OVERVIEW: Humble persons understand that they are in no position to pass judgment on others, and they will not do so. On the contrary, they recognize that they are also under judgment and will be more concerned to put their own lives right than to go about criticizing others. Christians must also watch how they plan their lives. It is all too easy to map out a future in which God has no place, but we must remember that everything we do is bound by the limits of time and of his will. To forget this is to fall back into the sin of pride, which can only lead to our destruction. Many would prefer to mind the business of others more than their own (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA). Such pride ultimately arises from contempt of others (OECUMENIUS). Our knowing complicates our sinning (AUGUSTINE). The faith rightly proclaimed must first be lived (OECUMENIUS). There is only one law and one lawgiver (HILARY OF ARLES, BEDE, THEOPHYLACT). View your life in terms of the wider perspective of God’s grace (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, OECUMENIUS). James is aware of how fleeting and empty our present life is (AUGUSTINE, OECUMENIUS). Grace enables good effort (CHRYSOSTOM).
WICKED ACTS GIVE BIRTH TO ARROGANCE. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Every wicked act dulls the sense of our thoughts and gives birth to arrogance. For although it is necessary for each one to examine himself and behave according to God’s will, many people do not do this but prefer to mind the business of others. If they happen to see others suffering, it seems that they forget their own weaknesses and set about criticizing them and slandering them. They condemn them, not knowing that they suffer from the same things as the people they have criticized, and in so doing they condemn themselves. The wise Paul writes exactly the same thing: “If you judge another in something, you condemn yourself, for the one who judges does the same things.”1 CATENA.2
PRIDE ARISES FROM CONTEMPT. OECUMENIUS: James knows that haughtiness and pride arise from contempt and disdain toward the meek, which pushes those who behave that way to despise them completely. He wants to turn his hearers aside from this. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.3
ONLY ONE LAWGIVER. HILARY OF ARLES: The law of the Bible was given through many agents, like Moses and Elijah and John the Baptist, but ultimately it is still only one law, and there is only one lawgiver. INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES.4
THE ARROGANCE OF JUDGING. BEDE: James says it is arrogant to judge another person and not to consider the uncertain state of our own weakness and time-bound life. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.5
DO NOT DESPISE THE LAW. THEOPHYLACT: Who would endure having to live under a law which he despises? Therefore do not be a despiser of the law, says James, and do not look for some other legislator, who will prescribe the opposite. For there is only one lawgiver, God, who can both condemn and deliver sinners. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.6
PUT YOUR LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Some people go on endless journeys for the sake of business and the profits which they can make thereby, enduring even sea travel for their sake. Some fight in order to get some advantage over others by increasing their power. Still others fatten their purses by cheating and by extortion, bringing down fire and brimstone on their heads. CATENA.7
THE WIDER PLAN. OECUMENIUS: James does not take away our free will but points out that everything we do is part of a wider plan which is governed by God’s grace. Even if we are able to run around and get on with the business of this life, we must not attribute this ability to our own efforts but accept that we can do these things only by the blessing of God. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.8
THE VAPOR OF TEMPORAL GOODS. AUGUSTINE: Restoring health for a time to a man’s body amounts to no more than extending his breath for a little while longer. Therefore it should not be considered of great importance, because it is temporal, not eternal. SERMONS 124.1.9
OUR TEMPORAL LABOR VANISHES. OECUMENIUS: James says this in order to indicate just how fleeting and empty our present life is. He wants to make us ashamed of the fact that we spend all our time engaged in its vanity, and in the evils of this age and in things which, as soon as they are accomplished, disappear, and all our labor vanishes with them. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.10
GRACE COMPLEMENTS HUMAN EFFORT. CHRYSOSTOM: James is not trying to take away our freedom to decide, but he is showing us that it is not just what we want that matters. We need God’s grace to complement our efforts and ought to rely not on them but on God’s love for us. As it says in Proverbs: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”11 CATENA.12
IN BAPTISM WE RENOUNCE THE DEVIL. OECUMENIUS: Vain boasting comes from pride, and its ultimate source is the devil. Those who have been baptized into Christ ought not to take any kind of inspiration from Satan. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.13
GRACE ENABLES DOING GOOD. CHRYSOSTOM: James does not remove the power to do good, but he shows that it is not just a matter of one’s own will. To do good as we ought, we need the grace of God. CATENA.14
KNOWING COMPLICATES SINNING. AUGUSTINE: Does the one who does not know how to do good and does not do it commit a sin? He certainly does, but the one who knows what is good and does not do it sins more grievously. ADULTEROUS MARRIAGES 9.15
THE FAITH PROCLAIMED MUST BE LIVED. OECUMENIUS: Good deeds ought to come before preaching, so that it will be clear that it is a righteous man who is proclaiming the faith which is being expounded. COMMENTARY ON JAMES.16