James 3.13-4.3; 7-8a; Mark 9.30-37
The book of James has been our focus the last weeks, a guide to life in Christ. This New Testament letter has been the appointed second reading four consecutive Sundays, now four chapters into James. I’ve never spent this much time on James. I’m not sure I’ll do it again. James is filled with so much common sense, so permeated with the wisdom and Spirit of Jesus, that we quickly become aware of how we fall short in the life God calls us to. James is a bit like a personal trainer for a life of faith, encouraging you to do things for your own good that, left to yourself, you might not be inclined to do: quick to listen; slow to speak; slow to anger; not showing favor to some at the expense of others; humble. James is a challenge. Occasionally you start to feel the ache from exercising faith muscles you didn’t know were there or even needed working. Yet like a coach who sees the best in you and draws it out, James says that the word of God is implanted in you, that your life of faith begins in God who has given you birth by the word of truth. And because God is at work in your life from the start, you can persevere in faith and good works.
Today he asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with a gentleness born of wisdom.” What a compelling, attractive phrase: ‘gentleness born of wisdom.’ Who wouldn’t want that said about them, that their good life is filled with gentleness born wisdom? Well, maybe some. The word gentleness could be a snag. It is not what you might call a prized virtue. In a cynical age, people might look on someone who is gentle as a pushover, perhaps a bit naïve, not really aware of how nasty the world is or how hardened we need to be to make our way through it. Gentleness is too often equated with cowardice, weakness. Maybe it’s always been this way. In 1839, a pastor in Philadelphia by the name of George Washington Bethune, said “Perhaps no grace is less prayed for, or less cultivated than gentleness…Seldom do we reflect that not to be gentle is sin.” 1839! 185 years later has anything changed?
Yet James lists gentleness as one of many things born in us through God. “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.” These are gifts ‘from above,’ James says. That direction is important: from above, from God. Pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy—left to ourselves, how often do we come up short? So James reminds us of the direction, ‘from above,’ to tell us that this is a gift from God for our lives. He echoes what Moses says early in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy. “The word of God is near you; in your mouth and in your heart to observe.” It is not hard, out of reach. The implanted word is a gift from above, as near as your heart to your chest.
Gentleness born of wisdom is the gift of God’s own life for us; St Paul also lists gentleness as a gift, the fruit of the Spirit. It is the life of Jesus in every aspect of our lives. What that means is that, in God, we are given a way through the world that is different than what’s on offer from lots of people and places around us. This is what James is talking about when he contrasts ‘wisdom from above’ with ‘earthly’ wisdom. The difference could hardly be more stark. Wisdom from above is turned toward the well-being of others, keeps them in mind; earthly wisdom is selfish and self-absorbed. “You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. You covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.” Arrogance, as you know, stops at nothing to acquire what it seeks; this is a truth played out around us every day. But wisdom from above, James says, means willingness to yield.
Now you know as well as I do that when James talks about ‘willingness to yield,’ he is not talking about yielding in traffic. But you also know that we could all use a bit more graciousness in the ordinary task of driving. This week, driving north on University Drive from 32nd Avenue all the way to the interstate on-ramp, there was a car cutting in front other cars, weaving in and out of the northbound lanes. The car in question had a window cling that said, ‘Bestie, please let me merge.’ Give high marks for self-awareness; not so much for traffic skills. When James talks about the willingness to yield, he means being willing to give in for the sake of others rather than dig in your heels for your own sake.
In today’s gospel, the disciples are an unfortunate example of earthly wisdom. Immediately after Jesus talks about his suffering, death, and resurrection, right after he describes his own willingness to yield for the sake of others, the disciples refuse to yield but instead charge ahead with their own plans, looking to gain ground for themselves. Who is the greatest? Who is #1? Arrogance stops at nothing to acquire what it seeks. You’ve seen this, too. But just as the disciples try to elbow their way to the top, Jesus stoops down and welcomes a child.
Wisdom as a gift, wisdom from above, is the guide for everything we say and do, a way through the world that is different from what is otherwise on offer. Enough jealousy and contention, James says today. Put an end to a bitter spirit which criticizes and can’t even let a kind word go by without adding a word that tears someone down. “Such wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.” In contrast, “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.”
With James as a personal spiritual trainer, you might note today’s second reading—print it out, put it in your purse, pocket, or tape to your dashboard; look it up online and keep an open tab on your browser—and think of it as your spiritual exercise each day for the week to come. In an ordinary day, work through James’ list one item at a time. Pray through it reviewing your life daily in the light of God’s wisdom. Make it, to use an old-fashioned church phrase, an examination of conscience. Give thanks when you see the fruits of gentleness born of wisdom in your life; ask forgiveness when you fall short; and pray for an increase in the wisdom that God gives generously and ungrudgingly. You will need it when challenges come around the next time. And they will. You might even note the times, places, and particularly the people who make it hard for you to live the way James describes. “Show by your good life that your works are done with a gentleness born of wisdom.” Now you know that’s hard enough to do when someone cuts you off in traffic; it’s harder still if you’ve been hurt by someone who has charged ahead with their own plans and left you hurting by something said or done. Occasionally you will feel the ache from having exercised faith muscles that had been neglected. And if you think that gentleness is really just cowardice, you’ll soon discover how much strength is needed to live in the gentleness born of wisdom and restrain yourself when someone is angry at you or bitter toward you. Yet, James says, this is a way to “submit yourselves to God,” to have everything you say and do be guided by God’s own wisdom.
400 years ago, St Francis de Sales said something that turns upside down our expectations of strength and gentleness, gives a picture gentleness born of wisdom. “There is nothing as strong as real gentleness; nothing as gentle as real strength.” In God, strength and gentleness are brought together. It’s the prophet Isaiah saying of the Lord, “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.” Yet in God, this gentleness is not cowardice or weakness. In the verse right before, Isaiah describes God’s sovereign power. “Here is the Lord GOD; coming in might, coming to rule with powerful arm. “There is nothing as strong as real gentleness; nothing as gentle as real strength.” Later, the prophet Zechariah looks at the majesty of God. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, gentle and riding on a donkey.” There is nothing as strong as real gentleness; nothing as gentle as real strength. What a wonderful way for us to make our way through the world. This gentleness born of wisdom is Jesus who says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…for I am gentle and humble in heart.”
When James talks about wisdom, he is not talking so much about a concept or a thing. He is talking about Jesus, God’s wisdom-in-the-flesh for us—Jesus at work in and through your life. ‘Wisdom from above’ is God’s grace supporting you and sustaining you. ‘Wisdom from above’ is the life of Jesus changing and shaping you to be living signs of Jesus Christ in the world. Through his life-giving Spirit, Jesus comes to you again and again and again and again with astonishing gentleness. Gentleness born of wisdom begins and ends in God, is the gift of God’s life for us, God’s grace for us. This wisdom and grace come to us just as we are, but this wisdom and grace won’t leave us as we are. They transform our lives so that we can take up James’ invitation to “show, by your good life, that your works are done with the gentleness born of God’s wisdom”.
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