August 31, 2003 -TwelvethSunday after Pentecost
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
NRSVKJV
John 1: 16-27
“TheWord Planted In You”
“Live free, ride hard.” This is the Harley Davidson credo. It’san appealing one. We all want tolive free. We all want to live withabandon.
I have some good news for us this morning. We can live this way, and not only on a sunny Saturday afternoon, butevery day of our lives.
The title of this morning’s message, “TheWord Planted in You,” is the key to such a life. My message is based on James 1:16-27, wherein the Apostle James focuseson something he calls the word planted in us, and at the same time invites us torespond in three ways:
By perceiving the word planted in us (vv. 16-18)
By accepting the word planted in us (vv. 19-21)
By acting on the word planted in us (vv. 22-27)
In the first part of chapter one James hastold us to consider trials a joy because as God shapes us through them we willfind something called the crown of life. Hethen made a distinction between trials and temptations, the latter never comingfrom God. This thought then leadsto verse 16, which starts our text for today.
The first response James asks us to make isto perceive the word planted in us.
Perceive the Word planted within you (vv. 16-18)
James begins by saying, “Don’tbe deceived.” The connectionbetween what precedes and our text today is this: while God is neverthe source of temptation, he is alwaysthe source of the good gifts that we receive, whether of a material or spiritualnature. James can be sometimesdifficult to follow at first glance. Heseems to jump from point to point, and the connection is not always clear,especially in translation. However,James thoughts are usually connected,as prayerful and patient reflection will often reveal. James is the intense individual who is so passionate that he sometimesintroduces several lines of thought almost simultaneously in a sort of spiritualshotgun blast.
In the shotgun blast of these first threeverses James wants to say three things, all of which relate to perceiving theword planted in us:
first, that our Heavenly Father is the source of every good gift we receive
second, that our spiritual birth is chief among these gifts
third, that this spiritual birth occurs through the word of truth planted within us
Let’s take each of these points in turn:
First, James says that our Heavenly Fatheris the true source of every good gift we receive. The RSV reads, Every good endowment and every perfect gift isfrom above. The emphasishere however is not on trust financing via endowment, but rather more generallyon the the gifts we receive in life. Thesegifts come to us from the Father of theheavenly lights. This is abeing who created the heavens we see and set them in motion, and yet he isdistinct from the heavenlies, in that unlike them, he never moves or shifts. God is firm and reliable in his purpose. No shifting, no equivocation, no eel-like omissions or squirming.
This being established, James now wants tomove to a second point: that our spiritual birth is chief among the gifts wehave received. A key aspect ofthe Father’s purpose just mentioned was to bringus forth (v. 17), or as the NIV has it, togive us birth. The birth whichJames has in mind here is more likely our spiritualbirth than our physical birthbased on three considerations: first,the verb James uses here, refers to birth by a father as opposed to a mother;second, the instrument of this birth is theword of truth; and third, the reference to firstfruits has a spiritual connotation.
At the center of that third and finalconsideration there is this term ‘first fruits’.
First fruits are those that come early in aharvest and portend greater things to come. James is suggesting that the group of Jewish-Christian believers to whomhe is writing are the first fruits ofa greater movement of believers to come, of which we ourselves are a part.
Now having established that our Father is thetrue source of every gift we receive, and that our spiritual birth is chiefamong these gifts, we are prepared to hear James’ primary point in thissection: that our spiritual birth came to us through something called ‘theword of truth’.
The word of truth is the message of thegospel as what follows will confirm for us. The Apostle Paul uses this same term while defining it explicitly as thegospel in Colossians 1:5: … the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up foryou in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, thegospel that has come to you. Paulmakes an almost identical reference in another of his letters, in Ephesians1:13. The word ‘gospel’ meansgood news. The good news is whatJesus himself spoke in John 8:32: “youwill know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The truth is this: that while we are dying from the cancer ofour own brokenness, and totally unable to save ourselves, God sent his own Sonto heal and deliver us. All we needdo is acknowledge our own helplessness, and look to Him in faith. As John 6:40 says, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Himshall have eternal life.”
The seedplanted along our walkway
The point of all of this is that we wouldperceive the word of truth planted within us.
“How do I know if this Word is reallyplanted in me?” you may ask. Oneway would be to go digging through the soil of your soul to find the littleseed, but this is a difficult proposition to be sure. An easier and more reliable way might be to see what is growing out ofyour soul.
My wife Heather planted a number of seedlingsalong our front walkway. One ofthem has now grown explosively to the point where our front walkway is no longerpassable. I asked her what sheplanted. She didn’t remember, butwe can certainly identify those plants now. Big and yellow with many branches.
In the same way, James says, look at what’sgrowing in your spiritual garden, and realize that if you believe, it is becausea spiritual birth has taken place in your life. Perceive the Word planted in you.
James, however, isn’t content that weshould merely perceive the word implanted in us. Moving to vv. 19-21, he will now urge us to accept the word planted inus.
Accept the Word planted within you (vv. 19-21)
The key thought in this section is stated inv. 21: ‘receivewith meekness the implanted word.’ TheNew International Version, which is a bit more accessible to the modern ear atthis point, reads ‘accept the wordplanted in you.’
There are three things we must do if we areproperly to accept the word planted in us. First, we must be quiet for awhile. This summarizes v. 19, which urges us to be quickto hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
The second thing we must do to accept theword planted in us is to set aside anger for the sake of consideration,for as v. 20 says, man’s anger does notbring about the righteous life that God desires. When we set aside anger, then we can accept with meekness, or inother words, with humility, the word planted in us.
The third thing we must do to accept the wordplanted in us is to get rid of the sin that clouds our view. The RSV reads at v. 21 “put away all filthiness and rankgrowth of wickedness.” Thatlatter phrase is so colorful. Ifear the rank growth of wickedness may be what is growing in the bottom of ourbedroom closet. Listen though tohow the NIV translates this same phrase: “getrid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent.” Is there moral filth and/or prevalent evil that might indeed be cloudingour view of what is true and good? Ifso, then let us identify it, and do just what James says: get rid of it like somuch stinky garbage.
Note that while God has implanted his wordwithin us, we have the responsibility, as the NIV puts it, tohumbly accept it (or, in the RSV’s terms, to receive it in meekness). Notethat we have some responsibility here to receive the word. Will our lives be the rocky soil in which the word cannot take root, orthe good soil in which it grows and flourishes? This is not to say that in our reception we contribute anything to ourown justification before God, but it is to say that we have a responsibility tointernalize that which the gospel proclaims. It is when the gospel takes root in a receptive heart that the seedgerminates, and the life is transformed.
To refuse to accept with humility the wordplanted in us is to become the Pharisees that Jesus decried so completely in ourgospel reading for today. As Jesussays in Mark 7:6, ff.: “Isaiahwas right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
These people honorme with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”
A religion of the lips is much easier andsafer than a religion of the heart. Butto concede to this is to let go of the commands of God for the traditions ofmen, and this we cannot afford. Aschurch historian Jaroslav Pelikan puts it, “Traditionalism is the deadfaith of the living. Tradition is the livingfaith of the dead.” May our faithjourneys do justice to the heartfelt commitments of those who have gone beforeus.
Will we be quiet for awhile? Will we set aside anger, pride, and even beloved and honorable traditionfor the sake of consideration of the true heart implications of the gospel? Will we get rid of the sin that clouds our view, that we might seesomething better for our souls, for our community, and for our futures?
Let us, dear friends, respond as James urges: first, by perceiving the Word planted in us, and then by accepting the word planted in us. There is a third and final response that James urges upon us in vv.22-27, which is to …
Acton the Word planted within you (vv. 22-27)
We are to be doers of the word, and notmerely hearers. This meanscommitting ourselves to four courses of action.
First, James says, we are to look into theperfect law, meaning the gospel. Itis a foolish man who invests time to look at himself in the mirror and thenpromptly forgets what he saw there. Whatwas the point? There was none. In the same way, it is a foolish believer who looks into themirror of the gospel, and then promptly forgets what he saw there. I like very much the way the New Living Translation conveys the meaningof v. 25:
NLTJames 1:25 But if you keep looking steadily into God's perfect law-- the lawthat sets you free-- and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard,then God will bless you for doing it.
Will we recognize that this book is not meantto restrict us, but to free us, that we might truly and forever “ride free”? Will we then act on what we find here? Then God will bless us for doing it. We do not serve on the boards, work in the kitchen, or sing in the choirfor nothing. God promises to blessus for doing these things.
Secondly, to act on the word planted in us, weare to bridle our tongues. Nowwhy would James mention this here, and what would this have to do with acting onthe gospel? Maybe the thoughtis this: if we are criticizing,condemning, and complaining about the actions of others, no matter thejustification, we are not likely to be acting on the word ourselves, and in factare likely to be hindering the good-faith efforts being made by others. If you can do it better, than stop saying so, and let your actions speakfor themselves.
Third, James says, act on the gospel by looking after orphans and widows. In other words, get involved in the material and spiritual needsof others. In the RSV’s language,where might a pure and undefiled heart commitment of faith take us? Do we even know as a church what the situation for orphans in Milwaukeeis? Are there others afflicted inthis church, or in your sphere of influence, that might be blessed were you toengage them, even in a small way? Letus get involved in the lives of others!
Fourth and last, we are to act on theimplanted word by keeping ourselves unstained from the world. We will not get caught up in a culture of distraction and selfishpre-occupation. We will guard thatto which we expose our minds and hearts, not in legalism, but in wisdom andgrace. We will be ready to serve,and able to serve, for the glory of our God and King.
Watching vs. playing
I enjoy watching tennis matches. I’ve been watching some of the U.S. Open this weekend. But far more than watching, I enjoy playing the game. There is something entirely satisfying about ripping a forehand down theline for a pass that no tv picture can convey. I am so thankful that I rose from the couch and stepped into the game.
Have you stepped into the game of faith, evenin some small way. If you have,then you are to be commended. Youare doing the word. If you have notyet, may this be the day you say, “Yes, I willengage.” I will volunteer forsomething here at church. I willmeet that need that has been nagging at my soul. I will do something.
V. 22 once again from the NIV: Do not merely listen to the word… dowhat it says!”
“Live free, ride hard.” This is the kind of Christianity of which James would have approved. Having a Harley to ride is good. Havingfaith to ride for the redemption of your life is better.
Will we perceive the word planted in us? Will we accept it? And will we then act on it?
Do you hear the rumble of many little acts offaith being done in loving obedience to the grace of God? This is the roar of the word planted within us.
Amen.