James

Objective: 

• Trials vs Temptations
• Partiality
• Faith and works
• The Tongue
• Heavenly wisdom
• Lustful desires
• Worldly richess

Resources:

• Fr Tadros Y Malaty Commentary
• Catena Bible Commentary
• HEMY
• Fr Dawoud Lamie Bible study (Arabic)
  

Reading:

• James 1
• James 2
• James 3
• James 4
• James 5

Key verse(s):

"Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" James 2:18

Comments:

• The Catholic Epistles are Seven
• Catholic = Universal
• The Catholic Epistles differ from the Pauline Epistles as they were not sent to specific persons (Timothy - Titus) or Churches (Galatians - Romans) but sent to Christians in the world
• The Author:
  • He is James, the son of Alphaeus
  • One of the twelve disciples
  • He is the brother Jude/Thaddaeus/Lebbaeus (Author of the other epistle)
  • He was known as the Lord’s brother as his mother was a sister to St. Mary the Virgin, the wife of Clopas, which means Alphaeus in Aramaic
  • The first Bishop of Jerusalem (Acts 15)
  • He headed the Council of Jerusalem in 51 AD (Acts 15)
  • He was ascetic and used to kneel during prayer until his knees became like those of a camel
• The epistle is written to the Christians all over the world to encourage them to endure trials and to offer practical spiritual applications
• Ch. 1:
  • V.1-2: We should be joyful when we are facing trials because these are our crowns in heaven
  • V.3: Trials produce patience and strength in life
  • V.5: Asking God for wisdom will definitely be accepted by Him as He loves these requests and will provide "Liberally"
    • Bad requests: money, revenge, power
    • Good requests: wisdom, love, patience
  • V.9-10: God will reward the poor. As they suffered on earth, they will be rewarded in Heaven
  • V.11: If the rich do not depend on God and do not endure trials happily, they will perish like grass burned by the sun
  • V.12-13: Sometimes we may think that God makes us fall into sin (Why did God put this person in my day to make me lust or get angry?)
    • St. James is explaining that these thoughts are false and the sins are coming from our bad feelings/thoughts
      • Hate -> Getting angry at someone
      • Lustful thoughts -> lead to sin
  • V.14-15: Progression of sin
  • V.19: We should be fast to hear the word of God and slow to speak lest we sin
  • V.22-24: Man should be a doer of the word. If a man knows that he is struggling with a certain sin and hears God's word without doing an action, he is alike a person looking at the mirror without fixing himself.
• Ch. 2:
  • V.1-13: At this time, people were under persecution. Some used to honor the rich more in Church so they could protect them if they were persecuted. St. James is encouraging them to honor the poor and rich equally and to rely on God. The poor are rich in spirit and faith.
  • V.14-26: Faith without works is dead
    • Faith and works are equally important, and BOTH are required to enter the Kingdom
    • We can't do good works without believing in God and His commandments
    • We can't say we believe in God and His commandments without doing His works and showing our faith in action
• Ch. 3:
  • V. 1-11: St. James provides simple and practical examples to show much much power is in the tongue
  • V. 13-18: Heavenly vs Earthly wisdom
    • Characteristics of each type
• Ch. 4:
  • V. 1-6: Personal pride produces wars and hatred between people
  • V. 7-10: Humility cures all prideful wars and hatred
  • V. 11-12: Judging one another is a spiritual war
  • V. 13-17: We should plan our lives and seek work and success. But we have to understand that all of this is through God's will. We can't guarantee that we will be living and that all our lives and plans will be completed exactly as we planned.
• Ch. 5:
  • V. 1-6: Rich people are not hated by God, and being rich is not a bad or sinful thing. But we have to understand that riches come from God for the rich to enjoy their hard work and God's blessing. The rich shall use what God gave them and give to those in need. Richness is bad when it makes the person rely on it and not God
  • V. 7-12: Patience and perseverance.
    • V.12: The importance of not cursing and being honest and confident in your words
  • V. 13: The importance of spiritual rejoicing in the Lord
  • V. 14: Sacrament of the unction of the sick. "Elders" is not an accurate translation, and it means "Priests - Presveteros"
  • V.16: Sacrament of repentance of confession. 
    • Both sacraments go hand in hand - We pray for the healing of our spiritual and physical sicknesses
    • Confess to one another: Does not mean to confess to regular people but to the priests (from V.14)
  • V. 17: He wanted to comfort us by telling us that the great Elijah was also a human and felt weak at some point. But Elijah was a man of prayer and fasting.

Review/recap questions:
**Servant may add more questions

1. Will God ignore our prayers when we doubt?
2. “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Does this mean wrath is acceptable? Explain.
3. What’s the difference between good Christians who believe that there is one God and the demons who also believe that there is one God?
4. Some other Christian denominations believe that all you need to be saved is faith. How can you use this chapter to respond to this belief?
5. How does St. James describe the tongue? 
6. If the tongue cannot be tamed why try?
7. What counsel does St. James give to those tempted by the world?
8. What does the phrase “friend of the world” mean and how can that cause an enmity with God?
9. Identify verses in this chapter that talk about sacraments of the Church.
10. Does anointing with oil guarantees healing?

Homework:
**Servant may add more questions

1. CHAPTER 1
   1. My brethren, count it all _____- when you fall into various __________, knowing that the testing of your faith produces __________.
   2. The apostle says that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from _________." a) our parents b) the Father of lights c) the Pharisees
2. CHAPTER 2
   1. When a poor man comes to our church we should:
      a) treat him as a servant b) ignore him and pay attention to the rich people c) treat him well because he is also loved by God
   2. Who is called “friend of God”?
      a) any Christian b) the Lord Jesus Christ c) Abraham d) Rahab
3. CHAPTER 3
   1. 1. Out of the same _________ proceed _________ and cursing.
   2. 2. Heavenly wisdom is characterized by:
      a) envy and self-seeking b) confusion and evil c) purity, peace and gentleness
4. CHAPTER 4
   1. 1. "God resists the _________, but gives grace to the __________."
   2. 2. Therefore, to him who knows to do ______ and does not ____ it, to him it is _________.
5. CHAPTER 5
   1. 1. But let your "Yes," be _______ and your ______ "No," lest you fall into __________.
   2. 2. Is anyone among you _______? Let him call for the elders of the _______ and let them pray over him, anointing him with _______ in the name of the _______.