Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16.

I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue.” Psalm 39:1.

This morning in our Friday Zoom Retreat, we talked about pausing, about responding versus reacting to stressful situations or thoughts => to be contemplative. We are learning together about spiritual practices that are helping us to draw near to God’s very real presence with us. So – when in our day we encounter negative things that trigger us, pause, lean into these wonderful spiritual practices we are learning that bring us back to God and His help. As we talked together we realized how often we are triggered by others or by events in our world, and even by our own thoughts. And I realized that we are all triggered, every single one of us. And in knowing that, can we begin to give grace to others that we would hope would be extended to us? I realized that we are all triggered because we live in a fallen world and we are all of us shaped by experiences good and awful. I also realized that Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, is not triggered, ever! And as we lean into Him, He give us His peace and we are steadied anew.

And our chapter, James 2, can trigger us because of past church hurts and our own misunderstandings of God. My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point…he has become guilty of all. No one can say that they are without guilt in the law. And if we condemn for one particular “sin”, “one point” in others, are we not merciless toward them forgetting our own guilt? I keep thinking about how merciful Jesus the Son was toward those whom others in their self-righteousness were ready to condemn. His harshest criticisms were for the self-righteous religious rulers. So speak – and so act – as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. How do we begin to do that when we ourselves are so flawed and thus so triggered? As we learned this morning in our Zoom Retreat: “Pause. When we are triggered, remember who we are in Christ in the moment, and let the Spirit help us. Consider with the Spirit’s help why “this” bothers us so much.” Ask for His help and find compassion. Why would we be surprised that God has compassion for our weaknesses, and more surprised for His compassion for the weaknesses of others? For it was fitting for Him…for whom are all things, and through whom are all things…in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the Author of their salvation through sufferings…Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same…Hebrews 2:10, 14. Yesterday I re-read my notes from Open Table Conference discussing Hebrews 2. One of the panelists, Cherith Nordling, said, in reference to Christ being perfected through His own sufferings, “It was fitting to God’s loving character and intention to lead human beings to the goal for which they had been created.” Why were we created? Not for sin! I think so that through everything in our lives we experience, “we can be led to the goal for which we have been created” – so we can come to trust God. Notice. Attend. Wonder. God is our help for every present, personal need. Always. Ask for His help as you turn to Him this day. Notice how close He is as you experience His peace and His steadiness. He is not triggered by anything we do – so He can help us when we are.