Wednesday of the 31st Week

James 1:1-18

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 

Mark 6:7-13

At that time, Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Of all the New Testament Epistles, my favourite is almost certainly that of St. James (Jacob), the brother of the Lord and first bishop of Jerusalem, mainly because it is so wonderfully practical in nature. I mentioned below how the authority over unclean spirits we once again encounter in today's Gospel is precisely the inability of the evil powers to separate us from the love of God, no matter what kind of temptations we endure. Therefore, St. James tells us to rejoice when we encounter trials since they will only strengthen that bond of love all the more. He goes on to tell us that it is through this love of God that we become perfect, complete, lacking in nothing. This is why the Lord told His disciples to take nothing with them on their journey, no food, no money, no extra clothing. For while the rich man shall pass away like the flower of the grass, the poor man, as long as he has faith, lacks nothing. True riches come not from earth, but from the Father in whom there is no variation or change. The disciples are called to reflect God's unchangeable nature by remaining wherever they find faith, not constantly moving from house to house, which would have made them seem unstable to those around them. 

Wherever their message is not welcomed, however, they are told to shake the dust from their feet, thereby showing that they took with them no part of such unbelief. We must do the same with our desires. We should remain with a good disposition and cultivate good desires, but when an evil desire arises in us we should flee from it immediately, allowing no remnant of it to remain, lest it lead to sin and subsequent spiritual death, as St. James explains. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah  sinned greatly, but did not have the Apostles sent to them. For us who know God and have heard the truth, however, the consequences will be much greater. As the Lord says elsewhere, "that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Lk. 12:47-8). And we cannot blame God for our disbelief, "for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one". As St. Cyril of Jerusalem says, "What can sin be?...What is this thing which works in us? It is no foe from without, O man, wrestling against you: but a shoot of evil taking its increase from yourself" (Catechetical Lectures 2:2). 

In a sense this is true not only of temptation, but also of divine judgment and punishment. If we look at the same story in St. Luke's Gospel, we see that he adds the words "Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near" (10:11). It is the same kingdom of God, that is the presence of God, that is experienced as paradise by those who love Him and as torment by those who hate and reject Him. God, the Father of lights, Himself remains unchanged, as St. James says, and "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). It is the disposition of our own hearts that will determine how we experience Him in eternity.