James

What James is about

James reads less like a letter than like Proverbs. It moves quickly between subjects, states things directly, and is more interested in behaviour than in argument. Its author is traditionally identified as James the brother of Jesus, who led the Jerusalem church.

Its subjects are relentlessly practical. Trials, and why endurance matters. Asking God for wisdom without hedging. The absurdity of a church that ushers a well-dressed visitor to a good seat and leaves a poor one standing. The tongue — a small rudder, a small spark, and the thing James says nobody can tame. Quarrels that come from wanting what we do not have. Business plans made as though tomorrow were guaranteed. Wages withheld from workers, which James says cry out. And prayer for the sick, with elders called and anointing oil, which several traditions practise to this day.

Its most discussed passage is the argument that faith without works is dead — that saying go in peace, be warmed and filled to a person without clothes or food is not faith at all. This has sometimes been set against Paul’s insistence that we are justified by faith apart from works of the law. The two are addressing different questions: Paul denies that works of the law establish our standing before God; James denies that a professed faith leaving no trace on how a person lives is faith at all. Christian traditions have discussed the relationship between the two at length and formulate it in different ways; what they hold in common is that genuine faith and a changed life are not separable.

Where it sits in the story

James is one of the General Epistles, addressed broadly — to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion — rather than to one congregation. It is probably among the earliest New Testament writings, and its echoes of the Sermon on the Mount are constant, often in the same order.

Why it is worth reading

Because it is impossible to read passively. James is five chapters long and almost every paragraph names something specific enough to check yourself against — how you spoke this week, who you deferred to, what you promised and did not do.