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This is one of Jesus’ more challenging teachings both because of its very nature but also because of the culture in which we live. We believe here in the meritocracy. We believe that equal work deserves equal pay. This turns over that understanding of the world so that we see the world as Christ does. In his kingdom, the world runs not on our merit, but on his grace.
Many say we live in an age of outrage. We probably do. We can see people expressing anger everywhere. Perhaps though the epidemic runs deeper than we even think. It may be true that the anger that goes unexpressed and even unrecognized in us that ends up destroying our lives the most. James here ministers to that. He teaches us to recognize anger and melts it right down into a peaceful soul life. Listen in!
Nobody actually despises prayer. Even unbelievers will say to believers, “Will you please pray for me?” We all believe in prayer. We just don’t believe in everybody’s prayers. People back in the Middle Ages are a great example of this kind of thinking. They believed deeply in prayer. Just not in their own. So they’d ask others to pray for them. People who God might listen to. People who they thought had God’s ear. Like Mary. Or some other saint. They weren’t totally wrong. There are those who whose prayers make the globe spin and those who can't even make a leaf rustle. Which camp do you think you fall in? How holy do you think you are? It's holiness that gets a hearing. Listen in to understand this crucial aspect of the gospel.