The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (264 page)

Taming the Tongue

3
  
Let not
many of you become
teachers
, my brethren, for you know that we who teach shall be judged with greater strictness.
²
For we all make many mistakes, and if any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.
³
If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, we guide their whole bodies.
⁴
Look at the ships also; though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
⁵
So the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire!

6
 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an
unrighteous world
among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature,
^b
and set on fire by hell.
^c
7
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,
⁸
but no human being can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
⁹
With it
we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men
, who are made in the likeness of God.
¹⁰
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so.
¹¹
Does a spring pour forth from the same opening fresh water and brackish?
¹²
Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

13
 
Who is wise
and understanding among you? By his good life let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
¹⁴
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
¹⁵
This wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.
¹⁶
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
¹⁷
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity.
¹⁸
And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Friendship with the World

4
  
What causes
wars
, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?
²
You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet
^d
and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
³
You ask and do not receive
, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
⁴
Unfaithful creatures
! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
⁵
Or do you suppose it is in vain that the Scripture says, "
He yearns jealously
over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us"?
⁶
But he gives more grace; therefore it says, "
God opposes the proud
, but gives grace to the humble."
⁷
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil
and he will flee from you.
⁸
Draw near to God
and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.
⁹
Be wretched and
mourn and weep
. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection.
¹⁰
Humble yourselves
before the Lord and he will exalt you.

Warning against Judging Another

11
 
Do not speak evil
against one another, brethren. He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
¹²
There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbor?

Boasting about Tomorrow

13
 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and get gain";
¹⁴
whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For
you are a mist
that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
¹⁵
Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that."
¹⁶
As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
¹⁷
Whoever knows what is right to do and fails
to do it, for him it is sin.

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5
  
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
²
Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.
³
Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure
^e
 
*
for the last days
.
⁴
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back
by fraud
, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
⁵
You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a
day of slaughter
.
⁶
You have condemned,
you have killed
the righteous man; he does not resist you.

Patience in Suffering

7
 
Be patient
, therefore, brethren, until
the coming of the Lord
. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and the late rain.
⁸
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
⁹
Do not grumble, brethren, against one another, that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the doors.
¹⁰
As an example of suffering and patience, brethren, take
the prophets
who spoke in the name of the Lord.
¹¹
Behold, we call those happy who were steadfast. You have heard of
the steadfastness of Job
, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12
 
But above all
, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

13
 
*
 Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise.
¹⁴
Is any among you sick? Let him call for the
elders
of the Church, and let them pray over him,
anointing
him with oil in the name of the Lord;
¹⁵
and the prayer of faith will
save the sick man
, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
¹⁶
Therefore
confess your sins to one another
, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.
¹⁷
Eli'jah
was a man of like nature with ourselves and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
¹⁸
Then he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit.

19
 My brethren, if any one among you wanders from the truth and some one brings him back,
²⁰
let him know that whoever
brings back a sinner
from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Commentary on The Letter of Saint James

1:1 James:
A Greek form of the Hebrew name "Jacob". He is probably James of Jerusalem, known as "the Lord's brother" (Gal 1:19). See introduction:
Author.
servant:
Or "slave". This title is used for other apostolic writers, such as Peter (2 Pet 1:1) and Paul (Rom 1:1), just as it was for earlier biblical figures, such as Jacob (Ezek 28:25), Moses, (Mal 4:4), Joshua (Josh 24:29), David (2 Sam 7:8), and the Prophets (Jer 7:25; Ezek 38:17).
Jesus Christ:
Mentioned by name only here and in 2:1.
the twelve tribes:
Descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob (Gen 35:22-26) who have accepted Jesus as the Messiah (Jas 2:1). These Israelites may have been residents of Jerusalem who were dispersed throughout Palestine and neighboring territories because of persecutions in the city. For this and other interpretations, see introduction:
Destination.
• The opening address recalls the Greek version of Is 49:1-6, where
Jacob
is the
servant
of the Lord who calls out to the
tribes
of Israel in their
dispersion
with a message of salvation. 
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1:2-27
Chapter 1 is an overview of the themes developed in the rest of the letter. These include encouragement during trial (1:2-4; 5:7-11), the need for wisdom (1:5; 3:13-18), the necessity of faith (1:5-8; 5:13-18), the treatment of the rich and poor (1:9-11; 2:1-7; 4:13-5:6), the call to put faith into action (1:22-25; 2:14-26), and the need for a controlled tongue (1:26; 3:1-12). 
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1:2 my brethren:
Nineteen times James addresses his readers as spiritual brothers (1:9, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, etc.). This high concentration of kinship language shows that James viewed himself and his readers as a family of spiritual siblings gathered around God as their Father (1:17) (CCC 1, 1655).
various trials:
A reminder that every hardship and suffering in life can be a cause to rejoice (Mt 5:11-12; Rom 5:3). These trials are part of God's plan to strengthen our faith, prove our fidelity, and bring us closer to perfection (1 Pet 1:6-7). Similarities between the Greek text of Jas 1:3-4 and 2:21-22 hint at how this process was played out in the life of Abraham when his own faith reached perfection in the difficult ordeal of sacrificing Isaac. 
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1:5 wisdom:
Not human insight or ingenuity, but a heavenly gift that gives us a right understanding of life in relation to God (3:13-18). It is given generously to those, like Solomon (1 Kings 3:5-12), who ask for it with sincere faith (Jas 1:6-8) (CCC 2633). 
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1:8 double-minded:
Literally, "having two souls". Such a person holds back from a complete trust in God because inside he wavers between conviction and doubt (Sir 1:28). This makes prayer less fervent and answers to prayer less certain (CCC 2734). 
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1:9-10
The prospect of "eschatological reversal" is in view. The poor and humble of the Lord look forward to
exaltation,
while the rich and prosperous of the world face future
humiliation
unless God is embraced as their true wealth (Lk 1:52-53; 6:20-26). 
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1:10 the rich:
Material wealth is destined to wither away like the beauty of a wild flower. The same is true of the wealthy person whose heart is attached to his belongings (5:16; Prov 11:28). • Isaiah used this imagery to contrast the eternal word of God with the temporal life of man, who is destined to wilt and die like grass (Is 40:6-8). This allusion to Isaiah explains why James goes on to say that God's "word" brings us unending life and blessedness (Jas 1:18, 21; 1 Jn 2:17). 
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