Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 88; PM Psalm 91, 92; Joel 2:28-3:8; James 1:16-27; Luke 16:1-9
Have you ever had a long conversation with another person … in your head? You say all the things you wish you’d said when they said or did something you thought was outrageous. You go over it again and again, as if getting the words exactly right could make the whole thing turn out differently. Of course, in the conversation in my head, the other person never gets much of a chance to speak.
I’m really drawn to the language in James in today’s reading, especially the passage beginning with verse 19. “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.” James goes on to say, “Welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.” I’m struck by how quickly James moves from how we respond to other people to what God is doing within us.
This Sunday at Saint Stephen’s, we will host another Braver Angels workshop. It’s part of our ongoing work to build bridges and to learn to respect the dignity of every human being, including those with whom we disagree, sometimes rather profoundly. I think James is asking us to consider what happens inside us when we let anger take over. I know how quickly I can go from hearing someone’s words to preparing my response. Sometimes I’ve already decided what they mean before they’ve finished saying it. I wonder what I might hear if I gave them a little more time.
A few verses later, James asks us to be doers of the word. He takes us from the words we say to the people we care for, naming widows and orphans in their distress. I love how concrete he gets. The word God has planted in us takes shape in the way we listen and in whose needs we notice. Sometimes the first thing we can do for another person is give them our full attention long enough to hear what they’re carrying. And, how we listen is connected to how we care for other people.
“Meekness” really is a great word, isn’t it. In the conversations I have in my head, I’m usually the one who has something to teach the other person. I rarely imagine that they might have something to teach me. I wonder how much of what James is asking of us begins right there, with the humility to admit that there may be something I haven’t understood.
Who have you been having a conversation with in your head, and what might you ask them if you had the chance to listen?
John+