09/14/2024 – Prologue - For centuries advocates for greater state power have claimed that modern sovereign states are like families. Thus, a politician seeking greater legitimacy of the state, will try to show the family is similar to the state, but the two institutions are very dissimilar. The family has been thought of as natural and popular. Politicians will use the family for their own selfish motives. Pro-state theorists exploit the idea of family in two ways: First, because the family is good for society, then the state, as one big family, is also good for society. Second, the pro-state folks claim the father gives the orders and all others fall in line.
People may be simplistic, but are attractive to those seeking power over service. Hence, Stalin was referred to as. “father of the peoples.” Obama used the phrase, “… a strong, tight knit family.” Cuomo (NYS) used the phrase, “… family of NY.”Reference to faux families means we have to be responsible for others, meaning responsible not to self, but to the state. This is wrong because state power is permanent and bureaucratic; family power is temporary and personal. It is assumed a child will one day leave the parent, but the power of the state is forever. It is difficult to reconcile family governance with state power. The administrative machinery of the state does not exist in the family. The resources of com-pulsion are limited and temporary in families. But, the state has a wide variety of fines, punishments, and sentences including death. Clearly, families cannot function in this manner; yet the state wishing to soften their harsh acts attempts to offer a softer image of their programs and agents. Do not buy it!
[James 2:14-26] -Faith and Works -Does faith happen in our spiritual realm and works in the bodily realm? Often, when reading scripture, if we are puzzled, it means a deeper meaning may be waiting. James struggled with a challenge arising in the early church and is still with us. He discussed it in the previous study when he addressed folks who ‘do the word as well as hear it'. He has heard some folks talking about ‘faith’ not meaning a robust trust in the loving, living God, but an empty affirmation with no substance – a body w/o a spirit. [v.19] James returns to a basic point of ancient Judaism – ‘God is one’. That remains at the heart of Jewish daily prayer “the Lord is One and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart – mind – soul and strength. Jesus then added the royal law – ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ It is now difficult to say one without the other. But … saying ‘God is One’ does not get us far if it does not make a difference in our lives. Paul and others develop this as a fully Jesus’ statement. James lays a sturdy foundation beneath the ancient Jewish meaning as a confessional statement. and then it must translate into action, a Jesus shaped action to make a difference. Paul and James get on the same page when Paul writing about faith and works states – what matters is ‘faith working through love’. [Gal. 5:6] and [v. 15-16] James expects Jesus’ followers to be caring for the poor. We cannot make a naked man warm by saying ‘be warm’, we must act, provide him with a garment. Faith alone is merely verbal - worthless – and - will not rescue a person from sin and death. James digs into ancient scripture to find Abraham [Gen. 15;16] Abraham believes God will give him a huge family despite at the moment he is childless. [Gen. 15] Then we have Sarah and Hagar; then the sending of Hagar and Ishmael; then being told to sacrifice Isaac, son of Sarah and the one who will fulfill the great promise. Abraham belie-ved God would hold up His promise and was prepared to put his faith into action. That is living faith. That is an active friendship. [v. 23 ref. Isa. 41:8] That friendship embodied in the covenant established by God [Gen. 15:7-20; 22:15-18] These verses are the basis for justification. Meaning God’s declaration that a person is a member of the covenant, is ‘in the right’, a part of God’s forgiven family. James recalls the most unlikely example of faith – Rahab, a pagan prostitute. We join the story by noting Rahab’s house is in Jericho and the Israelites are about to cross the Jordan – headed for Jericho. Joshua sends two spies ahead, who spend the night in Rahab’s house. She protects them from troops looking for them because she had come to believe in Israel’s God as the only true God in heaven and earth. [Joshua 2:11] Rahab had translated belief into action in spite of the risk. Thus, Joshua spared her, and her family, when he invaded. She was to marry an Israelite and became the great, great grandmother of King David and a part of the tree of Jesus. [Matt. 1:5] Translating faith into action even when hazardous, dangerous and/or life threatening. That is what matters, that is faith that justifies. [v. 24] That is the faith that saves. [v. 14] This is near the heart of the message of James – making certain that faith is the real thing.
[James 3:1-12] – Taming the Tongue – James says teachers will be judged with greater strictness. One hint in the wrong direction may send many lives down wrong paths. Some may recover, others not so. The same is true in church: one sermon, one conversation, one listener in a vulnerable moment can be encouraged to make the wrong move. Teachers beware! James warns that teachers may find it difficult to meet expectations. He adds taming the tongue may be nigh on impossible. Get it right, get your entire being under control. The tongue seems to be the last and hardest lesson. It can be small like a horse’s bit, the wrong word, the wrong moment, a promise broken, or a bad impression and it could be one and done. One Psalmist [Ps. 141:3] asked God to post a sentry in front of his mouth. Any pretense of being devout that does not cover speech habits is a sham. This is central and vital to being truly human. But, it gets worse – James says the tongue is a fire ready to ignite a blaze. Watch how the press follows and goad politicians, ex., Gov. Kristi Noem, SD who is now on the dust heap of highly qualified American politicians. James goes on to characterize the tongue as a little world of its own – a country within a country. The larger area, the whole person, may be well governed, but in the smaller region, the tongue, we find corruption and wickedness in control. One asks, “Why?” Jesus claimed that what comes out of the mouth is a sign of what is really there, deep in the heart. [Matt. 12:34; Luke 6:43] James echoes this when he asks can a fig tree bear olives or a vine bearing figs. That is not the way things are. If one turns out to be pouring curses on human beings, made in God’s likeness – then one must question whether their heart has been properly cleansed, rinsed by God’s powerful spirit. If that is not the case, it will show that the tongue is not simply a private world of injustice. It is getting its inspiration from hell itself. [v. 6] What James is after is consistency. He wants them following Jesus through and through – to be blessing only people. He does not want them blessing and cursing people. Admittedly that is a high standard, but would we expect less from scripture, in fact scripture that carries a message of salvation. There is a huge danger here. Some folks will pick bits of a message they want and chooseto leave the real challenges off to one side. But that cannot be done! The spring must be cleansed so sweet, fresh water only flows. This may require help and that is what the gospel offers. AMIN!
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