Sermon for September 22, 2024 Inside Comes Outside based upon James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a

James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a Two Kinds of Wisdom

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

Friendship with the World

Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
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Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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     When last we were in conversation with James, we talked about the connection between wisdom and generosity. If you seek God’s wisdom and craft your life in such a way that you follow it, you will grow in generosity. Generosity is a behavior that clearly reflects what we can learn from God. Today’s reading discussed a second behavior: gentleness.

     Tasha and I just finished a tv series called The Perfect Couple. It’s a murder mystery show based on a novel of the same name. The family at the center of the story is very rich and also largely terrible. They are gathered together for a wedding... a son, who seems less self-absorbed and cruel than other members of his family, is marrying someone who appears to be quite down-to-earth and kind. The viewers are shown that this character, Amelia, is going to be “a good one” from the very beginning of the series in a sweet little scene with a ladybug.

     In the scene, Amelia wakes up in her soon-to-be in-laws' swanky Nantucket beach house and sees a ladybug on her bed. She gingerly scoops in up on a piece of paper and carefully walks through the big house in her pajamas. You can see the wealth dripping off the walls as she scoots by her very well-dressed and disapproving almost-mother-in-law to release the small creature outside. It is very clear that this moment of gentleness is supposed to convey something important about this character and also contrast her to the people she is around. Her outward gentleness is a reflection of the spirit within her.

     The show is very much about messy people who are dealing with some of the issues noted in today’s reading, particularly envy and selfishness. I don’t want to spoil the story in case you want to watch it, but I’ll go ahead and say that the standards of behavior lifted up in today’s scripture are... largely unmet by nearly every human you meet in this story. But, the writers and directors know seeing someone be gentle with a person or creature that is vulnerable moves us and can shape our perception of a character. The author of James knows that as well.

     “Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” Kelsie Rodenbiker, in her commentary on this text, points out that this conversation about gentleness seems to be in response to the first part of chapter three, which is about how people use their words for good and for ill. Verses 1-12 have a central theme: tame your tongue or start a problem you can’t control. Rodenbiker argues that God’s Wisdom, at least according to James, will help you build a consistent internal ethic that will keep you from using your words for harm.

     The author of James uses a kind of argument that is common in the Bible: there are two ways of doing something- a Godly way and an earthly way. Given that God created the earth and called it good, I am inclined to be cautious when equating the world with all that is “unspiritual and devilish.” I also got called “worldly” by a friend’s deeply devout Christian mom once, and she definitely meant it as a bad thing. That being said, James opts for comparing two things to make a point even though we know that there are more than two ways to act in the world. James is not know for mincing many words, and that is true in today’s reading. James thinks there is a right way and a wrong way to act. The right way is rooted in gentleness.

     Because James is addressing humans in relationship with other humans, James must address conflict. Paul was the same way, as were the Gospels. When you have people living and working together, you’re bound to have differences of opinion and disagreements about behavior. James argues that God’s Wisdom will ground our interactions with others in mercy, compromise, impartiality, and trustworthiness. Behavior shaped by bitterness, envy, and selfishness will lead to “wickedness and disorderliness.” This isn’t disorderliness like my messy desk in the office. James isn’t trying to convince you to tidy up your room. This is about disruptions that lead into ruptures in relationships and lack of care for neighbor.

     That which is inside us will make its way out. If Wisdom is inside of us, stability, reliability, and gentleness will be clear to those who observe us. But, James argues, if your desires and jealousies are at war within you, that tension will make its way out into your interactions with others. This is particularly true in spaces where there are extreme economic disparities. Cain Hope Felder, in his notes on this text, argues that envy that leads to violence that the author is addressing in chapter four, is likely evidence of a Christian community that is being shaped by economic inequality that is causing tension within the community. Some people simply, in not having what they want, create conflict with out of that envy.

     Casey Thornburgh Sigmon points out in her commentary that James had already had to call out this community for giving preferential treatment to the wealthy. We still need to hear from God’s Wisdom that the poor deserve as much respect, gentleness, and care as the wealthy. That’s part of why James continues to be meaningful today. In a world where we see that cruel results of unkind words wielded by powerful and envious people, people who often call themselves Christians, against the vulnerable on a regular basis, it is good to be reminded that Christians are called to do something different. Our faith is best lived out in our practices of mercy, gentleness, and impartiality. The book of James is clear: what is within us will be made clear outside of us. May we remember that God has offered us grace overflowing. May we cultivate that grace into wisdom. And, may that wisdom bloom into generosity and care. Our care might start with something as small as a ladybug. But it will assuredly grow from there.

 Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
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Kelsie Rodenbiker: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-25-2/commentary-on-james-313-43-7-8a-2

Casey Thornburgh Sigmon: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-25-2/commentary-on-james-313-43-7-8a

Cain Hope Felder's introduction to James in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)