“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
James 2:14-16
Dear HBIC Family,
In the last ten days, we have been united in grief and horror as tragedies unfolded at a supermarket in Buffalo, a church in Laguna Woods, and most recently an elementary school in Uvalde. Already this year, there have been over 200 mass shootings. We have had more of these tragedies than we have had days. Our present reality is that we are living in a public health crisis.
As a family, we grieve with the many families that are now saddled with mourning, loss, sorrow, and lives forever changed. As a church, we devote ourselves to prayer for these communities, that our God will bring them comfort and strength, relief and restoration, hope and eventual peace. And as Christians in this society, we must be forced to think about how our faith compels us here to work for the greater good.
The culmination of the second chapter of James’ epistle is that our faith must be united with our works. It is not enough for us to believe and not act; our faith must always be accompanied with compassionate action on behalf of others. Rich Mullins once sang, “Faith without works is like a song you can’t sing, it’s about as useless as a screen door on a submarine.” Our question going forward must be, “how does faith in our God and works empowered by the Holy Spirit, lead us on in this?”
This week, we will conclude the second chapter of James. This passage, James 2:14-26, walks us through the calling and need for a faith that is made holistic through action on behalf of others. As you prepare for this week’s services, I would like to invite you to read and meditate on James’ and Jesus’ teaching in both Matthew 5:13-16 and James 2:14-26. As you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:
How have you been impacted by people of faith whose works bless others?
What are some practices that make your faith more holistic?
What is God compelling you to do because of your faith and on behalf of others?
How are you passing on the need for Spirit empowered action to others in the faith?
I have spent some time the last few days reflecting on Henry OssawaTanner’s The Good Shepherd. I’d invite you to do the same sometime this week. Besides having a great first name (Henry), Ossawa Tanner is a celebrated black painter whose pursuit of equality led him out of the United States, but also to biblical imagery. The son of a clergyman and early black church leader (Benjamin), Henry found the compassion and equality that makes the whole kin in the Scriptures. I love his rendering of The Good Shepherd because we see the tender love and care of the Shepherd, the unity of the sheep, and the light that oversees them all.
This week and every week, I pray that we all are feeling God’s warm love, care, and embrace. I pray that we are committed to each other in unity and with intentionality. And I hope that the light of our God continues to lead our paths and cover us all. May our faith lead to works that are empowered by the Spirit, and done for our sisters, our brothers, and our world.
God bless you all.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Hank (James 2:14-16)