James 1:17-27
1. Way In
My family lived in Jackson, MS from the time I started school until I was in 3rd grade, around 1967
we lived on Ridgewood Rd
best friend Steve Bonner lived next door
we played a lot of army in his backyard
had some forts under the bed in an extra bedroom at his house
spied on his big brother, Randy
when we played in my backyard
playhouse and sandbox my father built
it was playhouse for my sisters
for Steve and me, it was a fort
played a lot in the woods nearby
climbed trees, swung on vines, dammed the creek
My parents hired a woman named Ruth to help take care of us and the house
my father worked at the bank downtown and my mother taught kindergarten
for the job Ruth did, she was called our maid
My sisters and I loved Ruth like she was so much more
she fed us, dressed us
held us when we cried and made it better
and she did her best to make us mind and learn good manners
she was our mother when our Mommy couldn’t be there
I can’t give you much of a physical description of her today
it’s been a while
she was a big, sweet, gentle, kind, loving woman
she was an African American woman
as were most that held her position in MS back then
One day Steve and I were playing in the woods, but Ruth didn’t know where we were
she looked for me and called me – couldn’t find a sign of me
she had a good idea I was in the woods, too far
but she couldn’t leave my sisters alone to come find me
all that was left for her to do was call Daddy at work
and I know Ruth dreaded that
I remember being in the woods with Steve that day
farther than we should have gone
sitting there building a dam or a fort or something
and looking up and seeing Daddy walking through the woods
first I wondered why he would be in the woods at a time like that
shouldn’t he be at work?
at some moment it became crystal clear that
Daddy had not come to play
was there because he had to leave work
to come find me
Daddy was not pleased with me
I know how bad Ruth hated to call Daddy that day
knew I would be in big trouble
I remember that about Ruth, but there were things I didn’t know until years later
didn’t remember the time Ruth couldn’t come to work because her daughter had been arrested in Jackson
she had joined others marching with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
at the Capital building or at Jackson State College
Daddy went to get Ruth’s daughter released from jail
don’t think they were actually in jail, there were so many
I think they took the demonstrators to a school gymnasium
Daddy got Ruth’s daughter out if jail
so Ruth would come back to work
years later my mother told me why Ruth quit working for us
Momma came home from work one day to find Ruth crying
Ruth said she couldn’t come back to work for us any more
Momma didn’t understand
all of us loved Ruth
we thought she was happy with us
Ruth told Momma she couldn’t come back because of something I said
a word I used
a name I called her
Ruth said I probably didn’t really know what I was saying
probably heard it from some other children at school
but I called Ruth a name
and it broke her heart
“Mrs. Hinds, Jo Jo called me a (“n” word) and I just can’t work here anymore.”
when my mother told me the story, it broke my heart
I called Ruth a name that I heard – and still hear – people use
the word has been co-opted
sometimes I wonder if we’re se-sensitized to it
but I personally experienced the power of a word
the “n” word
the power to break the heart of 2 people
Ruth: a degrading and ugly name meant to de-humanize
me: witness the destructive power of a word
witness the way it made Ruth feel
and how it broke me years later as the one
who so carelessly and hatefully used the word
I also remember the phone call I got in 1977 when I graduated from high school
Ruth found our number at our new home in Alabama
called to congratulate me on my graduation
one of the most important moments of grace I have known
Bridge
Words have power
“sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me”
only half true (the first part)
words can hurt
heard from several as I posted these thoughts on my blog
most have reflected on being hurt by words
and, at other times, being the one to use hurting words
both the hearer and the speaker are damaged
2. Tell the Story
James says that God is the source of all good
creating humankind by the word of truth
meaning for us to bear that image of our Creator
but we have failed
So James offers words of correction – to get us back on the path
be quick to listen (a listening heart) and slow to speak
be slow to anger
our anger will never produce God’s righteousness
Don’t degrade yourselves and allow the growth of wickedness among you
rather, seek out and welcome God’s word
for this is the power that can save us
and don’t just hear the word – those are only fooling themselves
be doers of the word
If you only hear and don’t do
you have not been shaped by the word
the image lingers no longer than your reflection in the mirror after you walk away
But doers who act in the word
are shaped by the word
making God’s word a habit
and receiving God’s blessing in all they do in his name
James says, don’t think you’re religious of you act like it on the surface
but do not allow God’s word to penetrate your soul
speak and act carelessly
he says this is not only not-religious
but it is worthless
James reminds us of God’s exhortation from the beginning
pure religion is to:
care for widows and orphans
and keep ourselves unstained by the world
3. So What?
Last week was the 46th anniversary of Dr. King’s March on Washington. Having heard some of the speech on the radio. I have been remembering and giving thanks for the life and witness of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As I have been remembering the negative power of the ugly and hateful word I used that drove Ruth Edwards from the Hinds family in Jackson, Mississippi.
I think of Dr. King when I read James’ instructions to “be doers of the word, and not merely hearers.” Dr. King was convicted by the truth of God’s Word that humankind was made in the image of God, and not just white people, but all people. In the south, where he was speaking and preaching in the 1960s, that was a radical enough notion to get him into all kinds of trouble, and to have all kinds of wickedness and violence visited against him and the ones who followed him along the road that was and is the struggle for human rights for all people.
Dr. King spoke that day about the injustice of segregation and discrimination against Black people in the United States. Like James, who was urging people to be through with wickedness and welcome the word that has the power to save souls, Dr. King was urging people to
“rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation
to the sunlit path of racial justice…
to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice
to the solid rock of brotherhood…
to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
Dr. King’s commitment to non-violence was inseparable from his commitment to justice. His speech at the March on Washington was one to empower the ones in the struggle, and to equip them with the powerful tool of non-violent protest. He said this to the “people who stand on the warm threshold of justice,” that,
“in the process of gaining our rightful place
we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds…
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom
by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred…
We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights
of meeting physical force with soul force.”
He went on to acknowledge white people who joined in the struggle for civil rights, those whose destiny is tied up with our destiny and whose freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
This has been a powerful week for me, and I’m still trying to sort out what I am supposed to do about it. I have been troubled by my memories of my own complicity in racism, and buoyed by the remembrance of Dr. King’s speech in Washington.
But there are a few things I know for sure.
I know that I am able to rid myself of sordidness and wickedness only as I am able to welcome the One whose implanted word has the power to save souls.
I can only be rid of the wicked and ugly words I have used before, as I am able to welcome and greet the Lord – the One whose word of truth and light gives us birth.
I know that I am useless to the work of the Lord unless I am a doer of the word and not just a hearer of the word.
Just as Dr. King knew and was convicted of God’s word that all of humankind was created equally…he was only able to be a powerful force in the struggle for justice when he was a doer of the word.
When he did something about the word, when he stood for what was right in the face of what was wrong, and when he did it without submitting to the violence that was so often used against him…only then was he useful to God in the struggle for justice for all people, that was when he welcomed the One whose implanted word has the power to save souls, until justice flowed like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I know one other thing for sure today, and I know it because I just read it from the Bible. I know that according to God, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
As I approach the 1st anniversary of my ministry here among you, my prayer is for the conviction to welcome God’s word of truth, the only word with the power to give all of God’s people here new birth and life together.
I pray also for the conviction to be a doer of God’s word, not just a hearer, and not just a preacher. Otherwise, I’m just a useless mouthpiece. Finally, I pray for the wisdom to seek true religion which God has specifically defined as caring for those in need, and keeping free of the stains of the wickedness of the world.
Along with the words from James’ epistle, take these words from Deuteronomy, “So now, Israel (Sidney), give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.”
I urge you to take some quiet time today and reflect on the scriptures read here this morning. Where has God’s Word shined light in your life today? Where has the bright beam of truth pierced the shadows in your world? What are the new words that God is giving you to replace your old words? What are you hearing God say, and what are you going to do about it?
So may it be with us. Amen.