Pentecost 17B

Aug= ust 30, 2009

Rev Ken Wratten at St Stephen’s, = Sa= n Jose

Song = of Solomon 2:8-13 Ari= se my love, my fair one, and come away.

James 1:17-27 = &nb= sp; Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers

Mark = 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 There= is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile

I have a vivid memory of my brother Fred and me fighti= ng, as young siblings do. It was never anything serious, but we would end up hitti= ng each other in the arm. I knew how it was going to go. Fred would start cryi= ng, to get my father’s attention. When dad heard him, I knew we would hav= e to tell each other that we were sorry. This happened often enough that I knew = how it would play out. So when Fred started to cry, I would give him one last h= ard shot in the arm. Bam! I figured that if I was going to have to apologize anyways, I might as well make it worthwhile. And that last shot in the arm = made it clear to Fred that even though our dad made me apologize, Fred knew I didn’t mean it. Fred knew where my heart was.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus challenged the Pharisees to consider where there heart was. His message to humankind was consistently about being in self-giving relationship with God and with each other. Jesus didn’t care about the ritual purity codes that his ances= tors followed, and that the Pharisees strictly enforced. He challenged these purists, ̶= 0;You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” Jesus doesn’t want people= 217;s hearts focused on rules, but he wants people’s hearts always listening for God’s heart beating within them.

Just following tradition, just following rules, is not= good enough. The motivation for ac= tions, for decision making, needs to involve our looking into the heart of God<= /u>.

How much of our culture in Silicon Valley, how much of the tradition we live by at work, at home, at church, reflects = the heart of God? How has your own spirituality changed over the last few years? Have any changes in you related to changes in our culture? Are t= here any changes because you have intentionally learned more about the heart of = God?

James was Jesus’ brother. After Jesus’ ascension, James became a leader in the Christian church in Jerusalem. He wrote his epistle in 49 AD, just 17 years after Jesus had died. James kn= ew his brother’s heart, and as he looked around in the church and saw wh= at we see today; some people professing to be Christians, but not acting like = it. James wrote his letter as a short how-to book on Christian living. In verse 2:14 he wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of sa= ying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of fa= ith can’t save anyone.” James challenges that real faith shows itse= lf in a changed life.

Take inventory whether you are learning God’s he= art, and living God’s word in your daily life.

James chapter one gives us 5 steps. Number one: Receive the Word<= /u>. We need to say, "I accept the authority of this book on my life. I pro= mise not only to believe it. But to do it." Verse 21 says "welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls"

I was reading about Roger Staubach, the former quarterback of the Cowboys. = For years he wasn’t allowed to call his own plays. And even though Coach Landry was a football genius, Staubach was mad at first, because most of the great quarterbacks in the NFL could call their own plays, but he couldn’t. Later on, Roger said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to accept the authority of my coach, there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."

Just as Roger Staubach needed to learn how to humbly accept the football authority in his life, we need to humbly receive the spiritual authority in= our life. The word of God.

Once we receive the word, James says that we should read the word. V= erse 25 talks about those who ’look into the perfect law, the law of liber= ty.’ The Greek word here for ‘look’ is parakuphas. It means to ’carefully investigate.’ It’s the same word used for Pete= r in Luke 24:12 when he carefully investigated the empty tomb of Christ. James is saying that the person who is blessed of God not only reads the word; He studies it. He looks it over carefully.

That’s why we have a weekday Bible Study, starting up again on Septem= ber 15^th, so we can get into carefully reading God’s word.

So we receive the word. We read the word. And then we review the word. James 1:25 says ’those who look into the perfect law, and persever= e, will be blessed’. It’s the same thing Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14: ’Continue in what you have learned and have beco= me convinced of.’ This means that we need to not just read God’s w= ord, but reflect on it, and let it sink into our heart.

That is why we provide free copies of Forward Day-by-Day; and in our Bible Study, we ask that everybody brings a good study Bible. These are ways to g= et into the context, and the deeper meaning of what we read.

So we are instructed to receive the word; read the word; review the word; a= nd number four: Remember the word. James 1:25 says ’those who look into the perfect law, and persevere, being not hearers who forget= ," will be blessed in all they do.

I read that during your lifetime, you will spend 6 months at red lights. I believe it! Now what if you were to take small scripture memory cards from Berean’s and stick them in the visor of your car, and every time you = come to a red light, you flip it down and read that verse one time? I guarantee = that you would eventually memorize it without even thinking about it.

So we need to receive the word; Read the word; Review the word; Remember the word; And finally, Respond to the word. James 2 proclaims, “Fa= ith without works is dead.” And James gives some suggestions. In verse 26, we can respond to the word by keeping a tight lip on our own words. Listen to others and honor their view= s, rather than being quick to tell them our views. In verse 27, he says we can respon= d to the word by looking after orphans and widows in their distress. That is what our ministry support f= or Peter Nyok’s orphans is about. That is how some of our contributions = to Hope for the Poor are used.

That is the message of James 1. Live your life with the heart of God workin= g in you. Let your life show others where your heart is.

Don’t just listen to the Word of God. Do what it= says. Receive it. Read it. Review it. Remember it. And respond to it as the Holy Spirit leads you. James challenges you and me to live our lives listening to the heart of God beating within us. Amen.