James and the Poor

Text: James 1:19-27

A couple of weeks ago I preached on this passage.  If you want, you can listen here.  Throughout his letter James repeatedly addresses matters of wealth and poverty.  He warns those who enjoy affluence or success in this world.  And he persistently exhorts Christians to humble themselves, befriend the marginalized, and care for the poor.  At the end of his first chapter, James goes so far as to say that the only kind of religion God is interested in is tending to the needs of the vulnerable.  His message is difficult to receive.  It's even harder to live.  One of my favorite contemporary Christian writers published a recent blog post that does this topic far more justice than I'm able to do.  I strongly encourage you to read it.  You can find it here.

The Superorganism

Passage: James 4:1-12

So far this has been an exceptional summer in a number of ways.  One is the heat.  And related to the heat, at least in my neighborhood, has been the proliferation of ants.  Every morning there’s a new ant mound somewhere in our yard or along our sidewalk.  Any scrap of food or discarded popsicle stick is, within minutes, alive with a seething mass of shiny brown bodies.  Only the diligent placement of ant baits and the use of various folk deterrents (some more effective than others) has stemmed the potential tide of insects just waiting to pour into our house. 

This morning my oldest daughter and I were watching ants forage and build in our driveway.  I said, “Ants are what some scientists call ‘superorganisms.’”  I went on to explain that ants (as well as many other insects, and some animals of other classes) live their lives in intense community.  So much so that each individual ant operates less like a single creature and more like one part of an enormous creature.  Each ant has its own specific job to do within its colony.  Individual ants who search for food or defend their colonies often do so at the cost of their own lives.  Each one exists for the whole.  And as a whole they can do amazing things.  They consume detritus and carry away trash inordinately larger than their bodies.  They tunnel the earth, pile up mountains of dirt, and undermine sidewalks and buildings.  They change the landscape. 

The authors of the New Testament repeatedly talk about the church as a kind of superorganism.  In several letters the Apostle Paul describes the church as a body consisting of many parts – each member of the church plays a role that serves the whole.  With each others' support, Christians can not only thrive in their faith, but they can change the landscape.  In his exceedingly practical book, James confronts behaviors that undermine the collaborative power of the church.  He challenges Christians to stop fighting, coveting, and slandering.  He identifies pride and self-centeredness as poison that destroys community.  Ultimately, says James, God cannot bless Christians who oppose the fellowship and unity of the church:

You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

In our super-individualist society, we are called to be a superorganism.  To commit ourselves to the well-being and submit ourselves to the will of the Body of Christ.  At times this feels like death.  In fact it’s the opposite.  We weren’t made to live in isolation.  God in his mercy reconnects us to a community that supports us, challenges us, and keeps us alive.  And it’s only as members of this greater body that we realize our capacity to change the landscape.  

Expect Something Amazing

Passage: James 1:2-8
James comes across as harsh.  No sooner has he gotten the obligatory apostolic greeting out of the way than he launches into this little gem:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

This is the New Testament equivalent of your dad saying, “Stop complaining – those splinters are building character” or, “When I was twelve I already had seniority down at the plant.”  James is all about sucking it up and getting down to the hard work of being a Christian.  

But behind his gruff utility is an invitation to a better life.  A life not of practical necessity but of wonder.  The wonder of belonging to a God who is real.  A God who shows up. 

A few verses later James says,

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Do you hear what he’s saying?  Not, “Stop complaining about not having enough wisdom and go get some.”  But, “Ask God, and believe that he will answer.”  Expect something amazing.

James, like all the apostles, is the ambassador of a true and living God.  A God who took on flesh and took on the forces of evil.  A God who turned water into wine and summoned miraculous catches of fish and raised the dead.  If you were going to ask this God for something as simple as wisdom, or your next meal, or the restoration of a broken heart, why would you doubt that he could deliver?  “When you ask, you must believe and not doubt…”  Not because God only rewards those who believe really hard.  But because when you pray you’re connecting with a God who is able to do more than you could ask or imagine.  Give God his due.  When you appeal to him, expect something amazing.