Putting the Word into Practice: James 1: 19-27

Memory Verse

James 1: 22  “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Notes on Content

1: 19-25:  Two kinds of hearing are distinguished.  In conversation, listening is more important than speaking.  In responding to the Gospel, obeying is more important than merely listening.

1:20  the anger of men:  When one reads the Wisdom literature it is apparent that anger is vented by the foolish.  Meekness is the virtue of gentleness and the inner strength to restrain anger.

1:21 implanted word:  The Gospel is likened to a seed planted in the soul that sprouts for the salvation of our soul.  This may be an allusion to the parable of the Sower and the Seed in Matthew 13: 1-9; 23.

1:23 a mirror:  If one hears the word only, she is like someone who glances at her reflection in the mirror and soon forgets what she has seen.  On the other hand, one who hears and obeys the Gospel is one who gazes into the law of Jesus and sees there the path to blessing and the life she desires to live.

1:26 bridle his tongue:  This is a warning that will be treated in detail in 3: 1-12.

1:27 Religion:  The Greek term is thresheia which generally denotes religious acts of worship.  For James, proper service to God is not reduced to a set of beliefs or liturgical rites.  It also includes prudent speech as well as practical service to others: visit orphans and widows.

CCC 2208:  “The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor.  There are many families who are at times incapable of providing this help.  It devolves then on other persons, other families, and in a subsidiary way, society to provide for their needs: ‘Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.'”

Sermon on the Mount References

1.  Hearing and Doing  Matthew 7:24-27

2.  Anger and Wrath  Matthew 5: 22

3.  The Perfect Law of Freedom  Matthew 5: 17-19

4.  Religious deception  Matthew 7: 21-23

St. James

Next time:  Pastoral Wisdom from St. James

@Home Work:  Have you ever:

• been so angry that you said something you instantly wanted to take back?
• struck by a point in a homily only to go home and forget it?
• found yourself laughing at an inappropriate joke and afterward feeling badly inside?