A synopsis of the sermon delivered by the Rev. David L. Hicks at St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church at the 10:30am service on Sunday, Easter V (Rogation Sunday), May 1, 2005. Please read James 1:22-27.
“Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” These words from the Epistle of St. James summarize one the main concerns of this entire letter. James reminds his readers that there are practical consequences of profession the Christian faith. It is not sufficient to hear the word of God, or profess to believe the word of God, if one’s conduct does not reflect his or her faith. Being an doer of the word and not a hearer only is the way to live wisely, for James states that to do otherwise is to reject reality and live a lie – “deceiving yourselves” (1:22). This is in harmony with the words of our Lord Jesus found in St. Matthew 7:24: “Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who builds his house upon the rock.” Similarly, the foolish man is one who hears Jesus’ sayings but does not do them.
James also provides an illustration of this truth. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (1:23-25). When we wake up in the morning, one of the first things that we do is look in the mirror and face reality – droopy eyes, disheveled hair, an unshaved face or one without make-up. Imagine if we this morning, after looking in the mirror, pretended that our appearance was satisfactory and made no attempt to comb our hair, shave and wash our face or any of the other routine tasks that we do to make ourselves presentable to the public. That would indeed be foolish. James tells us that this is no more foolish than those who hear God’s word, who look into the mirror of the Scriptures, and fail to make any adjustment to their manner of living.
Thankfully, we have the grace of God that comes through Jesus Christ to work in our hearts and make the corrections and adjustments that are needed. As we have looked into the mirror of God’s word today and have seen our soiled and disheveled souls, let us ask God to make us doers of the word and not hearers only. Amen.
