#03 Up and down

[AI translation] The passage we have just read again reveals what we have already established twice before, that James is a very practical man. He is quite involved in everyday life, and as a thorough connoisseur of it, he knows that the biggest difference that tends to set people against each other is the difference in level. That is to say, that one lives on a higher level and the other on a lower one. The one walks on the heights of life and enjoys his life in carefree, happy, secure - the other wallows in the depths of life, sighing, suffering. And it is out of this irreconcilable opposition that most of the strife, great and small, then arises. And here James is not addressing this very burning question from a social point of view, but for the time being from a purely spiritual point of view, from the point of view of faith. To believers, to Christians who know and follow Christ, he addresses a divine message of consolation and warning, bringing those above and those below on a common platform, on the same level, saying: 'Let the lowly brother glory in his greatness, and the rich in his lowliness...' (Jas 1:9-10) Let us see what this common platform is, where those above and those below are on the same level!Somebody once said that there are many places in this world where man can have a divine experience: concert halls, lofty mountain peaks, the shores of a roaring sea, the starry skies of a still August evening, the gentle dreams of a forest of plenty - all are sublime places and occasions where man's soul can be filled with a reverent sense of divine majesty and glory. But the place to meet God is the lowest point in the world: the cross! Down in the depths, God has raised up on this earth the high place where man can meet Him in person. The most sublime height - the fullness of God's person, Jesus Christ - God raised up in the greatest depths of human life: born in a stable, with no place to lay his head, he died on the gallows. And in so doing, he filled the abyss with the height of his divine majesty, bringing the light of heaven into the darkness of the depths of human life. (2 Cor 8,9) This is the "greatness" that exalts all who are in the depths of life, and this is the "lowly witness" to which all must descend from the heights of life if they would meet God!
That is why James says that "let the lowly brother glory in his greatness", that is, that it is there, in the abyss, that he can experience how truly the Christ is his brother, his fellow brother, the Son of God, that he is surrounded and enlivened by the reality of grace. "But let the rich man boast in his lowliness," not in his riches. Let him not trust in it, for it is not that which will sustain him in times of temptation and trial, but that alone which God has set up for him in the depths of the abomination of Calvary. It is as if James were saying: do you know what the cross of Christ means to you? Do you know that you can only ever again find strength for your struggles there, surrounded by the reality of the Father's presence? That it is only there that you can meet God again and again, that you can be renewed when you are tired. There, all of you, from above and below, there is your only hope, your only salvation, your only help, whether you are walking on the heights of life or in the depths of life! There, there alone, in the depths of the cross, where God has set up His throne on earth, there you will find that you are not abandoned, that God is with you, that God loves you!
Therefore, "let him who is lowly... boast of his greatness!" (Jas 1:9) There are many ways of being lowly. He can be poor in one way, lowly in financial terms. He or she may be poor in many ways. He knows painfully what it means to be hungry and cold. It is into this brooding that the exhortation of the Word is heard: "let the lowly brother... boast of his greatness." That he is a child of God through Christ, a child of kingship, a redeemed man who can confidently ask, "Give us this day our daily bread!" Mt 6,11) Who can entrust his material cares to Him who said: (1Pt 5,7) Who can entrust even the most basic necessities of life, his job, his shoes, his bread, to the promise that is written, "Every morning it will be renewed; great is your faithfulness." (JSir 3:23) Many a lowly believer could bear happy witness that it is indeed possible to live by this mercy! Truly the Lord does not forsake His own. There is no desperate situation in which a solution is not ready. So, "Let the lowly brother... glory in his greatness!"
But it may be that this poverty, this lowliness that afflicts one, is not of this outward nature, not material, but spiritual, emotional. Perhaps one has everything one needs for life, but something is missing. They lack love. He feels that he has nothing to love, and that is why no one loves him. He is not understood, perhaps even laughed at, annoyed. He has no friends, no help, no soul mate. There is such a depth! And here too the exhortation resounds, "let the lowly brother... boast of his greatness!" Let him boast, let him rejoice, let him be comforted, let him trust, for for for him is the height where he can rise above all, where, breathing in the renewing power of Eternal Love, he can be of the greatest benefit to those who hate, those who do not love!
Then there is another lesser truth which secretly torments many people. It is not that other people despise him, despise him, but that he himself is disliked. He feels inferior to other people. Perhaps no one knows it, but he lives in such an abyss all the time. Psychology calls this a feeling of inferiority. If only people knew how much weakness and bondage I have, how much inhibition I have, and how ashamed I am of it! If they knew how much I despise myself, what a nobody I am, how empty I am inside: what would they think of me? This is one of the most paralyzing depths, this feeling of inferiority. To those who suffer in such depths, the exhortation is particularly appropriate: "let the lowly brother... boast of his greatness!" By the greatness that he has in Christ and through Christ, and not by the greatness with which he seeks at all costs to cover up and make up for his shortcomings, to appear more than he is! I am not worth much if I can appear great, if I can show myself great, but if I can give myself as I am, with my own littleness, as a means to the Greatest. It is the man who struggles with feelings of inferiority, who wants to be more than a mere instrument in the hands of God, who wants to boast of his own greatness, but is forced to realize that there is no greatness in him, but hides it. Well, for such there is greatness, transcendence: but not in him, but in Christ! James says: boast, do not give yourself up, do not lose yourself, do not think that you are good for nothing, that you are not capable of anything. Thou bound man, thou self-abasing man, thou art very worthy, if thou be Christ's as thou art! That is your true greatness to boast of!
Yes: so Christ, His redeeming grace, is the greatness of which every lowly brother can boast. But perhaps it is precisely in this respect that one feels very low: so low that one feels as if one were excluded from it, because one is an unbeliever, because one does not understand the Bible, because one cannot pray! There is such poverty, such depth. So he thinks to himself: I go to church, but I feel there, among believers, like a leper among the healthy. I am not fit to be there. Do we know this depth, this poverty of faith, this feeling of being an outcast? Well, then, here it is really valid for the lowly to boast of his greatness! It was in this very abyss that God raised up His Son to be the refuge, the hope, the saviour, the redeemer, the home-brother of the lost! To you, to you of all people, who are low in the consciousness of your own unworthiness, you are small, you are lowly, to you is the greatness of grace, you are made the rich heir of heaven by the reproach of Jesus. Thou lowly brother may boast of thy greatness. See how great you are: heir of the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ!
"But let the rich man boast in his lowliness", says James. There is such a thing: rich! Much more than we think! We ourselves are often rich in a sense. The rich are those who feel that they have some earthly assurance that they can stand their ground and overcome any obstacle. It may be material wealth, prosperity, health, skill, beauty. You may be rich in being surrounded and loved by many people. Or in being confident, feeling strong in the face of all kinds of difficulties. Or you are rich in your inner, spiritual life, in faith, in piety. You know how to pray and are not aware of the doubts that others have. James is not saying to take all this wealth, not to receive it with great thanksgiving if you have it, but only not to trust yourself with such wealth! This is not what keeps us! The rich man needs something else besides this, that he may remain steadfast through all his trials. Moreover, all this wealth can even be dangerous, because those who have a lot of money can easily think that they can live without God's help. He who has many friends and is loved by many can easily forget to seek the love of God in Christ. And he who thinks he has great faith, and can pray well, is easily tempted to think that his grace, his prayer, will get him through all difficulties - and to forget that he too is always in need of grace and forgiveness.
Trust not in your faith and not in your prayer, but in a merciful and forgiving God! So the rich man is in fact poor, and he who has much is in essence a little man. For all his riches are only like the flower of the grass, which withers and falls as soon as the hot sun beats down on it in its heat (cf. James 10-11).
So let those who are in the depths rise up, let those who are on high fall down, for for both there is only one way to survive, to persevere in the face of temptations and trials: the height that God has set up in the greatest depths, the place of meeting with Him, of communion with life - the cross of Calvary! It is not the man who has succeeded in climbing to great heights who is happy, but "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for after he has been tested, he takes the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12)
Let us all bear witness together:
"The holy cross of Christ stands.
The Holy Cross of Christ stands above decay and ruin,
Fulfilled in Christ
I see my salvation.
I'm troubled with sorrow, I'm troubled with grief,
Broken hope or fear:
He's not afraid, he's encouraging:
Peace is with me.
The sun of happiness shines on me;
Goodness and light walk my path:
On the glow of the cross
My beautiful day will be brighter.
(Canto 230, verses 1-3)
Amen
Date: 15 March 1953.