!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history

[2] https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/ordinary-saints

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2015/08/year-b-proper-17-22nd-sunday-in.html

[6] https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/ordinary-saints