OVERVIEW: James closes his letter with a brief sketch of how we should conduct our relationship with God. First of all, it is important to avoid demeaning God’s name, which points to his power and presence in the world. Let the witness of your life be stronger than any oath (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). An oath adds nothing to a simple yes or no (CHRYSOSTOM) and tends toward disaster as seen in the case of Herod (BEDE). We must not give the creation more value than it has by deifying it (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). The need of an oath comes from an unsure conscience (LEANDER). Pray and praise God whether in good times or bad (ANDREAS, BEDE).
In time of suffering and illness we must turn to God, and if our sins are too great for us to deal with on our own, we must call the elders of the church to come and assist us. The apostolic tradition calls for the elders to anoint the sick with the oil of mercy and pray for their healing (HILARY OF ARLES, BEDE, OECUMENIUS). The prayer of faith is efficacious (CAESARIUS OF ARLES) when it gives expression to the petition of the whole consenting church (HILARY OF ARLES). Do not leave sin unconfessed and ignored either in your own house or another’s (AUGUSTINE). And do not bore others with every detail (BRAULIO OF SARAGOSSA). The Lord himself who had no sin sets the example for sinners to pray for our sins (AUGUSTINE). Prayers of the righteous are beneficial (PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS), especially when one does works fitting to the prayer (MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR). God loves to be asked (BEDE). The effectiveness of prayer offered by the right people in the right way can never be underestimated, as the case of Elijah reminds us. We are called to persevere in prayer like Elijah (HILARY OF ARLES), who was on fire with zeal for God (CHRYSOSTOM, THEODORET).
The most important thing of all is to recover the lost sheep who have gone astray, and those who do this will give incontrovertible proof of the fact that they are ready to reign with Christ in his eternal kingdom. One who converts others will save his own soul (ORIGEN, HILARY OF ARLES). Out of love (BEDE) the shepherd of souls rescues and delivers souls from death (GREGORY THE GREAT, SYMEON). Unless we protect what has been sown in us by constant care, the devil will snatch it away (CHRYSOSTOM).
AN OATH ADDS NOTHING. CHRYSOSTOM: What if someone swears an oath and claims that he was forced to do so? The fear of God is more powerful than any force. For though you may start out by swearing all kinds of promises, you will not keep any of them. Moreover, you would not dare to swear or give an oath in matters of human law, which you accept whether you want to or not. You would certainly never claim that you were forced into doing so. Now the person who has heard the blessings of God and who has prepared himself as Christ has commanded will never claim any need to do anything of the kind, for he is respected and honored by all. What is needed beyond a simple yes and no? An oath adds nothing to these, for no one has to be told that evil is the source of both excess and its deficient opposite. An oath is a form of excess. CATENA.1
DO NOT DEIFY CREATION. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Let the witness of our life be stronger than an oath, and if some shameless person dares to ask an oath from you, let your yes be yes and your no be no, instead of swearing an oath. James forbids us to swear by heaven or by earth for this reason, that we should not give the creation more value than it has by deifying it. For those who swear, swear by something greater than themselves, as the apostle says.2 CATENA.3
HEROD’S OATH RECALLED. BEDE: This is the judgment to which Herod fell victim, so that he found that he had either to break his oath or commit another shameful act in order to avoid breaking it. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.23.4
THE UNSURE CONSCIENCE. LEANDER: Jesus said: “Let your yes be yes and your no, no.” Any more than this is evil. So do not swear for good reason, because that is evil. It is said to be evil because the need of an oath comes from an unsure conscience. It is necessary to extract an oath from one whose sincerity is in doubt, but why should you bind yourself by an involuntary oath when you are bound to show with your lips the sincerity of your heart? Speak the truth from your heart and you will not need an oath. THE TRAINING OF NUNS 29 (19).5
IN GOOD TIMES OR BAD. ANDREAS: What should you do when you are in trouble? Call on God. And what should you do when you are happy? Praise him. CATENA.6
PRAY FOR GRACE. BEDE: Just as James forbade people to complain to each other about their sufferings, so now he goes on to say how they should behave. If someone has suffered an injury, he ought to go to the church and pray that God will send him the grace of his comfort, so that the sadness of this world, which leads to death, will not overtake him. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.7
THE OIL OF MERCY. HILARY OF ARLES: This sickness is the sickness of sin. If someone is struck down by his own thoughts, then he should pray on his own, but if he has committed some sin he should ask for the church’s prayers. The custom mentioned here is followed even today, for the grace of mercy is symbolized by oil. INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES.8
PRAY FOR THE SICK. BEDE: Just as he has already advised the person who has been injured, so now James gives his advice to the one who is ill. In order to prevent the foolishness of complaining, he told the injured person to pray and sing, and now he tells the person who is sick, either in body or in faith, to call the elders in proportion to the gravity of the illness which he is enduring. James does not advise this person to call the younger members of the church because they are less experienced in such matters and run the risk of saying or doing something which will make matters worse. We read in the New Testament that the apostles did this sort of thing, and the custom is retained in the church, that the priests will anoint a person who is ill and pray for his healing. And this is not the prerogative of the priests only, for in cases of necessity any Christian may do this, provided that he uses only oil which has been consecrated by the bishop. And of course anyone who anoints a sick person in this way must invoke the name of God over him while doing so. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.9
AN APOSTOLIC PRACTICE. OECUMENIUS: The apostles did this even during the time when our Lord was still on earth. They anointed the sick with oil and healed them.10 COMMENTARY ON JAMES.11
HEALTH AND FORGIVENESS. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: Whenever some illness comes upon a man, he should hurry back to the church. Let him receive the body and blood of Christ, be anointed by the presbyters with consecrated oil and ask them and the deacons to pray over him in Christ’s name. If he does this, he will receive not only bodily health but also the forgiveness of his sins. SERMONS 19.5.12
ASK IN MY NAME. HILARY OF ARLES: The prayer of faith is the consensus of the whole church, as it is said in the Gospel: “Whatever you ask in my name shall be done for you.”13 INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES.14
LEAVING SIN UNCONFESSED. AUGUSTINE: Everyone claims this consideration from others whenever possible, for what each of us would punish if it occurred in our house, we want to leave unpunished in someone else’s house. For if we are called to a friend’s house and find him about to punish someone over whom he has power, it is considered most inhumane for us not to intervene. LETTERS 153.15
CONFESS AND BELIEVE. BEDE: We must use our common sense in applying this commandment. As far as small, everyday sins are concerned, we ought to admit them to one another and believe that we are saved from them by praying for each other. But if we have sinned in a more serious way, then we ought to follow the principle of showing our leprosy to the priest and do penance for it as much and for as long as he thinks is right. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.16
BORING AND DETAILED CONFESSION NOT NEEDED. BRAULIO OF SARAGOSSA: Since it would be a long and unpleasant task to reveal my sinful ways to you and to tell you everything in detail, it must suffice for me to reveal to your most holy mind that I am not what you believe, though I beg you to pray to God that he might make me what you believe. LETTERS 44.17
THE LORD’S EXAMPLE. AUGUSTINE: The Lord himself sets an example for us in this also. For if he who neither has, nor had, nor will have any sin prays for our sins, how much more ought we to pray for each other’s sins! And if he for whom we have nothing to forgive forgives us, how much more should we forgive one another, knowing that we cannot live on earth without sinning! TRACTATES 58.2.18
PRAYERS OF THE RIGHTEOUS. PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS: Scriptural truth has passed on to us the fact that the prayers of the righteous are of use only to those who are worthy of them, and only in this life, not after death. ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL HIERARCHY 7.3.6.19
DOING WORKS FITTING TO THE PRAYER. MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR: There are two ways in which the prayer of a righteous man is effective. The first is when the person praying does so by offering to God his works done according to his commands. Then the prayer is not just a matter of words, blurted out meaninglessly with the empty echo of the tongue, but powerful and living and inspired with the spirit of the commandments. For the true basis of prayer and supplication is the fulfillment of the commandments by virtue. This makes the prayer of a righteous person strong and full of power. The second way is when the person who asks for the prayers of a righteous man fulfills the works of prayer, above all by putting his life right. Then he makes the prayer of the righteous man strong, because it is reinforced by his own wonderful conversion. For there is nothing to be profited by a person who makes use of the prayer of a righteous man if he is himself already more inclined to virtue than to vice. CATENA.20
ASK GOD. BEDE: God loves to be asked, so that he can give. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.14.21
COOPERATING WITH THE INTENT OF THE PETITIONER. THEOPHYLACT: The prayer of a righteous man is effective as long as the person who is being prayed for cooperates with his intentions. For if other people are praying for us while we are wasting our time in idleness and debauchery, their prayers will be useless. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.22
A MAN LIKE OURSELVES. BEDE: If Elijah got what he prayed for, just think how much the persistent prayer of a righteous person is worth in the sight of God! But just in case you think that you could never measure up to someone as holy as Elijah, James adds that he was a man, just as we are, even if he was second to none in his virtue. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.23
PERSEVERE IN PRAYER. HILARY OF ARLES: The apostle regards himself as inferior to the prophets, who performed such miracles. The three years and six months represent the time of the antichrist, but the three years may also stand for the three ages of human history from the creation to the time of David, or they may symbolize the patriarchs, the prophets and the apostles. The miracle mentioned here is meant to encourage believers to persevere in their struggle against the unrighteous, for as in the case of Elijah, even if only one person prays, his prayer represents the common mind of all the righteous. INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES.24
THE HEAVENS GAVE RAIN. CHRYSOSTOM: The word of the prophet went forth and suddenly the air was changed, the sky became bronze, not because its nature was altered but because of the electric effect which was produced. Suddenly the elements were transformed, as the prophet’s word fell like a fiery bolt on the hollow parts of the earth, and immediately everything dried up, became a desert and disappeared. CATENA.25
ON FIRE WITH ZEAL FOR GOD. THEODORET OF CYR: It is rash to think that anything which spiritual men say is excessive or badly stated, for what is said is not mindless or superficial. For this man was a prophet, and the greatest of the prophets, on fire with zeal for God. What he said, he said by the inspiration of God’s Spirit, which explains its extraordinary character. CATENA.26
WHAT WE SHOULD DO. BEDE: Earlier on in his letter James warned us to restrain our tongues from wicked or pointless statements, but now at the end he takes the opportunity to show us what we should be doing with them instead. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.27
YOUR MOUTH LIKE GOD’S. OECUMENIUS: Jeremiah said: “If you separate what is precious from what is vile, you will be like my own mouth,”28 for whoever proclaims God’s words becomes in effect his mouth. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.29
CONVERTING OTHERS. ORIGEN: A man who converts others will have his own sins forgiven. SERMONS ON LEVITICUS 2.4.30
HOW TO CONVERT OTHERS. CHRYSOSTOM: And how do you go about converting someone? It is like the seeds sown by farmers. They are sown once, but they do not survive forever unless they are carefully nurtured. And unless the tillers of the soil protect the seeds, they will be exposed to the birds and to every seed-eating creature. We are just like this, unless we protect what has been sown in us by constant care, for the devil will snatch it away and our own lethargy will destroy it. The sun dries it up, the rain drowns it, and weeds choke it, so that it is not enough for the sower to pass by once only. Rather he must tend it often, driving away the birds of the air, pulling up the weeds and filling up the rocky places with much soil. He must prevent, block off and eject any form of destruction. Where soil is concerned, everything depends on the farmer, for without him it remains lifeless, ready only to suffer harm. It is not like that with spiritual soil however. For in spiritual matters it is not all up to the teachers; at least half the effort must come from the pupils. It is up to us the teachers to sow the seed but up to you the pupils to do the rest. CATENA.31
RESCUING A SOUL FROM DEATH. GREGORY THE GREAT: If it is a great thing to rescue someone’s body when it is on the point of death, how much greater is it to deliver someone’s soul from death, so that it might live forever in the heavenly country? LESSONS IN JOB 19.31.32
PREACH IN ORDER TO CONVERT. HILARY OF ARLES: Someone who preaches to sinners in order to convert them will save his soul, even if the people he preaches to are not actually converted. INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES.33
THE MOTIVE OF LOVE. BEDE: James does all he can here to ensure that imperfect people like ourselves do not gloat over winning others away from their wicked ways and converting them to the truth by reminding us that we should be engaged in such work out of love for our brothers and sisters. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.34
PHYSICIAN AND SHEPHERD. SYMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN: As a physician you must cure the passions and diseases of those who are sick in soul; as a shepherd you must bring back those who have strayed. DISCOURSES 18.16.35