Today I finished my paper for my class on the letter of James. It was a lot of work, but I think it was the most fun I've had writing a paper. In case you are interested, the title of my paper is "'Every Perfect Gift': Word Gender Patterns as a Rhetorical Device in James 1." For a while I was hesitant about my topic. It compelled me, but didn't seem to address the issues that concerns James the most, including caring for orphans and widows, being humble, seeking wisdom and receiving God's every good and perfect gift, and taming the tongue. I felt a little guilty pouring so much energy into an essay that sort of misses the very point of James' letter, which is to put into practice his teachings. But the topic excited me, and I wanted to write about something I was passionate about. Besides, there is only so much one can do in an academic paper to put into practice James' teachings. That's a task I expect to be working on even now that my paper is finished. I am glad I followed through on my topic and finished my paper. Through writing it I learned about how James communicates his message, and perhaps even did put into practice some of what James teaches.
It's the beginning of the fall semester, of my third and final year at ESR. I'll soon begin my Supervised Ministry, which all third-year M.Div students have to do at my school. Mine will involve working on my fantasy novel and performing original songs at an open mic night at a local coffee shop. The other classes I am taking are Science Fiction and Theology, Constructive Theology, and most likely an independent study of the history and polity of the Church of the Nazarene.
It has been fun living with the letter of James this past month. It is now my favorite book of the Bible, but I always feel that way about whatever book I am studying at the moment. The following verse stands out to me: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (1:17, NIV).
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