Hope for Today?
Hope for Tomorrow?
James offers a message of hope to the new and struggling Christian
community. From the very start the message of the Letter of James
is good news. James 1:1 ends with the Greek word chairein,
translated greeting in the NRSV. But chairein is a
form of the word chairo meaning rejoice or be glad.
The word is translated as a form of rejoice, glad, or joy 85% of
the time. Although James moves immediately to the trials the community
is facing, still he suggests this is a time of charan-joy,
delight, or rejoicing.
Preference for the Poor
Elsa Tamez argues that the primary hope that James offers the community
is the message that God has a clear preference for the poor and
the oppressed. The hope is for the community reading this letter.
Be proud of your lowly position, says James 1:9; God has chosen
the poor to be heirs of the Kingdom in 2:5. This preference for
the poor seems to be clearly connected to Jesus' beatitudes in Matthew
5 and Luke 6.
James 2:21-25 uses an interesting comparison of how important the
lowly are to Christian community. Abraham, the father of the Hebrew
faith, is offered an example of good faith and good works. This
is not a surprising example. But in verse 25, James introduces Rahab
another example. Rahab and Abraham are compared in the first word
of verse 25: homoios. This is likewise, or in the
same way. Thus Rahab, a woman, a prostitute, and a pagan, is
seen in God's eyes in the same way God sees Abraham, the founder
of the faith. We see that the lowly are truly raised up, that there
is hope for every Rahab to be as important as Abraham in God's world-view.
The hope for Rahab, and for the poor and oppressed, is hope for
now and hope for later. Notice in Matthew 5:3 and Luke 6:20 the
blessing is in the present tense: for theirs (yours) IS the kingdom
of God. In James 1:9 the lowly should boast NOW. But the hope
is also in the coming judgment. The rich in James 5:1-6 are called
to weep NOW for the judgment. in the future. The riches and gold
have rotted and rusted already, implying the judgment. is here and
now. The wages held back in the past are reaching God's ears now.
In verses 7-9 the oppressed are called to patience, for the judgment.
is imminent, but in the future. The hope continues to be offered
in the promise of the Job and the prophets (James 5:10-11), who
suffered in the present but were blessed in the future. The point,
it seems, is in James 5:11. God is compassionate and merciful. In
James 5:11 and is standing at the doors ready to judge in
James 5:9. Hope is in the judgment. to come.
Judgment for the Rich
To whom is this hope offered? In James 5, it is clearly not to the
rich! In James 1:12 and 2:5 the promise is to those who love God.
In 2:5 it is clear that it is the poor of this world who are synonymous
with those who love God; in 1:12 it is those who persevere under
trial. Does James offer any hope to those who have plenty? Tamez
argues that even verse 1:12 offers hope only to the poor and oppressed,
not to the rich. The NRSV separates verses 9-11, Poverty and Riches,
from verses 12-18, Trials and Tribulation. But Tamez and the New
Interpreters Bible group verses 9-12 as one message. When read as
a unit we see that those enduring under trial are the lowly from
verse 9, not the rich from verses 10 and 11.
Tamez continues her argument by saying that the rich are not part
of the Christian community that James is addressing, but rather
are the oppressors of the community. James 1:12, and in chapter
5, James offers no hope for the rich (Tamez 38). Johnson disagrees,
arguing that the friendly term brother in verse 1:9 (made
inclusive with the word believer in the NRSV) is the subject
of the entire paragraph. Still, Johnson argues, the message could
be that the rich who consider themselves part of the Christian community
really are not, for they are living by worldly values (Johnson 188).
Or, perhaps James is saying the rich are a part of Christian community
when they humble themselves and remove themselves from the way of
the world.
Remove yourselves from worldly ways! This is the call to conversion
in James 4. Tamez and Johnson agree that here the hope here is for
all. This hope lies in praxis, or right action. We are called to
convert from being "double-minded" to the life of integrity and
single-mindedness. The rich, especially, are accused of trying to
live both by God's way and the way of the world. Our hope is in
living only in God's way. James uses world in James 4:4 as
a contrast with God and faith. James is adamant: you can choose
worldly riches or God's riches, not both. Tamez compares James call
to turn from the world with Jesus' words in Luke 16:13.
No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate
the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
The hope in James is that we can decide now to turn from the wealth
and riches, turn from the rules of the world, to live by the rules
of God. By the rules of the world wealth gives status and power,
by the rules of God, the rich are humbled and the poor raised up.
Conversion requires that we give up the adultery of having two masters
and become single-minded in our attention to God's law. To do this
we must be humble, pure, and lowly. For Tamez this means the only
hope James offers the rich is in ceasing to be rich, oppressive
and exploiting (Tamez 39).
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near
to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts,
you double-minded. - James 4:7-8
Elsa Tamez, The Scandalous Message of James: Faith Without
Works Is Dead. John Eagleson, translator. With Study Guide
by Pamela Sparr. (New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2002).
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