james chapter one can change us

for the next five weeks if you go to mass — and i hope you do go– in the second reading, you will hear the wisdom from the letter of james. it is one of my favorite books in the bible. one of the things i like about this book is that it communicates important aspects of our faith in very clear language. one does not need a degree in scripture to understand the various exhortations in james. in fact, sometimes the teachings just punch ya in the nose. we can quickly realize how much we can miss the mark as christians.

here is my edited version for today’s mass reading:

Dearest brothers and sisters:
All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights… Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves… Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

whenever i hear the words: All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights, i think of the song from the muscial godspell; this is a wonderful version from ben platt

how do we delude ourselves by only hearing God’s word and not doing? most people would see this as hypocrisy and to a degree we all are hypocrites. the saints were the only ones who best heard God’s call to love and did it in their actions. that is why their lives are inspiring to us. but very very few among us can really be called “saints”. even in the canonical sense in the liturgical calendar there are few saints.

no one can effectively examine my actions but myself. so it is little wonder that the virtue of humility slap us in the face with this type of reflection that looks at our actions matching our ideals.

james mentions authentic religion having two dimensions. the first is caring for widows and orphans. this teaching unpacks one essential aspect of love: actions toward people in society who are vulnerable are on the margins of society, and alone. in biblical times, as well as today, these are seen in widows and orphans. but there are many other people who are weak, ill and in need of help. who are they?

caring for people who are marginalized is following jesus’ example. it targets jesus mandate to “wash one anothers’ feet” in loving service. this care is the litmus test for us as a people: how people at the bottom rungs of society are doing. personally, it asks us, “do you care? what actions show this care?”

unpacking love in our lives.

the other aspect of authentic religion is being unstained by the world. the image that comes to my mind is graffiti. each person is a beautiful mural created and re-created by God. but negative world values that we embrace and act out is like graffiti spray painted over the beauty. do i realize the beauty in myself given by God as a son or daughter? how is my soul becoming stained by anti-gospel values?

let us pray:

God of peace and justice, help us open our eyes through these words…

Dearest brothers and sisters:
All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights… Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves… Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.