reading james 1

"James, a slave of God and of Jesus, the Messianic King,

To the people of God scattered to kingdom come around the world,

Greetings.

When the bottom falls out,

when things come apart at the seams,

when the stock market crashes,

your job is up for grabs,

the mortgage payments are getting harder to pay,

and you really don’t know how you are going to make ends meet,

this is a time for pure, unadulterated, ecstatic and contented joy!

When your church is without a pastor,

when older, faithful members are moving away,

when you are in a time of transition, unsure of the future,

when the budget looks like an unattainable dream,

that’s fantastic!

When you face all kinds of trials,

the infirmities of older age,

the insecurities of being a young person,

the struggles with loneliness,

painful confusion about sexuality,

the collapse of beloved institutions,

a marriage that has seen happier days,

tensions within the family,

you name it!

then again I say to you, this is pure joy!

“Joy?” you ask.

Grin and bear it, maybe.

Dig in and get through the trouble, perhaps.

Maybe even patience.

But joy?

This is the kind of stuff that strips me of any capacity for joy.

Economic anxiety,

worries about the future,

deep internal pain,

that debilitating sense of loss,

that impending death in so many areas of our lives …

and you say we should receive all this with joy?

Pure joy?

Yes, my friends, joy.

to continue, see: When the Bottom Falls Out :: A Targum on James 1.1-18 by Brian Walsh

i still remember memorizing james 1 with pastor ted way back when. it comes in handy. i found this piece by brian walsh to be a source of encouragement as i prepare to enter more fully into the church and her ministry in the coming year.