First Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7a
4Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7athe burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water … .
Psalm 146
1Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 2Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, for there is no help in them. 3When they breathe their last, they return to earth, and in that day their thoughts perish. 4Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help! whose hope is in the Lord their God; 5Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; who keeps his promise forever; 6Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger. 7The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; 8The Lord loves the righteous; the Lord cares for the stranger; he sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked. 9The Lord shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah!
Second Reading: James 2:1-10, 14-18
1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Gospel: Mark 7:24-37
24{Jesus} arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. 31Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Living a Life of Thanksgiving
One of the great debates among Lutherans is the subject of works in the life of a faithful disciple. We teach that salvation cannot be earned. St. Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our justification, that is the forgiveness of sins, comes only through God’s grace received in faith, period. This is what we teach in our churches from the earliest age. It’s here that some try to muddy the waters. People remind us that salvation is God’s free gift. This is absolutely true. We cannot earn it, nor do we deserve it. Again, both statements are true. The difficulty then is what now?
The struggle we face is, the sinful self wants to take over and say, since it’s a “free” gift that I cannot earn, then I don’t need to do anything else. Our sinful nature tells us we can live then the way we want, and God still forgives us. Do you see the problem here? This kind of rationalization turns God’s costly grace, into cheap grace. True repentance is the turning away from the sinful self-will and our selfish desires, and live a life focused instead on God’s will.
Living for God is to recognize our sins, repent from them, and then live a life worth of our salvation (Ephesians 4:1). You see, living the life of a disciple, a life worthy of our salvation, isn’t about earning anything. Living a life worthy of salvation is about recognizing all God has done for us in Jesus, then responding by living a life of thanksgiving. It’s about sharing what God has done, and is doing, in our lives, with others. When we live a life of thanksgiving, others see the love of God through us in our words and our works. This is what St. James is telling us in his epistle.
I ran across an interesting survey a pastor did in his congregation a few years back. The Rev. Dr. Charles Allen, shared this, tongue in cheek, survey he once accomplished in his congregation: 10% of the members cannot be found, 20% — never attend, 25% — never pray, 35% — never read the Bible, 40% — never give financially to the church, 70% — never attend Sunday school or other church services, 75% — never assume any church task, 85% — never invite anyone to church, 95% — never evangelize, yet…100% — expect to go to Heaven! He said it reminded him of the old black spiritual that goes, “Everybody talkin about Heaven ain’t necessarily goin.” The truth is, talking about being saved by grace through faith and acting like a person living a life of thanksgiving are two different realities. Anyone who has worked around electricity will attest to the fact that electricity is real, you know it when you touch it. It has power and a charge. If only that could be said for modern Christians.
This is why St. James included these twelve verses in his instruction manual on the relationship between faith and works. James writes to share that living a life of thanksgiving results in readily observable actions. Theologian, and author of the commentary that bears his name, the Rev. Dr. William Barclay, believed that the primary job of James’ writings in this Epistle wasn’t to write new truths, but to awaken Christians to the truths they already know–but have forgotten or chosen not to follow.
Within a few short decades of Jesus’ return to the Father, some of the followers of Jesus had allowed their faith expression to become idle. They were no longer an inspiration. They were no longer providing illumination for others to see Jesus living in them. They had heard the great teachers and prophets of the Old Testament explain the relationship between doctrine and its application to everyday life and behavior, but they’d, quite frankly, gotten lazy. St. James knew what true faith is, but his emphasis was on what true faith does.
Even Martin Luther, who struggled with the Book of James for a long time because he thought it supported a work righteousness salvation, wrote, “Good works do not make a good man–but a good man does good works.” James states the same thing in verse 26, “Faith without works is dead.” Now before I go much further, I feel there’s one very important point that needs to be made here. There’s no major difference here between St. Paul’s teaching found in his various writings, and the teaching of St. James found in our lesson today.
We’re not talking about the faith vs. works controversy. As the writers of the Bible study, Mastering the Basics, state in their study of James: “The key issue for Paul is how one gains right standing before God–while for James, the issue is how one demonstrates to others the claim to have such right standing. Paul’s focus is inward. It centers on a person’s relationship with God. In contrast—James’ focus is outward. It centers on relationships with other people. Or, as I said in the beginning, how we live a life of thanksgiving.
Paul writes about how one begins the Christian life, our Justification–while James writes about how one lives the Christian life, or our lifelong walk of Sanctification. James isn’t talking about works as a means to salvation, but as proof of God’s amazing grace in our life. Paul’s perspective is the root of our salvation, while James’ perspective is the fruit of our salvation. I hope, to this point, I’ve made this very clear. When reading the book of James, don’t confuse our need for Justification with our thankful response of Sanctification. That said, let’s dig a bit further. First, James is teaching us that real faith is involved in the real world—it’s not invisible.
James gives us an example of the wrong attitude in verses 15-16 when he writes, “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs–what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself–if not accompanied by action–is dead or idle.” James, I think, would agree with a statement written in the late 1970’s by an anonymous Christian: “I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger. Thank you. I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel in the cellar and prayed for my release. I was naked and, in your mind, you debated the morality of my appearance. I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health. I was homeless and you left me alone to pray. You seem so holy, so close to God. But I’m still hungry, and lonely, and cold.”
To be clear, James urges Christians to pray, but Christians pray in order to immerse ourselves in the presence of God–so we can then engage ourselves in the purposes of God. If you were to turn back to Chapter 1 verses 26-27, James has already hinted as to what real religion is made of when he wrote, “Those who consider themselves religious, (and I want to insert the word Christian here), and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion, (or oneself a Christian), is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Part of calling oneself a Christian is to “look after” others.
Without getting too deep into the Greek here, the phrase “look after” is the Greek word episk-epto-mai. This Greek word is an action verb indicating an ongoing action, not a once and done action. What James is saying is that we have to be involved in not only meeting today’s needs, but also be involved in a way that secures their future. It’s more than simply writing a check and forgetting. To episk-epto-mai, is to be involved in the lives of others until that involvement is no longer needed. In our reading for today, James reminds us of what it is to live out our Justification by living a life of thanksgiving.
Second, our faith never exists in isolation—it’s incarnational. Our faith commitment to Jesus, while deeply personal, is never private. Christian apologist, G.K. Chesterton was correct when he said, “A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun, moon, or stars.” Think about it, every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we declare–give us this day our daily bread– not give me this day my daily bread. We’re reminded that our “daily bread” must never come by depriving any other human being on the face of the earth. We’re reminded that we are part of a larger community of faith and humanity.
Furthermore, one cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer in first person “I.” One cannot say the Lord’s Prayer and even once say “my”. Nor can you pray the Lord’s Prayer and not pray for another. For as you ask for “daily bread”, you must include your brother. Yes, others are included, in each and every plea; from the beginning to the end of it, it doesn’t once say, “me.” Here at Bethel, we do our best to never allow anyone in our church or community to go hungry! Our members here faithfully support Dallas Christian ministries, as well as other ministries that provide for the poor. The fact is, genuine faith is never indifferent, to be a Christian is to always be looking for a place to be involved. We put our love into action! As another pastor has said, “We put the gospel message into shoe leather or boots!” Third, belief, or to be Christ-like, is confirmed by our behavior.
In verses 18-20, James says, “Yes, you believe–but even the Demons believe.” What do others hear in our words and see our actions? There’s a big difference in believing there is a God, and placing our faith and trust in God. Even demons can recite scriptures and be awestruck, but demons are not under God’s grace. There is no partnership or relationship between their theological beliefs and their behavior. They know about justification, but they are not saved by grace through faith in Christ.
As the humorous saying goes, “a cat can have kittens in the oven, that don’t make um biscuits.” The same is true with reading the Bible: simply reading the Bible doesn’t make you a Christian. When Karl Marx was seventeen years old, he wrote a fantastic explanation of part of St. John’s Gospel. Great theologians agree with much of what he said, but Karl Marx eventually rejected the Bible’s authority and during his adult life, called himself an atheist, a communist–anything but a Christian. Likewise, Nikita Khrushchev, the former premier of the USSR, read the Bible when he was a boy. Yet later, he made it his ambition to bury the church in the Soviet Union by 1965. Instead, he’s buried, and the Russian Church continues to grow!
I encourage you to study the Bible diligently, it is God’s Word to us. However, we must remember, simply reading the Bible won’t make you a Christian anymore than a kitten in the oven is a biscuit. It’s when we put our faith into practice then we show exactly what kind of faith we possess. Is it saving faith, or a self-centered faith? Since we believe in God and are justified by faith, then our response is to live a life of thanksgiving, a life worthy of our salvation, a life where our faith is seen by others in our words and deeds.
Anthony DeMello, whose inspirational stories have been read by millions, has written this insightful first-person story: On the street, I saw a small girl, cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope for a decent meal. I became angry and said to God, “Why did you permit this?” For a while, God said nothing. That night, He replied quite suddenly, “I certainly did something about it. I made you!” This is exactly what James is sharing in this lesson. In verses 20-26, James demonstrates how ridiculous it would have been for Abraham and Rahab to have faith–but not act upon that faith.
A Salvation Army preacher was greeting parishioners at the door of his meeting house on Easter Sunday. He said to one man, “I want you in the army of the Lord!” “I am in the army of the Lord,” came the reply. “Then why do I only see you at Christmas and Easter?” With a twinkle in his eye, the man replied, “Because I’m in the secret service!” James knew the Christian faith wasn’t a call to be in the secret service, but to be in the everyday service of God’s kingdom. And unlike the military, you don’t ever retire from service to God. James heard Jesus challenge the people of faith to be salt, light, and leaven. The world needs salty Christians–we already have enough faulty ones!
Former Methodist Bishop Arthur J. Moore tells of a young man who came to know Christ in a revival meeting in the South. Soon thereafter, he left for a period of three months to work in a lumber camp, whose moral reputation left much to be desired. His home church prayed regularly for his physical and spiritual safety in that environment. On his return, they inquired as to how he had been treated in that rough situation. The newly made Christian replied that he had gotten along fine; they treated him well. “They never found out about my conversion.”
What a difference from what one journalist wrote to the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, about Christians and the church: “They love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If they have something, they give freely to the man who has nothing; if they see a stranger, they take him home, and are happy, as though he were a real brother. They don’t consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers instead, through the Spirit, in God.” Unlike the new convert who kept his salvation a secret, a good many in the early church let people know about their conversion experience. Thank God they weren’t part of a secret service. Finally, faith and works are interwoven together, like two sides of a coin.
Missionary, theologian, and author, E. Stanley Jones, once wrote, “An individual gospel without a social gospel is a soul without a body, and a social gospel without an individual gospel is a body without a soul. One is a ghost and the other is a corpse.” I can hold a picture of a $20 bill in my hand, but that doesn’t mean I have $20. James is saying the same thing about a faith that produces no works.
Do our words and actions match our faith? This is an old truth–we just need to hear it often: we can talk the talk, but we also need to walk the walk. To live a life of faith is to live a life of thanksgiving. We are justified by grace through faith. Our sanctification needs to be seen by others.
Amen