James 2:1-10, 14-17
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? 8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
Reflections
Who is really poor? According to James, there is the poor who don't wear "fine clothes," who are told to stand or sit at the feet of others, who are judged by others, who are dishonored, who are oppressed. But, these poor are are rich in faith and are heirs to the kingdom of God! So, the poor are rich.
Who are the rich? Those with bright and fine clothes, those who oppress, they blaspheme, they sin by showing partiality to one person over another. So, the rich do bad things to other people, who say bad things about God's people...unless you're talking about those who are "rich in faith." That's different. Those who are poor but rich in faith are something else.
This kind of thought might seem wrong (it does to me). It exacerbates the negativity of an "us versus them" mindset. This kind of overturning of "judges with evil thoughts," really just places those who are poor but rich in faith in a position above those who are rich with nice clothes. I mean, really think about it. Say you're an unemployed 20-something (or, 30-, 40-, 50-something) who has experience in your field, or has the willingness to learn, or has college or master's degrees tucked in a box in mom's closet. Imagine that you've got the talents and know-how, but you have no job (for some of us, it's not too hard to imagine). But, everywhere you go, there is someone richer, with finer clothes, a better history...there are people in higher society positions who get better jobs or choose someone other than you for a job. I can see how these verses about the rich and poor might prompt me to vilify every person who has more than I have. But, they don't. Because James doesn't stop at telling us that the poor are promised the riches of God's kingdom.
Notice, James does not say all of the rich are blasphemers, evil judges. James doesn't even say that the rich cannot have faith. But, James does say: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?
James makes us ask ourselves, What good is my faith? I know that faith comes through hearing the Word of God, faith comes from experiencing that great love which surpasses all understanding, faith comes from our parents and friends and teachers and even strangers, faith comes from the work of the Spirit. I know what faith feels like. Faith feels like I'm rich--even when I'm poor--it feels like there is love even when I know that I have sinned and blasphemed more than any person of wealth could sin or blaspheme. And, faith feels like I can't just have it. It feels like I can't just sit on a wealth of faith and tell those who don't have it to sit at my feet. Faith prods at my conscience when I want to condemn the person who has better clothes than I have (fyi: clothes is probably just a metaphor for anything that we materialize and give value). Faith makes me consider that even the person I think is worthless is not.
The terms poor and rich are relative. We each bring baggage to discussion of these terms--my baggage is that I've never had money but always had family and while that's not entirely bad, it takes effort for me to remember that even people who have money can have good families, too. Your baggage might be different. I think what is consistent though is that everyone is susceptible to comparing one person to another--or oneself to another. When it comes to faith, no person's faith is richer or poorer--God calls us into (or maybe out of) faith to stop comparing, stop judging, stop creating lines of rich and poor and to start loving.
In his speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention this week, Bill Clinton said, "We're all in this together," more than once. He said this mindset is morally right and beneficial for our society. As Christians, we ought to think this sounds right. Living together, loving each other, erasing those lines between poverty and upper classes...that's what James is telling us faith does. Faith helps us react to the problems of the world with love and care without partiality to those who are like or unlike us.
My Prayer For Today
God, remind me that faith is for all. Remind me that you call servants from all walks of life in ways which use our gifts. Give me patience as that call arises. Give me gratitude as others are called. Allow all of your people--rich and poor--to see the equality that your grace give us that we may be called by faith to live fully in your kingdom. Amen.
This kind of thought might seem wrong (it does to me). It exacerbates the negativity of an "us versus them" mindset. This kind of overturning of "judges with evil thoughts," really just places those who are poor but rich in faith in a position above those who are rich with nice clothes. I mean, really think about it. Say you're an unemployed 20-something (or, 30-, 40-, 50-something) who has experience in your field, or has the willingness to learn, or has college or master's degrees tucked in a box in mom's closet. Imagine that you've got the talents and know-how, but you have no job (for some of us, it's not too hard to imagine). But, everywhere you go, there is someone richer, with finer clothes, a better history...there are people in higher society positions who get better jobs or choose someone other than you for a job. I can see how these verses about the rich and poor might prompt me to vilify every person who has more than I have. But, they don't. Because James doesn't stop at telling us that the poor are promised the riches of God's kingdom.
Notice, James does not say all of the rich are blasphemers, evil judges. James doesn't even say that the rich cannot have faith. But, James does say: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?
James makes us ask ourselves, What good is my faith? I know that faith comes through hearing the Word of God, faith comes from experiencing that great love which surpasses all understanding, faith comes from our parents and friends and teachers and even strangers, faith comes from the work of the Spirit. I know what faith feels like. Faith feels like I'm rich--even when I'm poor--it feels like there is love even when I know that I have sinned and blasphemed more than any person of wealth could sin or blaspheme. And, faith feels like I can't just have it. It feels like I can't just sit on a wealth of faith and tell those who don't have it to sit at my feet. Faith prods at my conscience when I want to condemn the person who has better clothes than I have (fyi: clothes is probably just a metaphor for anything that we materialize and give value). Faith makes me consider that even the person I think is worthless is not.
The terms poor and rich are relative. We each bring baggage to discussion of these terms--my baggage is that I've never had money but always had family and while that's not entirely bad, it takes effort for me to remember that even people who have money can have good families, too. Your baggage might be different. I think what is consistent though is that everyone is susceptible to comparing one person to another--or oneself to another. When it comes to faith, no person's faith is richer or poorer--God calls us into (or maybe out of) faith to stop comparing, stop judging, stop creating lines of rich and poor and to start loving.
In his speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention this week, Bill Clinton said, "We're all in this together," more than once. He said this mindset is morally right and beneficial for our society. As Christians, we ought to think this sounds right. Living together, loving each other, erasing those lines between poverty and upper classes...that's what James is telling us faith does. Faith helps us react to the problems of the world with love and care without partiality to those who are like or unlike us.
My Prayer For Today
God, remind me that faith is for all. Remind me that you call servants from all walks of life in ways which use our gifts. Give me patience as that call arises. Give me gratitude as others are called. Allow all of your people--rich and poor--to see the equality that your grace give us that we may be called by faith to live fully in your kingdom. Amen.
(I know this entry doesn't solve any issues that anyone probably has with the text...hopefully, it gives you something to think about...I'm sure thinking about it.)
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