Is Anyone Among You…? (A Reflection on James 5)

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Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (James 5:7-10)

Patience is hard for Americans. We want everything immediately because our lifestyle is characterized by hurry. At some point, technology stopped making our lives better and just raised the expectations for how much work we could accomplish in a day. In terms of spiritual formation, we would like to get there today, without continuing to wait and walk through the cycle of seasons—plowing, planting, watering, and reaping. We would like to shortcut the process in our lives and want others to do the same. It is extremely easy to grumble about the lack of maturity in others as a way of distracting ourselves from self-reflection. We have little patience for the failings of others and so they (and we) have learned to cover them up or withdraw from the community. 

However, we are on this journey together—something that James realized long ago. We are relational creatures made in the image of a relational God. So, we should not be surprised at the “Is anyone” questions in James’ epistle. 

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James 5:13-16, 19-20 

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.

And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. 

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working… My brothers, 

if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

As a seminary professor, I love to interact with students and hold it a high honor when they share something of their story with me. In the last couple of years, in a spiritual formation class, I have asked students to do an exercise entitled, Where Am I and How Did I Get Here? Our Journey with God. While I do not intend it to dredge up the pain and failure of the past, it does do that and exposes it to the light of God’s love.

I am amazed by two things, first, the level of brokenness many students bring with them from their families of origin, and second, their willingness to share their stories with me and others. I just finished reading this year’s batch and they reminded me of the passages above from James 5 and of Paul’s statement in Romans 12:14-15,

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.                                 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

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Well, the truth is that there are many “anyone” people—not just around us, but among us, who might share their stories if we would listen without rejecting them or grumbling about them.

The list here in James 5 is not exhaustive but representative, so, whether anyone is suffering, cheerful, sick, or wandering the Spirit encourages us to help them draw nearer to Jesus rather than allow them to think they must shrink back in shame. What other "anyones" might we find in our midst? Those who suffer at the hands of others—the abused, the abandoned, the betrayed, the shamed, the falsely accused, the tormented, the lonely, the misunderstood, the unappreciated, the invisible ones. There are also those who—by their actions or inactions—are the cause of their own suffering and that of others. Compassionate comfort and correction should always be offered to others with great care to follow Christ’s example of not snuffing out the smoldering wick or breaking the bruised reed (Matt. 12:20). Jesus’ desire is to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free (Psa. 34:18; 147:3; Isa 57:15, 61:1) which, more often than we know, includes us and those near to us. And in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, this work is done. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 used an affectively descriptive name for God and offered the hope of healing.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Pastors and Christian leaders are no exception. Even in James' representative list—suffering, cheerful, sick, or wandering—only one in four examples might be desirable. We need to have our brothers and sisters come alongside us in our joy and in our pain, in our certainty, and in our doubt, no less than anyone else. If it seems that nobody cares, then check one of the first posts on this blog that touches on Psalm 142, A Cupbearer is a Brother (or Sister) in Arms.

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I would suggest that our spiritual formation/maturity is not about our curating an external “appearance of godliness” but about our enthusiastic response to the love of God that has been poured into our hearts by the indwelling presence of the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). Our repentance is not merely external/behavioral but internal/relational in that it is a return to the Father, Son, and Spirit who loves us completely. 

Is anyone among you… thankful? Yep, I am too.

Hearts Guarded by Peace (A reflection on Philippians 4 and Isaiah 31)

Philippians 4:5b—8, 13

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The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

These are very well-known verses. However, it does us good to be reminded of God’s nearness and power on our behalf. These are anxious days and so many people suffer from various forms of anxiety, some to the point of needing medication and other therapies. However, in this passage, we have a great weapon against the fears, anxieties, and ineffective coping behaviors that we might face. This passage says that we are neither alone nor separated from God by any distance. The Lord is “near” or “at hand,” and that should calm us down. We can talk to him about everything…and remember how much we have to be thankful for. In a post on Col. 4, I talked about thanksgiving/gratitude functioning like a vaccination against, and an antidote for, PTSD. No matter what we face, if we focus on what we can be thankful for, we will come out better than if we just get mad. Today I want to also add that v. 8 contains a positive replacement for all the worries and other concerns that might want to overwhelm us. There are so many wonderful things for us to think about, but they make for poor ratings on a news show. In the end, news media is geared to produce anxiety, and prayerfully practicing the presence of God guards against it.

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The question is, will I turn to the Lord in prayer when faced with a moment of anxiety and fear or will I run somewhere else? Isaiah 30-31 warns Judah about how they should respond to a real threat. Isaiah was dealing with Judah’s desire to run to Egypt for help against the invading Assyrians. 

Though written some 25 centuries ago, the words of Isaiah 31:1-3 are still powerful!

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
    and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
    and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
    or consult the Lord!
And yet he is wise and brings disaster;
    he does not call back his words,
but will arise against the house of the evildoers
    and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
The Egyptians are man, and not God,
    and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
    the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
    and they will all perish together.

While we have more advanced technology today, the principle is the same. Will we relationally return to the Lord, resting/trusting in him for direction, correction, and protection, or will we try to find a different way? Why would we turn away from the Lord for a merely human solution? Sadly, we, like Judah are stubborn and unwilling to admit that we need God’s help.

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, (30:15)

Gustave Dore (1832-1883),
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Even so, though we suffer for our stubbornness, God in his love still works on our behalf.

Verse 8 says that when we cast away our idols (false trusts) and return to the Lord,

“And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;
    and a sword, not of man, shall devour him…”

We know from history (2 Kings 19:35) that the Assyrian army (185,000 soldiers) was destroyed in a single night.

O Lord God, Holy Father, Son, and Spirit, I cry out to you now and renounce the false trusts that lobby for my heart’s attention. You are near and that makes all the difference. Let me sense your nearness amid the challenges I face today and may I see your might at work in marvelous ways. I don’t want to settle for human solutions like horses and Egypt and the false confidence they bring. Please restore an attitude of quietness and trust in my heart that will strengthen me to stand and bear witness to your steadfast love for an anxious generation. Blessed be your name, Jesus, for you are strong to save, even today!