Proper 18B (James 2:1-17) – 09/06/2009
As I have read and reflected on our Scripture readings throughout the week, I have been very mindful that today is the middle of the Labor Day weekend. Tomorrow is the day selected to remember the work that we do throughout the year. With this day in the back of my mind, the epistle reading from James seemed to contain some rather timely advice for us to consider. The message of our reading from James is that our work matters; our actions matter in our daily lives as followers of Christ. Our epistle reading ends with James asking, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” James concludes with a strongly worded caution: “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” (Jas 2:14, 17) And with this final warning by James, we are introduced to one of the most important, and I think most misunderstood, questions considered throughout Christian history – what is the relationship between our faith in God and the actions we take in our efforts to serve God (in other words, our “works”). The complicated relationship between faith and works can be examined by considering the life work of a particular servant of God.
Many years ago a young Albanian girl named Agnes was raised by her mother; her father dying when she was only 8 years old. Throughout her childhood, religion played an important part of Agnes’ life and she was quite sure that she would dedicate her life to some type of religious service. When she turned 18 she left home to join a religious order, the Sisters of Loreto; she took the name Teresa and become a missionary. After learning English, she was assigned to a convent in India and taught children how to speak English. Her life in the convent continued in much the same way for nearly 15 years until one day she felt that she was being called to leave the convent and directly serve the poor, living among the poorest people of Calcutta. Although her life in the convent was full of meaningful work, she felt strongly that God was calling her to do something different. And this new ministry was exceedingly difficult, particularly in the earliest days of establishing her new mission to the poor and her new religious order, the Missionaries of Charity. Throughout the rest of her life, Mother Teresa was dedicated in her work to the poor. Interestingly, just two years ago, nearly ten years after Mother Teresa’s death, several personal letters were released that described Teresa’s periods of great doubt in her faith. Mother Teresa’s expression of doubt was met with great interest and curiosity – how is it possible for a person that has performed such important and difficult work throughout her life to have doubts about God’s existence and Christ’s love. In August 2007, Sally Quinn and Jon Meacham posed this question in the Washington Post: “In her letters, Mother Teresa expressed doubts about the existence of God and lamented the absence of a personal sense of Jesus’ love in her life. Does this make you think more or less of her?” I find this question very interesting, might we think more or less of Mother Teresa because of her doubts. I wonder, might we think more or less of her as a person; think more or less of her work…her mission work to the poor; or think more or less of her as a faithful and dedicated Christian? This story highlights the complicated nature of the relationship between faith and works and speaks to our contemporary understanding of how faith and actions are valued.
The relationship between faith and works has always been rather complicated. Many of the earliest followers of Christ were Jewish and the role of works was an important part of the Jewish religious tradition (purity laws for food and living, priestly laws of worship, etc). The Christian faith tradition is born out of this Jewish understanding of the necessity of works for righteousness in God’s sight, yet the saving actions of Christ’s death and resurrection change the Christian understanding of work. Christ’s love for us is the reason for our eternal salvation, so we must ask: what does the Christian need to do other than believe in Christ and give thanks for His saving grace? James’ letter attempts to teach the early church that the work of the faithful is still important, even with this new Christian understanding of how God asks us to serve God and others. James’ lesson might appear rather simple to understand, but there remains a difficulty for our understanding – if human work holds value to God, then is some work better than other work; is some work worthy of God’s favor while other work is not worthy of God’s favor. This question has caused many Christians to debate the value of work and the role of our actions in God’s plan for us. The era of the Reformation was a period of time of particularly contentious disagreements. Reformers such as Martin Luther contended that works had little to no value while the Roman Catholic Church opposed Luther and held that the actions of people had significance. As Episcopalians, I believe it important for us to understand our Anglican history and the thoughts of some of the earliest Anglican theologians.
From the earliest days of the Anglican Church, the predominant opinion was that Christ’s death and resurrection was certainly our saving grace, but the works of the people were very important as well. Consistent with Anglican middle way between the extreme Reformers of Continental Europe and the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church rooted their faith in Christ, but also understood the value of living a holy life. The 17th century Anglican theologian John Selden captures the essence of this position as he states, “It was an unhappy division that has been made betwixt faith and works, – though in my intellect I may divide them, just as in the candle I know there is both heat and light. But yet put out the candle, and they are both gone; one remains not without the other. So it is betwixt faith and works.”[1] Selden’s comment speaks to the importance of both faith and works: a lively faith that motivates and directs the actions of our life – a life that is defined by our covenants with God and with each other and is sanctified by Christ’s presence among us as we live in community. Our lives are enriched and sanctified by the relationship between faith and works because a deep faith enables one to understand and participate in actions (works) that are consistent with God’s call to us. These actions provide us with experiences and understandings that bring us closer to God and, therefore, deepen our faith.
As I think about the story of Mother Teresa and the attention paid to her letters of doubt, I think that perhaps we have unfairly judged her actions as “nearly perfect” and have placed the unrealistic burden upon her of a nearly perfect faith – a faith that is without doubt. As James states in his letter, we are not to judge others, but instead engage others with compassion and mercy. “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (Ja 2:13b) We are not called to be the judges of others actions, but are called to a faithful life in Christ. Each of us will face tasks that are joyous and other tasks that we would prefer to not take up, but if we live each day in faithful relationship with God we shall be strengthened to know that our actions will bring us closer to God and serve our sisters and brothers in Christ. Amen.
[1] John Selden, Essay #130 in Anglicanism: The Thought and Practice of the Church of England, compiled and edited by Paul E. More and Frank L. Cross, (London: SPCK, 1957), 301.
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