Meditation on James 5
Sept. 8, 2013
***
Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are
coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are
moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be
evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up
treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed
your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the
harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on
the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of
slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not
resist you.
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until
the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth,
being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You
also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is
near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may
not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of
suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name
of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard
of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the
Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Above all, my beloved, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘Yes’ be yes
and your ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful?
They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call
for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with
oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and
the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be
forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one
another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and
effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that
it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the
earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth
yielded its harvest.
My brothers and sisters, if anyone
among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you
should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the
sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5)
***
There comes a time when a pastor,
while preparing a Sunday message for her flock, needs to close all the
scholarly commentaries, place them back on the shelf for another day.
And set aside her great plans for a fifth and final installment of a
sermon series on James and simply rely on the Spirit to lead her to bring a
message of hope.
Brothers and sisters, this is the time.
As I was packing to leave town with Jim on Monday, I received a call
from the sheriff. I was needed to help a
family in crisis.
Our community is hurting and broken now because of what happened on
Monday in Granite Falls. One person abruptly lost her life. Another was seriously wounded. And all of us will never be the same. The
pain and loss of one family in our church are shared by the entire community of
faith.
My heart is as heavy as yours. I, too,
have felt anxious at the possibility of more sorrow to come. People are struggling, wondering how this
could have happened in our community. Some may ask, “Why did God allow this to
happen? Why didn’t he do something to stop it?”
As your pastor, I should know all the answers. But I don’t.
The most common question I have been asked is, “What can we do now?” People
from the community—some who attend other churches—have contacted me asking if
we could please do something together as a community of faith to show our love
and support for Jeff and Jane.
They are asking, could we at least gather and pray?
***
In our epistle reading today, we hear instruction on prayer and one of
the promises of God. James asks, “Are
any among you suffering? They should
pray! ... Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church
and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.”
Then comes the promise. “The prayer of
faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise them up; anyone who has
committed sins will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so
that you may be healed. The prayer of
the righteous is powerful and effective.”
My answer to all who ask if we should gather and pray is yes, we need to
pray for one another. Right where we are, with the believers who are beside us.
But we need to pray the deep, humbling prayer of faith that begins with a heart
cleansed by the confession of our sins.
Do you see that there is a connection between confession, prayer, and
healing? The prayer of the righteous that is powerful and effective is one that
leads us to trust in what the Lord has done for us so that we are humbled and
brought to confess our sins and acknowledge our need for the only One who can
save us, the only One who offers us the gift of eternal life through belief on
Him!
Yes, let us pray for healing and hope but also for the salvation of
those in our community who are lost, drifting through life in despair, and
don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Because this is a spiritual battle,
friends! Our enemies are not human. They are the powers and principalities of
darkness. But Christ has already defeated
these powers; we have no reason to fear.
Let
us seek the Lord for more faith in the One who has made the way for our
reconciliation not just with God but with other people. God can heal what is broken between people in
this community – and in every community.
But let the prayer of the righteous begin with confession.
Let us pray as James teaches for a
faith that endures trials of all kinds so the Lord may shape us into the
loving, humble people of God he wants us to be. And one day, when we see Christ
face to face, and he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we will recall
all the trials and suffering of our lives—and we will finally be able to consider
them all joy.
But now, while we feel pain and deep sadness and perhaps are worrying
about what is to come, let us pray for more faith and that the Lord will use
this terrible thing to work a miracle in our community, to bring about His good
plan for the healing and salvation of the world, one person at a time, one
family, one community at a time.
We pray though we don’t always know the words to say. People have asked me this week, tell me how
to pray. And I say pray any way you can.
Your prayers will be heard and what’s more, God will hear your
heart. He will minister to your broken
heart and restore you to wholeness.
Pastor Dan Bowman shared with me that he was asked to come and pray with
the staff at the nursing home this week, as they wait and worry for their
friend Jane, unable to return to her home, work, and normal life until the
police are sure that her family is not in danger. They asked Dan what they
should do when they see Jane? How do
they show their love and support without making her feel worse?
Dan told the story of the “three ministers” in Job—the three friends who
sat silently with him for 3 days and 3 nights when Job was going through such
terrible trials. And then, when they
broke their silence and began giving Job advice—that is when they were no
longer ministering to him.
Sometimes simply being the peaceful presence of Christ –and saying
nothing at all—is the most loving thing to do.
Dan led the staff in the ABC prayer. He explained that it is a profound
prayer that you pray when you don’t know what to say. You pray each of the letters of the
alphabet—from A to Z. And then, “Amen.” You give God the letters and let him
put them all together in His perfect prayer.
So
brothers and sisters, let us open our hearts and minds and let the Spirit lead
us to pray, even if we don’t know the words to say.
Trust in the Spirit that dwells within you. Don’t lean on your own understanding of the
situation or what you think will happen in the future. Acknowledge the Lord is
your God, and He will direct your paths. Keep your focus on following Christ
and being an instrument of His peace.
Trust in the wisdom of God, who knows all and can see ahead to the
future with eyes of eternity. The Lord sees
us not as we are in the flesh but through the body and blood of His Son, broken
and spilled out for our sins. He sees us
after His Spirit has completed a good work in all of us as He promises to do.
Trust in the grace, mercy, and love of God, shown to us in His sacrifice
for our sakes.
Trust in the Lord so that you freely confess your sins to one another. Then
pray for one another, so you may be healed.
Please join me in prayer.
Holy, merciful God, we ask for forgiveness
for our many sins—for our doubts and fears during times of trial and deep sorrow.
Lead us to trust in you. In your wisdom, power, mercy, and grace. Humble us so
that we are moved to freely confess our sins to one another and pray for one
another the prayers of the righteous that are powerful and effective. Forgive
us if we have spoken too many of our own words and have not allowed your Spirit
to speak through us. Give us courage and patience to say nothing when that is
the most loving thing to do. Help us to be
the comforting presence of Christ for our brothers and sisters in need. We pray for healing and wholeness for all who
have been deeply affected by the tragedy in our community. We ask that Your will be done through us and
that you will use us as instruments of peace for our families, communities, and
world. In Christ we pray. Amen.
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