The other day, I arose early and decided to spend some time with my Bible.  After watching a documentary about the Cameo de Santiago or the Way of  St. James, which is the way that the Apostle James traveled to Spain. from Jerusalem. It was here that he was sent to spread the word of Jesus and where he ultimately made some headway in establishing the Catholic Church in Spain. He is still revered and celebrated.   I decided to read the chapter of James.  I was a bit disappointed to read that this chapter may or may not be written by the Apostle James, but no matter it was steeped with wisdom. 

As we feel the season move from winter to spring, I have had the nudge to bring simplicity and brevity to my blogs, perhaps teasing out just one Bible verse or pearl of wisdom from another wisdom tradition.  So, we arrive in this moment with James. 

There were several verses that really stood out to me, but I lead with just one, maybe more to come later.   Allow these words to fall over you and pause and breath them in.   Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James: 1: 17-18  ESV.  Every word here speaks to me but for some reason the later part really stirred my heart. These words spoke to me of an integral thread from yoga philosophy called purusha, the unchanging quality of the true self, spirit or consciousness.  As opposed to the everchanging quality of prakriti.  We suffer when we identify more with the changing qualities of life rather than the pure unchanging quality of our soul or perhaps recognizing the unchanging qualities of another, of our earth and most importantly of God. 

So when James speaks of this; with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, it reminded me of the constant unchanging nature of God and how no matter what is going on in our lives he is there.  He is there akin to the rising sun every morning, whether there are clouds or rain the sun is present.  When James speaks of God as the Father of lights he is creating an analogy between God and the sun.  You see, the sun can never be in shadow just as God can never cast a shadow as much as sometimes we tend to believe this. God is always our sustaining energy source, even when obstacles create shadows, we can remember that these obstacles are perhaps there to create more depth in our character so we can actually deepen our relationship with God and our reliance on Him. We learn to accept that all His gifts are ultimately for our growth.

When I am studying a verse, it can be very helpful to look at another version of the same verse.  Let’s look at the message translation:   Every good gift bestowed, every perfect gift received comes to us from above, courtesy of the Father of lights. He is consistent. He won’t change His mind or play tricks in the shadows. We have a special role in His plan. He calls us to life by His message of truth so that we will show the rest of His creatures His goodness and love.  He is consistent, just like purusha, the thread that weaves everything together. Like the blank canvas that with God we paint the story of our lives upon.  His message of truth and love that is meant to be shared. 

Let us look at one more version; Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.-James 1:17-18 NIV.  Note the nuances here.. life shifting shadows, like the things that trip us up about ourselves,  our stories, or the shifty way the world can operate that pulls us away from our source, our heavenly light our God and our divine nature.  I love how this passage says he chose to give us birth through the word of truth.  God gives us life, a life enormously enriched by the word of truth, the life and death of Jesus.  I see this birth as us working with God and his son Jesus to bring his gifts or firstfuits to the world. He is the source, the light of the world and we are never alone, we are never completely in the darkness because of him. 

So, I said one thread, one verse.  BUT!  This is shining a light to another beautiful sentiment by the Apostle John.   This is one thing I so appreciate about Bible study, there are just so many cross references and reminders.  God knew we would need these reminders, this comfort in the shadows, the knowledge of his constant and ever-loving presence.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. -John 1:1-4. Thank you Jesus for being the light of the world, the light of men, our eternal guide, shining a light even in the shadows making the way clear.