Give Us This Day
Yes, Paul says women are to be submissive. But the most essential act of humility and submission for all Christians is . . . Read more
Yes, Paul says women are to be submissive. But the most essential act of humility and submission for all Christians is . . . Read more
None of us has deserved the grace of God (or else it wouldn’t be grace or a “gift.”) Read more
The apostolic teaching is is The Tradition and The Teaching. Read more
James 4:13-5:11 Here come da Judge! I don’t know how many of you remember Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In from the late 60s and early 70s, but that TV show popularized the saying “Here come da Judge!” We might say that “Here come da Judge!” is James’ message this morning, for he says in verse 9 of Chapter 5: “Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” The implication is that the Judge stands ready to judge us imminently. Along with... Read more
James 4:1-12 In the beginning of Chapter 4, James unveils the lowest layer, the very foundation, of our spiritual warfare: it is the battle within each of us between pride and humility. All throughout the Bible, the two paths a man may walk are presented in terms of a binary choice. In Genesis 3, it is the choice between obedience or disobedience. In the Psalms and Proverbs, it is the choice between the way of the wise (righteous) or the... Read more
James 3 Now that James has taught about faith and works, belief and deeds, he turns his attention to our words. What James has to say, though it is in keeping with the wisdom of the Old Testament and even if it is familiar, is startling. “The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.” “No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” Who would have thought that such a small part of... Read more
James 2:14-26 Sola Fide! Faith alone! That was one of the rallying cries made by the Protestant Reformers in the 16th century. The slogan “faith alone” was particularly popularized by Martin Luther in his violent reaction to the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. As a consequence, for some centuries now Protestants have been strongly tempted to separate faith from works, which is in reality not what the Bible teaches but antinomianism (a fancy word for meaning “against the Law... Read more
James 2:1-13 The human ability to pick and choose what we pay attention to is astonishing. In terms of the never-ending torrent of sensory input that washes over us each day, it’s a good thing that we have this selectivity. Sometimes it keeps us from being overwhelmed and distracted, and other times it makes us capable of great concentration and dedication. I remember when I was in junior high being amazed by my twin brother’s amazing ability to play war... Read more
James 1:22-27 None of us likes people who say one thing and do another. In fact, some of our harshest criticism is for those who not only sin or do what is wrong but also do it in violation of what they themselves proclaim. We have a word for such people: hypocrites. To some extent we are all hypocrites, but as we all know there are hypocrites and then there are hypocrites. This morning, James is concerned that we not... Read more
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Tuesday of the 19th Sunday after Trinity – James 5:12-19
James 5:12-19 “Is anyone among you suffering?” – James 5:13 Is anyone among you, reading this, suffering? St. James has some wisdom from God for you today. The first thing James tells you to do is to pray. Of course, you already knew this, but maybe you have become discouraged in your prayers. Maybe God has not seemed to be working quickly enough in healing you. James’ counsel (and commandment) is still to pray. Remember that the purpose of your... Read more