I wonder how you feel about dirt and cleanliness. If you drop food on the floor, do you think \u201c5 second rule\u201d and put it back on your plate, or does even the thought of that make you feel a bit sick. Do you subscribe to the old adage, \u201cyou\u2019ve got to eat a peck of dirt before you die\u201d? Or do you prefer, \u201cCleanliness is next to Godliness\u201d? It\u2019s quite a personal thing, isn\u2019t it, our comfort with levels of dirt, and how much effort we\u2019re willing to put into making things spotless, and keeping them clean. And that\u2019s before we even get on to the way in which we graciously handle visiting or living with people whose ideas about these things isn\u2019t quite the same as ours. <\/p>\n
Both our readings this evening touch on ideas of dirt and cleanliness, and particularly the way in which physical and moral cleanliness are seen by some to be connected, but not by God. God is much more interested in the cleanliness of hearts than in the cleanliness of our hands. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start our exploration this evening by having a dive into James. If we look back quickly at verse 1, we discover that James is writing primarily to Jewish Christians that have been scattered. There are a number of men called James in the early church, and this one is one of the brothers of Jesus, who took on a role of leadership in the years following Jesus\u2019 return to heaven. He wasn\u2019t one of the twelve apostles, but had evidently come to believe that his brother was who he said he was, and become a Christian. It is likely that the \u201cscattering\u201d is the one that is mentioned in Acts 8, when following the execution of Stephen the church in Jerusalem came under severe persecution. <\/p>\n
James\u2019 letter is quite different to the other letters in the New Testament. It is much more stream of consciousness, and while there are themes in there, they tend to woven in and out of each other, rather than presented as a logical argument like we find in most of Paul\u2019s letters. This weaving together is why it looks like, in our pew Bibles that the first verse of the reading seems to be in the middle of a paragraph. <\/p>\n
The verse before, v16, says \u201cDo not be deceived my dear brothers and sisters.\u201d The NRSV translation, which is the translation used for the lectionary, suggests that verse 16 is the end of the previous paragraph, and is the final thought of that sequence. This translation sees it as the beginning of this paragraph, as the introductory thought of a new sequence. To be honest, it doesn\u2019t matter very much, but it does illustrate the nature of James\u2019 writing. <\/p>\n
Our reading begins with a reminder that everything that is good and perfect comes from God. This is the foundational truth that we were thinking about in our service this morning. I\u2019m not going to focus on it much this evening, so if you want to hear a bit more about that, then do look online for my sermon this morning. <\/p>\n
As we read on, we get to verse 19 and a clear direction from James of a practical application of our obedience to Jesus. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s just take a moment to let that sink in. To be honest, it doesn\u2019t feel like I need to explain it much \u2013 it does what it says on the tin. It\u2019s not difficult to understand, it\u2019s just difficult to do!<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
And why is this important? For lots of reasons, but the reason that James gives is:<\/p>\n
\u201cbecause our anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.\u201d<\/p>\n
God wants us to be holy, to be right with him and with each other, and anger does not help bring that about. <\/p>\n
I wonder if you\u2019ve ever experienced anger, either in yourself or in someone else, which had just taken them over. Anger that was obscuring and possibility of seeing anything else. Anger that was controlling behaviour and preventing progress. This is the kind of anger that James is talking about. It does not bring about righteousness. <\/p>\n
As we get to verse 21, we find a \u201ctherefore\u201d, so we ask, what is the \u201ctherefore\u201d there for?<\/p>\n
It seems to me that we could paraphrase it like this:<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause God wants you to be righteous, get rid of all moral filth (of which anger is one example) and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGet clean\u201d says James. The first step to getting clean is recognising that we\u2019re dirty, and this takes humility. James uses the example of anger, but there are other kinds of muck that can stick to us. The second step is to get in the bath or shower \u2013 this takes intent, a decision that we want to be clean. The third step is to get the soap and flannel. We need tools to get clean from moral filth as well. James says that it is the word, planted in us, which can save us. <\/p>\n
What is the word that saves us? It seems to me that there are two answers here.<\/p>\n
The first is the answer that is always the answer to questions in church. Jesus. In the introduction to his eye witness account of the good news of Jesus, John writes, <\/p>\n
\u201cin the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesus is the Word.<\/p>\n
Who is it that saves? Well, his very name, Jesus, means \u201cGod saves.\u201d By his death and resurrection it is Jesus who rescues us from sin and death. <\/p>\n
So the first answer is Jesus. That is who we humbly accept, and who, as symbolised by our baptism washes us clean, and then continues to wash us clean as we walk with him, and the Holy Spirit brings new dusty corners in our lives to light. <\/p>\n
In his brilliant little book, \u201c10 second sermons\u201d the comedian Milton Jones writes: <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Spirit of God is a real person you can invite in. But watch out \u2013 in time he will go over to the fridge, pull it from the wall and say, \u201cWhat\u2019s all this mess under here?\u201d But at least he helps clear up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second answer is the Bible. The written word of God to us. Now, I think we have to be a bit careful here. The Bible does not save us in the same way that Jesus does, but it does have a part to play. Firstly it is the written word of God that is our primary source for knowing the living Word of God, and the rescue that he offers us. Secondly, it has been given to us to help us live our lives faithfully following Jesus. As we read it, learn it, digest it, the word of God shapes our minds, our thinking, our hearts, our behaviour, and washes us clean, as we submit to what it says with humility. <\/p>\n
As I say, there are two answers to the question, what is the word that saves us? Jesus and the Bible. I don\u2019t think that we have to choose between them, they are both valid answers that complement each other. <\/p>\n
As we read on, however, as James talks more about the word, and what we should do with and about it, it seems to me what James has at the forefront of his mind is the written word of God, the Bible. He advises us not just to listen to it, but to do what it says, to put it into practice. <\/p>\n
And then he says something that might seem quite counter intuitive. He describes the perfect law as the something that gives freedom. <\/p>\n
Law that gives freedom.<\/p>\n
It seems to me that we often think of law as something that stops us doing things. It is seen as a constraint, a restraint, rather than a freedom. <\/p>\n
Maybe a practical example, of a pretty mundane law, might help us see how this can work \u2013 it all depends on perspective. It is a law in this country that we drive on the left hand side of the road. This is a constraint. It dictates that we are not to drive on the right hand side, and if we do, then we will be prosecuted. On the other hand, it does free me, and everyone else following this law, to arrive safely at our destination. It is a law that brings freedom.<\/p>\n
God\u2019s law is so much more than this, God\u2019s law is perfect. Following God\u2019s law, which all flow out of the two heart commandments, \u201cLove God and love each other.\u201d gives us freedom. Freedom to be the people that God created us to be, freedom from sin and shame, freedom from addiction and fear, freedom from death and hell. <\/p>\n
Earlier on, in his discussion of anger, James touched on how we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. He returns to this theme with another practical example of what it means to put what we read and hear in the word into practice. He writes, <\/p>\n
\u201cThose who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight reign on their tongues deceived themselves, and their religion is worthless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doesn\u2019t pull any punches, does he? And again, it\u2019s not difficult to understand. It might be difficult to do, but it\u2019s not difficult to understand. <\/p>\n
James then moves on to some positive examples of what God is looking for in people. These examples flow out of that love for neighbour that Jesus talked about, and James weaves in the concepts of moral purity and cleanliness we\u2019ve already talked about. So we have the very practical \u2013 \u201clook after orphans and widows\u201d and the holiness ethic, \u201ckeep yourself from being polluted by the world\u201d. <\/p>\n
This final direction is actually a progression of the theme. Earlier on James said \u201cget rid of all moral filth\u201d – that is, get clean. Now we are at, \u201ckeep yourself from being polluted.\u201d That is \u2013 don\u2019t get dirty. <\/p>\n
It seems to me that this isn\u2019t about separating ourselves off from the world. James wants his readers to be involved in the lives of widows and orphans, stuck into the challenges of practically helping and supporting them. It is about being in the world without being polluted by it. How do we do this? The same way that we got clean in the first place, by the work of the word. Jesus and the Bible. Each of us will have different things that we know could pollute us. For some it will be unhelpful things that we read or might watch on the TV or the internet. For others it will be people that drag us away from Jesus. Keeping an eye on this, increasing our awareness of what it is that pollutes us, that gums up our lives, is part of the work of the Holy Spirit, who raises our sensitivity to these things, and gives us what we need to avoid them.<\/p>\n
So, that is James. What do we see that resonates, or contrasts with this in the conversation that we find in Mark\u2019s eyewitness account of the good news of Jesus?<\/p>\n
Here we find Jesus in a dispute with some Pharisees and teachers of the law. This is not the first time that Jesus has got on their wrong side. There have already been a couple of run ins focussed on the keeping of the Sabbath, and their view that Jesus was breaking the Sabbath law by healing on the Sabbath. This had got so bad that in Mark 3 we read that some of the Pharisees were plotting how to kill Jesus. <\/p>\n
The presenting issue this time is not the Sabbath, it is cleanliness and ritual washing. It is important to notice the phrase, \u201ctradition of the elders\u201d It appears in verses 3 and 5. Verses 3 and 4 are a little explanation from Mark as to why the Pharisees were asking about this, probably there because he wasn\u2019t sure that the people he was writing for would be aware of the details of Jewish religious practice. Mark makes it clear that the details of the ritual washing are from the \u201ctradition of the elders.\u201d This is reflected in the question that the Pharisees ask Jesus,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t your disciples live according the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why is this important? Well, \u201cthe traditions of the elders\u201d were a set of writings from various Jewish Rabbis, collected over the centuries, but were not part of the law of God given to Moses, or found in the Jewish scriptures, the Old Testament. These traditions formed what they called \u201ca fence for the law\u201d. The idea was to give practical guidance to Jews as to what they needed to do in their day to day lives to avoid being in any danger of contravening God\u2019s law. <\/p>\n
A good example of this is the Sabbath. The law said that people should keep the Sabbath. But what exactly did that mean. What if they accidentally broke the Sabbath? To prevent this the \u201ctraditions of the elders\u201d gave lots of practical examples of what could and couldn\u2019t be done on the Sabbath, including how far you could walk. It all sounds quite helpful, a practical application of the law that James might have approved of. But there was a problem. It had led to a massive multiplication of petty rules that were pretty much impossible to follow and led to a whole load of finger pointing. It was no longer a law that brought freedom, but a net of human rules that tripped people up.<\/p>\n
Jesus calls them out on this. He draws on the writings of one of God\u2019s messengers to God\u2019s people, Isaiah, one of whose main charges against the people of God was that their worship was in vain, and their teachings merely human rules. <\/p>\n
Interestingly, in the opening chapter of Isaiah, we read this:<\/p>\n
\u201c Wash and make yourselves clean.
\n Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
\n stop doing wrong.
\n Learn to do right; seek justice.
\n Defend the oppressed.
\nTake up the cause of the fatherless;
\n plead the case of the widow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sound familiar? God was not saying anything that he hadn\u2019t said before through James or Jesus. God\u2019s call to practical holiness, and his hatred of hypocrisy and hollow worship are consistent through out scripture.<\/p>\n
As the conversation continues in Mark, Jesus gives a practical example of another human tradition that has distorted the command of God, before calling out to the whole crowd in verse 14:<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing outside you can defile you be going into you. Rather, it is what comes out of you that defiles you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disciples are confused about this, and ask him about it later. Jesus reiterates that physical things that go into the body do not defile it, but that is the evil thoughts and behaviours that come out of us that defile us, that are the unholiness and pollution that separate us from God and each other. <\/p>\n
How are we to understand this in relation to what James writes about avoiding being polluted by the world? It seems to me that Jesus is addressing a particular context \u2013 physical things that go into the body, and a particular misunderstanding about ritual cleanliness and washing, rather than making a blanket statement that nothing outside of us has any effect on us. <\/p>\n
For most of us, drinking a glass of wine doesn\u2019t pollute us or defile us. Drinking a lot of wine can lead to all kinds of behaviours that do pollute and defile us \u2013 picking up James\u2019s two examples it can lead to the tongue being let off its reign and to anger breaking out. <\/p>\n
So, what difference is this to make in our daily lives and discipleship? You may already be thinking of some things. To further prompt our reflections I have a few questions that we might want to consider.<\/p>\n
Are their any \u201ctraditions of the elders\u201d that we have built around the exercise of our faith that have become more important to us than the faith itself, or which actually get in the way of us or others getting closer to Jesus? Theologian Jaroslav Pelikan wrote \u201ctradition is the living faith of the dead, but that traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.\u201d How do we honour the first, whilst avoiding the trap of the second?<\/p>\n
What are we aware of in our lives and surroundings that might pollute us? Do we have the same ideas as God about what is truly polluting or defiling? How might the word that we\u2019ve explored tonight change or reinforce our understanding of this. What might we do differently?<\/p>\n
What is the Holy Spirit prompting us to put into practice in our faith? How are we looking after widows and orphans, and others on the edges of our society? This is not about us doing good works to earn salvation, or run up a credit balance with God, James is quite clear that it is the word that saves, it is about our response of loving obedience to the one who loves us and rescues us, and wants a life of righteousness, purity, and freedom for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I wonder how you feel about dirt and cleanliness. If you drop food on the floor, do you think \u201c5 second rule\u201d and put it back on your plate, or does even the thought of that make you feel a bit sick. Do you subscribe to the old adage, \u201cyou\u2019ve got to eat a peck […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[431],"tags":[233,1357],"class_list":["post-1059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wellington","tag-james-117-27","tag-mark-71-8"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1060,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059\/revisions\/1060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}