What James gets right and Paul gets wrong
One could be forgiven for thinking that, once upon a time, the Bible suddenly appeared as a fully-formed volume with God’s blessing. We sometimes talk about it in a manner that suggests it came to be in such a way. Some might even think that the collection of books hasn’t changed much since the First Century. The Bible with which we’re familiar now, though, took a long and winding path to reach its current form. Even using the singular term “form” is a misnomer, because when we English speakers talk about it, we’re typically referring to one of many English translations. And some of those translations, like those used by our siblings in the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches, include books that most Protestant bibles do not.
Even the books that are consistent across translations took a few centuries to sort out among councils of church leaders. And the inclusion of the book of James, from which today’s passage emerges, was still up for debate in the 1500s! You might recall that the Protestant Reformation, which led to the creation of traditions like the Lutherans and Presbyterians and many others, occurred at around that time. The beginning of the Reformation is attributed to Martin Luther, who was a Catholic priest until he was excommunicated by the church due to theological differences. And Luther didn’t only have differences with the Roman Catholic church — he also had differences with James, and resisted including it in the Protestant Bible. According to Luther, “there [was] a contradiction between James and other parts of the New Testament.” (Moore-Keish, 10)
The book of James is written as a letter, and is often attributed to James, the brother of Jesus. In it, as Bible scholar Martha Moore-Keish writes, “James uses his rhetorical skill to persuade the audience to adopt certain values . . . such as patience, endurance, and equity.” (Moore-Keish, 2) This doesn’t sound controversial, but Martin Luther took issue with the frequent mention of good works that you find in James. Luther’s position was that one receives salvation through faith in Christ alone, and that good works are a byproduct of that faith. His belief was based on a particular reading of the Apostle Paul’s writings, and is reflected in many Christian creeds and theologies.
Thus Paul did not care for statements such as “be doers of the word and not merely hearers . . . those who look into the perfect law . . . will be blessed in their doing.” This talk of doing and law might have reminded Luther too much of the Jewish faith, which shouldn’t be surprising considering Jesus and his brothers were Jews, but unfortunately Luther had anti-semitic tendencies. These made themselves known through his writings, and fueled hatred toward Jewish people from the 1500s through the present. If one defines Christianity as definitively opposed to Judaism, then the writings of James, which “blur those boundaries,” is unappealing. (Moore-Keish, 11)
Moore-Keish takes a more favorable view toward James when she writes that “what strikes me most in reading James today is how the author weaves together insights from the law, prophets, and wisdom into one powerful whole, offering his audience then and now a genre-defying piece of biblical interpretation.” (Moore-Keish, 4)
You might ask, though, what such insights have to offer us today.
I would argue that there’s value in having some sort of guiding light as we sojourn through this world. I take comfort in knowing what constitutes good works in an age when truth, democracy, and science are being called into question. The teachings in James were recorded almost 2000 years ago, but I think they have relevance today.
Moore-Keish writes that James is “an epistle to communities in diaspora, written in the tradition of other Jewish letters composed to bolster identity among dispersed Jewish communities in the [Greek-influenced] world.” (Moore-Keish, 2) I enjoy living where I do surrounded by technological marvels and regularly interacting with many wonderful people, but I see a similarity between those of us who follow Jesus now and those to whom James was writing. And it makes me wonder: Have we forgotten we, too, are a diaspora?
Please don’t misunderstand me: I am not one of those who claim that Christians are oppressed in this country. In my experience, the examples presented as evidence of such bear no resemblance to the injustice regularly experienced by people of color, women, the differently abled, the unhoused, and LGBTQ populations, among others. When I speak of Jesus-followers as a diaspora, I’m referring to the struggle involved in living a life unstained by a society that champions power, profit, and productivity at the expense of humility, generosity, and justice. No, Christians in this country are not oppressed, but we are surrounded by numerous gods.
Back when it was fashionable to include a profound quote of some sort in your email signature, for a while I adopted a line from this week’s passage: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Not only did I think it was generally good advice, but more than anything else I included it as a reminder to myself. I still regularly experience occasions when I reflect on a recent conversation I had with someone and wish I had listened more.
Then there’s the anger piece. Social media algorithms, news stories, and television commercials are designed to present us with information that makes us angry. Sometimes I find myself listening to a news story or reading a post and realize it’s not only made me angry, but it’s led me to demonize a person or group of people rather than the behavior being reported. There’s a place for anger, but I don’t like to be led there unconsciously.
Listening and being slow to anger offer benefits, as does acting with generosity. James writes that we have a tendency toward generosity embedded in us from God. That manifests itself in our actions toward others. As Moore-Keish writes,
“to be a ‘word-doer’ is simply to love those whom the world has treated as unlovable. It is to look for the ones who are the most crushed by systems of power and oppression and care for them. Rather than following the cynical and power-hungry ways of the world, to be word-doers who embody ‘pure religion’ is to place ourselves as beacons of light in the darkness, even as God has shone light into the weary darkness of the world.” (Moore-Keish, 77)
We’re often encouraged to buy into the myth of scarcity, but God not only blessed the earth with enough for all of us to live abundantly, but also to enjoy the liberation that comes from following our in-born tendency toward generosity.
The reformation that Luther helped spark was a reaction to what he saw as abuses in the Roman Catholic church, including the regulations around indulgences, offerings which the church would dictate to members so they could reduce punishment for their sins. These indulgences were focused on works, so the writings of James might have reminded Luther of those just as they reminded him of Jewish law. We can probably all think of examples where concentrating too much on the word of law versus the spirit of law can be problematic. Included in this is the tendency to fall into “either self-righteousness because we keep the rules so well, or into despair because we cannot.” (Moore-Keish, 73) Add to this Paul’s writings about the importance of faith, and Luther’s theology makes sense.
But, as Moore-Keish writes, “absolute perfection of human observance is not James’s point here; it is the perfection of the law itself, which is given as a life-giving word to guide our every action. Paradoxically, those who follow the law steadfastly in their daily lives, according to James, are truly free, because they are grounded in the ways of God who created us.” (Moore-Keish, 74–75)
So when James writes about resisting anger, sordidness, wickedness, deception, and being unstained by the world, he sees that as liberation from an unfulfilling way of life. And when he writes about being generous, listening, meekness, perseverance, and caring for those in need, he sees for us an opportunity to live into who we were meant to be. When one embraces that way of life, their reflection in the mirror will match the self-image they possess in their mind.
I don’t want to create a false dichotomy in presenting these viewpoints, though. If one believes that one makes a choice to be faithful and good works are a byproduct, then good works are occurring, and that is good. If one believes one chooses to perform good works and good works are occurring, then that is good. If one attributes their good works to the movement of the Holy Spirit and good works are occurring, then that is good. Regardless of how the acts come to pass, the world is filled with more generosity, listening, patience, truth, and care for those in need.
Personally, I’m glad that Martin Luther was not successful in excluding the book of James from what became the Protestant bible. I think there’s much to be gained from reading it. And, as Moore-Keish writes, “we cannot do the word unless we first listen and tend it. But then we do — and we must — act in keeping with the word, to bear God’s life and light into the world that so desperately needs it.” (Moore-Keish, 70)
I mentioned before that Jesus-followers are a diaspora in our society. Bible scholar Luke Timothy Johnson addresses that concept this way:
“For those living under the influence of modernity, the intellectual atmosphere shaped by the Enlightenment, ‘the world’ is what is most real and obvious. It is a closed system of cause and effect and of limited resources. Humans are defined by their place in this system, and the system is defined by the capacity of human reason to measure it.
What seems least real or obvious is ‘God,’ a name that has increasingly been reduced to a concept, and one that people must struggle to take seriously.
For James, the opposite is the case. ‘God’ appears as the subject in these verses some eight times, not as a remote or remnant concept, but as the One who is most real and defines reality. God creates humans, listens to their prayers, rewards their fidelity. Above all, reality itself is defined by the God who gives to all generously and without reproach, and who is the source of every good and perfect gift. If reality is defined by the endless bestowal of gifts, then it is not a closed system but an open one, not a world of limited resources, but of infinitely renewable resources. And if God defines reality, then humans are not in competition with each other for their very being . . . rather, humans can gift each other as God gifts them.” (Johnson, 641)
And in our time, that gifting can extend beyond what might have been possible for Jesus-followers in the time of James. The first generation of Christians was largely comprised of marginalized people in an occupied country. Many of us, on the other hand, have some influence — especially when considered collectively — over those who control the governance and systems of our society.
And when you look at some of that governance and those systems, you can find justification for what I’ll term some “slow anger” to develop. Moore-Keish asks, “Aren’t there reasons — good reasons — to raise voices against real evils in the world? Aren’t there good reasons to be angry? . . . If we continue to listen to James . . . it becomes clear that he is not advocating passivity. Indeed, he lifts his own voice against injustices that he sees in the community — the rich being treated with greater honor than the poor, members of the community succumbing to envy and ambition.” (Moore-Keish, 67)
Many of the first generation of Christians, including Paul, believed Jesus would return during their lifetimes. This might help explain their concentration on faith and meeting immediate needs in their communities, perhaps at the expense of affecting lasting change. If Jesus was to return in a matter of decades, why exert effort on overcoming injustice?
So we can be grateful for the orientation James provides. Not only do his writings offer a guide for meeting the immediate needs of those around us, he also champions behaviors that can lead to a more sustainable and just society for everyone.
Fellow sojourners, too often we’ve heard that people are plagued by “original sin” without being reminded that we’ve had generosity implanted in our hearts. Too often we’ve been convinced to put our own needs first, when the way to true liberation comes through championing the marginalized. Too often we’ve been told there’s not enough to go around, when in reality it’s the greed of a few that leads to there being many in need.
When we’re quick to listen and slow to anger, when we care for the marginalized in distress, we’re living a counter-cultural way of life that offers true liberation. Together, let us be blessed in our doing.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
Works Referenced
Johnson, Luke Timothy. “The Letter of James.” In New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume X. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
“Martin Luther.” Wikipedia. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
Moore-Keish, Martha L. James. (BELIEF: A Theological Commentary on the Bible). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2019.
