Faith Is Worthless Without Works Of Charity

In order to know what kind of "works" this Sunday's James 2
lectionary text is referring to, we need only look at the context.

"Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."  

- James 2:15-17 (NIV)

Judging by the context, the "works" spoken of here are not simply things like tithing, praying or going to church, but have to do with acts of generosity toward the poor. 

The first part of the passage is about never showing partiality toward the well-to-do and well dressed over those who live in poverty. The rich, James write, are typically exploiting the poor rather than observing the royal law of 'loving our needy neighbors as ourselves' by showing mercy toward them.

This is followed by the specific example of our extending mercy toward those who are hungry, homeless and lacking clothing, as in the text above.

The writer of this pastoral letter is believed to be the biological brother of Jesus, whose first words in his first "Sermon on the Mount" were "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," and whose ministry was largely devoted to serving people in need (In the Luke parallel passage it is simply "Blessed are the poor" and "Woe to the rich").

"Show me your faith without such deeds," James goes on to say, "and I will demonstrate my faith by what I do." So it's not simply a matter of faith and works, but a faith that works, and works to alleviate the suffering of those in poverty.

So let's look for opportunities serve those next door, but also respond to needs worldwide. For example:

https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2018/05/four-major-obstacles-to-raising-million.html
According to Jesus, it's an investment in the everlasting Corporation of Heaven.