Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, 20 for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. 22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. 24 He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. 25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
For the Gospel to be effective, Christians must not only hear and accept the Gospel but freely act according to the Word to be saved. James wants his brothers and sisters to know that listening, hearing, speaking, and doing are interrelated. They should be eager to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger (Ben Sira 5:11). When Christians act out of anger, they cannot accomplish the righteousness that God desires of them. They must rid themselves of every sinful behavior that defiles them and humbly accept God’s Word which has the power to save their souls. They must hear God’s Word, take it to heart, and act upon it otherwise they are deceiving themselves.
The Word of God implanted in us at Baptism must be heard and acted upon and we must avoid everything that is not Godly. The man who does not act after hearing the Word forgets its message and is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror, sees his faults, and promptly forgets them. The Gospel is the “perfect law of freedom” and those who hear the Gospel and live by it will be blessed (Rom. 2:13). If a person claims to be religious and cannot control his/her disorderly thoughts and speech which dishonor God, their faith is in vain (Mt. 5:20). Selfless acts of charity like caring for the vulnerable and avoiding worldly vices are examples of what God considers pure and acceptable religion.
Almighty God, through your grace, your Word comes alive and inspires us to humbly serve as you direct. Strengthen us so that we may avoid what is evil, be quick to listen to your word in our hearts, bridle our tongues, and avoid anger. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
__________________________________
References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
Comments