When I think of the book of James, several aphorisms come to mind such as: "Put your money where your mouth is." "You have to talk the talk and walk the walk." For more than anything else James is a letter of practical Christianity, one that states flat out it is not enough to talk about being a follower of Christ, one must also live out what that means.

Dorothy Day was a person who tried to live out her faith in radical ways. Known best for being a founder of the Catholic Worker Movement she lived among the poor in New York City in a hospitality house which offered people food and community without regard to their ability to pay and did not require "proof of religion" to be served. Jim Forest worked with Dorothy Day in New York City and writes about her work and life in an article called, "Dorothy Day, Saint and Troublemaker." Part of the article speaks of one of Day's guiding principles. Forest writes:

"I'm not sure what had given Dorothy such warmth for Orthodox Christianity in general and the Russian Orthodox Church in particular, but one of the factors was certainly her love of the books of Dostoevsky, and most of all his novel, The Brothers Karamazov. Perhaps the most important chapter for Dorothy concerns a conversation between a wealthy woman and an elderly monk, Father Zosima. The woman asks him how she can really know that God exists. Fr. Zosima tells her that no explanation or argument can achieve this, only the practice of "active love." He assures her that there is no other way to know the reality of God. The woman confesses that sometimes she dreams about a life of loving service to others -- she thinks perhaps she will become a nun, live in holy poverty and serve the poor in the humblest way. It seems to her such a wonderful thought that it makes tears come to her eyes. But then it crosses her mind how ungrateful some of the people she is serving will be. Some will complain that the soup she is serving isn't hot enough, the bread isn't fresh enough, the bed is too hard, the covers are too thin. She confesses she couldn't bear such ingratitude -- and so her dreams about serving others vanish, and once again she finds herself wondering if there really is a God. To this Fr. Zosima responds with the words, "Love in practice is a hard and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams," words Dorothy often repeated. I think of the Orthodox monk Father Zosima as somehow a co-founder of all the Catholic Worker houses of Hospitality."

"Dorothy Day, Saint and Troublemaker," Jim Forest. (link)

This morning begins a series of sermons on the book of James. Over the next five Sundays we'll be looking at what James is asking of us, how we are to live as the people of God in the world. Again, I encourage you to read through the book in the coming weeks, and as you do spend time reflecting on what the text is asking of you. As we begin this morning it will be helpful to know some background about the book itself. James is considered to be one of the catholic, or universal epistles in the New Testament meaning that it seems to be written to a more general audience of Christians rather than a specific person or church as many of Paul's letters are. Its name has led it to be attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, but more likely it is a cue to let readers know that this letter was written to the faith tradition that was associated with him. James comes with some controversy. Not all of the earliest manuscripts of the canon, or books that make up the Bible, contain the letter of James. Its place was disputed during the Reformation because theologians felt it went against the idea that it is our faith alone that saves us, particularly James' statement that "faith without works is dead." Martin Luther, the German Reformer called James "an epistle of straw," because he felt it contradicted his favorite Biblical theologian, Paul. Because of this controversy, James is often ignored in favor of Paul's letters. This is unfortunate given that James has much to teach us in how we are to live out a life of faith.

More than anything else James is a practical handbook for faith-filled living. The book reminds us that theories of faith are not enough. Like Jesus reminded the religious people of his day, it is not enough to know all about religion and faith, one must live it out. As we hear his words this morning we are reminded that it is not enough to come to worship on a Sunday morning, sing some of the hymns we love to sing, listen to the word of God and then go out and live as if nothing has touched our lives. While faith alone saves us, we must make a response to our salvation and live that life out. The founder of our denomination, John Wesley spoke of that in his construct of grace. Remember those stages of grace? Purple Jam Spreads Perfectly? Prevenient grace being that which is active in our lives before we are aware. Justifying grace being the moment we are conscious of God's love for us in Jesus Christ. The book of James comes in at this point and would remind us in no uncertain times that you can't stop there. That's where the next concept steps in and tells us that as those who are justified, made right with God … we must live a holy life, a sanctified life … always striving towards a life that is lived perfectly in the will and love of God. And for those who would get to this place, we would say they have reached perfection. James tells us how to live sanctified … holy lives.

This morning's text is a good example of how we are called to live. James addresses how we are to treat other members of our faith community, our friends, our families: "You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God's righteousness." While there is a time for us to speak, and not all anger is wrong, we would do well to model this commandment as a basis for how we treated one another. So much of what we hear these days takes place in the form of angry debate … civility is gone. When one is convinced of the rightness of their cause, or worried about losing their cause, they feel justified in doing or saying whatever it takes … no matter how awful, no matter the truth, no matter the hurt they cause. Witness the battle for health care reform. In his weekly writing, Jim Winkler, the general secretary of our Board of Church and Society writes of this anger.

"Yesterday, eight of our family played golf. Afterwards, I had lunch in the clubhouse. Sitting at the bar was an older man. When a report appeared on the television screen about the organized protests taking place at congressional town hall meetings across the country he hooted in appreciation. When President Obama's picture appeared with a Hitler-style mustache painted below his nose, he laughed uproariously and exclaimed, "We're not going to let you shove your health-care reform down our throats."

The man turned to the waitress and asked, "Have you been watching these protests?"

The waitress responded: "I guess those folks already have health insurance. My husband was on disability, but his benefits ran out. Now, it costs us $2,400 a month for health insurance. That's why I'm still working at my age." I expected an argument to erupt at this point. Instead, the older man surprised me when he replied: "I know what you mean. I used to work for General Motors, but when I turned 65 they decided I didn't need health insurance anymore." I am baffled about why in the midst of countless situations like those faced by the waitress and the retired G.M. employee, such anger over health-care reform exists. I know some of it stems from the talking points provided by health insurance companies." (link)

What would happen if the debate centered more on the issues involved and less on fear and anger … what if there were "rules" for how we would discuss the issues? Perhaps a behavior covenant like the one the leadership of this church developed … one that we will be looking at as we go through this sermon series.

It is not that anger is wrong. Later in this morning's text James defines pure religion as caring for the orphans and widows in their distress. We are called to take care of the most vulnerable and defenseless of society no matter who they are. We cannot simply look around and say this is the way things are, there is nothing we can do about it. And I hope that when we look around at the vulnerable and defenseless we get angry about it. Remember the anger of Jesus in the temple as the money changers took over. We are called to have Jesus anger when we look around at the injustice of our world. If you worshiped with us last Sunday you heard the stories from our mission trip to Harlan County, Kentucky. They were touching and moving … but I hope they provoked anger in you as the experience did in me. I am angry that this desperate poverty exists in our country. For my own work experience I am angry that a landlord could rent a house to a family in such a dangerous condition, I am angry that families do not have access to information you and I would consider to be common place. Jesus anger calls us to look out for the vulnerable and defenseless … to live out our faith and change the world for the better. Jesus anger does not give us liberty to be mean and rotten for our cause … but it should burn within us, sending us out to address such issues from a faith perspective.

James would be the first to tell us who gather this morning that being here is not enough. We can't listen here and go off to our "other" lives as if being the followers of Jesus Christ is only for Sunday mornings. James would tell us we are no different than being a member of any other social club. "Be doers and not merely hearers," our text says. As you go from this time today your challenge is to find ways to live out the faith that has saved you. Where do you need to practice better listening skills … how do you manage anger? How do you reflect the generous love of God in your life? The love of God that you have received is meant to be shared … having heard the word, go forth now to live it.