James 5, True Compassion

James continues to confront the rich -- and those who wish to be like them.

James 5: 1-6, God and the rich
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

James insists that God hears the vulnerable and the oppressed. This is a poignant passage -- if you think you can exploit your employees, their "wages ... are crying out against you."  These cries reach God's ears.

There is nothing in the epistle of James to suggest that God favors the rich!  Indeed quite the contrary. I echo William Barclay (from his commentary on James) -- how can a religion based on writings like these ever be accused (by Karl Marx) of being "an opiate for the masses"? If Christianity is ever an "opiate", it has been adulterated and watered down.

I will resist here the temptation to make comments about American politics....

James 5: 7-8 The patient farmer
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

The agriculture metaphor continues.  Every farmer knows that farming requires considerable patience.  So too, patience is required of those from the Kingdom of Heaven, living as visitors and aliens on this planet.

James 5: 9-12 The rich
Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Above all, my brothers, do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.

Job is an example -- but I'm not very eager to have Job's patience!

The last two sentences of this passage echo part of the Sermon on the Mount, which James presumably heard.

James 5: 13-15, Prayer
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

James suggests several reasons why the church leaders should pray with us and for us.  I was an elder in a church where we did this; we prayed for others and in response to requests for healing, we did "anoint" with oil, an act that made it clear our reliance on God and our expectation that God was actively responding to our requests.

James 5: 16-28, Confession
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

Confession is to be a regular part of the Christian life and community.

"Elijah was a man just like us" says James, and uses him as a model of prayer and its efficacy.  But I am not sure I have much in common with Elijah!

William Barclay notes that the Old Testament passage, I Kings 17, in which Elijah's long drought is described, does not explicitly mention any prayer by Elijah. James is making a natural assumption....

James 5: 19-20, Care for each other
My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

And so the letter ends.  Abruptly.  This is a strange little letter, with strong words, both sharp criticism and confrontation and bold statements about the importance of prayer and correct action.

Tomorrow we look at the first letter of Peter.