Last week’s parable dealt with the Orthodox Jews belief that good deeds would enhance ones standing as a righteous person. The more good deeds the more righteous a person was in God’s eyes. That righteousness was the result of good works. We learned that good works were not to be motivated by our desire to establish credit with God but rather the result of doing our duty as expected by God. This week we look at a different view and a different assessment. It is important for you to read James 2: 14-26 at this point.

Let’s start with these verses from James 1: 22-25:

22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves[h] in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

Yes, our study today is in Chapter 2 but even before we get there James lays down his assessment of faith, deeds and works. It is important to remember that the word of God can never be just one or two verses from a chosen reading, in the study of scripture context is important. James early in his book insists that his readers be not only be hearers of the word but doers. James specifically writes that one true mark of the faith would be those who care for the needs of others and it is not far into the second chapter before he is writing this:

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,[e] if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (2James vv.14-17 NRSV)

Repetitive as this is, his words continue to bring home his dedication to his belief that faith without works is dead. He made the point in the very first chapter and got no farther in the second chapter than verse 14 before writing it again. His passionate insistence that faith must be translated into works is the overwhelming theme of this section of writing. Just knowing the right truth or the holding the right position does not make us righteous. Again and again verse 14 hits us in the face…To the Jew almsgiving was a big thing. So much so that it became one and the same. Righteousness and almsgiving were looked on by some as a way to atone for their sins. I found this in my research and include it here as a telling picture of the church’s view of the importance of works and faith.

“When the leaders of the Jerusalem church agreed that Paul should go to the Gentiles, the one specific instruction given to him was not to forget the poor (Galatians 2:10). This stress on practical help was one of the great and lovely marks of Jewish piety.” (DBS page 87)

All of us at times experience the need to help someone, I believe that there is a little good in all of us. Sympathy for others needs is a fine emotion and yes we all do have that emotion from time to time. James adds the blunt assessment that if we do not act on that it is highly likely that we will ever respond to any needs. When our emotions allow us to see a need and feel sympathy, we must be willing to make the sacrifice to meet that need. The study of the parable last week led me to linger a bit beyond the words. Luther regarded Paul as the true apostle and he was at odds with James and his position that faith without deeds was dead. Luther had an enormous amount of influence on the development of the NT scholarship, he more or less demoted James, a better term I guess would be he marginalized its standing in the Gospel. There has been much written about this matter but what I found interesting is the majority opinion is that this was a matter of interpretation and lays aside the idea that Paul and James were at odds as to faith and deeds. There are few if any Christian communities in this day that would be in disagreement with James as to faith and works. We learn with James it is not a situation of “either or” but one of both and more.

James makes it plain that we should greet and welcome those less fortunate than us into our assembly, give aid to those on the street that are perennially part of an impoverished population and remember the widows and orphans. Do we set aside that lesser person, removing them from our sight and mind, replacing them with those we relate to and placing them in a position of prominence? Have we sought to cover our neglect of the hungry and ill-clad with good wishes and pious language? Have we clung to our safe orthodoxy and comfortable rituals, not stepping out and answering God’s call to feed, cloth and care for the less fortunate among us? If we can say yes to any of these questions, then we cannot meet James’s standards, nor those of Christ. It is through our faith in Christ that we are enabled to do our duty. It is the strength of our faith that brings forth the deeds that serve and preserves the faith and wellbeing of others.

God Bless, Life is Good

jk

7 “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? 8 Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? 9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”

There is no score card or tally sheet in heaven and we are not the master of the ship. In some ways this would be one of the more difficult parables but it is simple in its depiction of the people Jesus was speaking to at the time. We often tend to forget that in Jesus’ early ministry he was speaking to mostly Jews. These were his people and prior to the start of his active ministry he lived and worked among them. In this Parable we learn that we cannot put God in our debt. Jesus is making that very point here in this parable. The Jews had this doctrine of works, plainly put, the more good you did the more points you got, a score sheet for mortals if you will. A Godly credit account.

( I will note here that next week we will look at an interesting conflict that exists with todays subject and can be found in The Book of James Chapter 2: 14-26)

One of the lessons here is when we have done our duty there is nothing extraordinary about that, for we have only done what was expected of us. Bear Bryant, Alabama football coach said it best. A player after scoring a touchdown in a critical game engaged in some rather over the top end zone celebrations. Coach Bryant called him over as he returned to the sidelines and reminded him that was not necessary. He is reported to have said…”son that is not necessary, act like you’ve been there before.”  When we do as God would have us do we have only done what is expected of us. We are after all always and forever servants. The Jews believed that those who had done a sufficient number of good works were justified and they were the righteous. There were two other levels but to be noted here was the belief that those in the lower levels could pass into the ranks of the righteous by doing some extra good works. The Jews believed that any good deed could improve their Godly account. In short they did believe that man could put God in his debt. Barclay points out that God’s relationship with us is one of love. He points out that in reality the love a parent has for their child…so strong, so consuming,is a love that there is no way we could ever pay them back. No matter how generous that deed or gift might be, it would never be enough for the life they gave us and the love that sustains it. If we approach this from love’s view, we know it has no bounds and is not constrained by time…it is never ending and expects nothing in return.

We need to develop a servants heart. I have my own definition of a  servant. A servant serves because it is expected of him, it is a duty born of necessity and cultural  expectations. The righteous servant who serves with a servants heart, does so out of an abundance of love and expects nothing in return. We also learn here that there are no set hours for living a Christian life. There is a truth here that is very present in today’s world. I call it the faith of convince, you can’t take time off from being a Christian because it is inconvenient in a particular time or place or the company of others. As I wrote earlier this Parable can be difficult but if we look closely there is much here. God has given us his very best. God does not ask us to serve at our convince, he demands our very best at all times…..Christianity is not a part time endeavor. We are to serve, we are his servants and don’t need to engage in end-zone celebrations for doing what is expected of us.

Join us next week as we move to the Book of James chapter 2 for a different look at deeds.

Life is Good

jk

What is your life plan? I have always believed that life is what it is and there is no set plan or reactions as to the encounters in your life which will challenge you. The strength of your relationship with God will give you the ability to endure what ever life throws at you. Here in this Parable we are introduced to a man who has had a good life and a what he believes to be a good plan for his future. This is a story that Jesus told and  resonated with many people throughout the generations. It is most commonly known as The Parable of The Rich Fool and today we read from Luke 12: 13-21. This parable warns us to take heed of those things remembered and those things forgotten. Remember the phrase all is well with my soul, …is it?

Proverbs 27: 1 Do not boast about tomorrow,for you do not know what a day may bring.

This man in our parable is consumed with himself. Here are a few snip-its from the scripture itself.

-what will I do because I have no room to bestow my fruits?”

-this will I do; I will pull down my barns and build greater and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.”

He then continues on planing on what his life will be like in the days to come. It is as if he is the only one and the cares of the world and other people are of no concern to him. Barclay makes a wonderful observation…the first person singular never occurs in The Lords Prayer. We all have the habit of overlooking the things that are important, the condition of others around us, believing we have time to do those things that matter, he forgot God. The list continues…Who or what we are is not determined by what we have. Having so much he would have to build other barns to keep it all makes one wonder if perhaps he could have shared some of his wealth with his neighbors who were struggling. He felt it more important to take it easy, eat and drink his fill, after all he had earned it. Time, that which God has allotted is not known to us. This guy acted as if he had unlimited time. Some of us never feel comfortable and are aware of time, these two extreme differences are really governed by our faith and relationship with God. We can all say with confidence that our time on this earth is limited. We do not know how many tomorrows we have but many will say tomorrow is another day. As a believer I know who holds my tomorrows, do you? In James chapter 4: 13-17 we find this:

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year doing business and making money.” 14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Those who plan and leave God out have left behind the most important thing in their lives. So many of us are obsessed with what we have, our self worth tied to the amount of stuff we have acquired and take no notice of what we have become while acquiring it. It is not my place or really anyone’s to judge another but this I can say with confidence. You will stand before God with nothing you have acquired in this life…you will be judged by the content of your soul.

Life is Good

Jk

The response to this series of Parables has been strong. We will continue in the Parables next week.

Here is a parable that should be falmilar to most of us. First let’s set the scene. The Red or Bloody Way…The Jerusalem to Jericho Road, got its name because it was well known to be dangerous for travelers. Jerusalem sat on a hill 2,300 feet above sea level. Now the Dead Sea near which Jericho was, is 1,300 feet below sea-level; and the road descended that 3,600 feet in little more than 20 miles. There were many sharp turns and narrow passages which provided excellent hiding places for bandits. Imagine some of those old western movies with those old roads descending into the canyon below, those twists and turns were often called switchbacks, they closely resembled what we are talking about here today. The plight of this traveller we read about in the scriptures is not unusual for those traveling this road. It is interesting to note that even as recent as the nineteenth century travelers were paying the local Sheiks money to ensure safe passage. So here we have the scene…A dangerous road, populated by bad people and extremely difficult to traverse.

Next the people involved… a traveller who either did not know the stories about this road, which is highly improbable or maybe he was just careless for it was common knowledge that few traveled that road alone. People would get together and form a convoy, knowing there was safety in numbers. Next we meet the priest. Priests were divided into courses each course served in the temple two separate weeks in the year. When priests were not on duty most of them stayed in Jericho. The Priests reaction of passing by and not even checking to see if the man were dead or alive was not the result of his not caring but one of misguided priorities. When not serving in the Temple the priests were free to go about their ordinary duties and routines. The time they were called to serve in the Temple was the highlight of their lives. To touch a dead body made them unclean and they would not be allowed to serve their time in the Temple. The Temple ritual was more important than the fate of this man. Thirdly, there was the Levite. Little different line of thought here. He went over and took a quick look at the man and then moved on to the other side of the road. At play here was the fact that the Levite knew sometimes these bandits would use a decoy to draw people close so they could jump them. He chose his personal safety because of the risk involved…When have we considered personal needs over the needs of others? This next one was the Samaritan and they were hated by the Jews. This is another blog in itself but it will do to just take note of the fact that this was a quarrel that had been going on for some 450 years. He may not have been racially a Samaritan, in those times the name Samaritan was used by orthodox Jews in reference to anyone who were lawbreakers or renegades from the orthodox Jewish religion. So it is possible that he was no more than a businessman who traveled the road on a regular basis, he was a commercial traveller. That would explain why the innkeeper was willing to take the injured man in. He knew the traveller would be back through and would take care of the bill. A traveller of this type would have been viewed with suspicion, hence, in the parable he becomes a familiar figure…the hated Samaritan.

There are some questions we need to answer. The first of course has been the subject of many a sermon…Who is my neighbor? The answer is “anyone who needs your help.” To the Jew this would have been a difficult lesson and answer. I have sought many ways to explain this but the simplest would be that anyone other than a Jew was not worthy of consideration. Jew or Gentile, that being the defining factor determining their actions toward others. As Christians we are called to serve all people, period! The other question is just what is expected of me? Various commentaries always list pity. Pity is an emotional response and perhaps James states it best as too what is a proper response. We of the faith do God’s will only when that faith is put into action.

This Parable puts it straight and to the point. We are responsible for all in need. When we become so entangled in routine and doctrine that the church, ourself and connivence comes before God’s children, the church is dead to that which it is called. Our faith and the strength of our very Christianity will not be judged on our social standing but rather on our willingness to help.

See You Next Week

Life is Good

jk

Resource Material: Barclay, William. The Parables of Jesus (The William Barclay Library) (p. 79). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

We return once again to the Parables, This one found in Matthew 25: 1-13. Often referred to as The Parable Of The Ten Bridesmaids we find a much needed lesson in why the maintenance of our faith is so important to the covenant granted to those who believe. It is important that you pause here and read the above verses before you continue on.

The covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ and the Cross extends to those who believe and call upon his name that hey shall be adopted into the family of God and are entitled to all the rights and benefits given through the covenant. The Jewish custom concerning marriage contained three stages. Each requiring a set number of customary actions deep in tradition.

A- The Engagement

B-Betrothal

C- Marriage

This is a parable about being prepared, looking and waiting for that moment. It applies to us this day for we have had centuries of hearing the word, studying it and opportunities to live it. We have more than any generation had full display of God’s truth and in many instances we have squandered that and at are at risk of the door being shut. It will be no ones fault but our own. We can go back in time and many of us can remember a test in school we didn’t prepare for and understand that the time of the test is not the time to start preparing for it. There is the belief that we learn best in our youth but the Grace of God and the truth of the word are always available to those who follow these wise words.”Seek and Ye shall Find”. We must prepare for the opportunity or the door will be shut. There is another thing that we best learn from this parable. Salvation is not a group activity. Each of us will be held accountable for our actions. There will be no door pass, each of us will stand alone and be judged. We must prepare and be on the watch. For those that did not the door will shut.

Are you on fire for the Lord?

Life is Good

Jk