Thomas J Parlette
“Can’t Have One Without the Other”
James 2: 1-17
9/8/24
It is said that in Hollywood there is an exclusive school attended by the children of movie stars, directors and film producers. One day a teacher in that school asked her very privileged students to write a story on the subject of poverty. One little girl started her story like this: Once there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her nanny was poor, her chauffer was poor, and her butler was poor. In fact, everyone in the house was very, very poor.” (1)
Somehow I don’t think that little girl had ever been around anyone who was truly poor. If she did meet someone who was really poor, I’m not sure she would even know what to do. In all likelihood, she would have been right at home in the assembly that James describes this morning.
James begins chapter two of his epistle with the story of an usher in a Christian assembly. If someone with gold rings and fine clothes shows up for church, this usher shows him to the best seats in the house, right in the center where the light is good and everybody takes notice. It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold and the cushions are comfortable. But when a poor person comes in with ragged clothes, smelling like yesterday’s socks, this usher shows him to a corner seat, way in the back, dark and out of the way, where the only seats are on the cold, hard floor. Like that little girl in Hollywood, this usher doesn’t know how to treat the poor person, and clearly gives preferential treatment to the rich worshipper.
But listen, says James, God has chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith – don’t dishonor the poor. You would do well to live by the royal, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If you favor one over another like this, you’re breaking that law. Show mercy – mercy triumphs over judgment.
And James goes on to write some of his most well-known words: And about this faith you say you have, what good is it if you have no works. Can faith save you? Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. For James – faith and works go together, you can’t have one without the other.
The folk theologian, Charles Schulz, captured the spirit of James in a nutshell in his Peanuts comic strip. Snoopy is shivering out in a snowstorm beside his empty food dish. He looks longingly toward the house, from whence his food doth come. Lucy comes out, and instead of putting anything in Snoopy’s dish, Lucy says – “Go in peace, be warmed and filled.” And then she turns, goes back into the house and slams the door. In the last frame, there’s Snoopy looking toward the house, shivering and hungry and utterly baffled (2) That’s James in a nutshell. Faith, by itself, if it has no works, is dead. You can’t have one without the other.
That theme is probably why the Epistle of James is a favorite for so many. If you are at all interested in mission, you probably like what James has to say. If you call yourself a Christian, then do something about it. Faith without works is dead. You can’t have one without the other.
I imagine that none of us would argue with that. That makes perfect sense.
And yet, the great reformer Martin Luther himself, really did not like James at all. He didn’t think it should be in the Bible. He famously dismissed it as “an epistle of straw.”
You Pauline scholars out there probably know why Luther felt that way. Luther was very influenced by Paul’s letter to the Romans. It was there that Martin Luther found the core of his teaching – we are saved by our faith, not by our works. There is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven – salvation is a gift from God. We are saved by our faith. That is one of the cornerstones of our Reformed faith.
So when James asks his rhetorical question, “Can faith save you” – Martin Luther may have stood up and shouted “Are you kidding me! Yes! We are saved by our faith.” This apparent theological contradiction is why Luther had very little use for the Epistle of James.
And yet, I don’t think James and Paul are really at odds. Faith is still important for James. We are saved by our faith, but for James, what good is it to say we have faith, but do nothing about it. What good is it to show up for worship, say all the right things, but then continue to live in ways contrary to the gospel. For James, talk is cheap. Saying you have faith is not enough. You need to act on your faith. You need to provide for the needs you see all around you, in the best way you can. Love your neighbor as yourself. Show compassion. Show mercy. Then your faith means something.
I prefer to believe that James actually builds on what Paul has to say. We are saved by our faith – true – but we are still called to do good. The question is WHY do we do the good deeds. It’s a question of motivation. Do we care for the needs we see around us so we can earn a place in heaven? Or, do we care for the needs we see around us because we are grateful to God that we already have a placed reserved for us in heaven through our faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul deals with the question of HOW we receive salvation. We receive salvation through our faith, as a gift from God.
James builds on that and tackles the question of WHAT do we DO once we have this salvation. Do we keep our faith to ourselves and keep quiet about it? No – for James, once you have faith, it is only useful if you do something with it. Faith, by itself, with no works, is dead. It means nothing. You need both faith and works – you can’t have without the other. James calls us to risk doing the things we say we believe.
For instance, here’s how one family answered that call. Kevin Salwen was driving home with his daughter Hannah, who was 14 at the time, and they came to a stoplight where Hannah noticed a homeless man panhandling while nearby, just a few feet away, an expensive Mercedes was idling, waiting for the light to turn green. She wondered aloud why the guy in the big, fancy car didn’t sell it and use the money to provide meals for the poor.
At home that night and for many subsequent nights, a discussion ensued and then a debate emerged. Finally, Hannah’s mother Joan had had enough and she blurted out, “What do you want us to do? Sell the house?” Their house was worth 1.5 million dollars.
Long story short, that’s exactly what the Selwen family did. They sold their 1.5 million dollar house and downsized to a house half that price. Then they donated 800,000 dollars to The Hunger Project to help a village in Ghana. Later, the entire family went to Ghana to visit the village and it was a life changing experience. You can read the whole story in the book The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back. (3)
I admit that’s a pretty daring thing to do – and clearly not something that everyone is in a position to do. But that story can challenge us to think creatively about other possibilities that might be within our reach. How can you put your faith into action? How can you love your neighbors and show mercy and compassion?
There is a Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist at Princeton University, named Matthew Desmond. He has been exploring the subject of poverty in America. His latest book, released just last year is called Poverty, by America. It lays out why there is so much poverty in the United States, and it offers suggestions about how we can eliminate it. The numbers he has compiled are staggering:
3 million children are homeless.
- 5% of the population lives in poverty.
- 3 million people get by on $4 a day.
Desmond says, “If America’s poor founded a country, that country would have a population bigger than Australia or Venezuela.”
So, what can we do about it? Desmond says that if we decided, as a country to invest in ending poverty, the price tag would be $177 billion dollars. This would ensure that every American had a safe and affordable place to live, hunger would be eliminated, and every child would have a good shot at security and success.
I know $177 billion dollars sounds like a lot of money – because it is a lot of money. But the United States could find the funds if it wanted to, according to Matthew Desmond. Eliminating tax cheats alone would generate $1 trillion dollars. Not $1 billion, but $1 trillion. Enough to cover the bill.
But here’s the problem. Desmond points out that many Americans are opposed to the expansion of public services. Half the population believes that social benefits from the government make people lazy. They feel that aid to the poor is does more harm than good. (4)
But then we run into James today. “What good is it to say you have faith, but have no works. If you do nothing for those in need, what good is your faith? Faith without works is dead.” You need both – you can’t have one without the other.
Once upon a time, there was a wealthy and devout business who decided to take a walk and enjoy his lunch outside. He strolled through a park, bought a hot dog and a soda, and enjoyed the day. As he walked. Two different people approached him with the same request – “Can you help me out, I’m hungry?”
Both times, the businessman waved them away and kept walking. On his way back to his office, he decided to stop into a bakery and get a chocolate éclair for dessert. But just as he was about to take the first bite, a young man on a skateboard zoomed by and accidentally knocked the éclair to the ground. The business tried to clean the dirt of, you know, five second rule and all, but it was no use – the éclair was just too dirty.
Just then, he saw one of the men who approached him before, asking for help. The businessman handed over the éclair, and said, “Here you go, my friend, enjoy.” And the businessman walked back to his office proud of himself for his good deed.
But that night, the man had a dream. He was sitting in a large and crowded café. Waiters were busy serving all manner of food and treats but no one took notice of the businessman, despite him waving his arms and asking for service.
Finally, one waiter took notice and came over to take the businessman’s order – “just bring me whatever you have on special, I’m very hungry.”
A few minutes later, the waiter returned with a dirty, gross-looking piece of something resembling a pastry
The businessman was livid – “How dare you serve me this. You can’t treat me this way. I expect good service and good food for my money. What kind of a café is this this?”
The waiter responded – “Sir, you don’t seem to understand. You can’t buy anything here, we don’t accept money. You have arrived in heaven and all you can order here is what you sent ahead while you were on earth. I checked our records and the only thing we have for you is his dirty éclair.”
He learned the hard way about the truth of James’ words – “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” Faith and good deeds go together – you can’t have one without the other.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXVIII, No. 3, p 53.
2. Ibid… p 53.
3. Homiletics, Vol. 24, No 5, p 20-21.
4. Matthew Desmond, Poverty, by America (New York, Crown, 2023). P 18, 85-86, 124-125.