The expression ‘seeing is believing’ has become common enough. Especially when we find ourselves live in suspicious times, among suspicious folks. We trust our eyes and our own experiences – and this is a good and healthy thing – but it makes a life of faith a real tightrope act.

Believing is the word that raises the challenge. We understand Seeing quite well, but believing comes with no certainties. I believed that the Rocky Mountains existed – maps and pictures and descriptions by trusted friends helped me to ‘believe that they existed’ – but to understand the grandeur – to understand the effect they can have on the weather – to appreciate the emotional impact of their presence, I had to see them for myself.

The full experience of waking up in the shadow of the mountains – the breathless wonder of the sun setting behind them – the awesome presence of them is something different for everyone. I had to go there and be among them; to breathe deeply and plant my feet on them… and the experience changed me.

In my life I’ve learned (and perhaps you have too) that where the wonders of the world are concerned, seeing is more than believing. Seeing is understanding. Seeing is engaging. Seeing is an encounter with something that may change you.

And we know that faith is supposed to be like that too. An encounter with something incredible – an experience of the grace of God and the love of Jesus -ought to change you. But we have put so much effort into the ‘believing’ where faith is concerned, it is easy to lose sight of the wonder of it all.

The faith we profess has always been hard to quantify. In an era of ‘prove it!’ we are not well equipped to defend our position as followers of Jesus and children of the Living God.

Faith is a noun. By definition, faith is something we ‘have.’ We can talk about it and use fancy words and creeds to represent it. We can say that this is what you must believe to ‘have faith.’ We are advised by road-side signs all over this fair land to ‘believe and be saved.’ Well and good, but putting aside the tricky business of belief, it turns out that the end game of this faith of ours – the wonderous good news of eternal life or the peaceable kingdom, or the heavenly city –

these things are equally difficult to explain to those who demand proof. We are baffled by the need for proof – because it affects even the most faithful people. We are desperate to prove – to others, and to ourselves – that we have not believed in vain.

It has always been thus. Even in Jesus’ day – and especially in the days, months and years following Jesus’ resurrection. The urgency of the story – the fresh wonder felt by those early witnesses – soon gave way to uncertainty. “How can we know” is the rallying cry.

It is hard to find help for this predicament in Scripture, until you discover the letter from James, who offers what may be the best solution. Be doers of the word

James knows about faith the noun. He understands the desire to understand -the need to figure it out. And he, like Jesus, points towards engagement. He urges us to action. James focuses on verbs.  Thoughts and prayers are not helpful unless they are converted into acts of mercy and grace.  Bridle your tongue, says James. Forget religious debates. True religion is this – care for those in distress and remain ‘unstained by the world.’

The world (the culture) loves the debate about why and when and where. The world gave up on the church a long time ago, because the church tried to explain itself to the world. “This is what we believe” we would say to anyone still listening. But once you offer a static definition of faith, people move on to the next questions: Why does it matter? How will you pay for it? What if I don’t agree?

James is a very practical guy– and he imagined our present problem long before it existed. James says; ‘telling me what you believe isn’t going to cut it; better you should act/live like you believe it.’

Jesus wasn’t proclaiming new definitions or re-writing religious doctrine and dogma. Jesus was a ‘doer of the word.’ Day after day Jesus acted in accordance with his belief that the world could (and should) be a kinder, more equitable place.

Jesus lived into his ‘faith’ and calls us to do the same. James faced a time of people defining themselves by words about faith, and reminds us that all talk and no action is not what Jesus had in mind.

It’s not enough to learn the hymns – say the creed – recite the prayers and then wait for the world to change (or for our just reward in heaven) Jesus’ invitation to follow is underlined by James’ stark statement. Follow is a verb. Action brings our believing to bear on the world as it is, and can change the shape and sound of things.

James’ letter doesn’t spend any time on the life, death or resurrection of Jesus. The letter assumes a lot – that the audience is familiar with the story – and with the glorious chaos that resulted in this shift in religious devotion. Neither does James say much about the mechanics of belief. There are no descriptions of a glorious reward; no explanations of the life beyond death; not a single defense of the faith. The genius of James is in his continual call to action. There is no better reason for action than the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For James, that’s all the motivation anyone needs. And the world needs our faithful work more than it needs us working on definitions of faith.