Letter of James

In addition to the letters of the apostle Paul, there are seven writings in the collection of the New Testament named Catholic Letters. They are called so because the adjective 'catholic' means universal. In effect, they are letters that are not addressed to a specific community, as was the case with the apostle Paul, but they are universal letters, that is, addressed to all of us. Today we could speak of Encyclical Letters, in papal language. Moreover, they were considered 'catholic' because all accepted them, universally recognized as canonical texts, that is, they belonged to the canon, to the deposit of faith, and for that reason, they were inserted in the New Testament.

So, there are seven letters: They are the letter of James, two letters of Peter, one letter of Jude, and three of John. First, let us take into consideration the letter of James. First of all, it must be said that these writings do not have, properly speaking, the characteristic of a 'letter,' that is to say, of a literary instrument that is linked to people who are physically far away, to communicate information and ask for news. It is mainly homilies.

The letter of James, in fact, is an actual anthology of sermons, almost fragments, pieces of homilies that have been collected with a criterion that escapes us a little, so much so that we cannot recognize a common thread. The author introduces himself at the beginning simply with the name James. The ancient tradition has consistently recognized in this character one of the apostles. We know that two apostles bore the name of James; we distinguish them with the title 'Elder.' and 'the Lesser.'

We call James the Elder the brother of John, sons of Zebedee. The first of the apostles to die a martyr's death in the early forties, in Jerusalem under the reign of Herod. Therefore, he cannot be the author of this writing. In fact, James the Lesser is recognized as the author, called the brother of the Lord, the leader of the community of Judeo-Christians living in Jerusalem. He died a martyr in the early sixties; perhaps it could be a problem the reference to the fact that he is called 'brother of Jesus.'

In the Jewish milieu, the term 'brother' was commonly used to indicate a close relationship, without any special distinction, e.g., between uncle and nephew, cousin and son-in-law, daughter-in-law and brother-in-law... these are terms that we have to indicate a precise degree of kinship. In the Jewish language of the time, on the other hand, all these relationships were termed brothers and sisters, close relatives, members of a great patriarchal family. According to the information of the Judeo-Christian tradition we can say that this James was the son of Cleopas, also called Alpheus, who had married a woman called Mary, known precisely as Mary of Cleopas or Mary of James. Cleophas must have been the brother of St. Joseph, so this James turns out to be the cousin of Jesus, called his brother just to emphasize the close relationship to which their family belongs.

It is not sure, however, that this James is the author of the letter. Let us not forget that the name James is a deformation of Jacob; it is the same name, in fact, still in Greek, it is 'Jákobos,' passing through Latin became 'Jácopo', and then we made it become 'James.' So that in the original tenor of the text the author presents himself as Jacob writing to his 12 sons, to the twelve tribes. It is strong Jewish writing. On two occasions, he mentions Jesus Christ, but in unimportant passages. It must be said that the whole thought of the text is not strongly Christian or typically Christian.

It contains moral teaching that could also be of good Jewish standard, and seems to be a spiritual testament that Jacob addresses to his sons, to the scattered tribes of the Diaspora. Probably, the Christian author imagined himself to be a new patriarch who writes to the new twelve tribes of the new Israel scattered in the world and writes recommendations and advice.

It is a text that contains little proclamation and much exhortation; for example, let's look at the beginning, after the author has introduced himself: “James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.” It begins immediately with an exhortation: "Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” It is precisely from this text that St. Francis drew his message of perfect joy.

James invites his brothers to consider greater happiness, full glory, the moment of passing through trials. Evidently, he is addressing the Christian communities that are going through times of difficulty and, therefore, is an exhortation to courage, to endurance, to commitment, even to the valorization of difficult situations. "Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.” Temptation is understood as the test, the difficult moment that allows bringing to light the deep sense, the intention, the will of the person.

"No one experiencing temptation—in the difficult moments, in the difficult moments of difficulty— should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (the ἐπιθυμία = episumia' which is also used by St. Paul - impulse, concupiscence, instinct, desire) “Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.”

There is a dynamic of corruption that the author underlines, showing how in the great majority of the cases, the problems are within us; they are our desires, our ideas, our manias and our pretensions that deceive us, lead us to desire evil, to the point of making us perform actions, evil words.

A particular emphasis of James is on the tongue. "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain.” A little further on, he stresses again: "If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, t is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions. Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. The tongue is also a fire.” It is very dangerous.

We have sayings about it, which say that the tongue has no bone, but it breaks bones. One kills more with the tongue than with the sword. The sense is of speech that harms. We can hurt with the tongue. If we know how to control it—says James—we steer the rest of the ship with this rudder.

In chapter 2, the author develops a complex argument about the relationship between faith and works, and it is a typically Pauline argument. It would seem that James is saying the opposite of Paul. In fact, as we recall, St. Paul taught in several writings that salvation comes by faith and not by works. By the works of the law, no one is justified.

Instead, James writes: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone may say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ... For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

Is it the opposite of what Paul says? It may seem so, but it is not. We need to clarify some crucial issues. Paul uses the word faith to refer to a person's trust in God. This is the basis of salvation. God saves us if we surrender to him and let him save us based on our faith. When James speaks of faith, he refers to all doctrines and dogmas. Here, faith means a theoretical knowledge of truths. Also, the devil believes that God exists and is afraid of him and hates him. In this sense, James says that to know these things and to accept them, in theory, is not enough.

James says that the devil believes that there is God; St. Paul would never have said that the devil believes in God because to believe in means to trust, to abandon oneself, to have confidence; the devil's attitude it is just the opposite; it is the rejection, hostility, opposition of God, therefore, two different concepts of faith.

Secondly, when Paul speaks of works, he is referring to the works of the law, of the Jewish law; they are the ritual works, e.g., the observance of the Sabbath, the practice of circumcision, the distinction of pure from impure foods. These ritual rules are not conducive to a good relationship with God. These are the works of the law, which are not sufficient for salvation. On the other hand, when James speaks of works, he refers to works of charity. They are something very different, and he means that the theoretical knowledge of the truths is not enough; one must translate them into the practice of life. Knowing that God exists leads to a life that is active and good.

Paul, on the other hand, was speaking of the cause of salvation. The cause can never be the work done by man; instead, James is speaking of the consequences of salvation and he says that there must be consequences. Therefore, Paul and James are in perfect agreement; they say two things from different perspectives but are substantially homogeneous. Paul says that salvation is based on trust in God and not on man's claim to do works to merit salvation. James affirms that the knowledge of the truth necessarily necessitates practical consequences of good works, which give life to the theory. That is why James insists on these works, but not as the cause of salvation but as consequences; they are the results, the effects that derive from them.

And all his writing is an anthology of exhortations. For example, "Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?” We notice the tone of vehement preaching. And he continues to lash out.

A little further on, he speaks of the rich. Evidently, James represents a community of the poor and has before his eyes situations of social inequality and of serious justice.

In chapter 5 we find a tremendous invective, like that of a popular rally against the owners of the land: "Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. 4 Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one”. They have eaten as much as they please, they have grown fat and they shall be slaughtered like fattened animals. It is a strong tone that also indicates an early Christian preaching style.

One last detail, towards the end, James refers to the sick, and it is the only text that refers to the sick that speaks of the anointing of the sick. Precisely from this apostolic teaching, the Church bases herself to speak of this sacrament. “Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.” It goes from one topic to another without a common thread; it is evident that it is an anthology of advice, reproaches, of suggestions so that the Christian life may always be more authentic and coherent.

This is the intention of the letter of James.