Living Faith

Sermon

14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.

A long while ago, the Church (with a capital C) got into a bit of an uproar about this idea that faith without works is dead. To oversimplify things, the argument went like this. One side thought that there was nothing anyone could do to earn God’s salvation, that works – acts of goodness, generosity, and mercy – were not chits that people paid so they could get into heaven. The other side said that faith was more than mere intellectual exercise and recitation of rote prayers. All that came about because the Age of Enlightenment had begun, and brilliant minds met the printing press and new ideas were formed and promoted. Then Martin Luther had it with the practice in some Roman Catholic churches of people paying indulgences – giving money to the church to pay the debt of one’s sin, to pay one’s way into heaven. Luther correctly observed that only God could forgive and only God could grant salvation.

That same Martin Luther hated the Letter of James, called it an “epistle of straw” and argued vehemently that it did not belong in the Bible.

I love the letter of James. I find it practical, challenging, and really rather indicting of my own faith walk. I am grateful for the idea that this letter is really wisdom literature, offering ideas that transcend borders of both nation and time of how to live well. I appreciate the way James weaves together faith and works, acknowledging the symbiotic relationship of the two, and challenging us not merely to say to ourselves, “I believe. So I’m good and now I’m going to do whatever I want.”

For James, and I suspect for many of you, our works are the fruits of our faith. When we believe – and that’s a loaded word that means so many different things – when we believe in God, in God’s love, in Christ’s teachings, when we take all of that to heart and take all those things seriously, we cannot help but respond in action.

Which is all fine and good but right now, it’s really hard to do anything. All of us pastors have noticed that so many of you are looking for ways to help – to help those whose lives have been adversely affected by the pandemic, to help those without income, to help the sick, to help parents who are trying so valiantly to work from home while caring for their children, to help right the wrong of racial injustice. You want to help – but you also don’t want to get sick and you don’t want to get anyone else sick. What’s a Jamesian Christian to do?

Well, let’s say that the work of our faith can be boiled down to three categories: loving God; loving neighbor; loving self.

What is the work of loving God? Prayer is a good place to begin – prayers of gratitude for the goodness and beauty we experience, gratitude for the challenges that urge us to grow, prayers that acknowledge God’s power and goodness. Loving God is the work of delving into the psalms, engaging in a conversation with the psalmist with all the emotions and experiences the writer had of God. It is taking time – a few stolen moments after the kids are in bed, or an hour in the morning with a cup of coffee – to settle one’s thoughts and to bask in the divine presence, the way we lift our faces to the sun on that first warm, rainless spring day. Loving God is work that cannot be hindered by pandemic.

What is the work of loving neighbor? We know what it is – to care for the widow and orphan, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick, to visit the prisoner, to do justice, and to love kindness. And yes, loving our neighbor is a bit tricky right now.

On my days in the office, after I finish noon prayers, I often step out and go to Broadway to get a bite to eat, and I see the folks doing justice in their daily protest for Black Lives Matter. It takes a few seconds, but I recognize Kate and Nicky and Carmen in their masks and wave hello. Some folks, Chelle and Doug and others, are volunteering at NEFP, helping distribute food to our hungry neighbors. Some are giving generously of their treasure since they can’t be with a group in person. Yes, the work of loving our neighbor is tricky in a pandemic, and I commend what you are able to do.

But maybe right now, especially right now, we might engage in the work of loving self. I know that might sound counter-intuitive with all the mess we’re living in. I know it might sound selfish to love ourselves when people are out of work, protesting, getting sick, or simply depressed about the present and future. But in some ways this is the perfect time.

What is the work you need to do? Therapists say things like that, as do spiritual directors, and usually they mean addressing something that is keeping us from a more joyful, full life. Often the work of loving self involves a relationship that is in need of healing, and that involves admitting that something isn’t right and being humble enough to go to the other person to start the conversation.

The work of loving self may be related to health. I know it seems weird with all the stress we’re under to say now is the time to quit smoking, to lose weight, to get sober. But times of stress can act like spotlights, shining on those places that need some attention. Our defenses aren’t as strong when we’ve been under stress for a while, and we can become more brittle so that those defenses we’ve put up crumble fairly easily.

Where is the light shining on you these days? What have you learned about yourself and how you cope in the world? What is the work you need to do?

About a month into the pandemic, I stepped on the scale one morning and admitted to myself that I had put on five pounds. All that pandemic baking had taken its toll, and while five pounds really isn’t that much, when you’re already overweight, it’s not good. As I read about COVID-19 I learned that obesity is one of the underlying factors in the virus taking a bad turn. I acknowledged to myself that I had work to do. I’ve been walking 10,000 steps a day, eating less, and eating food that is more healthy. I want to be around for a while – for you, for Sarah and Gregg, and for myself. I don’t think God is done with me yet, and I’d like to be ready for whatever God has in store for me.

And then, in early July, amid all the bright sunshine of summer, I found myself feeling low and feeling anxious. That’s totally understandable, right? Racism and pandemic are a lethal combination. But this felt different. I had a sense that my depression was coming back and my anxiety attacks were on the verge of the horizon, so I talked to my doctor, and we decided to increase the dosage of my anti-depressant. I’m feeling better, better equipped, more stable.

You are the best person to take care of yourself, and loving yourself is a divine command. Loving yourself – paying attention to what your body, mind, heart, and gut are telling you – is crucial if you’re going to be able to love neighbor and love God. Working on whatever you need to be working on is an act of faith. So call your doctor; find a walking partner; reach out to that person.

Faith without works is dead. There will be another Sunday when we will talk about the work of loving God, and there will be more Sundays when we talk about loving neighbor. But today I really do want to encourage you to do your “you” work, as an act of love and as an act of faith.

So let me offer a concluding thought, in two parts. In her book Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Mystery and Art of Living, Krista Tippett writes, “We create transformative, resilient new realities by becoming transformed, resilient people.”

Or put more simply, if we are to love neighbor and love God, we need to be in good shape; we need to put on our own oxygen masks before helping someone else.

Believe me when I tell you, you are beloved. You are worthy. So show yourself some love today.