How the Letter of James encourages us to think, act, and pray differently.
The Book of James cautions us that the way we treat the poor may show that we are deluded, with judgmental thoughts and prayers that God cannot answer. And yet James’s teachings are consistent with the good news of Jesus that we see in the Gospels. Where is the good news in James?
Are you hearing about James in your church this month?
Throughout the month of September 2024, many churches across the country are using readings from the letter of James for their second reading or New Testament reading. This is happening in Catholic churches, and also in Protestant churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary (including many Lutheran, Episcopal, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, and United Church of Christ congregations).
Since many preachers focus on the Gospel readings, and some preachers tread carefully when it comes to more “controversial” material in the Bible, you might not hear much about James at church this month. To fill the gap, I will explore the highlights of this month’s readings from James, even though they make me uncomfortable.
James tells us to treat those who are poorly dressed the same as the wealthy
In this whirlwind tour of James, we first heard James tell us: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves” (James 1:22, NABRE).
“Of course,” we might reply. None of us want to delude ourselves. None of us think of ourselves as “hearers only” – aren’t we all applying our faith to our lives?
Next, James tells us that, when people come into our church, if we treat a rich person (wearing gold rings and fancy clothes) differently than we treat “a poor person in shabby clothes” (James 2:2, NABRE), we are becoming “judges with evil designs” (James 2:4, NABRE).
Now this is getting more personal. I pray. I read the Scriptures. I go to church every Sunday. I participate in the choir. I go to a Tuesday night Bible Study. Many of us might say many things like this. But James hones in on how we treat others. Being “doers” of the word is shown, he says, in whether I treat the shabby person the same as the well-dressed one. That’s a tall order. And if I don’t, he indicates, I am deluding myself and thinking evil thoughts – i.e., my thoughts are not what they ought to be.
James tells us if we don’t feed the hungry, our faith is dead and our prayers go unanswered
James goes on: “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16, NABRE) Faith without works is dead, he says (James 2:17).
This is getting tougher. Some of us are active in soup kitchens or food banks to provide food to the hungry. I used to do that, but I can’t say I’m one of those people right now. James challenges me to do something.
The next stop on the churches’ whirlwind tour of James is a caution that we covet what we don’t possess, but God can’t answer our prayers by giving us what we ask for because we want to spend it on our own desires (James 4:2-3). Do my desires and prayers mostly focus on what God might provide in order to meet other people’s needs? Or do I mostly focus on what I want for myself?
James has now suggested that how I treat the poor may tell me whether I am deluded, thinking the wrong thoughts, and praying prayers that God can’t answer because they are self-centered.
Is this consistent with the Gospel?
Martin Luther did not like the epistle of James. He thought that it did not reflect the Gospel of Christ. The truth is that this teaching from James comes straight from the Gospel.
Jesus said that if we aren’t feeding the hungry, we aren’t feeding him, and the judgment for those who do not feed the hungry, visit the sick, welcome the stranger, etc. is eternal punishment rather than eternal life (Matthew 25:31-46).
Jesus also taught us to love our enemy (Matthew 5:44), to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39), and to do for others what we wish they would do for us (Matthew 7:12). James’s teaching is very consistent with this, and here’s why. Poor people aren’t our enemies; in many cases, they are our neighbors, though we might not realize it. Either way, God calls us to love them, and love is an action word.
If you were the poor person, what would you want others to do? James’s teaching is right on target. If I was poor and couldn’t find enough food to eat, I would want others to help me. That’s what James tell us to do. It’s the same Gospel of Christ taught in the Gospels.
If there were a lot of poor people, too many for any one person or church or soup kitchen to help effectively, I would want my fellow Christians to support broader social programs that provide food so that I could focus on moving my life forward instead of being stuck in an endless cycle of focusing on where my next meal might come from. But what would a broader program look like?
The real-life challenge of feeding the hungry
Every soup kitchen and food bank will tell you that they can’t meet the overwhelming needs they face. That is why so many Christian organizations support government programs that build a broader social structure to provide food for people in need.
In the United States, the primary social program we have created to feed the hungry is the food stamp program. However, we don’t provide enough food stamps to people to cover the whole month. If you want to get involved in support of national hunger programs such as food stamps, WIC, and school lunch and breakfast programs, Bread for the World is the Christian nonprofit organization that is the leading voice in Congress for feeding the hungry.
James’s special caution to those of us who are wealthier
But James is not done. The final passage in this series of church readings differs, depending on whether you go to a Catholic church or a Protestant church. In Catholic churches, the final reading tells James’s readers who are rich to “weep and wail” (James 5:1, NABRE), because they have stored up their treasures for themselves (James 5:3), and withheld wages from their workers (James 5:4). This is a caution to the wealthy and business owners. (In Protestant churches, the final reading in the series is from James’s teachings about the power of prayer.)
How is this good news?
For many of us, these are challenging passages. If we have been fortunate enough to accumulate some wealth over a lifetime of work, James’s words are even more challenging.
And yet, they are the word of God and consistent with the Gospels – they are good news.
Where is the good news in James?
First, it is good news to the poor to know that God cares about them so much that He is willing to challenge the people who have more to share what have to help the poor. God does not want anyone to be involuntarily hungry and uncared for.
Second, it is good news that God wants those of us who are not poor to join in His great work to be good news to the poor. God doesn’t leave us in our puny self-centeredness. He calls us to see the big picture, as He sees the big picture, and to care as much as He cares about the material needs of the poor.
Third, it is good news because God does not condemn us; He points us toward a way forward. There is always the invitation to do more to show God’s tender mercy and love to the poor so that they are not hungry, destitute, and ignored.
Every poor person I encounter, every new person who walks in the doors of my church, every invitation to help a soup kitchen or food program, every vote I cast, every time I start to ask God for something in prayer – all of these are fresh opportunities to say yes to the Gospel of Jesus and the good news in the book of James.
So the question for me is: How do I want to respond more fully to God’s concern for the material (as well as spiritual) needs of the poor? How can I think differently? How can I act differently? How can I focus my prayers differently? How can I play a bigger part in this good news where God invites us to not only say we care about the poor, but do something about it?
Thank you Tom, for the good and challenging words. I was shocked that Martin Luther discarded James and that he could consider it inconsistent with the Gospels. I am also surprised but pleased to learn that protestants were ever consistent in the readings with Catholics beyond the holy days of Christmas and Easter.