Daily Lectionary Readings for November 15, 2010
Psalm 43
Habakkuk 2:1-20
James 2:14-26
Luke 16:19-31
James 2:14-26 and Luke 16:19-31
James makes his assertion that faith without works is dead and Luke shares the parable about the rich man and Lazarus wherein the rich man finds himself in an uncomfortable spot in the afterlife. The point of the parable would seem to be that what happens in this life matters. Our actions in this life matter and have consequences. Which points to the heart of what James is saying. I find the doctrinal issues that arise from the book of James to be beside the point. James is not tearing down the role of God in salvation; James is stating that recepients of God's grace live changed lives. Not to earn their salvation, but because it is categorically impossible not to. And those changed lives now prepare us for life in God's kingdom to come - prepare us to hear the message of faith that the rich man, from beyond the grave, wants for someone to go and tell his family.
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