James V

In our short time looking at this book of James, we might have rediscovered a desire to examine not just the words on the page, but the deeper context of the message. It was either written in the late 40s or early 50s by James, the half-brother of Jesus, or more probably in the late 70s, early 80s, by an acolyte of James, who had died decade before. It was written, not for us today, but for the Jews living outside of Judea, and ‘Christian Jews’ in particular. Oddly, Jesus is only mentioned twice (James 1:1 and James 2:1), and no mention of the crucifixion is given. There is mention of the Jesus’ return (James 5:7-8) as an encouragement to the readers/listeners – akin to Paul in 1 Thessalonians. Was it an easy Church theme? Does it imply a consumerist theology that ‘we get Jesus back if we do it right’? It speaks a lot about ‘saved through faith by works’, contrary to Paul’s ‘saved by faith’, causing a negative response by Martin Luther : ‘an epistle of straw‘.

What does James V say?

It might be interesting to note that when we hear or experience disagreements from within our own church community, the author here is also in that midst. He is seeking to encourage those who have left ‘the path’ – ‘the Way’? – to return. There should not be grumbling but convert the energy expended to patience and endurance. His ire is still drawn to the rich as he continues to see the poor disadvantaged and marginalised. In James 5: 14-16 we have the verse that speaks of the calling of certain members to care for the sick, to which come allude is the development of the ‘last rites’ held highly by some modern denominations. Interestingly, the author says that the ‘prayer of faith will save the sick’, albeit in this verse, the Greek word sōzein indicates healing not salvation.

Prayer

I have discussed the meaning of prayer often before. In this pastoral letter, there is implied a connection between sin and sickness which can be broken through prayer. I don’t see that at all. We will get sick at some points of our life. For some it has tragic consequences. Why? I don’t know. But, in my opinion, it is not linked to sin.

In James 5:14 the author speaks of saying the prayer ‘in the name of the Lord’. We might see this as a form of magic; however if we looked at it with a view that “God does not exist to answer our prayers but that prayer exists for us to know the mind of God” (Oswald Chambers), perhaps we might see that by saying ‘the name of the Lord, as a way of ensuring that it we are in close relationship with God.

Sinner’s

In James 5:20 we have this: “whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins“. The emboldened ‘sinner’s’ indicates that in many translations it highlights “his” could well have been intended. There is ambiguity in this verse. Is it that the person who brings back someone wandering from the path of faith is restored; or the person who has wandered? More questions…

Conclusion

There is much to dissect and discuss within these chapters. What could be easy to do is to dismiss this book, as Luther sought to do, and not actively consider it. It has many challenges for us today. We might wish to compare and contrast the sayings within the letter from ‘James’ and those from Paul; reflect whether ‘faith and works’ are necessary for ‘being saved’; and even contemplate questions such as:

• has God already saved us?
• will Jesus return?
• what is the point of prayer?

Hope you enjoyed this short series of reflections.