"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this; to visit orphans and widows in their affliction; and to keep oneself unstained from the world." (Jas.1 27 RSV)

Religion is one of those topics which frequently provides a subject for discussion and even bitter argument. Some people prefer to avoid the subject because of its controversy. Others feel that religion is more about 'philosophy' than about a 'living faith'. Paul, in his address to the men of Athens on Mars Hill said "I perceive that in every way you are very religious". Paul uses here a Greek word akin to the one that James uses ‑ 'threskia' which Vine says "signifies religion in its external aspect, religious worship, especially the ceremonial service of religion."

To many, the Jewish religion is identified with the ceremony of the Law given though Moses. What similarity has this with the kind of worship of the God of Israel which is revealed through the prophets and later through Jesus and his apostles? How far, we wonder, did the saintly men of old measure up to James' definition?

The first act of piety might be said to be Adam and Eve walking in the cool of the evening with God.

Then there was Abel's sacrifice of an animal to God?

Noah made a sacrifice as a token of loving thankfulness that he and his family had survived the Flood.

Abraham when he obeyed God by going to Canaan left behind practices and trappings, those of the idolatrous worship of the people of Ur. He went to a place where he could worship God Most High in quietness and peace. When he arrived in Canaan he built an altar to the Lord and worshipped him.

His most memorable occasion of worship was surely in the mountains of Moriah when he took his son Isaac to sacrifice in obedience to God (Gen.22). The 'cutting of the Covenant' (Gen.15) must also have been a wonderful occasion of worship.

The visit of the three angels (Gen.18) when Abraham made intercession for the cities of the Plain was an act of worship without apparent ceremony, but the detailed account is an example to all who would enjoy the faith of the old patriarch. For him, piety was obedient love toward God and his fellow men.

This same quality is revealed in his immediate descendants to a greater or lesser degree. There is little about them that speaks of ritual or slavish adherence to regulations, which came in much later generations. It could be argued that ritual and regulation did develop as a result of the Law given through Moses. The pharisees in Jesus' day claimed to be followers and spiritual descendants of Moses, but the great Lawgiver himself had nothing of their outward religion.

The sacrifices of Law Covenant were valuable in religious worship because they kept the ritual and sacrifice within godly boundaries and at the same time provided pictures of what real worship and effective atonement would be like. Rightly understood and practised the various features of the Law pointed forward to Messiah and the kind of worship that he would demonstrate. In those early days of nationhood Israel needed things they could see and handle. But that pointed forward to a day when the principle would be "not in this mountain or in Jerusalem" - wherever a heart was lifted up to God in spirit and truth, there the Father would be seeking his loving child.

Moses had unique experiences on the mountain with God. He saw something of the majesty and glory which reflected the wonderful character of the Lord. When he returned to live among his fellow men and women he bore something of the physical glory in his face and something of the spiritual love in his actions. So, when he was insulted by his Sister Miriam he responded nobly by pleading with God for her healing.

True piety enriches the character and we too must mind that we bear the image of the Master in our face.

DN