Rack Focus: The Letter of James
A letter about not just thinking of doing good, but doing good!
Rack Focus: Switching to the Letter of James
Hello, Dear Reader!
It’s time to rack focus again and shift to a different part of the Bible for a few weeks.
Plus, plenty of R-rated movies featuring an unlikely pair of multiverse-spanning superheroes, zombies, vampires, country rock stars, and Mr. Pink.
We spent first quarter 2024 in the Gospel of Mark with the life of Jesus. We spent second quarter after Easter in Acts of the Apostles. We spent the summer in the Old Testament with 1 and 2 Samuel and the story of King David. While we’ll return to the Gospel of Mark later this year, this fall we rack focus to the Letter of James.
For more on why we “rack focus” here and how it works, check out the first Rack Focus post in the archives:
Okay, here’s a paragraph you will either think is an interesting peek behind the curtain or an excellent opportunity to practice scrolling. But let it never be said that I wasn’t a writer who refused his readers context!
The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) typically lists four readings for each Sunday of the year for clergy and worship leaders to select from as they build themes, select hymns, and craft sermons. The list is almost always an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a gospel reading, and an epistle (fancy Bible word for “letter”). We’re in Year B of the 3-year RCL and this fall I’m pairing R-rated movies with the epistle of James.
About the Letter of James
The 20th of 27 books in the New Testament, the Letter of James is, well, a letter. The writer encouraged early Christians to not just believe their faith but to put their faith into action. At one point, he writes it plain: “Faith without works is dead.”
If you read these brief 108 verses, you’ll find that to be the overall theme. The writer insists you can’t just be hearers of the word but not doers of the word. He’ll write of being fruitful in your life. And he’ll write if God’s going to give you gifts like wisdom, you’d better use them, pal! ← That’s a very contemporary paraphrase there.
One of my favorite ways to learn about the Bible for free and from a source I trust is Enter the Bible. This clean and accessible website is curated by staff and faculty of my alma mater, Luther Seminary. Read it for free, create a free account if you want to read it as a “course,” and see where it takes you. Not all theological resources on the Internet are created equal. Shocking, right? Enter the Bible is created and curated by people I trust. Learn more about their approach online.
One of my goals with R-Rated Movie Club is to make the Bible and movies as accessible as possible. You keep reading, I’ll keep writing, and we’ll learn together along the way. I hope you enjoy learning something new from highlights of James and maybe learn about a few new movies along the way.
About the Movies
The advice in the Letter of James is essentially to take your faith and do something with it. These five movies all see characters either motivate one another, teach one another, or demonstrate to one another why theory isn’t good enough - it’s practice that makes the world a more perfect place. Here’s where we’re headed:
August 18, 2024
James 1:17-27 | It’s time to not just talk the talk but walk the walk.
Deadpool and Wolverine | The two most-indestructible beings in the multiverse battle it out with words and blades.
August 25, 2024
James 2:1-10, 14-17 | The very famous “Faith without works is dead” verse.
Zombieland | Tallahassee has a thing or two to teach Columbus about zombie hunting.
September 1, 2024
James 3:1-12 | Know your role, including whether you are a teacher.
Crazy Heart | Bad is at odds with his sound engineer while on tour.
September 8, 2024
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a | Stop your disputes of envy and selfish ambition.
Reservoir Dogs | Mr. White and Mr. Pink disagree about Mr. Orange.
September 15, 2024
James 5:13-20 | It is amazing when someone wanders and is brought back.
Renfield | Dracula’s assistant realizes he can walk away from Dracula!
How do I choose scripture quotes?
If we go way, way, way back to the beginning with Sunday Matinee #1, you’ll find a succinct explanation of how I pull quotes from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). A lectionary is a tool for preachers and worship leaders to select scripture readings to inspire sermons, liturgy, and music for worship services. There are several lectionaries out there, and while the RCL is far from perfect and not every church follows any lectionary at all, the RCL is also by far the well-known and widely-used.
In the RCL, each Sunday has an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a Gospel reading, and New Testament epistle reading. The RCL has three annual cycles, Years A, B, and C, and we’re well into Year B, focusing on the Gospel of Mark. This is also a good time to remind readers that the scripture in a Sunday Matinee is posted two weeks prior to its RCL appearance to help R-Rated Movie Club be more helpful for preachers, Bible studies, and people who want to read ahead before their church’s worship service.
For the second year of R-Rated Movie Club, I plan to focus on these RCL texts:
January-March: Mark (New Testament gospel)
March-April: Acts (New Testament history)
May-June: Mark (New Testament gospel)
July-August: 1 Samuel / 2 Samuel (Old Testament history)
August-September: James (New Testament epistle) ← You are here!
October-November: Mark (New testament gospel)
December: Luke (New Testament gospel) RCL Year C begins
I hope to be writing R-Rated Movie Club for a long time and using a variety of scripture readings keeps this project fresh for me, just like using a variety of movies does.
Thanks for reading and sharing. God’s blessings and good movies to you!
Thank you for your support!
In case you need a refresher on what “rack focus” means in the movies, once again here is the amazing video from No Film School about the Rack Focus technique. Know it, love it!