James 2 . by Rola Al Ashkar

This topic of “faith vs works” reminds me of the person who caused me to be fired from my airlines job. A professional misunderstanding turned into a personal issue for him, and after the plot he had set up for me, I went on his FB wall and, ironically, saw that he had posted the following verse from James 2:18 “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” I couldn’t help it at that time but comment on it and say: “you have indeed shown your faith, thanks for the termination.” Of course, he had a theological argument logically justifying the Christian validity of his cause, and mind you, he used yet another biblical verse to defend his action.

For this person, faith is something to be perceived by the head and doesn’t reach the deeper level of the heart. That is the case for many today, and that was the case for many in the “James community,” and therefore comes our chosen passage for today to redefine the concept of Christian faith from “rationally believing a set of statements to be true” to “giving one’s heart, committing one’s self to a certain way of life.” And according to this this text, the object of faith is not facts or statements but individuals.

However, I want to play devil’s advocate. I personally have spent such a large part of my life struggling with coming up with a faith that makes reasonable sense to me, that I am convinced that we cannot give our hearts to something that our mind rejects.

Friends, anyone can live a “good life.” Have I told you about that “Sacramento Atheists and Freethinkers” group?  They have a community; they do book discussions, film screenings, potlucks, and other social events, they do charity, they serve food to the homeless in Sacramento…

Sounds like a Christian life, right? Well almost. Here faith as life commitment to service is present but faith as mental commitment to a set of beliefs is missing. And let me say, this isn’t just about what individuals stand for, but it is an element that unites Christians throughout ages and across continents. And for many, like myself, it is the only way to encounter God and to experience any sense of belonging.

Some of the most famous and oldest Christian theologians, way before enlightenment, spoke about ‘faith seeking understanding,’ which means that faith in God should prompt believers to seek a deeper knowledge of God for the joy of knowing and loving God. 

In the Middle East, we do not have this sense of church as an intentional community; and though I spent the entire second half of my life in church, I never had this relational understanding of the Christian life. However, what brought God closer to my heart is my quest for the knowledge of God. That very knowledge is what lead me to grasp the greatness and love of God.

I am not saying there is one way of expressing our faith, but we should be aware of not reducing the meaning of faith. James warns that faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. He also affirms loving our neighbor as ourselves. While affirming these truths, I would add that faith accompanied by works, if it has no understanding, is also dead.

There is a saying by Aldous Huxley: “We can only love what we know, and we can never know completely what we do not love. Love is a mode of knowledge…” So, most simply, to believe is to know God, to love God, and to love those whom God loves. May we increase in faith, in knowledge and understanding, and in love and good deeds.