¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved.^*

17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^*18In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.<!– 19 –>

Hearing and Doing the Word

19 You must understand this, my beloved:^* let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger;²⁰for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.²¹Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.²³For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves^* in a mirror;²⁴for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.²⁵But 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.

26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.²⁷Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

quick to listen

Often the letter of James is more like an anthology of good bits of theology than a genuine address to the readers. He begins here with a beautiful saying that all generosity is ultimately of God who gives every good gift, especially the gift of new life by which believers become the first fruits of God’s harvest. He moves on to advocate listening rather than speaking  – “quick to listen, slow to speak” is still a valuable motto – including a true listening to God’s word which leads to obedient action. God’s word, the law of freedom is a true mirror of the soul, showing its real strengths and weaknesses. If someone keeps on looking at himself in this mirror he will not deceive himself like people who look in a mirror and immediately forget what they see if they don’t like it. This realism will lead to sober obedience.

True religion is caring for widows and orphans and keeping oneself free of worldly values.

Clearly this is at the opposite pole from those who say true religion is a matter of faith alone; that’s why Martin Luther described the Letter of James as an epistle of straw. If we are true to the scriptures  we will accept that there is room for those who emphasise faith and those who emphasise just action and that neither conviction can stand in isolation from the other. James was probably faced with people who spoke about faith without practicing justice and compassion. I often have the feeling that the pithy sayings James uses have been sharpened by application to his own life. They often make me question myself in ways that more fulsome theologies don’t.

Luke 16:1-9

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

16Then Jesus^* said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.²So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.”³Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.⁴I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.”⁵So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?”⁶He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.”⁷Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.”⁸And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.⁹And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth^* so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.^*

friend in high places?

 

In Luke’s eyes this is another of Jesus’ great humorous tales. It could be entitled “What to do when judgement is coming.” The shrewd steward knows that judgement day is coming soon, so he makes sure he’s got lots of friends who’ll remember him when that time comes. He achieves this by  reducing their debt to his master. Jesus’ audience doubtless chuckled at this nifty dealing. Jesus’ point is that of course God’s judgment is approaching and his hearers should be ready to spike God’s guns by gaining friends through their charity who’ll  “speak for them” in heaven. The notion of making friends in heaven was already part of Jesus’ religious culture.

Those who are very serious about their religion will doubtless think that this story, or at least this interpretation of the story, treats God too lightly – as if God could be deceived by our charity into forgetting our faults. But Jesus’ is hinting that in this respect, God wants to be deceived: love covers a multitude of sins. But it had better be a practical love.