ACC ~ James 5 v7 - 11

OVERVIEW:

The return of Christ was a constant hope in the early church, where there was a strong conviction that they were living in the last days before the end. To those who were suffering, the wait seemed interminable, but it was important to develop a proper sense of perspective. The example of the patience of Job and the Old Testament prophets was held out to Christians as proof that what they were hoping for would eventually come and that when it finally arrived the wait would seem like no time at all. Although God now waits for our repentance (CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA), he may come quickly at any time to dispense justice (BEDE). As in the case of Job, the devil is allowed to put us on trial, not merely in order to take our possessions away but that when that happens he can force us to curse God because of it (CHRYSOSTOM). Our hope is for eternal, not temporal, rewards (AUGUSTINE, BEDE).

5:7 | Wait Patiently for the Lord to Come

GOD WAITS FOR REPENTANCE. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: If God delays the punishment of sinners, waiting for them to repent, it is not because his character has changed, so that now he loves sin. Rather he is giving them time to repent. CATENA.

5:8 | The Lord Is Coming Soon

LONGSUFFERING AND PATIENCE. CHRYSOSTOM: Longsuffering toward one another and patience to those outside. Longsuffering is what we show toward those who can return it, and patience is how we act toward those who cannot do the same to us. CATENA.

5:9 | Your Judge Is Almost Here

HE WILL COME QUICKLY. BEDE: The just Judge will give you the rewards of your patience and will punish your adversaries with what they deserve. He sits at the door where he can watch everything you do, and he will come quickly to give each one whatever he or she deserves. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

STOP HARMING THE POOR. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: James means that we should stop mocking the poor and doing them harm, complaining about them at the same time, because we shall be judged according to our cruelty and condemned by the righteous judge. COMMENTARIES.

5:10 | An Example of Suffering and Patience

WITHOUT COMPLAINT. BEDE: James tells us to look to the prophets, who never did anything wrong and who spoke the words of God’s Spirit to the people but who nevertheless suffered a terrible end at the hands of unbelievers—Zechariah, Uriah and the Maccabees, for example, not to mention John the Baptist, Stephen, James the son of Zebedee and many others in the New Testament. They did not complain at such an end but were willing to endure it. Others put up with long labors without complaining, for example, Noah, who spent a hundred years building his ark, and Moses, who took forty years to lead his people out of slavery and into the promised land. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.

5:11 | The Joy of Endurance

THE EXAMPLE OF JOB. CHRYSOSTOM: It is a great thing if we can give thanks with great joy. But there is such a thing as giving thanks out of fear, and also such a thing as giving thanks in grief. This is what Job did when, in great suffering, he thanked God, saying: “The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away.” Let no one say that he was not grieving over what had happened to him or that he did not feel it deeply. Do not take away the great praise due to the righteous. … How great is this praise? Tell me, in what circumstances do you bless Job? Is it when he had all those camels and flocks and herds? Or is it when he says: “The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away”? For the devil also harms us not in order to take our possessions away so that we have nothing left but so that when that happens he can force us to curse God because of it. CATENA.

HOPE FOR ETERNAL REWARDS. AUGUSTINE: James means: “Bear your temporal misfortunes as Job did, but do not hope for temporal goods as a reward for your patience, such as were returned to him double. Rather hope for the eternal goods which the Lord went before us to secure.” LETTERS 140.10.

THE CROWN AFTER DEATH. BEDE: God shows his compassion toward us by setting us free from our temptations in this life and by glorifying the living before others because of the constancy of their faith. After their deaths he crowns them in secret, so that the memory which they deserve will not be taken away from them by other people. CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES.