“If the letter of James were sent to the Christian communities of certain countries [today] that suffer from violence and exploitation, it would very possibly be intercepted by government security agencies. The document would be branded as subversive.” - Elsa Tamez

Today we begin a rather lengthy, but I anticipate enjoyable, journey through the letter, James. What we have before us in this letter is a group of people going through it, suffering economic hardships at the hands of the wealthy and the temptation to either lose hope or sinfully regain control, and their Pastor is writing to them deeply concerned that as they go through it, they do so in a way that reflects who they truly are and what they say they believe.

This quote fairly accurately captures the nature of James’ ancient words. His letter is powerful, unsettling and comforting all at the same time.

I imagine this will speak to many of us, particularly those of us from cultures that have historically endured oppression. And yet, as those who have been drawn into a conciliated community through Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s generosity, even if we are not from a people who have been historically oppressed, we can enter into the narrative of our sisters and brothers because of our common communion with Jesus.

As we explore James words, and the context in which they were written, we will find ourselves together wrestling with our perspective on wealth and poverty; the depths of Justice; public policy; how to endure difficulty well, and reward for doing so; wisdom in what we say and how we say it; preferential treatment and the nature of Justification, which is, for those of you who may not yet be Christians, what it means to be square with God.

I hope that as we spend the summer wrestling with these words together, we will grow not just as individuals, but as a community, because this was James’ intent in writing the letter, and God’s intent in preserving it for us.

James | Going Through | James 1:1-12