How is the Church supposed to act at such a moment in history? If we simply join our shrill voices to those of the shouting extremes, eventually all that others will see in us is that we are long on madness and short on mercy; the outside world will see the Church as being more committed to conflict than to compassion.[1]
Throughout the month of September, we have been looking at what the New Testament letter of James says about living a wise life. Much of James’ advice applies to us individually. But in the closing of his letter, James gives encouragement that goes beyond the life of the individual to involve the life of the whole church. That is why I have entitled the final message in this series on James: “Five Marks of the Wise Church”. I believe James provides some powerful guidelines for the church to take a positive stance in the midst of a polarized age. Let us look for these five marks as we read together James 5:13-20. Listen for God’s word to you…
Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 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. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 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. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
What are the five marks of a wise church? What are the five positive things that James says the church can be doing in our polarized times?
The first thing that James says the church needs to be doing is praying.
James begins this final section of his letter with a vital question: Are any among you suffering? The suffering to which James refers is not merely physical. James is addressing this question to anyone who is suffering any ill circumstance.
Many in America feel like the church has been suffering. In an article in the Huffington Post, entitled “Why Nobody Wants to Go to Church Anymore”, church consultant Steve McSwain talks about seven trends impacting church decline:
- The demographic remapping of America
- Technology
- Leadership Crisis
- Competition
- Religious Pluralism
- The “Contemporary” Worship Experience
- Phony Advertising
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.James uses various words for prayer 8 times in the last 8 verses of his letter. James also gives us an example of a praying person—Elijah.
James reminds us that the Old Testament prophet Elijah was a human being like us. Sometimes we think of serious prayer as something only spiritual giants engage in, but that is not the truth. Yes, Elijah saw some extraordinary responses to his prayers. But God wants all of his children to communicate with him in prayer. We need not wait to become perfect before we pray.
James uses an interesting phrase to describe Elijah’s prayer life. The New Revised Standard Version which we just read translates this phrase as “he prayed fervently”. But a more literal translation of this phrase would be: “in prayer he prayed”.
That phrase reminds me of another verse of Scripture in Genesis 24:27 where the servant of Abraham says, “I being in the way, the Lord led me.”
It is as we are going in the way, that the Lord can lead us. As the saying goes, “Even God can’t steer a parked car.”
There is magic in movement. If we would simply set aside a few minutes every day to pray, that habit, which can develop in as little as 21 days, will activate a whole life of prayer, in us individually and as a church.
I have mentioned to many of you before that I spent four years meeting with a Catholic priest once per month for spiritual direction. Every time we met, Fr. Mario would ask me, “How is your prayer life?”
At first when he would ask me that question I would think of the few minutes every day that I tried to set aside for prayer and Bible reading. It wasn’t until after we had been meeting for quite some time that I suddenly realized that Fr. Mario was asking me about my whole life, and how prayer was permeating my everyday life.
You see, once you begin to set aside a few minutes every day to pray, you will find that discipline will activate an ongoing conversation with God that spreads throughout all your waking hours, and possibly into your sleeping hours as well.
So, praying is the first and most important mark of a wise church. The second mark that James mentions is related to the first. It is singing.
James asks, “Are any cheerful? They should sing songs [literally psalms] of praise.”
In these first two simple questions, James covers virtually every human experience. “Is anyone suffering anything bad? Then he or she should pray.” “Is anyone among you cheerful? They should sing psalms of praise.”
When I was a young man I learned from a counselor in my local church that there are only four human emotions: Mad, sad, glad, and scared. All other words to describe various emotions stem from these four roots. It is unfortunate that we have three negative emotions and only one positive one, but such is life in this fallen world.
Now, James’ teaching suggests that good times and bad can both lead to spiritual problems unless we learn to handle them in the right way. Also, there is no time in which God does not invite us to himself. There is no situation that God cannot use for his own glory and our good. We have a God for all seasons. By God’s grace we can hallow every pleasure and sanctify every pain.
William Barclay says,
Here we have set out before us certain dominant characteristics of the early church. It was a singing church; the early Christians were always ready to burst into song…The fact is that the heathen world has always been sad and weary and frightened…In contrast with that weary mood the accent of the Christian is singing joy.
For most of my life as a practicing Christian I have included music as part of my devotional life. I find that music moves me like nothing else. Songs of praise offer me an opportunity to communicate with God at a level deeper than any other. Sometimes I listen to contemporary praise and worship music, sometimes to hymns. Sometimes I do this in the privacy of my home or study, sometimes in the car. An online resource that I use for prayer, called “Pray as You Go”, incorporates all different kinds of music into its daily guided prayer times. I have “Pray as You Go” as an app on my phone. I can use it anytime, anywhere. I encourage you to try it. If you have never utilized music as part of your prayer life, I encourage you to give that a try in any way and in anyplace it works for you. If you are incorporating music into your devotional times, I encourage you to keep it up.
A third mark of the wise church is healing.
James asks an important third question:
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.The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.Have you ever done this? Have you ever, when ill, thought about calling on me as your pastor, or some other person in the church, to pray for you? Sometimes when people are ill at home, or even in the hospital, I never hear about it. Maybe some of you think, “Well I don’t want to bother the pastor.” But that is one thing I am here for, to pray for you.
Some time ago, I had a member of this church call me and ask for me to pray over him and anoint him with oil because he was ill. This particular person was still able to get out and about, and so, by his own choice, he came and met with me in my office. We prayed together, and I anointed him with oil.
Now there is nothing magic about anointing with oil. In ancient times, people used oil as a medicinal agent. Oil was also thought of as a sign or symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Based upon this verse in James, Catholic priests have been anointing sick people with oil for centuries, both as a healing act, and as a part of what we know as the Last Rites before death.
I find intriguing the words that are used to describe the outcome of such prayers for the sick in this passage. James says, “The prayer of faith will savethe sick man.” The word that is used here is the one used throughout the New Testament to refer to our spiritual salvation. James goes on to say, “The Lord will raise him up.” This is the word used to refer to the resurrection of Jesus.
Now we all know that sometimes when we pray for physical healing, the Lord answers with a “yes”, sometimes with a “no”, and sometimes he says “wait”. I have known of and experienced all three. But here is the thing. Whenever we pray for healing, God will bring spiritual healing 100% of the time, if we ask him to do that sort of healing in our hearts. As someone once said, “Prayer may not remove the affliction, but it can transform it.” And the ultimate healing of all is heaven.
The fourth mark of the wise church that James mentions here is confessing.
James says, “Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”
The form of the verb here, for “confess”, is a present imperative that refers to a habitual action. Confession of sin is supposed to be a regular part of the life of the Christian.
Many branches of the Christian Church have an opportunity for confession of sin in the worship services of the church. Some churches, down through history, have offered an opportunity for confession of sin in small groups. Other branches of the church have a rite in which parishioners may confess their sin to a priest. When I met with Fr. Mario for four years I often took the opportunity to confess my sins to him, as well as to God, and it was so reassuring to hear the words of another human being reminding me that God forgives me through Christ. As a pastor I have often had that opportunity to remind counselees in private of God’s forgiveness for their sins.
James says, “Confess your sins to one another. And pray for each other that you may be healed.”
We can be such an encouragement to one another as we confess our sins to each other and pray for each other. That is one of the most positive, and one of the greatest healing functions of the church.
The fifth and final mark of the wise church that James mentions here is: reclaiming.
My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
This may seem like an incomplete ending to a letter, when compared to some of the other letters of the New Testament. But how appropriate that James, the Apostle of Action, should close his letter with a summons to action. Throughout his letter James reminds us again and again that truth is something to be done as well as believed.
James talks here about those who wander from the truth. This word, wander, refers to any deviation from the path of righteousness, whether willful or not. Most of the time, I think, we do not wander willfully, we simply drift. But the really important thing to remember is that when we wander from God, who is life, the only alternative is death.
James reminds us of the important role each of us can play in helping each other when we wander. We need the help of other human beings to get back on course.
Let me close with the words of Joseph Stowell on this topic…
We have a nickname for tow trucks here in America: a wrecker. When I was in England, I noticed their tow trucks all have one big word on them: RECOVERY. When I saw that, I thought, Same vehicle, same instruments, same mission — totally different perspective. We say, “There goes a wrecker.” They say, “Here comes recovery.” A lot of people in the body of Christ move like a wrecker, but Christ came on a recovery mission.[2]The question is: what do others see when they look at you, when they look at me, when they look at our church? Do they see a sign that says, “Wrecker,” or do they see a sign that says, “Recovery”? I hope and pray it will always be the latter.
[1]My comments here are inspired by a sermon delivered by Joseph Stowell in 2005 entitled: “God’s Compassion for Sinners”. These comments seem even more relevant today than they did then. See Preaching Today Tape #188, https://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2005/august/188.html
[2]Joseph Stowell, “God’s Compassion for Sinners”, Preaching Today Tape #188, https://www.preachingtoday.com/sermons/sermons/2005/august/188.html
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