The authorship of this letter by tradition is James, the brother of Jesus, who died in 62 AD as a martyr. Tradition knows him as James the Righteous. The little tradition knows of him is that he was a devout and peaceful man. Galatians 2:12 and Acts 21:20-24 imply he recommended observance of the Jewish law as late as 55 and 58 AD. In addition, Josephus and Hegessipus portray him as one who would pressure contact with Judaism. Yet he died in 62 AD at the hands of nationalistic Jews. Did his views undergo a change? The counsels we have in the letter are consistent with what we know about him from other sources. The letter counsels against zealotism and admonishes people toward patience.
The letter received enthusiastic endorsement from Origen. It seems I Clement and the Shepherd of Hermas used it before 150 AD.
One of the issues in this letter is the relation between law and faith. It seems likely that the law and faith discussion does not take place in the context of an active dialogue with Paul.
The persecutions to which this letter refers are, for some scholars, more likely toward the Gentiles during the reign of Domitian who live outside Palestine. However, given that both Paul and Peter were killed during the reign of Nero, and that tensions were heightening between Jews zealous for Torah and those who urged a relaxed view of Torah and openness to Gentiles, it is possible that James reflects that era.
The epistle of James is known as one of the “general” epistles. Scholars usually try to determine something about the audience of the letter. It begins with salutations and greetings like another letter. The non-specific discussion in the body of the document reveals that James did not write it for any specific congregation. Scholars refer to the style of this letter as a form of parenesis, a string of admonitions or moral maxims bound together with extraordinarily little narrative. However, this “epistle” could just as easily have had its origin as a Christian sermon. The directives are not merely a string of unrelated guidelines that describe Christian discipleship. On the contrary, these exhortations have their root in a biblical understanding of God as creator and originator of the Good and echo the wisdom tradition of the Psalms and Proverbs. The wisdom of which the author speaks builds up the Christian community rather than singles out individuals for envied attention, and nurturing Christian communities is the overriding concern of the entire epistle. The epistle of James owes much of its style and focus to Jewish wisdom tradition. In fact, some would term James not as an epistle so much as a unique form of Christian wisdom literature.[1]
Scholars are uneasy about using James' theology to back up any great debates. Famously, the tone of these maxims caused Martin Luther to cast such disparaging remarks at the epistle. The letter is light on pronouncements of Christ. The letter is heavy on the merits of deeds and ethical applications of the gospel. Nevertheless, while this focus led Martin Luther to dismiss the epistle, one might also note that Jesus himself embodied the messianic theology of salvation. Jesus did not compose theological treatises. His aphorisms and parables had an orientation toward the ethical and deeds that were in response to the rule of God Jesus proclaimed.
The tone of the maxims caused Martin Luther to cast such disparaging remarks at James’ epistle. Luther felt that James’ emphasis on the “works” of faith (encompassing 1:19−2:26), on Christian activity, undermined Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith alone. Nevertheless, even though, while in one of his famous snits, Luther christened James an “epistle of straw,” the Reformer never actually relegated James to a “second canon” with peripheral importance.
James shows many signs of addressing a community intimately acquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures in all three parts — law, prophets and writings. James offers an exhortation to be sensitive to the needs of the poor and to avoid showing partiality to the wealthy echoes both the law (Exodus 22:21-27; 23:6-9) and the prophets (Amos 2:6-8; 6:4-6). James 2:9 bears a striking resemblance to the preaching of Amos. He stresses that one is accountable to the whole lifestyle described by covenant law (including the responsibility to care for the poor), and not simply to the parts of the law to which one finds it easy to adhere because they suit one’s sense of piety or self-image (such as making a show of offerings or pilgrimages (Amos 4:4-5; 5:21-24).
In James 4:4, the author calls the community “adulterers,” because through their courting of the world’s favor they have become unfaithful to God. This image of idolatry as equal to adultery is a familiar theme in the Hebrew prophets (Jeremiah 3:9; Ezekiel 16; Hosea 3:1).
From wisdom traditions, James uses several familiar themes, urging the community (possibly after the example of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:3-9) to pray to God for the gift of wisdom (1:5) and to discern between true wisdom that comes from God and earthly “wisdom” that seeks only to serve its possessor’s ambition regardless of the harm done to others (3:13-15). James makes it plain that the only true prosperity exists within adherence to God’s law and will. All other striving is as empty as a “mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This image is the exact same as that which begins the book of Ecclesiastes. The traditional English rendering “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,” does not reveal that the Hebrew literally means “vaporous vapors, all are vapors” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
Finally, James also uses famous characters from Hebrew Scripture to make some of his most compelling points. He argues that God saved Abraham and Rahab at least in part, because their actions, or “works,” led them to faith (2:21-26). James lifts up the prophets as examples “of suffering and patience” (5:10), praises the endurance of Job (5:11) and makes note of the fact that though he was a mere human, Elijah was able to work miracles through the power of prayer (5:17). James exhorts his community to believe, as did the ancient Israelites, that their prayers, and even their ordinary words, had real power — the power to summon God’s presence and even to invoke their subjects to appear in the real world. Thus, one should use them judiciously. Oaths, in particular, with their power to curse, bless, and bind the speaker to their conditions, should be avoided (5:12).
The letter shows connections with the wider cultural setting of Hellenism, such as the Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.
James 1:17-27 (Year B August 28-September 3) focuses upon allowing the word of God to transform us.
Verses 17-18 conclude a discussion of temptation that began with verse 12. He acknowledges the tremendous gifts that have come to creation from the hand of God, negating any idea that we earn these gifts, which are coming down, using a unique and intriguing image, from the Father of lights. The idea stresses the creative power and identify of God. James then uses astronomical events as a metaphor. As the Father of the stars and other heavenly bodies, James emphasizes the role of God as creator and originator of every good thing. Previously, James said that temptation arises out of evil desires and stresses that God does not tempt us. In verse 5, God gives generously and ungrudgingly. This creative God is the one with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. God is without change in the way humans experience change across time and culture. Individual experiences throughout life shift our understanding of God. God is the source of life and all that is necessary to sustain it. It may seem like God changes, especially when we look seriously at the movement within the Bible from the God of the Patriarchs, to the God of Moses and the judges, to the God of the kings, to the God of covenant and Law, to the Father of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. James is not suggesting that God is a static, inflexible and immovable monolith – undoubtedly, God has and will continue to act and respond to choices people make. The Lord can be sorry for making humanity and determine to blot them from the face of the earth (Genesis 6:6-7). The Lord determined to destroy the Hebrew people due to their breaking of the first two commandments, but after the intercession of Moses, the Lord had a change of mind regarding the intended disaster (Exodus 32:7-14). The Lord will bring blessing or curse upon the people of God, depending upon their obedient participation in the covenant (Deuteronomy 28:1-68). The Lord can choose to work with a nation, but also have a change of mind and bring disaster upon it because the nation chooses evil (Jeremiah 18:5-17). The Lord will also have a change of mind if the people repent, averting the disaster the Lord now intends for Judah (Jeremiah 26:3, 13, 19). God had a change of mind regarding the intended destruction of Nineveh due to their repentance (Jonah 3:1-10). Rather, James’s assertion is that God is steadfast and true to whom God is. To be sure, God demonstrates faithfulness by giving wisdom to anyone who asks God for it (1:5). Proverbs 2:6-8 says that the Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, giving sound wisdom to the upright. For that reason, those following the Lord can depend on the Lord to be the true God and to act in ways that are faithful to the divine character and consistent with divine revelation. To fulfill the purpose of God in providing salvation, God gave, as the supreme gift, a rebirth by the word of truth. While the gift of physical life is important, the regenerative birth that comes through the word of truth is the supreme gift. If we question the clarity of the Word that comes to us, we put our knowledge of this Word, and therefore faith, love, and hope, on an inadequate foundation.[2] The Word of God transposes humanity into the new state of one who has accepted and appropriated the promise, so that one lives with it. Therefore, the word of truth begets the Christian.[3] This means that we do not produce the Word out of our experience, but rather, the Word begets us.[4] The rebirth has the purpose that we would become the first fruits of the creatures God has made, the height of which was humanity. Christians are to bear the fruit that reveals they are the work of God, suggesting the intricate connection between Christians and the rest of creation, but especially between Christians and the rest of humanity. Christians are the “first-fruit” of the rest of humanity and the rest of creation in experiencing the redemption that God will bring to all that God has created. Re-birth through the word is a prelude to the re-creation of the world. To say that they are first fruits is to speak of the liberation the Christian experiences in personal life.[5] Christians are the “first fruits” of a redeemed creation (Romans 8:19-23).
Verses 19-27 expresses the idea that true religion is to be doer of the Word. He clarifies what it will mean for Christians to become the first fruit and show their re-birth through the word of truth. He refers to the readers as his beloved. He urges them to be quick to listen to the word of God, slow to speak, cultivating the wisdom of listening to others rather than concealing who one is by idle chatter, and to be slow to anger, for human anger does not produce the righteousness of God, summarizing a primary theme of Jewish wisdom literature. The righteousness of God has not developed in us if we give way to anger. Such outbursts do not produce God’s righteousness. Unguarded anger spewing out of Christians negates what James wants to stress God has implanted within the true Christian heart. Demagogues for any political ideology may think they do the work of God, but they do not.
Verses 21-25 have the main concern of hearing and doing. James incorporates a gardening image to animate his directives. Given what he has said, his readers are to rid themselves in their baptism, as a gardener gets rid of weeds, all moral pollution that threatens the believer. Removing one set of vices, they are welcome with meekness (πραΰτητι), the antidote to the misuse of anger being humble reception of the implanting word at baptism, letting it flourish, stressing that doers of the Word have the power to save their souls. He then urges them, in the principal admonition of this section, to be doers of the word, for those who only hear the word deceive themselves. Paul also said that hearers of the law are not righteous in the sight of God. Rather, doers of the law will receive justification from God (Romans 2:13). Such deception arises because one has treated it as the Word. In the mirror of the word, the perfect law, we see ourselves in truth, and it lays a claim upon us, demanding our confession through our lives. [6] The gospel is promise or good news that opens us to the future. The gospel proposes a future that might belong to us, if we open ourselves to hear it. The gospel enables a new future.[7]
The mirror of the first century was a piece of polished bronze or copper. Artifacts of mirrors made of polished stone go back to 6000 BC. Reflective surfaces made of polished obsidian are the oldest “mirrors” in the archaeological record, dating back as far as 4000 B.C. The first evidence of mirrors as grooming tools dates to the fifth-century B.C., in illustrations of elegant Greeks gazing at hand mirrors (these illustrations are found on antique pottery). These mirrors, made from a polished metal disk attached to a handle, did not contain any glass. In the book of Job, the earliest of the biblical texts, we read, “Can you, like him, spread out the skies, unyielding as a cast mirror?” (Job 37:18). The women of the Exodus had mirrors, and on one occasion donated them for the making of a bronze bowl for tabernacle worship (see Exodus 38:8). The prophet Isaiah, writing in the sixth century B.C., refers to “mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls” (Isaiah 3:23). And the apostle Paul refers to a mirror in his famous essay on love in 1 Corinthians 13: “For now we see in a mirror dimly …” (v. 12). Nature lovers are thrilled when, in the early morning hours, they come across a woodland pond or alpine lake that is as still as glass, reflecting the pines and mountains above the clear water.
The simplest mirror is water, as Narcissus in Greek mythology discovered. His story related by Ovid in Book 3 of his Metamorphoses is a lesson that one can overdo self-awareness. Narcissus was a young man of extraordinary physical attractiveness. When his mother Liriope gave birth to him, she consulted the seer Tiresias, who predicted that the boy would live a long life only if he never discovered himself. Years later, he was out walking in the woods when the nymph Echo came across him and fell madly in love. Narcissus rejected her, and she never got over it. Nemesis, goddess of revenge, decided to punish him. One day when Narcissus was thirsty after hunting, she lured him to a pool. As he leant over to take a drink, he saw his own reflection in the still water. Narcissus had never seen his own reflection before. Imagining it was someone else, he fell deeply in love with his own image. So captivated was he that he could never bring himself to stop gazing into the pool. Eventually he died of starvation, and a gold and white flower sprung up in that place, known forever after as the narcissus. His name has also been given to a psychological disorder: narcissism.[8]
James uses the mirror here to emphasize further the different attitude that molds doers and hearers. An honest and genuine look at oneself through the perfect law, recalling the perfect gift in verse 17, will lead to personal transformation. Within James’ image is the suggestion that the ones who see just their own image in the mirror find the vision absorbing only while they are gazing into the mirror. The doers on the other hand need only to glance into the perfect law, the law of liberty, to experience a change of life. Paul writes that the believer was set free for freedom (Galatians 5:1), and in a similar way James exhorts his readers to look to the “perfect law of liberty.” The mirror (word) enables the new person in Christ to appear. If the hearer receives newness of life in baptism and then reverts to old patterns, the hearer shows that the new birth was not important. Such people deceive themselves, never knowing who they are. This perfect law recalls James’ mention of the perfect gift in 1:17. Looking into this perfect law, because it is from God, directs us toward our proper spiritual end or goal. He defines the perfect law further as the law of liberty, in the background of which is the stoic concept of the law of freedom. The point of James is that there is a way to simplify the Torah, viewing Christianity itself as a new law (Shepherd of Hermas, Barnabas, and Didache). The gospel is the true law. Such liberty frees one from wrath and evil passion. Those who gaze upon the perfect law of liberty and act upon what they see will find that God blesses them in their doing. James is identifying the mirror into which one gazes as both the word and the perfect law of liberty. The simile he uses is simple. We forget images quickly, but one who looks deeply will become a doer.
James returns to the earlier topic of the tongue as the greatest detractor to true religion. Another deception of the heart is for the believer not to bridle the tongue, for if one does not, one’s religion is worthless, without fruit. James makes clear that it is not right to pretend to be religious (one of the few times the New Testament uses this word with the meaning of the moral duty as the cultic veneration of God[9]) while attacking society with an evil tongue. To be truly religious is to care for orphans and widows in their distress, an important aspect of Jewish piety, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James is against any piety which does not lead to moral purity, or which tolerates gross moral defects and consequently is not genuine. This teaching is close to Jesus.
James 2:1-17 (Year B September 4-10) discusses the treatment the community of faith offers the rich and poor and then expands the discussion to the intimate relationship between faith and works.
James 2:1-13 has the theme of the poor and rich in church. He warns against showing partiality. The focus is an active faith and a consistent love. The readers have a weakness for the rich and powerful. He begins with the first instance of discrimination against poor Christians involves offering social deference toward the rich. Their acts of favoritism do not express belief in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. His example is that if someone with gold rings and in fine clothes, representing the Roman aristocracy, which could seek support from among a variety of groups, comes to their assembly or synagogue during worship. The partiality showed here would be typical of every human community. Paul recommends Phoebe to the church in Rome because she is a benefactor of many, including himself (Rom 16:1-2). Paul refers to Erastus, who is the city treasurer, as being with him in the writing of his letter (Rom 16:23). Paul urges his readers to give recognition to the household of Stephanas and to put themselves at their service (I Cor 16:15-18). They are overly obedient and submissive in greeting the rich person. They are dismissive of the poor person. These actions reflect the social customs of the first century. Like the community to whom Paul wrote in Corinth, believers are dividing themselves according to the criteria of wealth, status, and power. To this egregious situation, both Paul and James have direct and pointed advice: In God’s view, there is no distinction among people. He uses the language of the court system and the principle of Lev 19:15, in which Torah prohibits unjust judgment and promotes justice toward the neighbor. They are the unjust judges whose insincere hearts oppress the poor, the most vulnerable. The Jewish legal system is not to distort justice or show partiality (Deut 16:19). The people of Israel oppress the poor and crush the needy (Amos 4:1-3). Those in power seize the fields of others and oppress homeowners (Micah 2:1-5). Prophets urged rulers to render true judgments as well as show kindness and mercy to each other, rejecting the path of oppression of the widow, orphan, alien, or poor (Zech 7:9-10). His readers are to show partiality to neither poor nor rich. James asserts that they dissolve the unity of the church by such distinctions of rank, and they act as judges by using possessions as a standard of judgment. In fact, the poor are a priority to God. Like Jesus, when he blessed the poor for the kingdom of God is theirs (Luke 6:20), James says God has chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that God has promised to those who love God. The concern of God for the poor is familiar in the Bible. The Lord provides food, clothing and justice for the orphan, widow, and stranger (Deut 10:18). God is father of orphans and protector of widows (Psa 68:5). The Lord will judge Israel because it sells the needy for a pair of sandals (Amos 2:6-7). The Lord lifted the lowly and filled the hungry with good things (Luke 1:51-53). Jesus applies to himself the notion of the Spirit of the Lord falling upon the servant of the Lord to bring good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). Jesus urged that when his followers give a banquet, they are to invite the poor (Luke 14:13). Paul notes that his readers were not powerful or part of the nobility, but that God has chosen the weak, low, and despised in the eyes of the world (I Cors 1:25-29). The experience of the author is that wealth encouraged a factional spirit. This is a counter cultural message, for the insistence in the New Testament that God shows no partiality according to rank or status is rare in non-Christian writings. Indeed, the priority of the poor is a unique and powerful witness of the radical preaching of James and the rest of the early Christian gospel. James presses his point by saying that they have dishonored the poor, but the rich to whom they gave so much honor are the ones who oppress them. They use their social status to win in court. In contrast to what James says, there is no evidence that rich Christians blasphemed Christ, who is the excellent name that the leaders of the church invoked over them, so he may be referring to those of high social status in society. The reference to the legal system leads him to the contrast between the love that fulfills Torah and the partiality that breaks Torah. His reference to Torah is to the part that demands merciful and loving acts toward the poor, a point with which Paul would agree. Thus, to fulfill the royal law, it being such because it relates to the rule of God, is to love the neighbor as oneself (Lev 19:18, Mark 12:31), Paul also urging his readers to love each other out of mutual affection (Rom 12:10), and that by loving each other they fulfill the law in loving the neighbor (Rom 13:8-10). Paul Those who fulfill Torah receive judgment by love and mercy, while those who dishonor fellow Christians are lawbreakers. There is no separation of faith from works. To do so would nullify both. Rather, giving food to the hungry and supplying the bodily needs of the one who is without should be a natural and reflexive response of faith. Paul is willing to sum up Torah in the single commandment that they shall love the neighbor as the self (Gal 5:13-14). Such advice is like the new commandment for the followers of Jesus to love each other, the doing of which will show others they are disciples of Jesus, even as Jesus has loved them (John 13:34-35). The followers of Jesus are his friends when they love each other by laying down their lives for each other (John 15:9-17). The quality of community reflects the quality of faith. Division and conflict show a profound lack of understanding of such faithfulness that Paul and James describe. Partiality toward the rich transgresses Torah in its admonitions to judge impartially, to love the neighbor, and to be merciful to the poor. James observes that one who keeps the whole Torah but fails in one becomes accountable for all of it. No one can fulfill all the commandments of Torah. We find similar thoughts in Jewish literature. If you disobey the law in a small matter, such as eating forbidden foods, you have shown contempt for the whole Law (IV Mac 5:19-21). One may try to escape one class of offences while running into other offences. However, the temperate person ought to avoid giving offence to greater or lesser Law and have no detected sin (Philo, Allegorical Interpretation 3:241). Jesus offered that not one stroke of a letter of the law will pass until God accomplishes all things, so that whoever breaks the least of the commandments becomes least in the rule of God (Matt 5:18-19). Paul argues that if Christianity enforces the law of circumcision on all Christians, even Gentile, then they are under obligation to the whole Law (Gal 5:3). James uses hyperbole, an absurd example, in one who does not commit adultery but does murder, to say that such a person is a transgressor of Torah. He then returns to the law of liberty, the law of the love of neighbor, the law of mercy to the poor, the law of no partiality, by which God will judge. While judgment will be without mercy on anyone who has shown no mercy, mercy triumphs over judgment, for harsh judgment is not the final word.
In verses 14-17, James gives a second instance of discrimination against the poor, in which they ignore the needs of poor believers. Philosophers observed the distinctions in social class, and some urged overcoming them. One could urge the education of slaves and urged showing mastery of the will versus paltry phrases (Epictetus, Discourses, II. 1. 31). The follower is not to focus upon acquiring property, but rather on mastery of the will (Epictetus III.22.9). In a satirical way, Lucian of Samosata tells the story of a man who was wealthy, helped others, became poor, and those whom he helped ignored him (Timon the Misanthrope). Overcoming class distinctions is an important way to show proper regard and respect for the other. Thus, he questions what good one it is to have faith without works. The mere profession or assen to propositions does not save them. His example is that if a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and if one gives the benediction at the close of communion to go in peace, keep warm, and eat, and yet one does not help them with their bodily needs, it does no good. I John 3:17-18 is a close parallel. The Lord seeks justice for the oppressed (Psa 103:6). God executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry, sets prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, lifts those bowed down, cares for the stranger, orphan, and widow (Psa 146:5-9). The prophet urges that people cleanse themselves by seeking justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan, and pleading for the widow (Isa 1:16-17). The fast the Lord chooses is to loose the bonds of injustice and let the oppressed go free (Isa 58:6). The Lord has anointed the prophet to bring good news to the oppressed, heal the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives (Isa 61:1). To press his point and establish how meaningless words are when they lack any substantive act of compassion (i.e., love for neighbor), he presents a real-world situation. Obviously, it is no good whatsoever to have the right words without action. A vital faith will have appropriate deeds within it. Paul also stresses that all that counts is faith working through love (Gal 5:6). Thus, mere profession or assent to propositions without the works or practice of love, impartiality in judgment, and mercy toward the poor. One can have good works without faith but not faith without the good works of love, impartiality of judgment, and mercy toward the poor.
A dead faith may keep on talking, but it has stopped moving. Life happens in events rather than words. What we do tells more about the state of our faith than what we say. Yes, talk the talk, but also walk the walk. James is arguing that we show our faith in Christ by living a life in which we do what he says. We do not genuinely trust Christ if we do not take his advice. We do not live that way to receive salvation or get to heaven as our reward. We live this way because God has already saved us, and a bit of heaven is already shining through us.
James 3:1-12 (Year B September 11-17) urges the control of the tongue.
Such a theme is typical of wisdom literature. A babbling fool will come to self-ruin (Proverbs 10:8). The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life while the mouth of the wicked conceals violence (Proverbs 10:11). Hiding hatred with lies is the act of a fool (Proverbs 10:18). The godless destroy their neighbors with their mouths (Proverbs 11:9). Rash words are like the thrust of the sword while the tongue of the wise brings healing (Proverbs 12:18). Truthfulness will stand while lying lasts for the moment (Proverbs 12:19). Lying is an abomination to the Lord while acting faithfully bring delight to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22). A soft answer turns away anger while harsh words stir it up (Proverbs 15:1). A gentle tongue is a tree of life while its opposite breaks the spirit (Proverbs 15:4). Gracious words sweeten the soul and heal the body (Proverbs 16:24). The speech of the scoundrel is like a scorching fire (Proverbs 16:27). Covering an offense is to love while talking about it separates close friends (Proverbs 17:9). We are stop quarrels before they get to the point of harsh words (Proverbs 17:14). The speech of fools is their self-destruction (Proverbs 18:7). The tongue has the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). One will find it better to be alone than to be with a quarrelsome and fretful person (Proverbs 21:19). Holding one’s tongue will keep one out of trouble (Proverbs 21:23). One who bears false witness commits an act of war on the neighbor (Proverbs 25:18). A quarrelsome person starts a destructive fire (Proverbs 26:21). Honor and dishonor come from speaking (Sirach 5:13). The wise wait to speak, especially when in the presence of elders, they do not interrupt the speech of others, and they are slow to answer (Pirke Aboth 5:7).[10] One can make a sheaf of empty opinions, as if they were the greatest opinions, a brilliant possession, and most useful to life (Philo, On Dreams 2:42).[11] Jesus cautions that even insulting a brother or sister makes one open to judgment (Matthew 5:22). Jesus urges that the words of his followers be trustworthy, yes or no, rather than requiring an oath (Matthew 5:33-37). God will hold us accountable for every careless word, for our words will either justify us or condemn us (Matthew 12:36-37). The first century church knew of people who learned to be idle, gadding about from house to house as gossipers and busybodies who say what they should not say (I Timothy 5:13). James gives us an opportunity to reflect upon the role of language in human communities.
Words and speech contained both power and peril in ample supply. From the wisdom literature of Egypt to the writings of Plutarch and Seneca to the wisdom traditions in the Bible, ancient sages believed that silence was better than speech, that listening and not speaking was the pathway to wisdom and that one should carefully guard all human speech, never expressing rage or envy.
Moreover, the ancient world depended on a strong oral tradition for the transference of cultural identity and mores from one generation to another. An oral culture has heightened awareness of the harmful nature of gossip. No written texts exist that are attributable to Jesus. The dissemination of the good news depended for some time on the veracity of oral accounts. Gossip, therefore, was an especially egregious form of oral conduct.
In this self-contained argument about speech ethics, James portrays reverence and fear before the power of the tongue. Although James exhorts teachers toward the proper use of speech throughout his epistle — implying that he believes the tongue can be controlled — this passage laments that the human tongue is too powerful to be tamed. The proper use of speech runs through James as a theme.[12] Do not make self-justifying claims of being tempted by God (1:13); do not flatter the rich (2:3-6); do not make empty promises (2:16) or superficial claims (2:18); do not judge or slander another member of the community (4:11); do not boast of future plans without regard for God’s will (4:13); and do not grumble against one another (5:9). Finally, the concluding exhortations (5:12-18) delineate various human conditions and their proper responses through speech, whether prayer, singing or confession. Though too powerful to tame, one can harness the tongue and put it to proper use for the health of the community.
Teachers had an important function in the early church (Acts 13:1, Romans 12:7 and I Corinthians 12:28). The office of teacher carries great responsibility. Preachers and teachers are especially cognizant of the power of speech. While some people live or die by the sword, preachers and teachers live or die by their words. His concern may be that people wanted the honor of the position but did not suitably fill the role. One wonders what social situation inspired James toward such a hyperbolic assessment. In early Christian communities, were there too many people trying to be teachers, thus fracturing the communities through their quarrelsome words? Alternatively, does he offer this critique to everyone, not just the teachers? Punishment for the teachers is severe. They are in jeopardy. In admitting that teachers make mistakes, the tone here is practicing the virtue of readiness to forgive.[13] No one is without fault, and James seems to include himself here. The authority of public teaching comes with the responsibility of speaking rightly. One major mistake can lead to a loss of authority. James appears to contradict himself in the following sentence. The tongue is pre-eminent, able to keep the whole body in check. Regardless of what field of knowledge a teacher has mastered, the spoken word will be the necessary conduit for its transmission. The thoughtless exercise of the gift of speech can bring a person to destruction. Control of speech is the only way to perfection. Control of the tongue means one can guide properly the community, an interpretation suggested by the bridle-horse and rudder-ship illustrations. In Platonic and Stoic philosophy and in a typical Greek educational curriculum, the metaphors of the equestrian and helmsman represented the power of human rationality over the human body. Just as one can control a big object by a small device, so can one control the whole body by the power of the mind. The teacher is responsible for any actions that ensue in the community, whether healthy or damaging. A slip of the tongue might seem to be a small thing, but a rudder is a small thing that still steers ships of enormous size. A bridle is a small thing, but it allows a rider to steer a horse. A slip with of these “small” things can either injure or even kill those who wield them. James applies these metaphors to the tongue, which is an extension of the human mind or reason. The mature teacher can gain great benefits through speech. Nevertheless, the remainder of the passage emphasizes the other side of this power — the negative effects of teachers unable to control their tongues. In setting on fire the cycle of nature or the wheel of existence, it is set on fire by hell, suggesting that the ancient idea of fate, with one’s life alternating between fortune and misfortune. He may mean the course of life that the tongue destroys. The idea seems to be that the power of wicked speech can spread evil through everything in human existence. This part of the verse may be an example of the concept of an eye for an eye. The tongue will receive the punishment it deserves. While the Spirit brought the fires of Pentecost and led to the conversion of many, only a mature human being could hope to wield such fire in a productive way. The sad fact of the matter, says James, is that while humans can tame all manner of creatures, standing above the animal kingdom in their ability to use speech, the one animal that human beings can never seem to tame is their own impulsive nature. Therefore, not many should try to master the art of using words to educate others. Duplicity characterizes an untamed tongue. He refers to Genesis 1:26. We find here the basis for theological reflection on the Christological and soteriological notion of the divine likeness. Christian theology had to work out the connections between them if it was to cling to the interrelation of our creation and redemption.[14] the bridled tongue should offer fresh water that nourishes. Just as a freshwater spring does not emit brackish salty water — which is literally “poison” to those who drink it — so also should the tongue of a teacher avoid duplicity. Moralists often contrast the regularity of nature with the changes of human behavior.[15] James returns from hyperbolic imagery to address a practical offense. How can the same source offer two products? If the tongue is the gateway to the inner person, then does this duplicity reveal an inner duplicity? The duplicity of the tongue is inextricable from the duplicity of the inner mind.
Lord speak to me that I may speak, in living echoes of thy tones,
As thou has sought, so let me seek, thy erring children lost and lone.
O teach me Lord, that I may teach, the precious things
thou dost impart,
And wing my words that they may reach, the hidden depths
of many a heart.[16]
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a (Year B September 18-24)
3: 13-18 discuss true wisdom. Although the community gathers in the name of Jesus, their attitudes do not exhibit friendship with God. Their lives remain ambiguous and lack consistency. James’ affinity for wisdom sayings and emphasis on the role of wisdom in the Christian life is evident in this text. Not only is defining wisdom itself the subject of the text, but James’ advice focuses on everyday matters and applications – yet another sign of traditional wisdom literature. James directs his words on wisdom toward those who would be teachers in the Christian community – those whose trade was in their correct grasp of knowledge. Biblical wisdom is never mere speculative thought or detached sophistry. Wisdom in the biblical tradition is always the wisdom that embeds thoroughly in the practicalities of life, which includes, inevitably, an ethical dimension. The purpose of wisdom is to learn how to understand the world in its deepest aspects and, in so understanding, live in accordance with those aspects. Thus, the one wise and understanding does their good works with gentleness, humility, or meekness that arises from wisdom, a unique phrase. The truly wise will reveal this through good Christian behavior. However, another type of wisdom, which is not wisdom at all, sensual and animalistic, inspired by demons and everything not of God. Envy and selfish ambition will bring anarchy and wickedness, whereas wisdom from above is pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. Referring to the wisdom from above is mindful of the Jewish wisdom tradition that Lady Wisdom as the eternal companion of God (Prov 2:6, 8:22-31). It is drawn from rabbinic wisdom literature, in which there are numerous references to wisdom or teachings communicated directly to human beings by the angels of God. In a wisdom commentary on Genesis, Rabbi Chiya states, “The wisdom from above was in Adam more than in the supreme angels, and he knew all things” (Zohar Yaluit Rubeni, fol.19). Likewise, the rabbis noted of Enoch “that the angels were sent from heaven and taught him the wisdom that is from above” (Zohar Chadesh, fol.35). The qualities of love in I Cor 13 and the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22-23 are similar. Wisdom bears fruit that has the spirit of intelligence, holiness, clarity, loving of the good, beneficent, humane, free from anxiety (Wisdom 7:22-30). James connects righteousness and peace, stressing that the goal of a Christian community is to be so in peace that all might live in righteousness.
James 4:1-3, 7-8a is a series of admonitions, a parenesis, that concerns disunity among Christians. The concern is fighting in fighting in the community. The issue is that that their desire or coveting for what they do not have has led to fighting, which may be a metaphor for the spiritual battle they face. Since they do not ask in prayer, they do not have. They ask and do not receive because they ask wrongly because they focus upon the fulfillment of their selfish passions, a thought like that of Jesus, who taught that the Father gives good things to those who ask (Matt 7:11). The solution offered by James to this problem of not receiving that for which they ask wrongly is to submit to God, to resist the devil, drawing near to God, and God will draw near to them.
James 5:13-20 (Year B September 25-October 1) provides a manual of discipline. The concluding shift to communal relationships reminds readers that the moral advice of James was not just for private individuals. It addresses members of a Christian community. How are they to deal with situations that weaken the community, with suffering and illness, sinfulness, and with members who go astray? The response to such conditions is confident prayer, exemplified by Elijah. The letter consistently stresses the responsibilities that Christians have toward each other within the faith community. James consistently situates the actions of the individual within a community.
The first admonition is that if any among them are suffering they need to pray, while if any are cheerful, they should sing sons of praise. We are to call upon the Lord in the day of trouble, and the Lord will deliver us, and we shall glorify the Lord (Psalm 50:15). Paul also encouraged his readers to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in their hearts (Colossians 3:15). He then focuses on the healing of the sick by anointing by the elders of the church. The elders within the Jewish synagogue were the pattern for the elders in local congregations of the first century church. The church in Antioch sent aid for a famine to “the elders” in Jerusalem by means of Barnabas and Saul (Acts 11:30). Titus 1:5 refers to the appointment of elders in every town. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each of the congregations they founded, doing so with prayer and fasting (Acts 14:23). Paul wanted to meet the elders of the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17). Elders are to receive double honor, receive proper wages, and have the protection of requiring corroborating witnesses regarding any accusation against them (I Timothy 5:17-19). The apostle Peter counts himself as among the elders and as giving an exhortation to elders (I Peter 5:1). John refers to himself as “the elder” (II John 1). It does seem that they were the equivalent of modern clergy. James does not see these elders as having a particular charism, or spiritual gift, of healing. They were respected members of the community whose prayers the community considered faithful (v. 15) and powerful and effective” (v. 16). The prayer of the elders for the sick was to accompany the ritual act of anointing with oil, a life elixir that was part of the Jewish tradition, with Philo, Pliny, and Galen referring to the practice. Mediterranean cultures of the time knew of the medicinal uses of oils. The point is not magic, but the expectation that such miracles could occur in the community. the Lord anoints the head of the faithful with oil (Psalm 23:5). One could soften wounds with oil (Isaiah 1:6). In the parable of Jesus, the Samaritan poured oil on the wounds of the beaten man he saw on the road (Luke 10:33-34). However, the specific language of James suggests he is not thinking about a presumed therapeutic effect. The specific practice of anointing with oil in conjunction with prayers for healing is one we find elsewhere in the NT only once in describing the ministry of the Twelve after Jesus sent them out two by two as including anointing with oil many who were sick (Mark 6:13). Yet, the general nature of that reference would indicate it was common. This shows the widespread nature of the custom. The church continued the custom. Anointing rituals in ancient Israel were associated with setting persons and things apart for God. Priests are to receive anointing (Exodus 29:7). Moses shall anoint with oil the tabernacle and all the objects within it, such as its furniture, altar, basin and stand, as well as Aaron and his sons (Exodus 40:9-15). Zadok anointed Solomon as king (I Kings 1:39). Thus, we are to understand this ritual as setting apart the one who receives anointing to God’s particular care. James stresses that the prayer of faith will save the sick, usually referring to the complete redemption of the person at the end of the age (1:21, 2:14, 4:12, 5:20), emphasizing physical and spiritual wholeness, and using the same word the New Testament uses for the future resurrection, will raise up the sick. He then states that anyone who has committed sin will receive forgiveness. The close connection between healing and forgiveness is one we find in the ministry of Jesus, where he saw the faith of the friends of the paralytic and forgave the sins of the sick man (Mark 9:2). In John, Jesus notes that the blindness of the man is not the result of sin (John 9:3). In fact, this mutual confession and prayer for each other is a prayer urged upon all Christians, which may suggest a separation from the prayer for the sick. One who confesses and forsakes transgressions will receive mercy (Proverbs 28:13). We are to have no shame in confessing our sin (Sirach 4:26). Confession of sin leads to our forgiveness and cleansing (I John 1:8-10). Confession and disclosing their practices led to people becoming believers (Acts 19:18). Concealing transgression (Proverbs 28:13) or claiming to have no sin (I John 1:8-10) is not a virtue! He urges confession of sin to each other, prayer for each other, which will lead healing. Jesus urged one he healed to sin no more (John 5:14). James is connecting sickness with sin. Ancient belief often made this association. James accepts the traditional view that there could be a connection between sin and physical illness. James stresses the effectiveness of intercessory prayer, using Elijah in I Kings 17:1, 18:41-46 as an example. That text refers to his prayer occurring in the third year of the drought, while James says it was three-and-one-half years. Sirach 48:2-3 also uses the prayer of Elijah as an example, where his point is that prayer can hasten or delay salvation from God. His stress upon the efficacy of the prayer of the righteous and the commonality shared between all of us and someone such as Elijah can create a problem. Does an absence of recovery therefore prove the absence of “righteousness” on the part of either the sick or the elders who pray for them? The qualification of the anointing and the prayer as being offered “in the name of the Lord” serves to underscore both God’s authority and the need for our prayers to be conformed to God’s will (4:3). God hears the prayers of those who can and will believe. God is and wants people to come to God as the One who listens to the prayers of faith. God permits humanity to hear from God and worship God, thereby finding comfort, peace, and purity. In addition, humanity may call upon God in the most definite way, and expecting that God will do it. It will then be up to God to use wisdom as to how God will answer.[17]
When we go through challenging times, the tendency can be to isolate oneself, when what one needs is community. We need their touch and warm embrace.
The practice would later develop into the sacrament of extreme unction. The reference to raising up the sick, the same word for raising Jesus from the dead and for the hope of future resurrection, became the basis for the tradition to focus upon aninting people who are near death. The division between the Reformation and the Roman Catholic Church on the matter of anoiting the sick is instructive. The issue is the strengthening of the recipients by the assistance of the Holy Spirit. The meaning of the rite is in the easing and strengthening of the sick by a perceptible symbol of the assistance of the Holy Spirit. The Roman Catholic Church limited anointing of the sick to “extreme unction,” while Luther argued for the vital role of prayer and the remission of sins. Vatican II abandoned the restriction of unction to the dying, thereby accepting the criticism of Luther. In discussing the ambivalence of the word “sacrament,” Luther suggests that we may seek the origin and basis of this rite in the healing work of Jesus, which the disciples continued. This passage witnesses to a primitive Christian practice. It has an historical and material connection to the mystery of Christ, especially through the act of anointing, which reminds us of the title “Christ” and of baptism. Anointing of the sick is a significant expression of the mystery.[18]
The power of prayer is not that it changes disease but that it changes us –the people who pray. It shifts the focus from self and connects us to God and to the world around us. That is real change and true healing. Prayer does not always lead to a cure, but it saves the sick by raising them into the presence of God. Prayer changes the people who pray, making them more peaceful, accepting and aligned with their Christian convictions. Prayer might make you better able to face and to overcome your health challenges.
A poem captures the sense of single-minded devotion at the heart of prayer:
Let us then labour for an inward stillness –
An inward stillness and an inward healing;
That perfect silence where the lips and heart
Are still, and we no longer entertain
Our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions,
But God alone speaks in us, and we wait
In singleness of heart, that we may know
His will, and in the silence of our spirits,
That we may do His will, and do that only.[19]
James concludes by referring to anyone in the community wandering from the truth, implying a serious turn away from the faith. Jesus seems concerned that the Sadducees are in such danger of this on the resurrection (Matthew 22:29). Jesus has the concern that others will lead astray those who follow Jesus (Matthew 24:4-5). While Paul has exhibited a faithful life, wicked people and impostors will deceive themselves and others (II Timothy 3:10-13). The people of the congregation are to do every good work, speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, and be gentle and courteous, for they must remember that someone had led them astray as well (Titus 3:1-3). One who brings back the wanderer saves the soul of the sinner from death, with a deliberate ambiguity as to whether he refer to the wanderer or the one who brings the wanderer back, for they share in the blessing that comes from such caring. we need to stress the readiness to forgive.[20]Fraternal love and pardon can bring back those who have strayed. The purpose of the admonitions is to set things right. It is our duty to bring erring brothers and sisters back to the fold. Even if the wicked do not heed the warning of the prophet, the prophet will save his life (Ezekiel 3:19, 33:9). Those who lead others to righteous will shine like the stars forever (Daniel 12:3). Giving alms saves from death, purges sin, and leads to enjoyment of life (Tobit 12:9). Readers are to have mercy on the wavering, save others by snatching them from the fire, and have mercy combined with fear for others (Jude 22-23). God will give life to one who sins and is the object of your prayers (I John 5:16). In a similar matter of church order, if one member sins against another, deal with it privately, then bring another, and finally bring the matter before the whole community, with the intent of regaining the erring one (Matthew 18:15-17). The writer offers the advice of temperance, which if followed will lead to the salvation of the one who heeds the advice and the one who gives it (II Clement 15:1). It is his deepest wish that as many people as possible save themselves from the path that leads to destruction. The responsibility we have for one another’s fate before God is the point with which James concludes his letter. Such an act of forgiveness covers a multitude of sins, preventing further spread of sin. In I Peter 4:8, it is love that covers a multitude of sins. The basis for both statements is that while hatred stirs up strife, love covers all offenses (Prov 10:12).
[1] Sophia Law
[2] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [69.3] 230.
[3] Barth, Church Dogmatics I.1 [5.3] 152-3.
[4] Barth, Church Dogmaitcs I.1 [6.2] 195-6.
[5] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3 [71.6] 674-5.
[6] Barth, Church Dogmatics I.2 [18.1] 365.
[7] Robert Jenson, Systematic Theology, (1997) Volume 1, 15-16.
[8] —Adapted from “Narcissus (mythology),” Wikipedia.org.
[9] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 121.
[10] There are seven things that characterize a boor, and seven that characterize a wise man. A wise man does not speak before one who is greater than him in wisdom or age. He does not interrupt his fellow's words. He does not hasten to answer. His questions are on the subject and his answers to the point. He responds to first things first and to latter things later. Concerning what he did not hear, he says "I did not hear." He concedes to the truth. With the boor, the reverse of all these is the case.
[11] But the dreamer and interpreter of dreams himself, for he united both characters, makes a sheaf of empty opinion as of the greatest and most brilliant of possessions and the most useful to life. For which reason it is originally by his dreams, which are things dear to night, that he is made known to the king of the bodily country, and not by any performance of conspicuous actions, which require day for their exhibition.
[12](Luke Timothy Johnson, The Letter of James [AB 37A; New York: Doubleday, 1995], 255).
[13] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 246.
[14] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 208.
[15] An example is Epictetus, Discourses 220.18-19
[16] —Frances R. Havergall, 1872.
[17] Barth (Church Dogmatics, II.1 [31.2], 510-511)
[18] Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 3, 270, 367)
[19] --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Christus: A Mystery," in The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, vol. 5 (Houghton Mifflin, 1851), 313-14.
[20] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 246
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