II THE LETTER OF JAMES – CHAPTER 2

[1] My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. [2] For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, [3] and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "Have a seat here, please," while you say to the poor man, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," [4] have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

   Oecumenius: “Anyone who does things by showing favoritism covers himself with great shame and reproach, for that way he brings disdain not only on his neighbor but much more on himself.” Comentary on James.

  Chrysostom: “What does it matter if you think highly of yourself, when someone else despises you? Are we not all one body, both great and small? Therefore if in principle we are all one and members of each other, why do you bring shame on your brother? For just as he is  a part of you, so you too are a part of him.” Catena.

  Augustine:  “Who could bear to see a rich man chosen to occupy a seat of honor in the church when a more learned and holier man is passed over because he is poor? Is it not a sin to judge by appearances that a rich man is a better man?” Letter 167:18.

[5] Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? [6] But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court? [7] Is it not they who blaspheme that honorable name which was invoked over you? [8] If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.

   Oecumenius: “When poor people are not preoccupied with the things of the world, when they come to faith, they often become more energetic and more determined to work at it than rich people do.” Commentary on James.

  Chrysostom: “Bear their greed as patiently as you can! Those people destroy themselves, not you. For while they rob you of your money, they strip themselves of God’s favor and help. For the one who bases his life on greed and gathers all the wealth of the world around him is in fact the poorest of all.” Catena.

   Bede:  “Here James shows us more clearly who these rich people are, whose humiliation and destruction he talked about earlier. They are people who put their riches before Christ, who are themselves strangers to his teaching and who use their power to oppress those who believe. They take poor people to court and blaspheme the name of Christ. That there were many upper-class people in the time of the apostles who did this kind of thing is clear from both the Acts of the Apostles and from Paul’s letters.” Concerning the Epistle of James.

[9] But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. [10] For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. [11] For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," said also, "Do not kill." If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. [12] So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. [13] For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.
   Andreas:  “Just as you want to be treated justly and properly by your neighbor, so you must behave toward him as you would towards your kinsman and child of God. What our Savior said about this is absolutely right” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. For this is the law and the prophets.” Catena.

  Gregory the Great: “When we wear a piece of clothing, it covers us all over. Righteousness is like this, for it protects itself by good works at every turn and leaves nothing exposed to the ravages of sin. Fir if someone is righteous in some of the things he does and unrighteous in others, it is rather as if he is covering one side of his body but leaving the other side naked. Such a person is not doing good works, because these works are made evil by the unrighteousness which is present in him.” Lessons in Job 19:32.

  Chrysostom: Mercy is the highest art and the shield of those who practice it. It is the friend of God, standing always next to him and freely blessing whatever he wishes. It must not be despised by us. For in its purity it grants great liberty to those who respond to it in kind. It must be shown to those who have qauarreled with us, as well as to those who have sinned against us, so great is its power. It breaks chains, dispels darkness, extinguishes fire, kills the worm and takes away the gnashing of teeth. By it the gates of heaven open with the greatest of ease. In short, mercy is a queen which makes men like God.” Catena.

 [14] What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? [15] If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, [16] and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? [17] So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. [18] But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

   Bede: “It is obvious that words alone are not going to help someone who is naked and hungry. Someone whose faith does not go beyond words is useless. Such faith is dead without works of Christian love which alone can bring it back to life.” Concerning the Epistle of St. James.

  Origen: “If someone dies in his sins he has not truly believed in Christ, even if he has made a profession of faith in him, and if faith is mentioned but it lacks works, such faith is dead, as we have read in the epistle.” Commentary on John 19:153.

   Chrysostom:  “Even if somebody believes rightly in the Father and the Son, as well as in the Holy Spirit, if he does not lead the right kind of life, his faith will not benefit him at all as far as his salvation is concerned. For although Jesus says: ‘This is eternal life, to know hou, the only true God,’ we must not think that merely uttering the words is enough to save us, for our life and behavior must be pure, as well. Catena.

19] You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder. [20] Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? [21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? [22] You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, [23] and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. [24] You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. [25] And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? [26] For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.

   Augustine:  “Holy Scripture should be interpreted in a way which is in complete agreement with those who understood it and not in a way which seems inconsisten to those who are least familiar with it. Paul said that a man is justified through faith without the works of the Law, but not without those works of which James speaks.” On the Christian Life, 13.

  Cyril of Alexandria:  “Just as faith without works is dead, so the reverse is true. Therefore let the integrity in faith shine forth along with the glories of upright living.” Letters 55:22.

  Andreas: “Now someone might object to this and say: ‘Did Paul not use Abraham as an example of someone who was justified by faith, without works? And here James is use the very same Abraham as an example of someone who was justified, not by faith alone but also by works which confirm that faith.’ How can we answer this? And how can Abraham be an example of faith without works, as well as of faith with works, at the same time? But the solution is ready at hand from the Scriptures. For the same Abraham is at different times an example of both kinds of faith. The first is prebaptismal faith, which does not require works but only  confession and the word of salvation, by which those who believe in Christ are justified. The second is postbaptismal faith, which is combined with works. Understood in this way, the two apostles do not contradict one another, but one and the same Spirit is speaking through both of them.” Catena.

(All quotations above from: Ancient Christian Commentary on the Scriptures. Vol. XI,   pp. 21-34.)

V. CLOSING PRAYER – DISMISSAL HYMN OF ST. JAMES THE APOSTLE

   O holy James, as a disciple of the Lord, you received the Gospel. As a martyr, you displayed and unyielding will. As brother of the Lord, you have special power with Him. As a hierarch, you have the right of intercession. Intercede therefore with Christ God that He may save our souls. Amen.