We are examining the book of James, our Lord's little bro- right now in our Worship Gatherings. I must confess that James is a tough portion of the scriptures to wrestle. Tough, but fruitful. I hope that it is also for the whole of our community.
This past Sunday we looked at James 1:26-2:26. A lot to tack in just an hour or so. It might prove to be transforming to open up some discussion as a community. One particular verse we lightly touched on is James 2:19- but perhaps we should discuss further.
"You believe that God is One; you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder!"-
There may be a touch of sarcasm in that verse (you do well)! What James seems to be addressing is not a generic acquiescence to the existence of God. Rather, it appears that James is alluding to a Creed (The Shema` Creed/Prayer of the Hebrew People from Deut 6:4). A doctrinal statement of sorts.
To James, as we have been approaching the book, Jesus is what it is all about! James in his opening greeting identifies himself as a "Slave" or "Servant" of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. Whatever lack of references specifically to Jesus there may be, the book has a beautiful aroma of the teachings of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount. For James, who Jesus is-that is the Paramount Foundation of Being the People of God- Being The River (being the river is how we "be" the people of God here). As Alan Hirsch (as well as a host of others) has identified: the Chief Doctrine is our Christology (Our Belief and Consumption of who He is & what He did/and does). Everything flows from Who Jesus is! (and what he does/did-but that seems to be consistent with who He is, therefore we shall say- Who Jesus is going forward). Alan H then suggest- Our Christology drives our Ecclesiology which drives our Missiology.
In other words, who we believe Jesus is, determines what We are, which inspires what We do! I know you can see it, hear it.............Jesus, the Authentic Life (Life Giver, Life Sustainer, Originator, Meaning instiller!) makes us what we are (as we embrace Him) and motivates us to do what should be natural. Or let's say it this way: we aspire (b/c of Who Jesus is) to be "An Afflux of authentic life"! We want to be the people of God, which dictates that we desire to live in such a way (an Afflux) that we overflow as vessels of Living Water, Rivers of Life (John 4:14, 7:38) for the good of the world.
Our Ecclesiology (what we are- A Community/A church/ Kingdom People) and our Missiology (what we do) feed off each other. No doubt that our Ecclesiology must come first in one sense-Namely-we cannot be on mission w/ God except that we are w/ God, belong to God through Jesus-are the people of God. But that is only initially in our understanding. What James seems to be saying in Chapter 2 is that the two (Ecclesiology & Missiology) feed each other. If we are the People of God, then we'll do what God in Jesus (whom we are in Also) did/does. And as we DO what God did/does-we foster the Kingdom Community! A People who do NOT Do what makes a people a particular people, are not those people at all. (E.g.- What makes Athletes, Athletes? Playing sports...right?! One is not an Athlete if one does not play sports. Surely, one plays sports b/c there is an inclination to play sports, a desire to compete in this way, and therefore one does compete in Sports. If one does not play sports, then one is NOT an athlete, however that does not make one an athlete b/c one plays, but only playing sports is the natural reality of being an athlete).
We are The People of God, therefore we ought to live as God in Jesus lived/lives!
This is what James is wonderfully reminding us. Be the People of God. BE THE RIVER!
What we are drives what we do-and what we do authenticates and cultivates what we are!
All of this has to be firmly, solely, passionately grounded in WHO JESUS IS!
Proverbs 29:18 says "Where the vision of God is cloudy, the people go crazy and stumble all over themselves; but when God's reality is seen and lived it is a great joy for the kingdom community"
It is a great practice to speak of Jesus and the vision of our community. We should never tire of dialoguing Who Jesus is, What we are, and what we do! And it even great to use the phrase- "We aspire to be 'An Afflux of Authentic Life'".
So here is an opportunity to join in as a community to speak this reality, dream:
Will you share who Jesus is to you, to us in your words, and what we are, and what we aim to do? Share it personally, narratively (not list form, but in Story form-that's a D~n~A of ours. we should practice these things).
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When I think of who Jesus is and who we are as the River, as well as what we are aspiring to be, I reflect upon two powerful moments in recent days that have really resonated with me and made me feel connected not only to the Christ but to his body in The River. One of these times occurred a few weeks ago when Sam opened our time around the Eucharist to confession, and many in The River – not in a rote exercise of compliance or formality- began to open up about areas that they know are not in keeping with whom God has called them to be. I shared then and I will share now how I often complain very passionately about those in my life whom I love, and how I find myself consumed again and again with feelings of discontentment. God through the means of that confession has worked his grace and mercy and forgiveness and healing, not only in my confessing it, but in others hearing it (which seems to bring our shortcomings to more of a solidifying impact upon the community so they may bear my burden as well).
My confession was one of many from those who very pointedly shared with the family of The River (in broken and tearful agony) how they fail and fall short of God’s beauty in their lives. This was, to me and to others who have expressed since then, an intersecting point of heaven and earth where I felt like we were catching glimpses of what it means to live authentically and be exposed by the light of Christ. We were opening ourselves up to God’s goodness and mercy from the community of Christ by making ourselves vulnerable and expressing honesty to those we have failed.
The other moment I will just mention briefly, but it should not be taken as less than the other in value. Recently during our time together at the Waterfront Rescue Mission, I experienced God in a way that was overwhelming to me and certainly cannot be described by mere words here. What I mean to say is that serving food to the men who come through the feeding line and/or helping to prepare or take food to the men at the Mission is one of the highlights of my month. I work at the mission, so I don’t want to be misunderstood. Why it is the highlight of my month is because I never feel any closer to my friends and family of The River than I do when I am serving or feeding the poor or collectively doing good. The value of the exercise has to do not only with those who receive what we give, but the connection of my life to the life of Christ through those with whom I serve.
I love Jesus and I love The River and these are just glimpses of what I believe God’s Spirit is producing in this community. Thanks, Sam, for leading us in this reflection.
I think that the more we know who Jesus is, the more we find our identity. The closer we get to God, and the more we love Him, the more we know ourselves and can love ourselves and others.
I hope I'm not the only one who had identity issues in high school and college-trying to find out who I am and why I act the way I do. But I can honestly say that as I've grown closer to God, not only do I discover who He's made me to be, but it enables me to love more!
And the cool thing is, the more you learn about Him, the more you realize you don't know ANYTHING yet!
P.S. I only posted a comment because Pastor Sam and Samantha took me out to lunch today and said there weren't enough people posting comments. So if you're reading this, I recommend you post. (J/K)
melissa wuz here :)
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