The Letter of James. (James 5)

From the Letter of James, chapter 5, verse 13, “Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.”
 

In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.   
 

     On the Sundays in September, we have been reading from the Letter of James, that most practical of letters in the New Testament. Allow me to recite some of the section headings which the editor of our translation has given us: Faith and Wisdom, Poverty and Riches, Trial and Temptation, Hearing and Doing the Word, Warning against Partiality, Faith without Works is dead, Taming the Tongue, Warning against Judging Another, Warning to Rich Oppressors, Patience in Suffering, and, lastly, the Prayer of Faith, the section in which we find today’s reading.

     If we had this letter alone, it would serve very well as a summary and guide to Christian living, to a faithful, loving way of life. Rather than restrict myself to the few verses of today’s reading, I would like to go through the letter,  and comment on a few of the sections, and show how today’s reading summarizes the entire letter.

     James writes, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy.” Nothing but joy! Because trials strengthen endurance and faith. Suffering and joy are never far from each other in this letter, as they are never far from each other in life. In today’s reading, suffering and cheerfulness are placed side by side. Trials are tests of faith, and opportunities for prayer. The trials are not only our own of course; we face not only our own trials, but the trials of others. In this time of open and obvious suffering on our own streets, and in the world, the trials of others are constantly on display. They give us plenty of opportunities for prayer, and for good works too, as James points out.

     James extends this combination of trials and joy when he writes, “Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life.” Temptation is a blessing? We may not think so when perhaps we are regretting some embarrassing episode in which we did not behave as well as we might have! But we have the word of James that there is a blessing in it, when we endure. That is, when we don’t give up on ourselves or God when we imagine that we have not got through some trial, some temptation, in a way that we think we should have. Temptation is a blessing when we see it for what it is. It is better to see it before rather than after, of course, but even afterwards the case is not hopeless, as James makes clear in today’s reading when he writes, “The prayer of faith will save…and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.”

     “But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” This is James’s great theme, of course. Just as suffering entails joy, so faith entails works. The terms have meaning in relation to each other. James has arranged his teaching around these pairs. And James clearly defines what it is to be doers of the word: “to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” We don’t restrict ourselves to widows and orphans, of course; they are only the beginning of the work that we are called to do. But work we must. 

     James adds warnings against favoritism, which our translator calls partiality. He contrasts it with true belief in Jesus Christ. Favoritism here is bias toward the rich, toward the important, at the expense of the poor, the unimportant. This is a violation of what James calls the royal law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no partiality, no favoritism in this law. In our own society, we are drenched in a constant downpour of praise, admiration, and envy of celebrity and wealth. In this deluge of nonsense, we hardly have time to notice the ordinary, the not-famous, the not-important, the poor. But to love our neighbor is, at least, to regard all persons equally, without favoritism, with equal attention. This is how God regards us, with equal attention. God does not rank people according to their wealth or their importance. “They will wither away,” as James writes near the beginning of his letter.

     And now a few words about my favorite section of the letter, ‘Taming the Tongue.’ “How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!” writes James. “And the tongue is a fire!...With it we bless…and with it we curse…My brothers and sisters,” writes James, “this ought not to be so!” Indeed, it ought not. James wants us to cultivate “gentleness born of wisdom…[which is] pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” We do this by submitting to God. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” We submit to God, we draw near to him in prayer. Prayer is the technique, if I dare call it that, by which we cultivate gentleness, control our tongues, and learn to love our neighbors as ourselves, without partiality. When we pray, we place ourselves near to God, and when we pray, he draws near to us. That nearness makes it possible for us to practice the virtues which James is commending to us.

     Before James reaches his concluding verses about prayer, however, he adds a few more admonitions. “Do not speak evil against one another.” He reminds us of the transitoriness of life when he writes, “For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” He goes on to add some rather sharp remarks about the rich who exploit laborers and the righteous. These sharp remarks are not irrelevant today, even in our own society. But James does not dwell on them. He returns to his admonitions and encouragements, advocating patience and anticipation of the coming of the Lord.

     And so James concludes as he begins, “Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.” Prayer and praise, patient acceptance of trials, and hopeful anticipation, are the features of Christian life, both of the individual and of the community, the Church. In today’s reading, there is a strong emphasis on community prayer, for the sick, and for anyone who has committed sins. “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective,” says James. It can heal, it can forgive, it can lead through suffering, into joy, and find blessing in temptation.
 

“Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.”

In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.