The Book of James is a kind of Wisdom literature, in the style of Hebrew tradition. The word for wisdom in Hebrew is Chokmah  (Hebrew: חָכְמָה Ḥoḵmā) meaning “skill” as in a craftworker who is wise with wood or metal. Wisdom is skill for navigating through life. It is taking the raw material of life and make something useful and/or beautiful of it. Join us this summer as we explore the sacred Art of Wisdom.

The writer of James is stepped in the wisdom religious tradition but it is putting religion into something concrete. The book invites us to take the “living” of faith seriously. Traditionally the writer was held to be James, the brother of Jesus. We are told later that Jesus appears to James (I Cor. 15:7). Perhaps this is when James makes the connection—he already has the good works but now, he finds the faith and brings the two together into “living faith.” It becomes not merely doing “the right thing” for the right reasons but joining with Christ in the work God is doing in the world. James invites us to become co-creators, artists, and craftsworkers with Jesus.