Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(James 5:9-12; Mark 10:1-12)
Martin Luther called the Letter of James an “epistle of
straw.” More recent critics of the
letter do not find many direct references to Jesus in it. Indeed, the letter mentions Jesus by name
only twice. However, there are many
parallels between its contents and statements of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel.
In today’s passage James tells his readers not to complain
so that they will not be judged. In
Matthew Jesus says to his disciples: “Do not be judged that you may not be
judged.” Likewise, Jesus tells his disciples: “Do not swear at all, neither by
heaven … nor by earth … Let you word be, ‘Yes, yes,’ ‘No, no.’” James is very
similar here: “… do not swear, either by
heaven or by earth or with any other oath,
but let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’"
Part of Jesus’ salvation is his
legacy of prophetic teaching. James
continues this endeavor and even surpasses Jesus’ call to social justice in
some respects. For both, treating one’s
neighbor justly is a required response to God’s offer of forgiveness.
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