Lectionary: 345Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. 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 Epistle of James is not among the earliest documents of the New Testament, but it's been with us a very long time. And it proves that our perennial impatience with each other was there in the beginning.
It's almost comical that the author, urging us to be patient with our co-saints in the Church, invokes the patience of the prophets and martyrs; and finally of the paradigm of patience: Job. Who sat on a pile of dung while his enemies discussed whether he deserved it or not.
"Give me strength!" we pray when we deal with one another.
If working with regular people is challenging at best, it's often more difficult with our fellow Christians. That's because we think, upon entering such a fellowship, we have finally arrived among like-minded people. We are surely all Republicans here! Or Democrats! Or pacifists, vegetarians, prolifers, or feminists. We are surely eager to welcome into our fellowship people with disabilities, homosexuals, or goths. Tattoos, nose rings, and mangled earlobes are welcome!
Or, we are certainly not willing to welcome the above into our holy fellowship.
People who are delighted when they land a job with the the Church are especially disappointed when they find their employers or colleagues are passive-aggressive, manipulative, ambitious, gossipy, or prejudiced against certain classes of people.
Our baptism seems to make no difference at all! And welcome to the Church!
To add to the comedy of it all, people who make no claim to be Christian, Catholic, or religious blame us for not being better than we are. They say we're hypocrites. (I always assure them. "There's room for more!")
Indeed our unworthiness is so apparent, it must have some purpose. And that is to display for the whole world to see the Goodness and Mercy of our God. Anyone who expected to make a prettier display of God's trophies has obviously not read the Bible. There we find God's beloved people repeatedly and sometime violently ignoring the Lord and the Covenant. Even when the Covenant was their only reason for being, and the only explanation for their surviving repeated military, political, and environmental catastrophes that God leveled against them.
We still have no apparent reason for surviving. The Church is not a national, ethnic, tribal, or political bloc. Catholics by definition have nothing in common with each other except our faith. And faith would be no more than a word if the Spirit of God did not gather us into the fold.
Saint James urges us, "Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another!" Can there be anything more absurd than complaints against one another. (My mother's expression used to be, "...the pot calling the kettle black!")
Whether I consider my own sins first or those of my fellow Christian. they should only inspire me with awe. For God is so good!
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.