There is so much good advice and wise council in both the letter from James and in the gospel of Mark. Both passages we read today are about taking ownership for our lives and where they are headed and how we are living them out as well as very practical advice about being a good human being, never mind a good Christian.
Jesus says in Mark’s gospel, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’ And then continues, ‘It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’
Another way to look at it is that Jesus is saying that it is not what is done to you or said to you that hurts your relationship to God but what you do and say. Jesus is always very clear that life, our relationship with God, our relationship with ourselves, with others and with the created world does not go wrong because of others but because of what we have done or said. What we believe God has done to us, or what our parents said to us, or how someone hurt us or the situation we find ourselves in is less important than how we react to the situation, because we always have the ability to choose. To choose how we will react, what we will say, how we will process and understand what happens to us. God is with us in every circumstance and every moment of our lives, through Jesus we have an example of how to choose the good and with the Holy Spirit we have a presence which strengthens and encourages us if we but ask. I think of Jesus on the cross forgiving those who are crucifying him, because he has chosen to do this, to choose the good even in the face of great evil.
James’ letter also takes that approach, that faith and religion are about actions, actions inspired by and directed by our faith and religion but actions none the less. In other words, what we do. James writes,
“But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.”
It is one thing to ‘think’ about being kind or forgiving but if we are not actually practicing it on a regular basis, we have forgotten whose we are. The way we remember and show others that we are followers of Christ is by acting on our beliefs, giving generously without thought to what the receiver may or may not do with the gift. Forgiving people who will not forgive us, being kind in the face of nastiness, these are all ways that we recall that we are children of God and followers of Jesus, it is not entirely for the benefit of others but also for ourselves.
Finally, one of the wisest things James says is’ ‘let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.’ If we only practice this, we surely are walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Listening is far more important than speaking, thinking deeply about what we will say before we say it, and that anger belongs to God because we do not handle anger well or use it in ways that are helpful rather than just hurtful.
Take some time this week to read over the above passages slowly, carefully, and prayerfully. God’s Holy Word can transform us if we truly listen and open ourselves to it. Amen.