A RIGHT STRAW-Y EPISTLE

A Sermon by James Ishmael Ford

2 December 2001

So, what is ministry? What is service? And how is it holy, how is it spiritual? On this Sunday where we’ve committed the wild and extravagant act of commissioning ministers among us, let’s now reflect a little on what that might mean. To do this well, I’m going to use as a touchstone an inspired spiritual text, the Epistle of James. I think more than most spiritual documents; this New Testament letter addresses the subtleties of the necessary connections between a vital spirituality and action in the world.

Now, as I began to prepare for this talk, I did a quick Google web search. For my first wash through the web I entered +Epistle, +James and +Social Justice. This generated, I don’t remember exactly, a dozen or more pages of links. And then, right there in the middle of the second page I found a sermon right on the mark. It was titled "Without Works," and was preached in May 1998, by one Reverend James Ford. We do tend, it appears, to walk the same paths over and over again. After spending a minute or two weighing whether I wanted an interesting anecdote or a pre-written sermon, I made my choice and continued.

Now one of the reasons I’m particularly taken with this text is that it is by James, the brother of Jesus. It is that brother part that first drew my serious attention to this small document. While some commentators suggest when the word brother is used the writers mean cousin or other relative. But this reminds me too much of my beloved grandmother, a biblical literalist who told me that whenever the New Testament mentions Jesus and wine, wine means grape juice.

For those interested in such things there appears to have been three distinct strands at the dawn of Christianity. You can find the shadows of these competing schools within the scriptures, even though the New Testament is in fact in large part a collection of the documents of the winners. Which would be Paul’s school.

Another of those strands is Gnosticism. Gnosticism is itself part of a larger spiritual movement that flourished in the Near East at the beginning of the common era, and which had a Christian expression. But, here today I want simply to address that third form of proto-or-possible-Christianity, because here we find James’s place.

A close reading of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles shows that when Paul and Peter were in the middle of their fight over how one converts to Christianity, and whether the male convert must be circumcised according to Jewish ritual form, the person who decided this matter was James in counsel with the elders in Jerusalem.

In various places in Paul’s letters, which form the vastly larger part of the New Testament canon, he speaks of collecting alms for the poor in Jerusalem. I suggest, when he uses that word poor, Paul is in fact using the term that the first Christians used for themselves; Ebonite, the "poor ones." This was the community of followers of Jesus. And James, the natural brother of Jesus, was the person who led this community. I believe, if James weren’t killed in 62 AD, perhaps even more significantly, if Jerusalem weren’t destroyed following the revolt that began four years later, what we would today consider Christianity might indeed look a lot different than what now see.

The Ebonites appear to have had a vision of Jesus as a prophet in the line of Jewish prophets. They saw themselves as Jews, with only a few small additions, most notably a strong communal focus and celebrating a weekly ritual communion service. By themselves, these things would make them no more distinctive among other Jews than that between Hassids and the orthodox.

If this analysis be anywhere near true, and I really believe it is, then as we look at the letter of James, we see something of what that alternative form of Christianity would have looked like. And it is rather attractive, I think. That said, even if none of this were true, the letter still contains amazing insights. In some ways the Epistle of James can be seen as a Christian expression of that current of Jewish spiritual texts called the Wisdom Literature.

Actually wisdom literature is common to the entire Near East. It has to do with our real lived lives, without undue appeals to revelation, but rather gives primary attention to those traditions which have proven themselves both by their reasonableness and their efficacy over the years.

The wisdom perspective, at least as I’ve understood it has been that God, or the source, or the Deep, choose your term; is not something beyond us, but something found in our everyday lives, both within and among us. And, no doubt, this is much of what James is about. New Testament scholar Edgar Goodspeed summarizes the themes of this small book, this letter, or as he suggests, this sermon. "In James the Christian preacher tells his hearers that life’s trials, vicissitudes, and temptations will perfect character."

Goodspeed then adds about James. "(H)is hearers must not merely profess religion, but really practice purity and humanity. They must be doers that work, not hearers that forget. They must learn to respect the poor, and to feed and clothe the needy. Their faith must show itself in works."

The advice of James continues. Followers of this way "must not be too eager to teach and direct one another." He notes the difficult truth. "The tongue is the hardest thing in the world to tame." Practical advice. Constantly underscored by the assertion that those who "wish to show their wisdom, let them do it by a life of good works. They must give up their greed, indulgence, and worldliness, their censoriousness and self-confidence."

And there is an apocalyptic element to this document, common to the times, the reader is warned how "their rich oppressors are doomed to punishment; only they must be patient, like Job and the prophets." Let me add parenthetically, this is an interesting misreading of Job, who didn’t show much patience at all. But, really, whoever thought the Bible was internally consistent?

Goodspeed’s summary continues with the admonition to avoid oaths, and "In trouble and sickness (how each) must pray for one another." The list concludes with how "The prayer of a righteous man avails much. And (followers of the path) must seek to convert sinners, for God especially blesses such work." I might add, this is conversion to a life of good actions.

As you can tell, this is not a systematic presentation. So why, you might ask, this garland of loosely connected assertions? Goodspeed’s commentary asks do these various admonitions "constitute a chain of thought? Are they beads on a string, or simply a handful of pearls?" He goes on to assert, as I’ve already mentioned that he believes this is an example of an early sermon, which meanders nearly as much as do mine.

I would add there are pearls and there are pebbles, and even occasional bits of material of uncertain composition. What we find here is a mixed bag. But, it is a very interesting mixed bag. And one, I suggest that can be particularly useful for us, you and me, contemporary Unitarian Universalists seeking those ways in which we can live healthy and wise lives. I particularly commend it to our lay ministers, or anyone seeking the best ways of service. There is wisdom in this wisdom literature.

And it is a wisdom that has forever been something of a thorn in the side of the orthodox, those who would place the centrality of the Christian experience in submission to the story that flows from the Pauline hegemony. Martin Luther held to that story, I freely admit a beautiful story of how God sacrificed himself in the form of a human being, to reconcile a broken cosmos. So, because this Epistle doesn’t focus the way he thought it should, on that story, Luther dismissed it as "right straw-y," without substance.

But, I suggest he is wrong, dead wrong. In the dichotomy of faith and works, we Unitarian Universalists tend strongly toward works. As, in a sense, does the entire canon of the wisdom literature. But, in fact, the dichotomy is itself the error. It isn’t faith or works. It is faith in works. We do what we believe. We are what we think, and from that, we are how we act. This is much of the substance to be found in that Epistle.

In another of those web searches for this sermon I discovered that the Dalai Lama, of all people, had been invited to write a few words for a new edition of the Bible. Specifically, he was invited to comment on the Epistle of James. He found it a particularly attractive text from a Buddhist perspective. Perhaps this is no surprise.

I find it interesting that the Dalai Lama did not spend as much time with those lines I’ve found most compelling, James 1:22: "Be ye doers of the word, not hearers only..." And, that line so important it is repeated twice in James, at 2:20 and again at 2:26: "Faith without works is dead." Instead he took his reflection in a different direction. A direction I think possibly useful for all of us on a Sunday concerned with our ministry, and its various shapes.

The Dalai Lama really liked the verses in chapter 1:19-20: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Let me adapt the language to our time and culture and repeat this amazing assertion: "Wherefore, my beloved companions, let every one of us be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of people works not the righteousness of God."

Here, I believe we find much of the distilled wisdom of our ancestors. Here Judaism, here Christianity, here all the whispers of the wise, are presented in a simple, clear and practical exposition. In some profound ways, it does start with listening. This is a lesson we might glean from our Small Group Ministry program here at FUSN.

It is great that we like to talk. This ability is part of our human heritage, a central part. But in the Small Group Ministry meeting, each of us speaks only about one seventh or one eighth of the time. And that’s what makes it a spiritual practice.

At the heart of an authentic spiritual path, we need to learn to listen. That is where the good begins. Listening is where ministry births. Be quick to listen. And like onto that, be slow to speak. Hesitate. Your golden words, my golden words, could easily be fool’s gold. Or worse. I’ve seen too many who proclaim they’re going to be honest, and then use that honesty not to heal, but to hurt. True words made to be a club, do no one any good.

Which brings us to that line about being slow to wrath. You may notice it is repeated with the reflection that human wrath does not serve God. In our times, really, like in any times, our inclinations to violence rarely accomplish what we hope. Our use of force may sometimes do good, but very rarely. Mostly as we strike out, we only do more damage.

Now, when our goals be wisdom and justice and peace, it seems we need another way. And, I suggest, that way is generosity, compassion, and love. As we see these things growing within us, the weeds of violence will wither. And slowly these new plants, generosity, compassion, patience, love will replace them. As we cultivate this path, this ministry, a practical wisdom does emerge, one that can transform the world. I’m sure this is true.

Here, in these lines as well as in many others in that wonderful document called the Epistle of James, I suggest we might find the way to wisdom. Here we find the possibility of ministry. And it is our common ministry. It is what you have called me to do. It is what you have set aside the lay ministers to do. It is a call from your heart to your heart, to act in that harmonious way which will be a blessing upon this planet.

So, may James’s wisdom be ours. May we be not merely hearers of the word, but may be we be doers, as well. May our faith be shown in our actions. And may those actions be founded in listening, and love, and a constant seeking of the righteousness of the divine. Surely, that will be a wonderful ministry, a blessing for the many beings.

Amen.