All this week I’ve been reading and reflecting on the Letter of Saint James, an exhortation filled with guidance and instruction to early Jewish Christians about how to live their new life in Christ, especially while awaiting the Lord’s return.
The passage I
read today [James 5:9-12] makes more sense in the context of verse 7: “Be
patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord.” And verse 8: a rich image of the
farmer who waits patiently for the precious crop, being patient both with the
early and the late rains. The people are
admonished not to complain, nor to judge one another, but rather to be patient
and persevere. “You have heard of the perseverance of
Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, because the Lord is
compassionate and merciful.”
The virtues
of perseverance, patience, fidelity are undercurrents in Mark’s Gospel, where
the Pharisees quiz Jesus to see how He responds to the question about divorce [Mark
10:1-12].
The letter
of James may sound like a “pep talk”, but it initially falls flat. Encouragement to persevere through
difficulties may help with athletic training, earning an advanced degree or
developing one’s musical talent because we can see the goal and are rewarded
for our success. But in times of
distress and hardship, remembering others who have persevered through trials or
recalling our original purpose just doesn’t reach deep enough into our pain and
suffering.
This raises
tough questions. Why develop “staying power” in our committed relationships
when these are the source of some of our deepest suffering? How do we continue to trust in God’s
compassion and mercy in the midst of a pandemic, employment loss, tornadoes,
famine, drought, civil war, terrorism? Why persevere? What’s the goal, “the win?”
Sometimes
there’s nothing to hold on to but time-tested wisdom: maintain direction and
commitments through difficulties unless and until it’s clear God is leading
elsewhere. It takes radical trust to
“stay” when we don’t have an answer to “why?” or “how long?”
A return to
the book of Job raises different questions: maybe the way to perseverance is
not through developing strength but allowing ourselves to be more open, more
vulnerable, more unprotected? Perhaps
“who?” is the better question than “why?” Who are my companions, my community? To whom do I belong? Who are You God? Can we trust that God is at work in others, in
me, in every event, even when we can’t see or imagine where this is headed?
I think
after asking all of these questions of myself today, the message of these
Scripture passages seems to emphasize perseverance through fidelity to what we
commit ourselves to – namely seeking a relationship with God.
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