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James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17
Proper 18B
In God’s Politics Jim Wallis describes an experiment a seminarian once conducted. He cut every text about the poor out of an old Bible. It took him, Wallis reports, “a very long time.” “When,” concludes Wallis, “the zealous seminarian was done with all his editorial cuts, that old Bible would hardly hold together, it was…
James 1:17-27
Proper 17B
Those who dare to preach and teach James must be theologically disciplined. Its interpretation is, after all, perhaps more than that of any other epistle, if not any New Testament book, especially vulnerable to moralizing. Even a quick scan of contemporary sermons and writings reveals not just a love for the book, but also a…
James 5:7-10
Advent 3A
You can parachute right down onto James 5:7 if you want to and pretend nothing else is going on here but . . . good luck. Truth is, starting a reading at verse 7 here is like walking into a room where, unbeknownst to you, a horrible fight had just been taking place between two…
James 5:13-20
Proper 21B
Comments and Observations If I were to preach on this text, the sermon might be titled “The Prodigal Project.” I would basically skip the first 6 verses and focus on verses 19 and 20. I would adopt that preaching strategy, not because those first verses are irrelevant, but because those last two are so painfully…
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Proper 20B
Comments and Observations There are two ways to read this text. First, it might be a development of the theme of wisdom raised in James 1:5, then dropped for three chapters, and now revisited for further explanation. In other words, this is one more isolated bit of instruction in a long string of pearls randomly…
James 3:1-12
Proper 19B
Comments, Observations, and Questions As I’ve said before, the Epistle of James aims to help “believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (2:1) conduct themselves in consistently Christian ways in a difficult and deceptive world. Rather than spelling out the Gospel, this letter simply assumes that its readers believe in and love Jesus Christ. Thus,…
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17
Proper 18B
Comments and Observations In this age of growing income inequality, when the gap between the 1% and the 99% seems to widen daily, these words of James 2 are a hot button text. We’ll have to be careful how we push the button. If we blunt the message of this text because we don’t want…
James 1:17-27
Proper 17B
Comments and Observations The millennial generation in your church will love the Epistle of James, because it presents the Christian faith as less of a head trip than as a way of life. Indeed, James is so filled with practical instructions for Christian living that Martin Luther famously called it a “right strawy epistle… for…
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