The Book of James - Introduction
Readings for this week October 14 - 19
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Day 1 – The Brotherly Book of James
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – John 7:1-8
Like many of the books of the New Testament we do not know for sure who the author of the epistle of James was. But from very early on, Christian tradition has attributed the letter to the pen of James the brother of Jesus, one of the ‘pillars’ of the early church and leader of the church in Jerusalem. James was someone who had known Jesus far longer than anyone else, and from much earlier than the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Imagine the sheer normalcy of growing up under the same roof as Jesus, watching your older brother grow into adulthood, spending time with him, maybe even working and learning beside him. Perhaps this makes the early family rejection of Jesus and his ministry a bit more understandable. It’s one thing for a random stranger to be acclaimed as the miracle-working Messiah; it’s entirely another issue when that person is the big brother you know so well...
Perhaps this explains the highly practical, down-to-earth nature of the letter, and its emphasis on how to live well and live faithfully. James knows what it is to live with Jesus – even if he didn’t initially believe in his brother as the Messiah. But once faith arrived and developed, he knew that life for a follower of Jesus still meant learning to live with Jesus every day, to remain connected to him in his ‘absence’, and to be faithful in a world that didn’t know – or want to know – Jesus. How to stand firm and remain a faithful ambassador of Christ in an unfriendly world is what the book of James sets out to teach us.
Question to Consider
What would growing up with Jesus have been like? Apart from Mary and Joseph’s baby stories, what do you think the family would have known?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, living rightly and faithfully can be hard. Help me remain focused on you. Give me the strength not to give up and turn away. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – A Personal Appeal
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:7
James knew what a second chance looked like. He had personal experience of being given another shot, of being able to have a second go at something thought lost, of getting a completely unlooked-for opportunity to put something right. From what we can see in the Gospels, only Jesus’ mother (eventually) seemed to be in any way connected with his early followers. She was the only family member at the cross. But she was not the only member of Jesus’ immediate family to experience a resurrection appearance. James got one too. We have no idea when or under what circumstances; we can only speculate what words might have passed between the brothers at this most unexpected of reunions. But the risen Jesus came to James, and from that moment on the brother who hadn’t believed in him dedicated his life to Jesus and his church.
A personal encounter with Jesus can turn everything around and send a life down paths previously unlooked-for and thought impossible to tread. Jesus is the surprising Saviour, the one who comes to us when we believe he has forgotten us, the one who calls upon us in order to call us. Jesus is the one who changes us into people who are ready and able to stand up to the challenges of life in order to offer hope, love and comfort to others, far beyond what we would be capable of on our own. We become new people capable of new things, capable of resiliency in the face of adversity, strong faith-filled people ready to serve others.
Question to Consider
What surprising second chances have you received? How has God helped you change and take advantage of these opportunities?
Prayer
Lord God, you are the God who does not give up on us, the God who sees and knows what we can become in you, and you give yourself to us to make this happen. Thank you for your enduring love. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – The enduring legacy of faith
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – James 1:1
With this opening address to such a widely scattered audience, James connects his message to the long history of God’s people, to the Jews who had suffered slavery in Egypt, been rescued and given the land of Israel, only to fall into sin and be carried off into exile. James wants to show how the new followers of Jesus, Jews, and now Gentiles too, are part of this long legacy of God’s people called to serve the world. Even though his opening salutation does not name any specific group or congregation or city as its recipients, James has very cleverly drawn a direct line from the Hebrew scriptures right through to the new Christian community, wherever it may be and whoever constitutes it.
By connecting with this history, by reminding people of the Israelites in slavery in Egypt, of the time of tribal wandering in the wilderness, of the sorrow and struggle of the tribes in exile, James brings to mind the types of experiences and trials that he wants his readers to understand as they walk their pilgrim path through this world. The new Christian community is the Lord’s twelve tribes, now scattered throughout a hostile world that will sorely test them and their faith as they make their way through it. The pressures of life will weigh upon them, temptations will assail them. Their faith will be tested, just as was the Jews’ long ago. But they are the Lord’s people, loved and called, redeemed by his blood, empowered and guided by his Spirit. They are not alone.
Question to Consider
How does James describe himself? What does this tell us about his style of leadership? How might the scattered church feel receiving this letter?
Prayer
Almighty Lord, for the wisdom you have given us and the people you have given us to be part of, we thank you. Help us be good brothers and sisters to each other. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – The Path to Maturity
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – James 1:2-4
It’s not that James has discovered a secret that he is letting us in on. He’s not uncovering a hidden truth. He says in verse 3, “for you know...” James is boldly facing the truth of life, the Christian life included, that there will be times of trial that test our faith. This is not news – or shouldn’t be – but a simple fact: our faith will be tested, it will be tempered and refined, and we should rejoice that through this testing, God will strengthen us and our faith will grow. Part of becoming like Jesus is to be tested, just as Jesus was, and to persevere in faith in our Heavenly Father, just as Jesus did.
The purpose of this testing is to produce a strong, consistent, and steadfast faith. It is to test our faith so that it will grow and develop and bring us to maturity. We might prefer not to be tried, we might wish that some of life’s hardships and sorrows did not come our way, but through the fire of these trials our faith is slowly transformed: made stronger, pushed deeper, and broadened out into something that God can use to transform his people and his world. God longs for us to be perfect, complete, and lacking in nothing. The path of tested faith is how this transformation is made, and we are called to endure it, keep on enduring, and then to endure again – but to do so knowing that that the risen, reigning Lord Jesus is with us every single step of the way and will never abandon us.
Question to Consider
What might be the difference between the faith of a follower never exposed to trials and a follower who had faced many trials and ‘passed the test’? Why?
Prayer
Gracious God, teach me perseverance in the face of apathy and adversity. Give me courage to push on through difficulty. Teach me not to try and avoid the tough times but to seek you in them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – The Gift of Wisdom
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – James 1:5-8
The Epistle of James is the New Testament book most representative of the Hebrew Bible’s strand of wisdom literature, as collected in the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Job, Psalms and Song of Songs, but also spread throughout the entire Hebrew canon as a vitally important component, not only of Hebrew literature, but of a holy and well-lived life. Wisdom is important, and this collected biblical wisdom of both Testaments gives us the sifted and tested wisdom of those who had learned to trust God and who knew the importance of working out what such trust would look like when lived out in everyday life. And if we need wisdom, but aren’t sure we have it, James reminds us that the best thing to do is ask God for it.
Did witnessing his older brother changing and maturing and growing in wisdom (Luke 2:52) impress upon James the importance of cultivating wisdom, of seeking to live wisely and faithfully, and to trust that God would give us the wisdom we need if only we would ask him for it? God is generous and gives to all people abundantly. We need wisdom in order to know how to live, not just so that we can cope and manage and ‘get by,’ but so that we can thrive and more confidently and effectively reach out to others and display the love of God in all situations and show the world exactly what it means to live the kind of life God wants for us, a life where God can be more effectively present and help us be a blessing to others.
Question to Consider
What other places do people often turn to for wisdom? What kind of wisdom will we get from these sources? How is the wisdom God gives us different?
Prayer
Loving Lord, I need to value your wisdom more. Too often I search other places for wisdom, rather than coming to you, the fount of all life and knowledge, first. May I seek you first in all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)