The Power of Prayer - Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 18B (James 5)
James 5:13-20 New Revised Standard Version
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
*****************
James
invites us to consider the power of prayer. Everything we’ve explored to this
point, this word of wisdom, according to James is rooted in a relationship with
God. The people of God, the church of Jesus Christ, can and should do good
things in the world, but that work should be rooted in worship and prayer.
James does say that faith without works is dead, but here we learn that the
work we do is rooted not in our own strength, but our relationship with God. That
is, the work we do is in partnership with God (but not without God). Thus, the
church is not just another social service agency or advocacy group. It is a
community deeply rooted in the presence of God who is love.
In a
series of questions, James invites the readers to consider various forms of
prayer. Prayer is a form of speech, but in contrast to the negative forms that
James spoke of in chapter 3, this is a positive form. This word about prayer
comes immediately after James’ prohibition against swearing in verse 12. In
that word from James, we’re told not to “swear either by heaven or by earth or
by any oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not
fall under condemnation.” It is good to remember that James doesn’t have
cussing in mind, but things like oaths of allegiance. Consider how this verse
pairs with our practice of swearing on the Bible in court or to take an oath of
office. What James says here is close to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the
Mount (Matt. 5:33-37). With this word in mind, in verse 13 James picks up the
question of prayer. As Marsha Moore-Keish points out, “unlike the destructive
power of speech to harm others and betray God, prayer offers an example of
positive and powerfully upbuilding power of speech.” [James: Belief, p.
187].
Beginning
in verse 13, James picks up the question of prayer, asking first if any are
suffering. If they are, then they should pray. I need to add a caveat here
because in recent years we’ve heard politicians and others address all manner
of suffering with the offer of “thoughts and prayers.” By this, they simply mean,
we’re not going to do anything, so you’re on your own. Hopefully, God will take
care of what we are not going to take care of.
That may be true in the public sphere, but for us who are believers and
followers of Jesus, the first step is prayer. Prayer starts with the one who
suffers, as one places one’s trust in God. If, as is possible, this suffering
is the result of oppression on the part of the rich, then the prayer must be
accompanied by an appropriate response by the followers of Jesus. One of those
responses, will be the prayer for endurance and perhaps the expectation that
the oppressors will face judgment (Jms. 5:1-6). Now, James, understanding the
situation, advises patience until the coming of the Lord to set things right
(Jms. 5:7-11). But, as we’ve learned from James that prayer for endurance will be
accompanied by some form of action since faith without works is dead (Jms.2:14).
James
asks a second question: “Are any cheerful?” If so, they should sing songs of
praise. When good things happen in our midst, it is appropriate for us to
celebrate those good things. The Psalms are filled with calls to share words of
praise and thanksgiving to God. Worship stands at the heart of our life
together. But, as we know from James and the Psalms, worship is not just for
happy moments. Worship is the foundation for the life of the community. It is
worship that enables us to endure in hope.
James
asks a third question: “Are any among you sick?” Interestingly, in this case,
the call is not to personal prayer, but a call to the Elders, to the leaders of
the congregation, to come and pray. These leaders are to pray and to anoint
with oil in the name of the Lord. With this action comes a promise, “the prayer
of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who
has committed sins will be forgiven.” We’ll leave the question of sins,
forgiveness, and confession, for a moment so we can focus on the call to the
Elders. The prayers spoken of here are
intercessory. The faith that is required here is not that of the one being
prayed for, but the faith of the Elders who are praying. While we often think
of healing in terms of curing, that is not always the case. In fact, as Osvaldo
Vena writes, “healing in this context means social restoration and not so much
individual well-being. The elders, figures of authority in the community,
rather than doctors (see Mark 5:26), are called to enact the healing” [Connections,
p. 345]. As for the anointing with oil, it is often assumed that this is
understood to be medicinal, but that is unlikely here. Remember, if the point
here is social restoration, it is a sign of blessing. Now, the Gospels do
record that Jesus healed persons, even raising some from the dead, as did his
disciples, so might a cure be in order here? Perhaps, but healing is the
broader category and might be meant here.
James
writes that the prayer of faith will save the sick. That word “save” could have
a double meaning here. It could refer to the restoration of a relationship to
God and healing of the body. This is where the question of forgiveness of sins
comes into play. James writes that the prayer of faith will lead to the
forgiveness of sins. That is, James encourages the readers to confess their
sins to one another and pray for one another. This is interesting, in that it
suggests the restoration of intra-congregational restoration. By praying for
one another they might be healed.
Having
spoken of three forms of prayer, James writes that the “prayer of the righteous
is powerful and effective,” and as an example, he points to Elijah. James
reminds us that Elijah is not a superhero or a demi-god. He was a human being,
just like us, and yet when he “prayed fervently that it might not rain,” it
didn’t rain. In fact, it didn’t rain for three and a half years. Then, when
Elijah prayed for rain, the rain fell (if only that worked in the American West
as it deals with horrific drought). Is not the message here “you can do this
too”? This is a powerful word, but a dangerous one as well. This is a theme
present in the “Prosperity Gospel.” There is power in prayer, but perhaps not the
kind of power some have read into this message.
Having
spoken here of prayer, James closes with a call to restore members of the
community who have wandered from the truth. This is a fitting close to a
“letter” that focuses on “pure and undefiled religion” (Jms. 1:27). James has written this
letter to guide the community back to the right path so that their religion is
reflective of God’s wisdom. The good news for those who work to restore sinners
who have taken the wrong path is that they will have helped save the sinner
from death (spiritual?) and then cover a multitude of sins. James reminds us
that the path of faith is not an individual journey, but rather is a communal
one. In seeking out those who wander and restoring them to the flock, we do so in
partnership with God who is always seeking us out. So, as we go on this journey
together, lifting each up in prayer, we participate in the work of God in the
world. In this, we join together in a form of religion that is pure and
undefiled before God. Or, as Marsha Moore-Keish writes, quoting from Dale
Allison’s commentary on James, “James seeks to empower his brothers and sisters
to see out the wanders and bring them home. They (and we) are the main actors.
‘God is not named, and there is not even a divine passive here. So James
concludes characteristically by emphasizing the importance of human beings
doing what is right.’ God, the giver of all good gifts has ‘given us birth by
the word of truth’ (1:18); now we are to bear fruit through rescuing, saving,
forgiving” [James, p. 203]
The
message James has delivered here is an important one. He has been speaking
throughout the “letter” about broken relationships. That is the message here as
well. It might involve interpersonal ones. It could even involve the
relationship of mind and body. It certainly involves the divine-human
relationship. Whatever it is, James offers us a path to healing that brokenness
through prayer and worship. This is the foundation for all that we do as the
people of God. So, let us pray for ourselves and one another, that we might
know wholeness in Christ.
Image Attribution:
Comments