September 7, 2024 Finishing Strong James 4.:13-5:20 Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins

Finishing Strong

James 4:13-5:20

Rev. Dr. Rhonda Abbott Blevins

September 7, 2025

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend

a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow

will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then

vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” As

it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the

right thing to do and fails to do it commits sin. Come now, you rich people, weep and wail

for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-

eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it

will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure during the last days. Listen! The

wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and

the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the

earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. You

have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you. Be patient,

therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the

precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late

rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is

near. Brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be

judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience,

brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed, we call

blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you

have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about, for the Lord is compassionate and

merciful. Above all, brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by

any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under

condemnation. Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They

should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the

church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The

prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has

committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for

one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and

effective. Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for

three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the

heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded its harvest. My brothers and sisters, if anyone

among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that

whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and

will cover a multitude of sins.

______

Today we conclude our study of the book of James and the series I’ve called “Faith That

Shows Up.” Let’s review where we’ve been—the journey James has taken us on so far:

 “Faith Under Fire”—how we find joy and wisdom in trials,

2

 “Just Do It”—moving beyond hearing God’s word to actually doing it

 “VIPs Only”—practicing radical acceptance without favoritism

 “The War Within”—taming our tongues and choosing the way of wisdom

James closes his letter to those first century Christians with a bit of a hodge-podge of “last

thoughts” that challenge his readers to remember that authentic faith demands that we

“Finish Strong”—that this life of faith isn’t a sprint but a marathon.

The modern marathon is 42.195 kilometers or 26.2 miles. That’s a lot of miles! The distance

was inspired by a legend from ancient Greece about a messenger who ran all the way from

Marathon to Athens, about a 25-mile run, to tell the Athenians of a Greek victory over an

invading Persian army in 490 B.C. Legend has it that the exhausted messenger, after

delivering his important news, collapsed and died. And so the first Olympics that held a

marathon run, set the distance at 40 kilometers in honor of this Greek runner from

Marathon.

Now, I’ve never run a marathon. (I know, gasps around the room!) But I have a friend

training for the New York City Marathon in November. I understand that a large part of the

training to run a marathon is physical—running longer and longer distances prior to the

race day. My friend got up at 5:30 on a Saturday to go for an 11-mile run yesterday, for

example.

But there’s also the mental aspect to being able to run a marathon.

So as we think about faith as less of a sprint and more of a marathon—let’s consider the

mindset required of us if we want to “Finish Strong” in this life of faith. Because “Faith That

Shows Up” is a faith that endures to the finish line.

In the closing part of his letter, James gives us some mile markers to help us keep our

marathon mindset strong—so let’s look at three mile markers for this journey of faith.

Mile Marker 1: Life Is Brief—Live with Purpose (4:13-17)

The first mile marker James gives us is a reality check about the brevity of life. He

addresses those who confidently declare, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such

a town and spend a year there and do business and make money.” Sound familiar? We

make our five-year plans, our retirement strategies, our vacation bookings for next

summer—all good things, but James warns against the arrogance of assumption.

“You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring,” he writes. “What is your life? For you are

a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

A mist. That’s sobering imagery. Anyone who’s driven through morning fog knows how

quickly it appears and disappears. One moment you can barely see the road ahead, the next

moment the sun burns it away and it’s gone without a trace.

3

This isn’t pessimism—it’s perspective. When marathon runners know they have 26.2 miles

ahead of them, they pace themselves differently than someone running a 100-yard dash.

Similarly, when we grasp the brevity of life, we stop wasting energy on trivial pursuits and

start investing in what matters eternally.

James isn’t telling us not to plan—he’s telling us to plan with humility. “If the Lord wills, we

will live and do this or that.” It’s about holding our plans but holding them loosely, holding

them with open hands, recognizing that God’s purposes may redirect our path at any

moment.

Mile Marker 2: Suffering Is Real—Endure with Hope (5:1-12)

The second mile marker acknowledges a hard truth: the marathon of faith includes some

brutal hills. James speaks bluntly to the wealthy who have hoarded riches while their

workers cry out for unpaid wages. James’ language feels a bit archaic here, so let me

modernize it for us: it’s difficult for people with wealth and privilege to have a real passion

for economic justice. It’s not impossible, but those with wealth and privilege tend to want

to protect their wealth and privilege, which runs counter to economic justice, which is

God’s ideal. James calls this out in no uncertain terms.

But then James’ tone shifts to encouragement for those facing hardship: “Be patient,

beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the

earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be

patient.”

Every marathon runner hits “the wall” I’m told—that point around mile 20 where the body

wants to quit and the mind starts bargaining for an exit strategy. James reminds us that

suffering in this life is like that wall. It’s real, it’s painful, but it’s not the end of the race.

He points to the prophets who endured suffering, to Job who persevered through

unimaginable loss. These weren’t people who avoided hardship—they were people who

found meaning in their suffering and purpose in their persistence.

The marathon mindset doesn’t pretend the hills aren’t steep; it just keeps putting one foot

in front of the other, trusting that the finish line is ahead.

Mile Marker 3: Community Is Essential—Support Each Other (5:13-20)

The final mile marker emphasizes something every marathon runner knows: you need a

support system. My friend who ran 11 miles yesterday didn’t run alone—she had a running

buddy. James concludes his letter by shifting from individual endurance to community care,

recognizing that none of us can finish this race alone.

“Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs

of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have

them pray over them.”

4

Notice the beautiful rhythm here—prayer for every season, community for every need.

When someone is struggling, we pray with them. When someone is celebrating, we rejoice

with them. When someone is broken, we gather around them.

James also calls for radical honesty: “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one

another, so that you may be healed.” This isn’t about public humiliation—it’s about

authentic community where we can be real about our struggles and receive the support we

need to keep going.

The passage ends with a beautiful image of community care: “My brothers and sisters, if

anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should

know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from

death.”

Picture that marathon runner who stumbles and falls, ready to quit. But out of the crowd of

runners passing by, someone stops, helps them up, and runs alongside them to the finish.

That’s the church James envisions—a community where no one runs alone and no one gets

left behind.

Here’s beautiful story to illustrate how important community is in this “faith marathon”:

In 1967 Kathrine Switzer signed up to run in the Boston Marathon. No woman had ever run

the Boston Marathon before; it was widely assumed that women couldn’t run that far.

Switzer wasn’t sure if she was allowed to run in the marathon, but she and her coach

looked in the rule book, and nothing was written prohibiting women from running. So she

signed up as K. V. Switzer.

None of the race officials noticed that she was a woman as she was one of hundreds of

runners, though the men around her knew. She was given bib number 261. She lined up

with the other runners, running alongside her coach and her boyfriend.

Even though the race officials hadn’t noticed that she was a woman, the press noticed.

Photographers were giddy to take her picture, the only woman to ever run the marathon.

Then about four miles in, something shocking happened. A race official jumped into the

middle of the race, red-faced and

angry, grabbed her sweatshirt and

tried to rip her bib off her

screaming, “Get the hell out of my

race and give me those numbers!”

Her boyfriend body checked the

official, knocking him to the

ground. For the rest of the race her

coach, her boyfriend, and some of

the other male runners formed a

circle around her to protect her

from the fuming official or any

5

others who sought to jeopardize Switzer’s ground-breaking run.

Now, Switzer’s time was four hours and twenty minutes, which doesn’t sound terribly

outstanding given that the most recent best time—a record—for a female runner in the

Boston Marathon was two hours and seventeen minutes. But her run was groundbreaking

nonetheless.

I invite you keep that image of Switzer running, surrounded by her boyfriend, her coach,

and several other runners ready to protect her and see her across the finish line.

Church, we are called to be like those men, running our marathon of life, but doing so in a

way that cares for and protects the vulnerable, the marginalized, victims of discrimination

in this world of hatred—encircling them to protect them as we run alongside them.

Now, I recognize we can’t run alongside every marginalized person on the planet. So the

invitation today is this: pick one cause, one group of people with whom you feel called to

run and protect. We’re already doing this as a church:

 Some of you are “running alongside” people experiencing homelessness as you

serve at Peace Café every month.

 Some of you are “running alongside” vulnerable children as you take time to read to

Head Start kids every month.

 Some of you are “running alongside” those facing food insecurity as you participate

in our Rise Against Hunger event every year.

There are so many other ways we surround and support the marginalized as a church and

as individuals.

What I’m asking you to consider is this: what is your personal mission? What group of

people has God placed in your heart in some special way. The way I sometimes ask you to

identify this particular God-given calling is this: when you look out at the world, what

breaks your heart, and what are you going to do about it? How might your faith show up for

that cause or concern?

The Finish Line

Faith that shows up isn’t about perfect performance—it’s about persistent endurance. And

we all know that the runner who wins the marathon isn’t necessarily the one who’s fastest

at mile one; it’s the one who’s still moving forward at mile 26.

James has shown us throughout his letter that authentic faith works itself out in every area

of life. It shows up in trials, in our treatment of others, in our words, and ultimately, in our

ability to endure until the end.

6

The marathon mindset reminds us that this life of faith is about the long haul. Some days

we’ll feel strong and the miles will fly by. Other days we’ll struggle to take the next step. But

with God’s grace, community support, and the perspective that comes from knowing life is

short, we can cross that finish line having run the race well.

Faith that shows up doesn’t just start strong—it finishes strong.

So here’s your challenge, should you choose to accept it:

 Live each day knowing it could be your last.

 Endure hardship knowing that God is with you in your struggle.

 Support others knowing we’re all in this race together.

Faith that truly shows up doesn't just start strong—it finishes strong.

So may God help our faith show up all the way to the finish line, and may God give us

endurance for the long haul and