James, a little book of wisdom: being there for those who are adrift

Today’s wisdom:

My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.  James 5:19-20

My random musings:

And so we reach the end of this little book we’ve been studying this month. If this is a letter, then this is not much of an ending, is it? Having read many of Paul’s letters, we’ve come to expect some final instructions and greetings. Paul knows how to wrap up a letter well. There is nothing like that here and that’s what many scholars believe that this is not a letter in itself, but excerpts of writings by James, all brought together into one piece. Whatever it is, it has taught me a lot this month. I’ve never looked to the book of James for wisdom before but I will now!

Here are the final two verses of the book of James. We had a term for this in the Christian environment I was brought up in: we called it ‘backsliding’. Oh, how I hated that term – the way in which it was said, the way it then led to people being treated…It was a judgement and condemnation. There were always harsh words and humiliation involved.

But this final exhortation from James is important. For fear of saying the wrong thing and making someone feel bad, I think I’ve been too ‘hands off’ over the years. I’ve watched people drift away and ‘lose their faith’ and not really felt it is my place to say anything or get involved. 

There was one wonderful woman recently – someone who has been through such a lot and whose faith means nothing to her right now. We had a really open discussion about it. I made it my aim to listen without judgement. You’ll have to ask her how I did with that! One thing I noticed was that she found it hard to admit how she was thinking and feeling because she was afraid of upsetting me! And I came away from that conversation feeling for her pain but also aware that we have to allow these conversations to be as natural as possible without jumping in and trying to ‘fix’ the person straight away.

Yes, James makes it clear here that we shouldn’t abandon anyone who drifts away, but we still need to treat them with respect and compassion (and not be heavy-handed in our persuasion techniques!). Walking alongside them is not a tick box to gain us brownie points in heaven. it’s about caring for every individual as an individual walking their own path on this journey of faith.

I think this passage goes further than this actually: it’s about building accountability into our relationships, so that we can each challenge one another (in love and compassion) when we are being misled by something or someone. We have to be in relationship with people to know the circumstances of their lives well enough to earn the right to do this. And it has to be a two way thing. We have to learn to give – and receive – feedback well. 

It’s not about pointing the finger from a distance or condemning an individual (without naming them of course!) from the safety of a pulpit. This is about standing with fellow believers as they struggle, listening to their doubts, supporting them in their tough times and knowing just the right thought-provoking questions to ask.

Seems as good a place to end this ‘letter’ as any, don’t you think?

All of this wisdom in this book is really hard to put into practice and we need each other to keep us right!

My questions for you:

Who is it that you haven’t seen at church for ages or who’s gone quiet on you and dropped out of circulation and is there anything you are being called to do in that situation?