Dear Faith Family,

"Know this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (James 1:19-20)

Proverbial wisdom, by definition, is practical, everyday knowledge passed down from one generation to the next to help the sprouting fruitfully navigate the conditions of maturing. It's a kind of "folk knowledge" of how things work, an earthy wisdom, if you will.

James' letter reads like earthy wisdom from an old farmer. Pointing out to the up-and-comers the nature of things as he walks the field: what to notice in the process of producing, what labor to avoid, when to do this step, and what to do when this happens, etc. It is hard to picture him as anything less, especially as you hear the old farmer saying with enduring expectation, "wait for the precious fruits of the earth" which will be brought forth when what you cannot provide, "the early and the late rains" (5:7), are provided for you.

It is the folky or ordinary practicality of James that has attracted many to this letter over the centuries. But here is the thing, especially for us city-folk (speaking for myself here, anyway!) and products of post-enlightenment scientific processes (that's all of us!), it is easy to hear the short, memorable sayings like the one emboldened above, as basic information, a step-by-step instruction on how to do something. Yet, such proverbs are "wisdom," not mere information. They offer us insight into the inner qualities and relationships of things and processes, so that we might properly respond or relate to what is happening within and around us as we seek to make life good.

If James is offering us wisdom—insight into the inner qualities and relationships of faith at work, into how faith works, as we saw last week—then we need to read James more contemplatively. Or, to put it another way, we should read James asking questions of the old farmer, and considering them long enough to discern the wisdom being passed down, much like we tried to do on Sunday.

So, here is what I invite you to do with me this week:

Read James 1:19-27

(Re)Listen or Watch(!) the Sermon

Reflect & Share

First with the Lord and then with your GC or a faith-filled friend:
How am I responding to faith? Am I quick to listen (to what?), slow to speak (a brideled tongue), slow to anger (meek)?
Do I live true to myself in Christ, participating with Christ in the labors of my day, free to be self-giving and free from all that binds?
What would look different tomorrow if I responded to faith and lived true?

May our hearts be fixed, like wise enduring farmers, for indeed, "the coming of the Lord is at hand" (5:8).

Love you, faith family. God bless.