Luther is famous for stating that it is not by works alone but faith or sole fide. Indeed much of the biblical text from which Luther derives this saying is supportive of the notion by faith alone. The basis / foundation of saving grace is faith in Christ and God. This is supported time and time again. Yet, the writer of the epistle of James is correct, also, in suggesting the alternate (James 1:22). The writer is telling us here to be doers, however we must not be complacent here and accept this as "Oh, we just have to do" because it does not work like that. Indeed the writer is most pedantic in stating that we must be listeners who actually do something as a result (James 1:19-25). In much the same way Christ says the same thing in Mark's gospel when he reprimands the Pharisees with regards to eating (Mk. 7:8). So how can we bring this seeming contrary scripture into our lives today.
Too often it seems to me that members of faith communities, throughout the world, are often just doing good things in the community. For most this is the thing to do and maybe attend church at least twice a year to be a good Christian. However, there is more to being a Christian then this and often we neglect the faith side in favour of the easier route of works that are good. The hard part is not doing but as James' author puts it "let every man (sic) be quick to hear". We allow this part of the instruction to wash over us and get on with the practical. Just like any form of education the hard part is listening attentively to the instruction / lesson / lecture / seminar, etc. Effort needs to be put in and time needs to be set aside but few allow themselves that time and energy. This deprives them of the essentials which more and more people lack as we move into newer and newer generations. It is often the case that when education is arranged for those who want to put the effort in to obtain what is freely given to enhance and deepen faith but most squander the opportunity believing that it does not concern them or we have not the time and will continue doing.
In doing and not listening we are much like the Pharisees (Mk. 7:6b) and it is incumbent on us to be ones who seek God through study and increasing our understanding of what God requires from us. A couple of times I have heard the rejection of possible fun ways to gather being rejected because either it was too high falutin or they just could not be bothered. We need to be like the bride looking for her lover and hearing his voice calling to us to rise and follow after listening to his voice constantly in our lives (Song 2:13b). It is this love that we are so lackadaisical about when we hear the call but refrain from pursuing. We are drawn away by the raucous call of our secular lives rather than the gentle call of God's love. The promise of an instant prize or gratification rather than the long awaited gifts that come from God in surprising and often unusual ways. The insistent and persistent call of God is like that of a lover that comes quietly and unobtrusively in the early hours of the morning. We stand by the things that we do rather than taking an active listening role to endeavour to hear what God is actually calling us to and not what we think we are called to do.
The less and less we pay attention to God the less and less that we do in terms of what God calls us to. For in attending less to God we attend less to our role as listeners and doers and become simple minded doers for the sake of doing. It may seem strange to us in the modern era to seek God through the study of the scriptures and /or general study and discussion. The unfortunate thing is that in the modern era we have allowed the academy to become divorced from the reality of our lives. We also allow ourselves to choose which part of the academy we listen to and become followers of Peter or followers of Paul rather than followers of God. In other words we allow ourselves to be lured by one source over another when we should be listening to all sources so that we may find God amidst the multitude. In not undertaking the requirement to listen to God and then coming in to praise God we are becoming even more like the Pharisee. Our lips proclaim God's glory but we do not uphold even a small part of what God calls us to do. In listening to God's call we can actively participate in what God is wanting us to do rather than just doing what we think is best.
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