Session Five, Exercise 1:
“not us not be mere listeners, but also doers of the Word”
Background:
“It is a great shame, to many of us who are known as servants of God, that while the apostles and early saints actually walked with Him through every kind of trial, we think we are deserving of heavenly glory and honor merely because we know their deeds from Scripture and can easily recount all that they said and did.”
Saint Francis of Assisi, The Admonitions: 6
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
James 1:22
James is believed by many to be Jesus’ half-brother. “[His] teaching strongly resembles that of John the Baptist. Probably, [he] had heard John the Baptist preach. Amazing parallelisms exist between James’ letter and the Sermon on the Mount. James did not actually quote the Lord’s words, but he obviously internalized His teachings and reproduced them with spiritual depth”[1]
Instruction:
Meditate on the call to holiness through virtue this week.
1) Read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
2) Optionally, read James’ letter
Questions:
Use the accountability question worksheet (based on the Sermon on the Mount) either by yourself, or better yet with others. Seek to encourage, urge and comfort each other to live in the manner that Jesus has called you to live. You might pick only a couple questions each time, so that you may truly focus on that particular practice.
Lookup up some of the following references[2] in James and parallel references in Sermon on the Mount, meditate on what additional insight you get from looking at them side by side.
|
James |
Matthew |
James |
Matthew |
|
1:2 |
5:10-12 |
3:17-18 |
5:9 |
|
1:4 |
5:48 |
4:4 |
6:24 |
|
1:5; 5:15 |
7:7-12 |
4:10 |
5:3-5 |
|
1:9 |
5:3 |
4:11 |
7:1-2 |
|
1:20 |
5:22 |
5:2 |
6:19 |
|
2:13 |
5:7;6:14-15 |
5:10 |
5:12 |
|
2:14-16 |
7:21-23 |
5:12 |
5:33-37 |