14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
Reflection
The Letter of James begins chapter 1, verse 1 by greeting the “Twelve tribes in the Dispersion.” It addresses both the first followers of Jesus as well as those Jews of the first century who found themselves outside of Palestine. This passage also resonates with those of us in the twenty-first century. I chose to use the Message translation because the contemporary language speaks especially clearly to our youth; it gets right to the heart of how to live out our faith. It is perhaps one of the most memorable directives to acting on one’s faith. Faith is not about memorizing a list of rules or reciting certain prayers or professing to believe that there is only one true path to follow to know God. “Isn’t it obvious that God-TALK without God-ACTS is outrageous nonsense?” or as it says in the CEB translation “faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity.” You can’t have one without the other!
One of my most profound life-changing encounters with God occurred one summer when I was an adult volunteer with a youth service project in Kentucky. In the mountains surrounding us at sunset I had what could only be described as a “God Moment.” It was the first of many moments that reminded me of why God had called me to shepherd youth through a hot and sweaty work week sleeping in a cabin in a bunkbed. Throughout my ministry I have been inspired to lead many, many, MANY high school youth and adult volunteers through summer
service projects both locally and far away. The majority were repairing or building homes for those in need, which had Faith and Action at their core. These were not just home repair projects, but faith development projects! Both youth and adults exercised their spiritual muscles as they repaired roofs, built ramps, painted houses, and, perhaps most valuable, learned how to create relationships with all God’s children. I believe that these skills are life lessons for young and old alike.
I quickly learned that the most valuable skill I needed to both learn and to teach young disciples was the skill of “Moseying.” That is an unfamiliar term for most of us today; it means “to walk or move in a leisurely manner.” On Monday morning, youth and adults generally couldn’t wait to get started on their “project”. They were impatient about driving that first nail in a roof shingle or using the electric saw to cut that first board or climbing their first ladder or digging that first hole. What they didn’t want to do was take time to talk to the homeowner, or to play with the children that lived in the home, or to make “small talk” as they got to know the neighbors. As we put our faith into action, many skills are needed and how to use various tools are only the beginning. The first Associate Pastor I worked with was devoted to the idea of moseying and taking time to really get to know the people we were working with. Getting to know and understand our similarities as well as our differences is a lesson I continue to apply to life.
by Kathleen Stolz
For Pondering and Prayer
We used to have a bumper sticker on our car that said:
“If going to church makes you a Christian does going in the garage make
you a car?” Think about that for a moment. What makes YOU a Christian? These three verses from the Letter of James are perhaps the most memorable and life-changing in Scripture for me. My days of volunteering to lead youth service projects are in my rearview mirror these days, but putting my faith in action by donating and praying for mission teams, as well as listening to their experiences, will never end.
How are you putting your faith in action these days?
Prayer: Creator God, we give you thanks for the countless ways there are for us to put our faith into action. Open our eyes to the opportunities that surround us to improve the lives of your children around the world. Help us to remember that faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity. There is plenty we can do to change the world. Give us strength, energy and courage, oh God, to act as your faith-filled children. Amen.
