Thursday 14 November 2013

Background

James speaks out against partiality and favouritism. Even if theexample given in verses 2-4 is hypothetical or exaggerated, thesethings must have been a feature in the Christian community he knew.Verse 7 suggests that the Christians have been persecuted bywealthy people, and a result of this is that the wealthy aredeferred to in an unhealthy way. A way, moreover, that is notappropriate for those who believe in Jesus Christ. (Verse 1 is theonly reference to Christ in the letter apart from a mention of hisname in the greeting in James1:1, and has caused some to suggest that the letter is actuallya piece of Jewish writing 'baptized' for Christian use by addingthese Christian references. Against that, it must be said that thewhole letter is permeated with the spirit and teaching ofJesus.)

The attitude expressed in these verses of chapter 2 follows onfrom James' definition of "pure and undefiled" religion in James1:27, which emphasises practical care for the needy anddistancing oneself from the standards of the world. In the worldthe rich and powerful are given greater honour than the poor. Butthis is not the way that the followers of Christ should behave.

We can make comparisons with James' example and the behaviour ofChristians throughout the years. It is easy to judge people byappearances, by accent, by skin colour, and it can be hard forvisitors to a church to be accepted, if they are different to themajority of the congregation.

It looks as if those referred to as 'poor' are physically poor,or else the contrast between them and those with gold rings andfine clothes would not make sense. But in some aspects of Jewishthought people who were particularly pious were described as 'poor'because of their dependence on God. This is possibly a way ofunderstanding verse 5, with its echoes of the teaching of Jesus inMatthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in sprit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".

To Ponder

• Have you ever experienced this kind of partiality in the lifeof the church? If so, what can you do about it?

• In what ways do some of your actions conflict with a belief inJesus Christ? How might you change this?