This morning’s Scriptures are: Psalm 83; Joel 2:21-27; James 1:1-15; Luke 15:1-2,11-32
This morning’s Canticles are: following the OT reading, Canticle 8 (“The Song of Moses,” Exodus 15, BCP, p. 85); following the Epistle reading, Canticle 19 (“The Song of the Redeemed,” Revelation 15:3-4, BCP, p. 94)
Our readings in the epistle and the gospel present us with two sets of brothers.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a story of two sons—both lost, though in different ways. The one to prodigality, the other to resentment and envy. One lost son is found. The other … the parable leaves his story open, so the listener and reader can consider whether their own lives are as consumed as he is by resentment and envy.
In his portrait The Prodigal, Rembrandt reveals much more than the emotional embrace of father and returning son. We have in the foreground of this most deservedly famous painting, of course, the younger brother, who is being tenderly received by his loving and forgiving father. The foregrounding of the prodigal is precisely the problem for the resentful elder brother. He—the faithful stay-at-home, self-styled “slave” of the estate—begrudges the attention lavished on the returning prodigal. Rembrandt’s portrayal is chilling and noteworthy. In the painting, the elder brother stands apart. His bearded face is a younger version of the father’s — only this is a hard face. He wears the same red mantle as the father, but he stands tall, straight, aloof. He clutches his hands, one hand shielding the other. You can imagine just this sort of self-protective move when the father says to put a ring on the younger brother’s hand. Envy always thinks that sharing means losing. Jesus’s parable is aimed primarily at “the elder brothers” — folks scandalized that Jesus is spending time with tax collectors and sinners. Rembrandt’s prayer is that the respectable people will remember that they, too, need grace. It’s not enough to look like the Father and to wear his clothes. You have to have his heart.
The letter of James is also—if indirectly—a story of two sons. First, a bit of background. James writes with such authority that he has been almost universally identified as “James the brother of the Lord” (Galatians 1:19). The gospels list James as one of the sons of Mary, Jesus’s mother (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). Along with his other brothers, James did not believe in Jesus during his earthly ministry (John 7:5). However, he is converted when his risen Brother appears to him personally (1 Corinthians 15:7). Quickly, he emerges as leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15). At the Council of Jerusalem, James offers the clinching argument for the validity of Paul’s ministry among the Gentiles, and of his message of salvation as a free gift to all who believe. In James’s epistle, he powerfully bridges Jesus’s teaching and Old Testament themes from the Law, the Wisdom books, and the Prophets. And if we read closely enough and more accurately than is often done, we will see that James bridges the gap between champions of “faith” and champions of “works.”
How wonderful that on the same day that we read the Parable of the Prodigal Son (and His Embittered Brother), we begin a week-and-a-half long read-through of James’s epistle. I receive the converging of these readings as quite a gift of providence. James could have been a similarly embittered and aggrieved brother. Jesus is foregrounded in the Gospels, while the disbelieving James and his other brothers lurk in the background. Throughout the New Testament, one Son is foregrounded. James and the other brothers show that they understand the celebrity status of their half-brother Jesus. In fact, they offer unsolicited advice about how Jesus ought to thrust himself into the limelight (John 7:3-4). But in that very passage, John notes that they do not believe in Jesus—that is, they do not really understand who he is, nor comprehend in the least what his mission is. One of these unbelieving brothers, at least—and praise God for this fact!—proves to be ready to respond in faith. It’s not difficult for me to imagine James following his Elder Brother’s ministry, listening carefully, taking notes, and pondering. Because when Jesus appears to him after the resurrection, he seems “packed and ready to go”!
The benefit to us is that James’s epistle is replete with recollections, interpretations, and applications of his—and our—Elder Brother’s teachings. Today’s passage brims with Jesus-sounding instruction about standing fast in tribulation (with James 1:2-4, compare Matthew 10:22; 5:49); about looking to God for wisdom (with James 1:5, compare Matthew 7:7); about gauging true wealth and poverty (with James 1:9-10, compare Luke 6:20,24); and about handling temptation (with James 1:13-15, compare Matthew 4:1-11).
Envy is the “thief of joy.” How grateful I am that we don’t have to live in that space! The good news is that we all share in the blessings and riches lavished upon every believer - we are all heirs through Jesus Christ.
Be blessed this day,
Reggie Kidd+