November 2023
Reflection:
In the midst of the violence, pain and chaos in the world at this moment, the final line of chapter 3 in the Letter of James captured my attention in four different translations
NRSV: And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
First Nations Version: This wisdom will bring about a harvest of doing what is right, because they are peacemakers planting seeds of peace.
The Cotton Patch Gospel: For the harvest of genuine peace must first be planted by men who live it.
The Message: You can develop a healthy robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
James 3 begins with an elaborate argument for the power of “the tongue” to do damage or to do good. While James focuses more on the warning, he keeps coming back to its power to do good. Even with some of the challenges in each translation, this line's message leads me to reflect on the power of words and how we can take them for granted.
I hear James wants to inspire us to live lives as our best selves not our worst. Part of that inspiration arises from the Greek word for“peace” (ειηνη) which shares much with the Hebrew word “shalom”. The biblical scholar, Walter Brueggeman, illustrates the richness of the term “shalom”:
It is well being that exists in the very midst of threats… It is a well being of a very personal kind…but it is deliberately corporate. If there is to be well-being, it will not be just for isolated, insulated individuals; it is, rather, security and prosperity granted to a whole community - young and old, rich and poor, powerful and dependent….. Shalom comes only to the inclusive, embracing community that excludes none”
Instead of being overwhelmed by peace, James issues a simple directive for what this means, seen in the different translations.
“Doing what is right”,
planting genuine peace/shalom,
“make peace/shalom”, or
“treating each other with dignity and honor.”
These simple day-to-day acts lay a foundation for a world saturated with shalom. My hope is we can do this together as the Kairos Collective.