Doers of the Word

We are to fear and love God so that we do not rob our neighbor of his money or property or get them by dishonest trade or shoddy wares, but help him to improve and protect his property and means of making a living.

None of us can wiggle out of it:

--a teen could have pushed that cart over to the store

--an adult with a van could have loaded it up and driven it over

--a senior citizen could have called the store and reported its location.

But here it sat until Tuesday evening when someone I know did load it up and return it to the cart corral at the store.

The book of James which we will be reading for the next few weeks has a number of these inconvenient little sayings that we know perfectly well but don't like to hear such as

Be doers of the Word and not merely hearers.

Jesus didn't ask his hearers “Do you agree with me?” or “Does this sound reasonable to you?”

He wanted more than agreement.

He said “Follow me.”

He was after discipleship, not merely intellectual agreement.

That is the problem when we spend all of our time on the research questions about the Scriptures, as interesting as they might be:

The origin of the words, the connections with other ancient cultures, etc.

The more important question is posed by Jesus in the next chapter where he moves very quickly from “Hey what is the gossip about me?” to “Who do you say that I am?” – the direct and personal challenge.

And the challenge is always “Follow me!”

Now and again pastors will ask a group of persons what they think they might be expecting in a good sermon.

And usually one of the prime answers will be something like this:

“A good sermon helps me to think about things in a new way.”

Now that sounds like a nice response, but it is not quite enough.

Worship is not just about listening and taking it all in.

We deceive ourselves into thinking that we have done the faith when we have merely listened, reflected, pondered, and agreed.

A better standard would be to discern what sort of lives the Gospel is able to produce in us.

Are we starting to look a little more like the God whom we praise here on Sunday morning?

Have our hymns and prayers begun to transform us into that which we profess?

That is the test, according to James.

But we already know that, and James is merely reminding us of what we really didn't want as a reminder.

We already know that any sermon that issues forth in deeds of love and mercy is more effective than one that is only spoken and heard.

Such a sermon in life is more reflective of the kingdom of heaven.

Lots of persons have been hurt or scandalized and lost to the church by the actions, or lack of actions, on the part of us who say we follow Jesus.

James compares it to a terrifying form of amnesia.

We all know what it is to be awakened abruptly by a ringing telephone and be completely disoriented, momentarily forgetting where you are, what time it is, and what is happening.

That only lasts a few seconds until we have things back in order again.

What James is describing is more serious and long-lasting.

It is as if one were to look into a mirror and upon turning away, immediately forgets one's own image, James says.

In other words, if we are not “doers of the word” we have forgotten who we truly are, we have lost our real identity, we are wandering around as shells of persons, incomplete.

The good news is that it is a curable form of amnesia!

We can be reminded of who we are as disciples and brothers and sisters in the name of Christ Jesus, and begin again to act like it.

I think the physical therapists who work with those with those have great disabilities call it “patterning”, if I remember reading about this rightly.

They help the individuals to move the muscles in certain ways over and over again so that the afflicted person will eventually be able to move his/her muscles without that assistance.

So I suppose one could say that we are here together participating in this “patterning” process in worship and life.

The praise of God leads to action, and the action leads right back to praise.

We have hymns that may talk about the community of Christ's body, and then have the action of sharing the peace which recognizes where it is.

We hear the proclamation of the Great Thanksgiving, followed by the procession and sharing in the Meal, followed by saying thank you, followed by taking the meal to others, followed by....coming together again.

Praise to action....to praise again.

This insight takes visible form in our stained glass windows,

where the panels on the south side move through the parts of the worship service from confession and forgiveness, to praise, to proclamation, to offering, to commissioning.

Here closest to the altar, where one might think we would get all special and cozy about being here, Jesus moves immediately to granting the gift of the Holy Spirit and sending us out to “fish for people” in his Name.

And so we are sent from this place with things to do.

Then as we engage in the activities in the panels on the north side, in family life, the arts, education, daily work, and finally social ministry activities,

we notice that the blessing of God's baptismal water is pouring down over all of these activities, from the top of the final panel.

So the activities done in the name of God lead us right back to the praise of God.

Thank you, God, for giving us the time, the ability, the opportunity, the insight, and the energy to be involved in all of these things!

And just one more point.

This thanks-giving can and should take place on all sorts of days.

Not just on the easy occasions, when things are going well, but also on the hard days, the painful times, the sad occasions.

We can take our cue from the author and composer of the Hymn of the Day today, who faced a mountain of troubles as difficult as any we could imagine during the 30 years' war, and still they write:

O God, my faithful God...

All perfect gifts bestowing...

Give me the strength to do...

Whatever you command...

Help me to bear the cross

When life seems dark and cheerless,

And, by your Spirit's might,

To live at peace with all. [LBW#504]

Praise leads to action and back to praise.

And so, both on Sunday and on Monday with joy we are busy following Jesus and living out this text:

Be doers of the Word and not merely hearers. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.