"Doers of the Word"

  

"Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

 

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" -- Luke 6:46

 

            I have been collecting examples of ministries from churches that are listening to the Word and doing what it says. It is really quite encouraging these days to see all the creative, faithful ways that Christians are using to express their faith. I find them in the Covenant Companion, the online Covenant Newswire, and in the various ministers' meetings I go to. I am keeping a list, not that we would imitate these, but there may one day be a spark that comes that will help us in our obedience.

            The Convergence Covenant Church in Oakland, California, has 40 members. A few years ago they started "A Day in the Park" in which they held a picnic with games and such for the whole community. The first year ten people came, several of whom were homeless. But they kept on and last year they had 500 attend. They say it is a good way to get to know your community.

            In Salem, Oregon, the Covenant church began an after-school program to help working families. Then they began a free medical clinic once a month with doctors and nurses volunteering their time. Their church also serves as a homeless shelter on a rotating basis with other churches.

            In Omaha, Nebraska, the Covenant church heard about a group of freed slaves in India, who were living on land next to the Hindustani Covenant Church. When the landlord evicted them, the Omaha church stepped in, bought some property and developed a place for these freed slaves to live, working through the Covenant Women's "Breaking the Chains" initiative.

            San Jose Covenant used to be a church of 450 people, but in recent years it had dwindled down to 40 people. So they sold their building and property for over $3 million. They gave a tithe to the Covenant's Ministries of Compassion, Mercy and Justice. Then they kept $1.5 million for future construction. They set aside another $1.5 million for church planting, and so far have planted five churches, two of which are Spanish-speaking. Along with two other churches they began a transition house for refugee families in the area, and they are helping to fund the "New Day" house, a ministry which helps victims of human trafficking in Oakland.

            James says, "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." He issues what David Nystrom says is a "call for the observance of a faith that practices." But how do you become a doer of the Word? It is not easy. I think in these verses James is giving us some counsel on how to become doers of the Word. We may not want to hear what he has to say, because oftentimes we would rather have some help from God in making our plans succeed, rather than learning and carrying out God's plan for our lives.

            So James says, if you want to be a doer of God's Word, start by being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. And we might say, "No, that is not going to work, because if you don't speak up you will never get what you want in life, and if you don't show a little fire, a little anger, people will never do what you want." There are people who think that the Cubs would win more games if the manager would just holler more and kick dirt on people. They might be right. The fact is that anger often works, and the more insistent you are, the more you get. James isn't saying that anger doesn't work to get what you want in life. He is saying that anger does not produce the righteousness of God in your life. You cannot become a doer of the Word of God until God has produced his character in your heart. The rabbis said that "anger could sometimes be valuable as an engine of righteousness" but they also said you must not try to imitate God's anger because, "thrice was Moses angry, and thrice he failed to produce the mind of God." James Adamson says that the objection to anger is not simply that it is a bad tactic or that it is futile. It might well work to get something done, but it is forbidden primarily because of its effect on the angry person. Anger does not do the righteousness or justice that God desires. Nystrom reminds us that Jesus saw other paths to righteousness, found in the Beatitudes.

            Next, James says, we become doers of the Word of God when we get rid of all moral filth and evil and humbly accept the word planted in us. He says this a little later in stating that pure and faultless religion is when we keep ourselves from being polluted by the world. Personal morality is important, even as work for justice is being carried on. James is very much in touch with the teachings of the Old Testament and also the Jewish teachings of his day. There was in that tradition a trust in God's Word as "the medicine of life" and the Law was referred to as "a spice against the evil inclination found in people." I like that image of the Word of God cleaning out the stink of immoral living.

            But then James goes on. A clean life is not enough. You must also humbly accept the word planted in you. This implanted word is the Gospel, it is Christ as Savior. Adamson says that "this implanted word can only flourish in the soil of true obedience." Then he uses another image, which is difficult to grasp at first. You look in the mirror and then walk away and forget what you see. That doesn't seem to make any sense. But what he is saying is that it is like an artist painting a portrait, and he must look again and again at the subject to get it right. The obedient life takes time, concentration, study and prayer. There is some trial and error to obedient living. It does not come easily, and doing God's will requires effort, some failure, some learning. Humbly accept the word planted in you.

            Finally he says, "Here is what pure and faultless religion looks like." In other words, here is what doing what the word says is like. It is to keep a tight rein on your tongue, to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep yourself from being polluted by the world. The word "religion" can also be translated "worship." It refers to the external ceremonies and practices of the faith. It is going to church. Nystrom says that James means that "any religious practice that cannot influence the heart and therefore ones actions is worthless." He goes on to say that "True religion or worship is a humble receptivity to God's word so that it can develop deep roots in us, shaping our character resulting in good works."

            In the ancient world it was the widows and orphans who were most vulnerable to exploitation. They were in distress, just like any people who are on the margins of society are in distress. There is real concern in Israel to care for them.

            "The Lord defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." -- Deuteronomy 10:18

            "Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." -- Isaiah 1:17

            The care of widows and orphans has remained at the heart of Christ and his people ever since. William Booth, when he was founding the Salvation Army, said, "We will wash our money in the tears of the widows and orphans and lay it on the altar of humanity."

            I have noticed a trend recently in church gatherings and conferences that the discussions about worship style of a few years ago have been replaced by discussion of ministry. When people visit churches they are not so interested to learn what your worship style is as what are you doing in your community to bring Christ to people in distress, people on the margins. I think the two issues are connected. When our worship of God moves our hearts, then we begin to act, to be doers of the Word.

            Let us be a people who call on Jesus as Lord, and then do what he says.

            Amen.