Implants That Show
By Rev Steven R Mitchell
Mountain View United, Aurora, CO 9/2/2012
Based on James 1:17-27
Words are marvelous invention that helps
us communicate what we are thinking.
Most words convey specific images and meanings, however a constant usage
of a word that varies from its root meaning eventually overrides the original
meaning. For instance, when I was a
child there was a commercial on T.V. that I thought rather cleaver, for it
challenged a cultural stereo type of the
word “drink.” In this commercial you see
this person walking up to his neighbor’s fence.
The neighbor seeing his visitor gives a friendly gesture with his hands
that says, “Come on over” and being a
good host invites the neighbor to have a drink with him. The neighbor declines by responding, “Thank you but no. I don’t drink.” The host say’s, “I was referring to a glass of iced tea.” The generic understanding that most people
have of the word “drink” refers to some type of alcoholic beverage. Yet the basic meaning of the word “drink”
speaks to a necessary act of replenishing fluids to the body.
Another
word that gives a similar type of response is the word “implants.” When I hear this word, I immediately think of
another word, “silicone.” Yet there are
all sorts of implants: there are dental implants, cornea implants, tissue
implants. There are implants for
contraception and there are implants for fertilization. When you place a fence post into the ground,
that post has been implanted. So the word
“implant” can lead our minds in an emotional response ranging from cool, to warm,
or even hot and bothered.
Yet
“implants” are not always visible. In
this morning” Epistle, James tells us of the implant that God has for each of
us. “Welcome with meekness the
implanted word that has the power to save your soul.”James 1:21b James says that this implant is, “the
word of truth,” which “ …give us birth” or life. We
are told in the Hebrew Bible that we were wonderfully knitted together at God’s
own hand and the thread God used is God’s word of truth, it has been implanted
in each and every person. All we have to
do is recognize it and chose to develop it.
For it is through this recognition, this welcoming the “implanted word” that gives us what we need
for growth and maturing into our relationship with God.
This
letter by James was written to those who were following Jesus’ teaching only 40
years after his death, yet his advice still holds true with Christians
today. It seems that the early church
has some behavioral issues that we still struggle with. One of those focus around the ability to
communicate, for James says be slow to speak, but quick
to listen. One of the largest
issues in most church disputes centers around this principle. Many a church dispute comes when people are
not being heard. Whatever the
conversation is about, we all need to make sure that we are truly listening to
each other. In letting someone say what
is on their mind and heart is only the first step in communicating, but there
is no communication until the one listening actually opens their mind enough to
truly hear what is being said. Too often
we are busy thinking of responses instead of stepping back and taking time to
hear what is being voiced.
Another
issue the early faithful struggled with was how they experienced their faith through
their actions. It was James’
understanding that you cannot call yourself a true person of the light, without it showing through your deeds and
in your speech. Although this relates to
what we classify under the umbrella of Social Justice awareness and activism,
as well as how we use our speech to either tear someone down or build them up,
I believe James is also speaking about how we exhibit God’s light in our
worship. Do we follow a formula and just
hear the word of God through music, prayer, and the spoken word, or do we feel
the word of God?
Two
years ago I had the opportunity to attend the official acceptance of the Kenyan
Fellowship (that worships once a month in our sanctuary), when it became an
official chapter of the National Kenyan Christian Fellowship of America
organization. What an amazing time of
worship I experienced there. Some of the
songs were in English, others were in Swahili.
During those songs in Swahili, various people at my table would lean
over and tell me the English hymn it was taken from, which was helpful because many
times there were musical variations making it difficult for me to recognize. During that worship, much time was spent
praising God and Jesus. These were words
that could only be spoken from a heart that was “implanted” with God’s
spirit. Through that “implanted word” I
was feeling apart of the gathering, not just a white man being tolerated, but
as a brother in Christ.
James
directs us to be dutiful to the widow and orphans who are in need. This is a mandate to care for those who are
less fortunate, those who are in need, and
those who do not have a voice. When we
take on Social Justice issues, are we doing it solely out of duty, or possibly out
of guilt, or do we take up these opportunities with the understanding and joy that
these actions represent the gift of God, hearts motivated through God’s word of
truth? For it is through this word of
truth that gives life and this life is experienced through the gift of hope!
James
names two types of people of God. One is
the hearer only of God’s word, the other is the one who hears but also is a doer
of God’s word. Those who are hearer of
the word only are like those, “who look at themselves in the mirror
and then after walking away, forget what they look like.” In other words, we can hear the word of God
on Sunday morning, leaving here feeling good, but come Monday have forgotten
what we had experienced on Sunday.
We
too often complain about the absence of the millennium generation, yet I think what
James is telling us resonates with the millennial. The millennial generation is a generation of
people who are relational. They want to
be in community with others, they also want to be doers. By this I mean they wish to go out and do
projects that will benefit others. As a
generation they seem to understand James when he says, “Every generous act of giving,… is
from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” They understand that what they do comes from
what is in their heart.
There
is wondrousness in the implant that God gives to us. Our challenge is to “welcome this implanted word from
God,” and to take action, not just listen, for it is through action
that we will bring life and salvation to a world that is stained in
forgetfulness, selfishness, and egocentric.
From this day forth, let us proudly bear God’s implants that make a
difference. Amen
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