Pentecost 15B

15th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

As I read the lessons for this week, it was clear very early on that I was being led to focus on the epistle lesson for today. We don’t talk about this book written by James very much, and there are a couple of reasons for that…and I want to lay that all out this morning for all of us to reflect on.

While there are several men named James in Jesus’ circles in the Gospels, the James who wrote this letter is actually the very brother of Jesus. There have been some arguments about this over the centuries, but tradition holds that Jesus’ brother is the author of this letter. This James grew up with Jesus and he knows him probably better than any other mortal human being besides Mary herself. This is an important factor to consider when reading this book.

It’s also important to note that while the book of James was chosen to be canon when the Bible as we know it was first compiled, Martin Luther had many objections to this book. If it had been up to him, it may not have been a part of the Lutheran Bible. While Luther had several concerns that he expressed during his lifetime, he wasn’t exactly consistent on them. One of those concerns seems to come up more often than any of the others, and I want us to talk about that one this morning, as it is central to today’s text… the issue of faith and works.

Luther’s theology, at least initially, was greatly influenced by the writings of St. Paul. Every version of Luther’s life we encounter always places Luther’s encounter with Romans as enlightening and life-changing. And Paul addresses faith and works in what seems to be exactly the opposite of what James says. Paul says - in different places and different letters - that it is “faith” that saves us, not works. He writes in Ephesians 2:8-9 “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.”

James sounds vastly different, doesn’t he? Listen again to James 2:14 and 17: “14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? … 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Before we go any farther, let’s go back to the very first point that was brought up: who James is. James is the brother of Jesus. In the years after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, he became one of the leaders of the early church. He spent his time addressing those who had heard Jesus’ teachings. He was working with people who ALREADY believed that Messiah had come, and he came in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth. James was not writing to convert anyone. He was addressing those who had already been converted to “the Way” - the Church of Christ.

Paul’s writings were different. After many failed attempts to sway his fellow Jews to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, he turned his attention to the Gentiles. He was not only winning hearts, he was teaching them a new way of thinking about their lives - their earthly lives and their eternal lives. In several of his letters, he had to teach them fundamentals. So his approach was - understandably - very different from James’ approach.

With that in mind, let’s look again at what James is saying. At the beginning of the chapter, he’s reminding everyone that all of us are equal in God’s sight. That is, equally sinful. And therefore we are not to treat anyone as better than anyone else. We are not to judge by outward appearance. We are not to lift up the rich nor are we to treat the poor as an after-thought. God, in fact, does just the opposite. Then James hits us all squarely between the eyes starting at verse 8: “8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” [ESV, James 2:8–10.]

Now listen to the verses that were skipped in the lectionary - 11-13: “11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” [ESV, James 2:11–13].

One thing that Luther did like about James is that this Epistle is “a good book, because it sets up no doctrines of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God.” (AE 35:395) And definitely we can see that God’s Law is certainly lifted up and taught, just in this section it’s quite clear. (Luther just finds it short on Gospel.) But this bit of God’s Law is not something we can just step over carefully and not think about it again. We are called to think and reflect on it and how it convicts us.

“So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” James is writing here to Christians - those who have already been taught what salvation in Christ Jesus means, and that because of who they now are, and what they profess to believe, they are different. They are called to be different - different than they were before Christ, and different from the rest of the world. He reminds them here of what has been done for them on the cross by the Savior of all. Jesus did that for EVERYONE, not just those who were following him at the time. Because that gift is given freely to all, we are not to judge others more harshly. To do so would be to hold others to a different standard than the one Our Lord used for us. God has counted us righteous for Christ’s sake…and that grace is available to everyone. (Lutheran Study Bible, p.2137)

“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” I hope your first thought upon hearing this verse was of the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Do we really expect to be forgiven if we are not forgiving others? Why would God show us mercy if we don’t also show mercy? This is where I hope you say “wait a minute…didn’t you tell us that we don’t ‘earn’ God’s forgiveness and mercy?’ And my response to you is: CORRECT. That’s 100% true. Now, let me ask you: does it seem faithful to God’s teachings to withhold forgiveness? Is it faithful to not extend grace to others when we have received undeserved grace ourselves? Are you holding grudges? Are you treating others as “less than” for some reason? How do you think God views that? I’ll tell you how He views it - go back to verse 9: “…if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” This is where James and Paul agree - no one can keep the law perfectly, and since if you break one point of God’s Law, you become guilty of all of it. You are, just like the rest of us, a sinner.

“But I have faith, and it’s faith alone that saves.” That’s the Lutheran answer, right? Sola Fide - through faith alone. NOW Look at verse 14: “What good is it…if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” James then goes on to describe what you should *do*…other than just “have faith”. I finally heard a scholar explain this in a way that deals with Luther’s concern here. And this is the main point:

If you say “I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins”, this is the statement of faith in a nutshell…and it’s vital to receiving the gift of salvation. But what James is saying is that if all you do is *say* it, but you don’t *do* anything with it, well…is it really true faith in Jesus? James is challenging those who merely talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. What James is NOT saying is that you have to do something to be saved. He’s simply saying that if you have true faith - the faith that *DOES* save you - then it will be impossible to do nothing with that faith. Your heart will be driven by Christ, and you will be compelled to love your neighbor in active, selfless, generous ways. You won’t have to tell anyone about your faith because you will be demonstrating your faith by what you do.

So no, James does *not* say that you have to do something to earn God’s grace or to earn your salvation. He’s simply saying that those who have true faith will be doing good works. They will be living out their faith, not merely talking about it. And that is what he means in verse 17 when he says “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” A living faith will bear fruit. The person with such faith will do something with that faith. It is a calling to live life of gratitude for all the Christ has done for them. They will love neighbor as a thankful response to the grace they themselves have received. It will show without ever having to talk about it.

Having considered now all that James is saying to his audience of “already Christian” readers… we probably have more in common with James’ audience than we do most of Paul’s audiences. We already know the teachings of Christ and the early apostles. We know what faith is supposed to look like. And so when we encounter James’ letter, it is very common for James’ words to convict us and hit us hard.

But as we read his tough words, any time it starts to weigh heavy on us, the first thing to do is to just lift up your eyes and look at the cross. Look at where our savior - his own brother - died a painful death. And it was not only painful, it was an unjust death. Jesus did not deserve to die. He didn’t earn that punishment. But he took it on anyway. He did it out of obedience to His Father, and out of perfect love, both for His Father, and for us. He did it because he knew it needed to be done to accomplish the Father’s Will and to make it possible for all of us to receive the free gift of grace…he paid such a high price to make sure it was free for everyone.

We are so broken and divided and full of conflict in our society right now. We are so quick raise our voices and get angry with each other. We are so quick to judge one another and call each other horrible, nasty things. There are many days that I wonder if we can ever be “united” again. But if we are to trust in God, to give it over to Him, then we have to believe that His Wisdom is perfect and His plan is perfect. If we are to work for God and WITH God, then we must start by obeying Him. One way we can do that is to read and heed James’ guidance in chapter 2. Show no partiality. Love your neighbor as yourself - all of your neighbors. Show mercy knowing that you have already been shown mercy yourself. If everyone could do only that, how much better would our country be? Mercy triumphs over judgment.

As we pray for our country and our world and the chaos that seems to be growing by the day, let’s make it our goal to live lives of faith, to demonstrate to others what we believe by living it. Let our neighbors see by our actions - not merely by our words - that we are different from the world, and that our faith in Jesus Christ is not dead, but it is very much alive…and it is growing. And then let’s just see if that doesn’t have an impact on those around us. I believe that it will.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.