B, Pentecost 14 Proper 17 - James 1:17-27 "Doers of the word"

 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.  James 1:17-27 (ESV)

Dear Heavenly Father, we believe! Save us from our unbelief. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Doer of the word.  He is the Word made flesh.  Within his person he carries the perfection of God but this person like all of us was capable of sin.  Yet he did not sin but chose to be a doer of the word.

In James we are called to be doers of the word.  In our quest to discover what being a doer of the word is, what better place to go than into the word to see just what that is!

How we hear the word and what we do with it, however, makes a world of difference!  Said another way, using the word to please us as opposed to letting it work on us to please God separates Jesus Christ from the word, and leads us into error.  We must allow the word to work on us, so we do what God wants.

Jesus reveals this in his word to the pharisees (Mark 7). They were doer of the word but worked the word in a way that did not please Jesus nor our Father in heaven.  They were like those James spoke of who peered into a mirror and immediately forgot what they looked like.

It’s interesting to note that the Pharisees came into conflict with Jesus not because of any radical differences, but rather due to their similarities.  Although their work looked like that of Jesus, their work was completely different due to their motivation.

This stands as a warning to us who like them can easily see only part of the picture and be doers of deeds that please us and disturb God.

Another warning for us is Martha and Mary.  Mary sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha worked in the kitchen.  Martha complained to Jesus that she had to do all the work.  She was a distracted doer of the word.  Martha’s motives were brought into the light by Jesus showing her that her service, and Mary’s lack of it, was not the issue. Rather Jesus’ concern with Martha was her wanting Mary to turn away from him and serve her, placing Mary back in bondage. (Luke 10:38-42)

A third example are the sons of Sceva.  They saw Saint Paul miraculously casting out demons and sort to do the same for their own advantage.  But on trying to exorcise a demon the demon-possessed man overpowered them leaving them naked and wounded. (Acts 9:11-20)

All three examples are religious illustrations.  What they were doing looked like they were doers of the word.  But what they did was blind and faithless work.  They investigated the mirror of the word and forgot what they looked like.  They remembered the flesh but forgot whose image they bore.  They failed to see that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  (James 1:17 ESV)

King David askes of God in Psalm 15, “O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”    It’s not clear whether David has become an adulterer and murdered when he led the people of Israel with this word.  However, for us after the fact we know David did not walk blamelessly and despite penning this Psalm it was not even he who this Psalm speaks of.  David like the Pharisees, Martha and the sons of Sceva could not persevere and fulfil the law of freedom.

However, Jesus could, and did!  And the Holy Spirit continues to put us in the place were we can be doers of the word.

Jesus is our answer to all the questions of David’s psalm 15. He is David’s answer too.  In Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father, God announces before the world an affirmative “Yes!” to Jesus.

Who shall sojourn in your tent Lord?  The eternal answer is “Jesus Christ” Son of God and Son of Mary, Doer of the word.

Who walks blamelessly, does what is right and speaks the truth in his heart?  Jesus, Doer of the word! 

Who does not slander, does no evil, nor scolds his friends?  Jesus, Doer of the word! 

Who is it who can truly discern between one who is vile and one who truly fears the Lord?  Jesus, Doer of the word! 

Who is it who stands firm and does not move even to his own detriment, who doesn’t sell out for his own gain, who doesn’t even take a bribe against the guilty or the innocent?  Jesus Christ, Doer of the word!

James speaks of those who are “religious”.  Many of us today like to appear religious, to be doers of the word, but like David, Martha, the pharisees, and the sons of Sceva in the face of Jesus we learn very quickly our religion is worthless. 

Jesus shows himself to be the only true religious one.  And in demonstrating this at the cross in his faithfulness unto death, God the Father raises him with a heavenly eternal “yes”!  And says “no” to all other religious activity or attempts of doing the word.

Jesus tells us what type of religion humanity emits, and what it does to the person who produces this type of religion.  He says, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  Mark 7: 21-23 (ESV)

Being doers of the word, allows the word to do things to us.  God’s Word made flesh takes the religion we put our trust in and shows us it defiles us before God.  His written word reveals to us that Jesus bears the only true marks of religious fervour before God the Father.  But it also teaches us to trust the freedom won for us through Jesus Christ, the Doer of the word.

You and I now stand on God’s holy hill!  We dwell in his temple! Why? Because Jesus temples in us by the power of the Holy Spirit!

So, what does this look like?  What is it to be doers of the word to the fulfilment of God’s eternal joy? Well, this is not the place to dive back into our religious individualisms for answers.  Rather, we go back into the written word of God and seek the Doer of the Word, Jesus Christ the Word made flesh, and the Doer of God’s word in us, the Holy Spirit. This is what pleases God the Father. 

James says pure and undefiled religion before God is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Orphans have no fathers, and widows have no husband, both have no inheritance and hold no power or advantage for the person who visits them in their need.  In fact, they are those who in their need will drain you of all religious value. 

God has work for all of us which he has prepared in advance for us to do.  But we struggle to do it because of the dead religion we hold within us, with all its idols whatever they may be.  Yet as we stand on God’s holy hill, he calls us to confess these worthless religious idols – that is, our sin.  Confessing sin pleases God!

So, in the freedom of forgiveness we doers of the word can do even greater works than Jesus, The Doer of the word.  Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father, we believe! Save us from our unbelief. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.