Sermon for 15 Pent Yr B, 21/09/2003
Based on James 3:13-18
Grace Lutheran Church, Medicine Hat, Alberta
By Pastor Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson
When a dog wags its tail and barks at the same time, what end do you believe? When a sick florist goes to the hospital, what do you send her or him? Why does the old saying “Out of sight, out of mind” not apply when you have kids away at college? Such questions require practical wisdom to be answered appropriately. In today’s second lesson from James, the apostle compares and contrasts wisdom from God with worldly wisdom. And the writer concludes that for people of faith, the wisdom from above is very practical to live by.
Wisdom in the Bible is described not as a body of secret, esoteric, highly specialized technical knowledge, but as a gift of God for the use of the people of God. Wisdom is not something available only to the gifted few, but a gift freely available to all who want it, to all who seek it, to all who pursue it, and to all who recognize it in the variety of its subtle guises and forms—God’s benefit for the bewildered. A wise person is one who accepts that benefit, and proceeds to learn from it and to live by it. 1
In our passage from James today, the apostle begins by saying that God’s wisdom is shown by people who live a good life and who do works with gentleness born of wisdom. He then contrasts this with a description of worldly wisdom by saying it consists of bitter envy and selfish ambition, which lead to being boastful and the telling of lies. “Such wisdom,” says brother James, “does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will be disorder and wickedness of every kind.”
There is an old legend about a demon who was sent to tempt a holy man. He tried all his wiles, but none of them succeeded. At last, an older and more experienced demon said, “Let me try.” He crept up behind the saintly man and whispered, “Your brother has just been made Bishop of Alexandria.” Sad to relate, that did the trick!
Envy (jealousy)! If we can fight successfully against THAT and be content with what we have, sincere in our appreciation of others’ good fortune, then we shall have gone a long way along the road to true happiness. 2
People who are envious and jealous focus more on the negative than the positive; painting everyone and everything in the worst possible light. When people are controlled by such envy it has the potential to bring much harm and destruction to self and others.
Along with envy, James says, is selfish ambition. Selfish ambition can, of course, make one so involved with so many “irons in the fire” that it results in not being able to accomplish much of anything.
The story is told of young Charles Darwin that one day he was eagerly holding one rare beetle in his right fist, another in his left and then suddenly he caught sight of a third beetle that he simply knew he must have for his collection. What to do? In a flash he put one of the beetles in his mouth for safekeeping and reached for the third beetle with his now free hand. But the mouth-imprisoned beetle squirted acid down Darwin’s throat—so that in a fit of coughing he lost all three beetles. 3
Selfish ambition—the desire to want more and more, often at the expense of others, in a lot of cases ends up in self-defeat or self-destruction.
In contrast to this worldly wisdom, which leads to destruction and is therefore evil by nature since it causes more hatred and division and conflicts among people; James then goes on to describe the wisdom of God, which is a gift of grace. The apostle lists several characteristics of this wisdom. He tells us that first of all IT IS PURE.
I heard about a man who visited an art gallery in Europe and after looking just briefly at some of the paintings of the great masters, he left saying to the attendant: “Your gallery is boring.” The attendant responded by saying: “Sir, the paintings are not on trial, you are.”
In various ways Jesus made it clear that our state of mind affects what we see. Sometimes the things we miss seeing are the things we miss being. I believe this is part of what Jesus meant when he said: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”
One Biblical scholar, James Moffatt, has translated “blessed are the pure in heart” to mean “blessed are those who are not double-minded.” The double-minded person is one who is continually distracted and pulled in many different directions. When we are pulled in different directions by the temptations and distractions from our daily lives it is easy to lose our sense of perspective as well as our values. 4
The wisdom from above, says James IS PEACEABLE.
Some years ago, in a broadcast service, a preacher told how in the course of his pastoral visitation, he used to call on the light-house keeper at Lismore in the Firth of Lorne. One day the keeper said to him, “Look down. There’s where 3 tidal currants meet, it’s completely still!” And it was true—all around was the turmoil of many waters, but in the centre—peace!
That can be a parable of our lives as it has been in the lives of multitudes of people who have found spiritual resources of faith, prayer and hope have given them a place of peace amid the turmoil of life. 5
James goes on to say that wisdom from above IS GENTLE, AND WILLING TO YIELD.
When I hear people talk today about doing their own thing, I think of the famous piano accompanist, Gerald Moore. When asked why he hadn’t chosen the more glamorous career of solo pianist he replied that the world was full of brilliant soloists, but really hard up for good accompanists. We all need to practice working in harmony with others rather than emphasizing living life solo. 6
James goes on to say wisdom from above IS FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUIT.
In Christian thought eleos means mercy for the (person) who is in trouble, even if the trouble is (her or)his own fault. Christian pity is the reflection of God’s pity; and that went out to (people), not only when they were suffering unjustly, but when they were suffering through their own fault. We are so apt to say of someone in trouble, “It is (her or)his own fault; (s)he brought it on (her)himself,” and, therefore, to feel no responsibility for (her or)him. Christian mercy is mercy for any (one) who is in trouble, even if (s)he has brought that trouble on (her)himself. In Christian thought eleos means mercy which issues in good fruits, that is, which issues in practical help. Christian pity is not just an emotion; it is action. We can never say that we have truly pitied anyone until we have helped (them). 7
James ends his list of the qualities of wisdom from God by saying that it is WITHOUT A TRACE OF PARTIALITY OR HYPOCRISY. In other words, wisdom from above does not play favourites, is not prejudiced, does not discriminate against others by dividing people into superior or inferior categories. In God’s eyes and presence, we are all equals because we are all the children of God, created in God’s image; thus everyone is God’s favourite. Wisdom from God is not hypocritical and pretend to be something that it is not. It does not operate with the motive of trying to deceive people. Rather it is all about truth, honesty and integrity.
James then adds a concluding consequence of this wisdom from above in verse eighteen, he says: “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.” This righteous harvest of peace results in right relationships between human being and human being, and between God and human beings. It is living a life of harmony and trust; loving one another as God in Christ loves us. May we all live by this wisdom from above, as a response to God’s loving grace at work within us and among us. Amen.
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1 Cited from: “Happiness: Elementary Glimpses of the Obvious,” in, Peter J. Gomes, Strength for the Journey (New York: HarperCollins & HarperSanFrancisco Publishers Inc., 2003), p. 67.
2 Cited from: F. Gay, The Friendship Book, 1988, devotion for January 29.
3 Cited from: James S. Hewett, editor, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton, ILL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1988), p. 26.
4 Cited from: Clergy Talk, April 1997, pp. 8-9.
5 Cited from: F. Gay, The Friendship Book, 1985, devotion for January 23.
6 Cited from: F. Gay, The Friendship Book, 1981, devotion for September 8.
7 Cited from: Wm. Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Edinburgh: The St. Andrew Press, 1976), pp. 96-97.
