James

James 5v7-20 : Be Patient and Prayerful

While I was thinking about the introduction last night, Felicity fell ill – very sick, and ending up tired and wan. It forcibly reminded me that there is more than one use for the word “patient” – although whether it is used as a noun or a verb it still comes from the same root. I looked it up in the dictionary and found:
Etymology: Middle English pacient, from Middle French, from Latin patient-, patiens, from present participle of pati to suffer;
1 : bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2 : manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain
3 : not hasty or impetuous
4 : steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
Patients (and patience) are both associated with suffering. Today’s passage follows on from the portion of James’ letter which we looked at last week that had a lot to say about the rich oppressing the poor (a common theme in this letter I’m sure you’ll agree), and the dire situation that many of the poorest believers found themselves in helps to underline the call that James makes here to patience.
The first half of my passage is really associated with the call to patience, and the second half is associated with the call to prayer, and I’d like to divide it along those lines

The need for patience v7-12

There is an interesting pattern in v7-12, and if I can just show that in overview first, and then look into a little more detail of each part. There is a repeating sequence where James says the following:

Be patient while waiting (7) (the Lords coming is near(8)) and don’t grumble (9) (or you will be judged – he is near!(9))

Be patient in the face of suffering(10) (the Lord is full of compassion and mercy(11)) and don’t swear oaths (12)(or you will be condemned(12))

In other words, while waiting, especially in the face of hardships or suffering, don’t leave the Lord out of your thinking. The Lords coming is near, and the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. He is not just aware of every ill and hardship we are facing, he is “in it with us”, he identifies with us so closely. And this should spur us on to remain patient, to ‘bear pains or trials without complaint” as the dictionary says.

The threat is, of course, that our reckless tongue gets us into trouble as James has been at pains to point out in his letter. Perhaps this also can be a word to us today. Don’t grumble! Paul warns about this even more dramatically in 1 Cor 10, where he explains that God recorded many things in the old testament as warnings and examples to us, and in v10 warns “And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel” which you can read about in Numbers 16.

Please don’t grumble. Don’t grumble about God, don’t grumble about the leadership of the church, don’t grumble about other people. Grumbling is the British way of responding to stuff we don’t like. The Christian way is to talk with one another, in love, and resolve issues or differences peaceably, as the Lord Jesus instructs in Matt  18v15-17.

And don’t swear. This isn’t an instruction about effing and blinding as my grandmother used to call it! It is talking about the common Jewish practice of the day of swearing an oath to make a statement more impressive. A modern equivalent (which I’ve sometimes heard in real life and not just Eastenders) might be ‘I swear on my mothers life’ or  ‘I swear on my mothers grave’ . I wonder what the equivalent oath might be a temptation to middle class Harpenden Christians, to add weight to their assertions or promises? Perhaps “I’ve really prayed about this and…” or “God spoke to me and…”

Whatever they might be, the word of God is clear. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. If our Christian character is sound we don’t need to pretty up our promises or bolster our assertions.

The need for prayer v13-20

This section starts with an interesting triplet, each idea introduced by ‘Is anyone…’which shows that whether things are bad or good we should be turning our attention to God. When reading it I can’t help thinking that we tend to more comfortable, more familiar with the first two elements.

If anyone is in trouble? He should pray. Check.

Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Check.

No problem there, see it all the time.

Is anyone sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. Mmmm. Pass? We are familiar and happy with the exhortation in v16 about praying for one another (which is why we have the prayer chain, after all), but calling for the leaders of the church to come and pray and anoint… don’t often see that. In fact I don’t ever remember seeing it. The way this is written it sounds like the sick person is so ill that they are bedridden, and unable to get out and about.

God can and does sometimes heal as a result of prayers. There have been some occasions where I have prayed for someone and they have been miraculously healed, by Gods grace. There have been many more occasions when I’ve prayed and God has not healed.

I want to highlight something where the NIV bible is out of step with other translations and the ordinary reading of the Greek text. Take a look at v15. My NIV says “and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well”.  Problem is, it doesn’t say ‘well’. The greek text literally says “and the prayer of faith shall save the sick”, and this is the way that the other bible translations I’ve looked at represent this sentence.

Why do I think this is significant? For two reasons, one practical and one theological. In practise, what would it mean if it really meant “get well”. Why wouldn’t David Watson be healed of his cancer? Why didn’t John Wimber, noted spiritual healer and friend of many who had demonstrated gifts of healing recover after his brain haemorrhage? Is it ineffective, insufficient faith on the part of those praying? I find it hard to believe that is the case in so many cases.

My theological reason is based upon the place where James writes these words. I don’t think it is coincidence that it comes just after he has been talking about patience, perseverance in the face of suffering. He has been giving examples of suffering prophets and most especially Job, the whole point of whose trials, you will remember, was that Satan said he would ‘curse God’ if put into severe difficulty. I know some people who have fallen severely ill and turned away from God completely. And others whose patient endurance has shone like a light behind their face and who have encouraged believers and nonbelievers alike.

I think that James is returning at the close of his letter to the same theme that exercised him so much at the start, in chapter 1 – perseverance under trial, which is testing our faith.

Elijah was a man just like us. Yeah, right, I’m thinking. Elijah stands like a colossus across the old testament, he is the prophet mentioned in the same breath as Moses, he called down fire on mount Carmel and prayed for drought and then rain. But the Greek text literally says “he was a man ‘subject to the same passions as us’. He was a man who could be afraid (1 K 19v3 he ran for his life), who could grow despondent (I have had enough Lord, take my life) , who could be proud (I alone am left)… and in that I perhaps see my likeness to him.

So perhaps I can be more like him in the way that I pray… earnestly, consistently, with conviction, patient in prayer – not just dashing off the odd prayer here and there, but praying something through, praying earnestly (i.e. in a serious and intent way)

But we must remember that God doesn’t instruct us to produce results. He just expects us to be obedient. And that surely is the thrust of James’ letter. We’ve been reading it for 8 weeks and we’ve had practical instruction about the way we are to behave – caring for other people, being true to God, not just hearing but doing… in a few minutes we’ve got the opportunity to have a cup of coffee and think about our response to some of these instructions of James together as a church. I’ve got some ideas about what we ought to be doing, but I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas on this too.
God is at work in us, and he is at work through us. Are we ready to be the people of God?

Alex White

 

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