Go Deep!

The Letter of James is renowned for its call to make the Christian life a life of depth and not of superficiality.  He finds many ways to point to a life which is not merely a collection of good thoughts and kind wishes, but a life rich in actions.  From this letter we receive the often-quoted reminder that �Faith without works is dead.� 

What strikes us about today�s passage is the variety of ways in which James envisions faith being expressed in actions, in which the Christian life is to be one of depth. The passage�s reminder that true faith consists in �looking after orphans and widows� sounds just like the James we know.  But slipped in just as easily are James� injunctions to �control the tongue� and to �keep oneself unspotted by the world.� 

Most surprising is the lead off line which James sends our way, commanding us to �be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.�  If ever there was a call to depth and not superficiality, this is it.  But could we think of three things that our contemporary society finds more difficult? 

�Quick to hear.�  Sounds roar around us without interruption.  Sounds �out front� are not enough; we need �background sound.�  To really hear what someone else is saying, demands that we stop and receive from another, that we allow the other�s words to �go deep.�  Are we anxious to �receive from another?�

�Slow to speak.�  From �chat rooms� to �talk shows� we�re not very slow to speak.  Talking �off the top of our heads� without much depth comes easily to us.  Yet we delight when we hear someone who speaks �from the heart.�  Do we speak �from the heart?�

�Slow to anger.�  I doubt that James would mind good anger at injustices and other things that �should not be.�  What he would find hard to handle would be our society�s tendency to blame others first before looking at our own responsibility, the tendency to �react� rather than to �respond.�  When difficult words come our way, do we �react� or do we �respond?� 

Quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.  James encourages us to let these actions flow from our faith.  What a life of depth that demands!