MONDAY

SCRIPTURE: James 2:14-18; Ephesians 2:8-10

“Talking past each other.” It’s a phrase that is often used to describe what happens when people with different perspectives or points to make are both talking in the same space—but not really communicating. Often, they are either not listening carefully enough to understand what the other person is saying, or they don’t realize they are talking about two different things. There are, of course, times when we clearly hear what others are saying and genuinely disagree. But there are also many missed opportunities to find common ground. Often in the process of carefully listening to each other, we may discover that we actually agree on more than we realized. It is at those moments that the real conversations can happen. Today’s Scripture passages have sometimes been read in a way that makes it sound like James, with his emphasis on showing our faith through our deeds, is in conflict with Paul, who reminds us that we are saved by faith alone and that God’s grace, not our performance, is what we rely upon for our standing with God.

That kind of reading makes it sound like James and Paul are “talking past” each other. But a careful reading of both reveals that they actually share the same common ground. Paul wants us to see that salvation is a gift, not something we earn or qualify for, and that realization results in a life well lived. James wants us to see that a grace filled life always shows up in how we treat others, and that if our behavior toward others does not reflect the grace that has been extended to us, then something has gone very wrong. In other words, while we are not saved by our behavior or earn God’s love by how well we do, loving others is an inevitable result of the life of faith. Our behavior does not save us, but it does reveal what matters to us the most. On this, both Paul and James agree. As you reflect on today’s passage, here are a few things to think about:

• Can you think of times when you have experienced or observed people talking past each other rather than listening carefully and talking to each other? What do you think it is that creates that kind of dynamic?

• Morris Venden was often quoted as saying, “An apple tree bears apples because it is an apple tree, never in order to be an apple tree.” How does that saying help us understand how “faith and works” are not in opposition to each other?

• In what ways have you felt the dissonance between what a person or group claims to uphold (values, beliefs, or ideals) and how, in actual practice, they treat people in ways that contradict what they claim? How does James’ perspective speak to such situations?

• In what ways have you, in the past or still today, struggled with how we are saved by grace apart from anything we do, and yet how what we do—especially in how we treat others—really matters? What has been the most challenging for you in sorting that out? What has been most helpful? What questions do you still have that you would like to process further?

As you prayerfully reflect on the passage today, and how God embraces you with both grace and unconditional love, and also asks us to treat those around us in a way that reflects that, share with God what is on your heart.