Subversive Wisdom: Consider it! ~ James 1:1-18 (series on James)

¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. ¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. ¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created. ~ James 1:1-18

 

 Earlier this week I wrote an email about the Christian ethicist Ron Sider who tells an interesting story about the

Pulitzer prize winning author Upton Sinclair. Sinclair was speaking to a group of pastors and read a portion of the book of James to them and yet attributed the words to Emma Goldman, an anarchist and critic of the government. Upon

hearing this, “the ministers were indignant, and their response was, 'This woman out to be deported at once!'" Ouch!

And so write off the bat, as we begin our series on the book of James, perhaps we should answer the question, “Who wrote it?” Now, if you’re are paying attention you might consider that question as silly as the childhood riddle, “Whose body is in Grant’s tomb?” The answer, “Bob.” Just kidding. No, if I asked you who wrote the book of James, you would probably say, “James.” But, which James? The name appears forty times in the New Testament and could be one of five choices:

• ·       James the father of Judas, who was one of the original apostles, also called Thaddaeus (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13)
• ·       James the Less or Younger, son of Mary who was the wife of Cleopas (Mark 15:40; Matt. 27:56; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10)
• ·       James the son of Alphaeus, one of the Twelve original apostles (Mark 3:18; Matt. 10:3; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13)
• ·       James the son of Zebedee and brother of the apostle John and also one of the Twelve original apostles who was beheaded by Herod Agrippa (Mark 1:18; 3:17; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13, 12:2)
• ·       James (the Just) the brother of Jesus, son of THE Mary (Mark 6:3; Matt. 13:55; Gal. 1:19, 2:9, 12; Acts 12:17, 15:13, 21:18; Jude 1: John 7:3-5; 1 Cor. 9:5).

The answer from scholars and church tradition: James the brother of Jesus. If you missed it you could probably blame

James himself. This James was the first bishop of the growing Christian movement. He is the first listed by Paul among the “pillars” of the church in Galatians 2:9, the one who speaks the final decision in Acts 15 at the first all-church council, and the first one Paul meets when he arrives in Jerusalem for the last time (Acts 21:18). Even this letter to the church was the first book of the New Testament written sometime between AD 50-60. He doesn’t tell us any of this. If it were me, I would have told everyone – especially the pedigree of being Jesus’ brother. I mean, come on, that’s instant fame and clout. But James wants to share something more important, a different relationship, a more subversive vocation. Before we begin to hear from this letter, it’s important to recognize that the brother of Jesus, the first bishop of the Church, doesn’t trade on his relational status to Jesus nor his authority as a leader but simply shares in vs. 1: “James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus.” That’s why we can trust James - trust that he is speaking for our good. Trust that he loves us and wants to help us grow and mature in our faith. Before we begin – think carefully about that. I’d like to take that one step further because James isn’t simply an authority but a model for us, as well. Before you begin to say anything to anyone – are you also aware of the vocation to which you have been called? - A slave of God and the Lord Jesus, which we know means also being a servant for others. I truly believe that our biggest crisis currently is not political or social or cultural but living into that identity for ourselves.

Introductions aside, James quickly moves, however, to the meat and potatoes of the letter – trials, which are a central theme. What are they? What’s their purpose? How does God figure into the mix? James wants us to know a few things.

1.     First, “consider it” and “know” what?

In vss. 2-4, he tells us to consider and know the undiluted joy that in God’s economy nothing is wasted. That God uses the struggles and pain of our lives to grow us and shape us to be strong and mature. That sometimes God places the best things in life on the other side of terror. In the great swimming pool of our world God sometimes takes a few steps back so that we must swim a bit farther, in order to exercise our faith muscles. This means we can lean in unafraid because the Sovereign God always aims to grow us and be good to us, even when things are hard.

But does that mean that God is always the cause of struggles? What about the painful things that seem to have no purpose other than to harm us? As we keep reading, James comes back to the topic of struggle in vs. 13, to tell us “no” – that there are some things that seek to lead us to death like temptation and desiring the wrong things and often the cause is us (neither the devil nor God). That’s why we need wisdom (vss. 5-7). Sometimes there are experiences which are good opportunities for growth and others that seek to destroy us and we need to “consider” and “know” the difference. God is sovereign but not the cause of all that happens. God didn’t cause my divorce and yet used it powerfully, redeemed it so that I am a better Christian because of it. God took that terrible thing and bent it toward his will. This wisdom is captured by the poet Mary Oliver in her poem,

The Uses of Sorrow

(In my sleep I dreamed this poem)

Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.

In the midst of difficulties, whether from God or not, James will speak a beatitude for us, a blessing in vs. 12: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” Perseverance pays off but perseverance isn’t the goal – “love” is. Cultivate a love for God and you will stand the test. If you love someone or something, you will endure. And remember God loves you and only wants what is good for you.

          2.     Second, God is a “single-minded” giver.

God gives wisdom (vs. 5), life (vs. 12), good gifts (vs. 17), and birth (vs. 18). Truth-be-told, I often imagine God as a taker. God as a moral fault-finder who blesses the nice. But if God is a single-minded giver, James tells, doing so “without finding fault” then rather than focusing on looking my best perhaps I should spend more time asking for help. That’s what we shouldn’t doubt – not the request itself – I’ve personally asked for many “doubtfully helpful” things that I thankfully did not receive. No, what we aren’t to doubt is that God is a good giver. James is playing on words here: God is “single-minded” which can also mean “generous” and the doubter is “double-minded.” The double-minded person will not receive from God. The word double-minded is literally “two-souled” [dipyschos]. John Bunyan in his famous allegory Pilgrim’s Progress refers to such a person as Mr. Facing-Both-Ways. This person doesn’t trust that God is truly and sincerely a

giver. This person can’t receive because she is so fearful of God she can’t open her life and accept what God is so eager to give. She hugs herself tightly too frightened to open her arms and extend her hands. That’s not saying that we can’t be doubtful of ourselves or question our own motives. There is certainly a healthy skepticism that a mature person should exercise. But one skepticism should be avoided at all cost: God’s love and goodness. In many African-American churches they offer a call and response which aims to address this. The pastor will say, “God is good,” And the congregation will respond “all the time.” And then in reverse: “All the time, God is good.”

Friends, God is good! A giver of only good gifts. Never doubt

that, James says. It’s not meant to be a criticism but a promise. James believed this so much that a historical account of him tell us that he spent so much time in prayer that his knees “were like those of a camel.”

          3.     O Lord, it’s hard to poor/humble/needy.

Commentators puzzle over verses 9 and 10 which seems almost to pitch two kinds of people against each other: brothers/believers in humble circumstances and the rich.

Vs. 9 literally states “the brother who is lowly”  - ho tapeinos  - which can refer to both socio-economic realities as well as an attitude of humility BUT the antonym to such a person “the rich” should give us pause lest we too quickly make it about attitude irrespective of socio-economic status. On the one hand, I think that James is remembering his momma. She certainly understood “ho tapeinos,” as a poor one whom God raised up. “My soul glorifies the Lord ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has been mindful of the lowly state of his servant . . . He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. ⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful.” ~ Luke 1:48, 52-53. The poor, in other words, are just the kind of people whom God loves and calls.

There is disagreement over whether James intentionally suggests that the rich, by their very nature, are NOT believers. They are not called “brothers.” We will have multiple opportunities to think carefully about wealth and faith in this series and while I’ll spare you the suspense and say, “I don’t think that James is saying that the wealthy cannot be Christians.” Yet, his intentional ambiguity should give us pause. He does not question the poor in the same way. He doesn’t make the contrast between the humble and the proud and challenges us in our assumption that the wealthy are inherently better, more moral or spiritual. James’ intentional ambiguity suggests a challenging point: The rich in our midst are not necessarily “brothers and sisters.” There is a reversal, I think, in that riches don’t reveal one to be wise or upright. In fact, James is suggesting, if one is rich, the burden of proof is to show that one is not corrupt. In the

letter, the “rich” are those who treat the “poor” unjustly (2:6-7) and who, because they are guilty of serious economic injustices, are warned of judgment (5:1-6). Three caveats to this point: 1. I didn’t write it. 2. Very few, if any, of us could consider ourselves not rich – myself included. 3. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really know exactly how to read these words about "the rich"; words that I believe are more than James but also reflect the heart of God. That fact, however, doesn’t change the struggle, the cultural nuance, the historical ambiguity. And so I thought the most honest interpretation was to say simply, “I’m not sure how to interpret these words.” 

There are also two challenges here. One is, of course, an orientation to a new way of thinking. The rich are to boast because they will be brought to “tapeinosei” – lowliness. It’s as if James is saying, “Remember that all your money cannot save your life and that wealth is dangerous for the soul: so pay attention that by humbling yourself in Christ and helping your brother you are engaging in true life.” But there is another challenge – evidence. Does our use of money convict us of being servants of God? James isn't interested in your story of faith. He wants you to tell him your story of money.

We started this letter with a question – who wrote this letter? And we noted that it was none other than James the brother of Jesus who, despite all the power and prestige, calls himself a slave. And we end our time today with James acknowledgement that God loves us, that God’s love doesn’t change – ever – and that we are God’s trophies of all that God created.

In AD 62, we are told, that the religious leaders in Jerusalem confronted James and killed him. They beat to death a man of undiluted joy, wise in the faith, a lover and “servant of God.” And this one wants us to consider this . . .

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.