Pentecost 16-St. James 1:17-22 (23-25) 26-27

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son,+ and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

‘This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit the orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.’ (V. 27)

In a book written some time ago, the author reports that there is a relationship between a person’s churchgoing and his concern for oppressed minorities according to the latest studies. That is, his concern for his neighbor. Yet, the studies that report this also report that there is a paradox involved.

For, churchgoing people are both more and less inclined to care about oppressed minorities as compared to nonchurchgoing people. That author tells his readers that churchgoing people whose relationship with the church is one that is purely centered upon a social or institutional connection to the church are less concerned about the lost and oppressed than those who do not attend a church.

Such individuals as these consider it the safe option to go to church.

On the other hand, churchgoers who have taken seriously the teachings of Jesus on love and brotherhood are far more concerned about the oppressed than those who do not attend church. Once again, the deeper our faith and identification with Christ, the greater will be our concern for others. Thus the greater will be our sorrow when we see others suffering.[1]

This is what St. James is trying to explain to you and me as he writes his epistle. This is why he is speaking about a pure and undefiled religion according to our heavenly Father. This is why James is telling you and me that what is important is to visit the oppressed minorities. That is, the orphans and widows and those in distress. With this, you and I are to keep us unstained by the world. That is, unstained by sin.

‘Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.’ (V. 17)

Unlike you and me and all other men, there is no such variation in God. As James tells us, there is no shifting shadow. By contrast, we might be a true follower or we may be a social tagalong. Or, you or I might give a gift. Yet, that gift is what we term a “white elephant”. That is, a gift that no one actually wants. A gift that neither I as the giver or you as the receiver would wish for. God is not like that. He only gives gifts that are good and perfect. There is no variation.

On the same token, temptation does not come from God. We confess this very thing when we pray the Lord’s Prayer but we also see it elsewhere in the Bible. When we read Genesis, we see that Eve and then Adam is tempted. We also see that the temptation they succumb to does not come from God. Again, when we read the book of Job, we see that the temptation and trial that is allowed to bring Job low is not from God either. We believe that God tempts no one. It is more than that though, God cannot tempt anyone. After all, only good and perfect things can come from the good and perfect God (St. Lk. 11:11-13). Evil has a different source.

‘In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures. This you know, my beloved brethren.’ (Vv. 18, 19a)

We are called to be hearers. Even more, we are called to be listeners. You and I as Christians are not simply supposed to hear what our Savior has to tell us. Instead, we are to actually listen to Jesus’ words. So, we should be quick to listen. After all, as one ancient writer put it, “we were given two ears and one tongue so that we may hear more and speak less”[2].

This is what you are to do when you hear the words of Jesus. You and I are to clamp our mouths shut and open our ears. We are hearing the voice of our beloved. What other better music could there be for us?

This is why our lessons are what they are. As you may have noticed, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf and the mouth of the mute being opened by the words of the Gospel. What is more, these lame who are healed by the words of the Gospel will shout for joy when the Gospel is heard.

Again, St. Mark relates an incident when Jesus healed those who came to us. Curiously, Jesus is healing a man who is deaf and mute. That man in Mark is made to hear and speak again. Because of this miracle, the people are amazed. They cry out, “He even makes the mute and deaf to speak and hear”. Except, we would hope that they had at least heard the prophecies of Isaiah. Even if they had not, there are other prophecies, which speak about the healing of those who are mute and deaf and blind and lame.

This is what all the prophets had said the Messiah would do. The Jews should not have been surprised, yet they were.

‘But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. … If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.’ (Vv. 19b-22, 26)

We are instead called to be slow to speak. We are to be listening to those words of the people around us. We, you and I, are to hear what others have to say before speaking. Hear the hurt; hear the damage and pain of the suffering because of sin. What this really means is, love your neighbor as yourself. Put his needs first. None of you can listen to the hurts of others when your mouth is open. We all know how often parents need to remind the child in front of them to stop talking and start listening. I know I have already done it more times than I know with my boys. Yet, for every time that we as parents remind our children of this, we have likely been just as guilty of not listening ourselves. That is, our mouths are open when we should be quiet and listening.

We have been crushed by our Savior by the guilt of sin so that we might be ‘brought us forth by the word of truth’. This is a good grief however. This is a grief that shows you your sin and allows for Jesus to re-create you from the nothing that He has made you[3]. This is James’ way of telling us that “you cannot do it on your own”. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you that any of us are rescued from the mire of our sin. It is only by the Spirit working in your life that you are able to have faith (Small Catechism II: 3rd Art.).

In our passage we are instructed by the blessed writer how it is that we are to use our ears and tongue. James tells us that we are to use all of ourselves to the glory of God who has saved us and blessed us with eternal life.

So, you may be asking yourself, how am I to do this? Neither you nor I can do this on our own. Yet, we can do this. We can use all of ourselves to the glory of the God who has blessed you with eternal life. How can you do this? This is accomplished because of our Savior living in you. All any of us need to do is turn on a TV or radio and pay attention for a few moments and we know that there is too much evil in this world. James tells us here to get rid of that evil from our lives and live opposite to the world by humbly accepting the Word of truth that the Holy Spirit has used to bring us each to faith.

So, now where are we? We are hearing the Word. So what? James says to us. This is not enough for the brother of our Lord. For you or me to accept the Word of the Lord is more than just hearing it. Too often, you and I get this far and we are content to stay put. We are hearers of the Word and we think that this is enough.

‘Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. … This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit the orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.’ (Vv. 21, 22, 27)

This is a very old and well-used trap of Satan. He used it with the Jews for generations, telling them, “Listen and God will be pleased. Go to church and that is all that is necessary”. How many of us have fallen prey to this same temptation at one time or another.

James is saying in these verses that it is more than that. Just being in church and listening to the Word of God is not enough. Paul tells us the same thing, ‘we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.’ (Eph. 2:10) In other words, we are not simply hearers as Christians, we are also doers of God’s Word. We not only claim that we are forgiven and redeemed. We not only cling to that forgiveness and salvation, we also go out telling others of that same salvation and forgiveness that is for them also.

If you have been rescued from certain death you would be so overjoyed at the sacrifice of the one who rescued you, you would proclaim the news of that rescue to all whom you met. We do the same with the news that Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection has rescued you. What joy and peace we have now that our future is certain in Christ Jesus.[4] This is the joy of our life now living in the love of Christ.

In Jesus’+ Name. Amen.

[1] Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations, p. 188, entry #881.
[2] Ibid, p. 128, entry #581. The ancient writer is the Greek writer Zeno.
[3] The Gospel According to Peanuts, Short. John Knox Press ch. IV.
[4] The Power of Pure Stewardship, Berner, CPH p. 48ff.