Sermon for Trinity 19: James 5:13-16

Sermon by Peter Lor on Sunday, 15 October, 2023.  

Sermon for Trinity 19: James 5:13-16

 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Amen

 

Notes on the letter of James

      

The letter of James has been described as a collection of wise counsel intended for early Christian congregations suffering trials and temptations, and experiencing tensions between wealthy and poor members. It is very close to the teaching of Jesus, especially that in the Gospel of Matthew. In contrast with Paul’s letters, there is no elaborate theology. Rather, it about “pure and faultless” religion (1:26-27) and is full of practical wisdom. Hear what James writes about our responses to troubles, happiness, and illness:

 

The sermon text

 

James 5:13-16

¹³ Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

 

Lord, Open our hearts to your word. Amen.

 

This passage offers guidance on what to do in three situations:

 

·     Suffering (or rather, trouble)

·     Happiness

·     Illness

 

 

Happiness

 

Let me start with happiness. I’ll explain why later.

 

The word euthumei means to be cheerful. Trouble and illness prompt us to approach God for help, but we don’t always think of God and thank him for things that go well, that make us happy. In Ephesians 5:19-20 Paul writes that, filled with the Spirit, we should

 

…sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, ²⁰ giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

We Lutherans can relate to this. We may neglect prayer at these times, but we certainly know how to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”, as it is so colourfully described in the King James Version of Psalm 100:

 

¹ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

² Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

 

That is so important! Thankfulness strengthens our relationship with God. Moses repeatedly warned the Israelites against forgetting God’s kindness once they had settled into a comfortable existence in the Promised Land. They were at risk of falling away from God’s law, and abandoning their reliance on his guidance.

 

We too should remember God when things are going well with us. It is good to start every prayer by expressing our thanks to God, whatever our circumstances.

 

 

Illness

 

James advises (v.14):

 

Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.

 

The word used here for sickness or illness is asthenei. It is used in Luke 7 and John 4 and 11, where the patients were at death’s door, so it refers to a serious or debilitating illness. The word could also refer to weakness, a personal incapacity of some sort, but given that the elders are called for, life-threatening illness is probably meant here.

 

In our congregations, mostly people prefer others not to know about their illness. We seldom see any entries in our Fürbitten book. We tend to keep illness, or other problems) a personal matter. This is not what James counsels.

 

Verse 15 promises that “the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.” Unfortunately, this promise is misused by some unscrupulous “bishops” and “prophets” to exploit desperate and gullible people. Other people may be misled to believe that if God did not grant healing, it is their fault because they did not pray hard enough or that their faith was too weak.

 

Healing is in God’s hand, and there are times when the Lord’s answer is not what we want.  But the prayerful support of the congregation is mightily effective in supporting the sick and their loved ones in their time of trial.

 

 

As a congregation we are part of the body of Christ. That means that we care for one another and that we share our joys and sorrows. In good times we share our joy, and it strengthens us. In bad times we share our sorrow. And we receive strength and consolation. Caring and sharing are key words.

 

God’s spirit dwells in us, not to be kept safe, but to be spread for the comforting and strengthening of our neighbours, including those oppressed by a burden of sin.

 

Originally, when I started studying this text, I thought that the focus of my sermon should be on the issues of illness, prayer and healing, the relationship between illness and sin, and the liberating effect of confessing sin. What James wrote in verses 14-16 has been very influential in the church. A great deal has been written about it. It has also been misused. So I started, but after I had already written most of the sermon, I decided to file it away and concentrate on verse 13. On trouble.

 

 

Trouble

 

Verse 13 is about trouble. The word used here is kakopathei, which means to suffer misfortune, or to bear hardship patiently. It is translated as “suffering” in the NSRV; in the NEB, the NIV and the Good News Bible it is translated as “trouble”, as it refers not only to illness but to a wider range of circumstances such as hunger, and deprivation. Such as those caused by floods, earthquakes, terrorism, and war…

 

War.

 

During this last week, along with many of you, I’m sure, I have been deeply troubled by the horrific and sickening attack launched by Hamas on the Israeli population. What sickens me too, is the horrific shelling by the Israeli military of Gaza (2,3 million people living in a strip of land roughly 25 kilometres long and six to ten km wide). This has already caused even more deaths than those inflicted outside Gaza. A large-scale ground offensive will kill many more.

 

I find myself torn about this.  I deplore the violence and the killing, and at the same time I find myself wanting Israel to take revenge, to eliminate Hamas.

 

As Christians we can’t look the other way when bad things happen to people. But we should not jump in blindly.

 

Today is the 599^th day of the war in Ukraine. For us that war in Ukraine is quite far away, but if you read the “Bethlehem texts” in the online version of the Losungen, you will have noticed that German Christians are grappling with the tension between rejecting violence and the imperative of self-defence.    

 

The situation in Israel/Palestine is even more complex. For one thing, we Christians see the territory of Israel/Palestine as the Holy Land (as it is for Jews and Muslims). We have a special, a long and very troubled, relationship with the Jews. There is also tiny Christian minority living in Gaza. The relationship between the Israelis and the Arabs is too complex for quick assessments. It has unfolded over a century, since the 1920s, in a cycle of violence and revenge that, it seems, will never end.

 

 

Prayer?

 

That we should pray when we are in trouble, as James writes, is not a strange thought. Scripture is full of cases where people in trouble pray to God for deliverance. Kakopathei, trouble, covers the worries and fears we may experience in any sphere of life: work, family relationships, finances; also, our distress at the way our country is going, at the war in Ukraine, and at the terrible suffering inflicted on the people of Israel and Palestine. This is trouble, and we should pray about it. But what should we pray for?

 

·     For God to punish to punish the Palestinians, to exterminate Hamas?

·     For God to give Israel a great victory?

 

I am reminded of the OT passages in which the Israelites were instructed to expel or exterminate other peoples from the Promised Land.

 

I can’t pray for that.

 

I don’t think that we should be praying for either Israel or Hamas to “win” this round of their conflict.

 

If we pray, what should we ask God for?

 

·     To have mercy and relieve the suffering of the victims on both sides, especially the women and children, the elderly, and the non-combatants caught up in the war.

·     To protect and strengthen medical and relief workers trying to help the victims.

·     To give peace-makers wisdom and patience.

·     To frustrate the schemes of those fanning the flames for their own purposes.

·     To raise leaders who will lead their peoples on the difficult journey to just and lasting peace.

 

That is obvious.

 

There is more. Should we not also examine our consciences about how we respond to situations such as these, including the problems in our own country, where things are “hotting up” as next year’s elections approach? Are we possibly contributing to conflict by our actions or attitudes? Or by lack of action?

 

The Christian church should not only pray and send help when people are harmed, but should provide leadership and speak with a prophetic voice before situations explode. This is urgently necessary in South Africa. In the words of Isaiah (53:6), “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way”.

 

The Church is not just pastors, bishops and people sitting in national or international councils. We are the Church, and so we should ask:  how are we helping to heal relationships in our country?  Or are we, in our braai-fire and coffee-table conversations, adding to intolerant attitudes and hopelessness? We need to God’s forgiveness for:

 

·     Our lack of interest, concern, and care   

·     Jumping to conclusions and taking sides blindly,

·     Our lack of faith that God can do anything to change the situation

 

 

Conclusion

 

When we ask God to help and comfort the victims of hatred and violence, let us do this not as a matter of routine, but with gratitude that we have been spared, empathy for those affected, and a fervent desire to help in establishing and restoring peace and justice.

 

Above all we should pray in the firm belief that God is there, that God cares deeply, and that God’s will ultimately will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. We are not abandoned. Our Lord Jesus promised us, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt 28:20).

 

If we can’t see a way out, let us pray persistently for God’s way to prevail, as stated in Zecharaiah 4:6, “Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit.”

 

Amen 

 

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,

 

Amen