James insists that Real Faith gets to work and affects real-life issues like money, poverty, social justice, how we speak to each other, handling conflict, dealing with persecution...It's intensely practical, and apparently, not very religious... except that James doesn't recognize the difference between a "religious" part of life, and the other part. And in fact, neither do we. I mean, if Jesus isn't in charge of the "ordinary" bits of life, you can be pretty certain he's not really in charge of the religious bits either. Real faith radicalizes both "everyday life" and "religious life"! Now he finishes off as he starts with his concern for survival in the faith. Real faith, that tugs and pushes how we relate to the real world, also impinges on how we "do religion..."
The Coming Kingdom ...
James speaks to the poor (the mainstay of the New Testament Church!) and says, "Be patient - hang in until Jesus comes back." Our hope is beyond history. It is about when Jesus comes back to judge the world. This is what we wait for. We are living in the anticipation of Jesus coming back. (1Th 4:16f) Then, all the challenges, and pains that we experience in this age, will be ended. He is going to make a new heavens and a new earth (Rev 21. 1). He is going to make everything new and there will be no place for the old order stuff: tears, death, mourning, crying, pain, (Rev 21:4) darkness; nothing unclean or accursed. Isn't that breathtaking? Isn't' that something to look forward to? There is life after this. It's going to be good! That's our hope!
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| Rainbow At MaraetaiBeach New Zealand Image in Public Domain |
But that hope isn't just "pie in the sky when you die". It isn't just something to look forward to so that we can get through the trials of life in this world. Rather, it is a solid hope for the future of the Kingdom - the reign of God - that releases us in anticipation of that coming Kingdom, to live in that Kingdom now. While waiting for the final harvest, we are also waiting for the rains - that will make that harvest happen. In Israel there is "early rain" in October that softens the soil for sowing the seed; and "later rain" in April or May, which caused the grain to swell up before the harvest. Sending both the early and the late rain is the act of the God who keeps his promises. (Dt. 11. 14) James brings it home very practically.
He speaks to "Brothers" - as he does in every chapter of his letter. That sense of relatedness with each other because of our relationship with Jesus, is vital. The Church was never intended to be an institution with a constitution and a mission statement. It was intended to be a community of people. These things may help ensure that the community is safe and healthy. But they are not the church. Under all that, are relationships. People who can call each other "brother." As we wait for Jesus to come back, part of our discipleship must be calling one another "brother".
We need to be patient with irritating people, and we need to be steadfast in difficult circumstances as we wait for the coming of Jesus.
We need to be honest in all our dealings. Jesus isn't telling us we should refuse to take the oath in a court of law; he is saying we must be scrupulously honest in everything. Every "no" means "No" and every "Yes" means, "Yes"
The Present Kingdom ....
And as we wait for that day to come, James calls us to experience the Kingdom in three ways:
1. The possibility of real healing
Those who are "Suffering" (v13): meaning generally having bad stuff happen in life, are to pray. (Those who are joyful are to sing praises!) And those who are ill are to seek healing ministry.
The word "sick" implies something physically wrong that makes a person unable to work. What are poor people to do in that situation? Especially were there is no medicine - or where health services are too expensive for the poor? The Church needs to rediscover its Jesus-like ministry in this area. There are mistakes to avoid:
(1) Making healing so important that we forget about Heaven and behave as though death was the worst thing that could happen to a Christian! Death is the final healing!
(2) Making healing a nice thing for Christians to enjoy - when most of the healing Jesus did was in the context of mission.
However, here, James does talk about healing - in the context of what happens within the church community. How does it work?
Call the elders. A time of illness can be an isolating experience. Don't go it alone; call the elders: formally appointed Church leaders, who because the sick person cannot go to Church, effectively take the Church to him or her. (By the way, God sometimes gives us words of guidance to get us to where we are needed; but we are not to presume. If you don't tell your church leaders you're ill, don't blame them for not knowing!
Anointing with oil: See Mk 6. 13. "The healing work is done by God's Spirit, offered freely to man's need and appropriated by faith, but material aids may sometimes prepare the way." (Leslie Mitton) anointing is done "In the name of Jesus" (which means "with the authority of Jesus,") and is accompanied by the prayer of faith.
Diversity in healing. The prayer of faith will save (literally, sozein); God will raise him up (wake from sleep, raise the dead, cause him to stand up); confess your sins and pray that you may be healed (doctored, cured). Physical health is closely linked with spiritual and emotional healing.
Body ministry in healing Confession and prayer is not merely a ministry of elders to members of the body (although they commissioned to minister in this way) but for everyone.
2. The power of believing prayer.
Elijah foretold the drought that was God's judgment on a people who went away from him, (I Kings 17. 1-2); and he saw the tiny cloud that said the rain would come again three years later. (I Kings 18. 42ff); he prayed the prophesied events into reality. There is a principal there. God prophesies and promises. But we are called to pray.
I find it impossible to conceive that James could have mentioned the early and late rains in verse 7, and then forgotten about them by verse 17! As we look towards the future coming of the Kingdom, we need to pray for the present coming of the Kingdom, the early rain and the later rain. As we look towards the Day of Pentecost and praise God for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church, it would be good to pray "Lord, renew your wonders, as of a new Pentecost".
3. The practice of disciple-making
Finally, James thinks of the ones who look as if they re not surviving and thriving, but drifting from the truth. So he finishes off by saying whoever sees someone heading into spiritual danger, and in love, without giving them a telling off, reaches out to bring them back to the where they should be, will save that soul from death and cover, hide from view a huge pile of sin. Isn't that a lovely, gracious thing to be doing? That's discipleship. And it's for everyone. James doesn't actually say, "Whoever does that". He says, "When one of you does it."As we come to the end of our series on James, the call is for all of us to be one-to-one disciples. It is for all of us to be growing, taking responsibility for our own development as Christians; and for all of us to be taking responsibility for the care of one another. Every disciple is meant to be making disciples, encouraging other people to grow. That's part of the Kingdom, now. It's part of discipleship. It's meant to be part of the everyday life of every Christian.
© Gilmour Lilly April 2012
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