Nov. 21 – Thoughts on Ezek. 16-17 & James 3

Yesterday we hit one of the most famous statements in the New Testament: “Faith without works is dead.”  But reading the whole passage, short as it is, shows us just how often we misuse this passage.

Way too often we use the bible as a proof text for whatever theology we want to espouse.  It is the reason one of my guiding theological principles is context, context, context.  “Without context, any text is simply a pretext for saying whatever you want.”

In speaking of faith, James is not speaking about a belief that doesn’t result in obedience.  And that is the context where I’ve regularly heard this passage used.  Frustrated and disgruntled life-long Christians who have worked to obey every law they can accuse others of not working hard enough to obey.  “Your faith without works is dead,” they say.

But James is speaking specifically about caring for the poor.  “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”   He is speaking to those who value their own spiritual well-being over another’s physical well-being.  “I don’t need to help the poor as long as I’m obedient in my own lifestyle.”

James is making much the opposite point from the way his writing is often used.  I can only imagine his frustration.

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Nov. 20 – Thoughts on Ezek. 14-15 & James 2

When I first arrived at one of the churches I’ve served, I was watching closely to see who this new congregation was.  And so I watched with interest as a couple, young and well dressed, entered the church doors, met the greeters and were pointed to the sanctuary for worship with a smile.  Immediately following these young seekers came another man, older and unshaven, unshowered, and seemingly homeless.  Like the first couple, he was met with a welcoming smile.  Good!  Unlike the younger couple, however, he was not asked where he would like to sit but rather, “how can we help you?”

It was a kind, welcoming reception and I might not have noticed anything amiss had it not been for the timing.  But placed back to back, these two receptions made it clear that we are still guilty of the sin James points out today.

Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

While James is giving an exaggerated example, the premise is one I see again and again in churches.  Whether the difference is age, gender, race, economic status or _______ (I’ll let you fill in the blank), we are still guilty of this favoritism.  We naturally like and are attracted to people like us, same class, race, or history, and it takes an effort of will to suppress that discrimination.  But it is that very effort to which God calls us.

Who do you want to see in your church?  Who do you NOT want to see?  How might you give that effort to welcome everyone the same this week?

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Nov. 19 – Thoughts on Ezek. 11-13 & James 1

Someone has called James, “the Proverbs of the New Testament”.  And surely, James is a collection of wisdom sayings like the book of Proverbs.  But James’ sayings are longer, more organized, and more directed, (“To the twelve tribes scattered across the nations…”)  Still, James fits our culture better than books like Romans or Ephesians does, with our short attention spans and sound-byte news clips.

The other day, someone asked me about the part of the Lord’s prayer that says, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”  What could this prayer mean if in fact God does not tempt us?  He then cited this James passage, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

Let me lead us to 2 other passages, Jesus beginning His ministry with a trip into the wilderness and Jesus ending His ministry in the Garden of Gethsemane.  In both circumstances we either read or assume that Jesus is following His father’s will, what the bible calls “being led by God”.  And yet in both instances, He is led to a place of temptation.  The wilderness is obviously a matter of temptation, but the Garden?

“Father, let this cup pass from me,” is such a human cry.  “I don’t want to face this, Lord, even though I know, and have known all along, that it is Your will for me.”  This is so often the cry of our hearts, but it is temptation.  Anything that attempts to distract us from God’s will is temptation.  So, like Jesus, when we face temptation, we can stand against it with God’s help.

God may lead us into situations where temptation is going to happen, but He will also stand with us as we face it.  Though He does not produce the temptation (His will is that we follow His will always), He also knows we cannot avoid them in this world.

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Nov. 18 – Thoughts on Ezek. 8-10 & Hebrews 13

The Christian life is not one that can be lived partially.  It can not be a part of our life, of our routine, of our schedule.  Yet in America, where everything is compartmentalized, it too often is.  We look at our life like a puzzle, where school is one piece, family another, work another, free time another, and our faith another.  As a piece of the puzzle, our faith is adjacent to a few pieces, but by no means all.  It fits the knobs and ridges of some of the pieces (family, social work, free time) but not all (work, socializing…)

If this is the way we live, with a partial faith life, then we cannot follow the commands of today’s Hebrews reading.  We cannot truly feel the pain of others, offer hospitality as a way of life, and bring God a continual offering of praise, telling everyone around us about Jesus.

But what if our faith, rather than being one piece among many, is the picture that all the pieces of our life displays?  What if when we put our schooling, work, family, free time, social and political work, and even our socializing, together they displayed the face of Christ?  I think this is what Jesus intended.  I think this is what the writer of Hebrews assumed.  And I think this is God’s call to us all.

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Nov. 17 – Thoughts on Ezek. 5-7 & Hebrews 12

The Covenant had to deal with the confusion of “the wrath of a gracious and loving God” early in its history.  The question through which it came was this:  Did Jesus die to appease the anger and wrath of God against our sin, or as the gift of a loving father to pay the price for us?  The main argument was less the effect of Jesus’ death – all agreed that it saved us from hell and opened the door to eternity with God – and more the attitude of God.  P.P. Waldenstrom famously argued that the God he worshiped was not an angry, wrathful God we should be afraid of but a kind and loving Father we should long for.  The Covenant has viewed God through this lens of love ever since.

This means we Covenanters have a hard time with passages like this that show us God’s wrath.  We will read an entire book of a prophet and only focus on the few verses that share God’s mercy and grace.  Yet the bible is clear that God’s wrath is poured out on the sinfulness of humankind.  Though we usually think of this as an Old Testament stance, it is the key point of much of Paul’s writing, including Rom. 1-3 which many say are the cornerstone of the entire New Testament.

What do you do with God’s wrath?  Do you ignore it, focusing instead on a “nice” God who overlooks our sin and shows us mercy instead?  Do you read it and get anxious about Him lashing out at His children, specifically YOU, for the sins in your life?  Do you accept it as part of, but not all of, God’s personality and recognize that He is justified in His wrath, but also generous in His mercy?

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