Being Full

James 2:14-26

Shinjo Ito seemed to be channeling St. James when he wrote—

Faith is not about preaching or philosophy. It is action to which you dedicate your whole being.

James said much the same thing—

Faith without works is dead…

…and just before that…

 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

The fact that one is a Buddhist while the other is a follower of Christ makes no difference, for the point is obviously transreligious. Faith is more than intellectual assent to a set of precepts or even a concept of God or even being ethnically attached to a particular faith stream. It is a praxis—a way of life. 

As a way of life, faith becomes simply who one is. It goes beyond conscious consideration of words or actions as we deal with the world. Its accords manifest as we speak and act, flowing from within without having to be thought of first. 

Clearly, such an integration takes time. We are not born into faith, even if we are wired for it in being human. As we grow and mature, we develop an affinity for a particular faith stream, begin to explore it, and practice its guidelines, spirituality, and expression. 

So many people, though, stop there. They get no further than the outward practice without ever incorporating it into their being. One of consequences of this circumstance is the readiness with which so many abandon the faith. For instance, a person recognizes the innate hypocrisy in most faith communities—as human beings, we cannot perfectly live by our faith, failing to meet the standards and ideals on an alarmingly regular basis, often in the name of defending our faith (which really means the attempt to transform the faith into an expression of self)—e.g., the Christian Church’s stance condemning homosexuality. Or a person slips into ethnic identification without really practicing the faith—e.g., people who claim to be Jews with little or no practice of the faith, they simply identify with their Semitic heritage. Or persons simply run into the rote ritual practice of religion, lose interest, and leave. No matter the cause, the result is universal—an outward practice alone becomes a hollow vessel. 

The main issue is the simple difficulty in the process of integration. To integrate faith into one’s being, one has to practice deeply. That means centering engagement in the rites and rituals, but with the deeper understanding that through these symbols of faith, one is actually pursuing a union/communion with God at the core. There is not a satisfaction with “well, I went to church in Sunday,” but rather the fulfillment comes in making that church experience something that tapped into the deepest center of who we are. In short, you lose yourself in worship—the words, rites, sounds, senses, etc. become less and less important, while the experience of God rises to the fore. That takes hard concentration. That takes deep focus. That takes full engagement of one’s person in toto to get to that level of experience. Plainly, that is going to require more than an hour a week!

Regardless of the religion at base, the move is inward to find, encounter, and experience the fullness of God. 

In a Christian context, St. James offers a means to grace through action. He saw Christ among the people. He saw the radical welcome, the selfless compassion, and the deep commitment to bringing God’s universal providence to light by losing himself in embodied love for every human being met. If one will accept the love revealed in Christ as more than a moral ideal, but rather as a way of life, one will find Christ in full communion with one’s own heart. His thinking is rather simple—want to experience grace? be gracious; want to experience compassion? be compassionate; want to experience providence? provide! As we engage in the manifestations of love as Christ lived them, they become who we are. Eventually, they require no conscious thought whatsoever—they just ARE!

In our age of convenience, we want to get straight to the end without the lengthy process in between beginning and accomplishment. However, faith is slow cooking. Our growth as people of faith never ends once it begins. Each day is new. Each day is miraculous in its revelation. Each day takes us closer to our God.

So, pray—deeply, earnestly, conversing with God, even more importantly—listening for God in each breath. Then act on what is prayed. Live each attribute of faith—yes, first, by thinking about them as we enter each encounter with another person, but eventually allowing compassion, grace, mercy, and so on to simply bubble up as we work and walk within the world.

Doing so, we fill the hollowness, and we need never fear faith dying within us.