In James 4:13-5:6, we find a section where the author author addresses two groups of people, the merchants and the wealthy prefacing his statements with the expression with Age nun (age nun), "Come now". It is an expression employed ordinarily by philosophers in a diatribe -- an argument against an imagined foe. The theme of the arguments in this section revolves around the impermanence of life itself and wealth in contrast to the certainty of judgment and the absoluteness of the Divine will. Not only Jews were familiar with the theme; even the Greek philosophers talked about it. The sin that is denounced is presumption. In this, the present section has similarities with the preceding verses on judging others since to judge others is to presume that one is above the law. Thus the question "Who are you?" (4:12) is carried over into the present section.
The arguments in 5:1-6 can be divided as follows
- 1-2 The wealthy should now mourn because their wealth and clothing are all being reduced to nothing.
- 3 The wealthy have heaped up for themselves the wrath that will be poured on the last day: the rust of their silver will be as a witness against them, a fire that will consume their flesh
- 4 The cry of those whom they have defrauded rise up to the God for judgment
- 5-6 They have lived in luxury, fattening themselves for judgment; they have murdered the just who has not resisted
In 4:9-10, James has called for grief and lamentation as the accompaniment of cleansing the hands and purifying the heart (4:
. "Be grieved, weep and cry" he said, "let your laughter be turned into mourning, your joy into tears". By these acts they perform humble submission to God who resists the proud but raises up the lowly (cf. 4:6.10). The wealthy are told to mourn because of the judgment that approaches. For James, it is not because of the transitoriness of earthly glory that matters but of the judgment that will ultimately come upon the wicked, among which are numbered the wealthy. The image of the coming judgment is hinted at in v. 1 ("the misery that will come upon you"), v. 3 ("their [= of silver] rust will be a witness against you ... eat your flesh like fire ... hoarded wrath for the last day") v. 4 ("the cries have reached Yahweh Sabaoth") and directly proclaimed in v. 5 (you have fattened yourself for the day of slaughter).
In view of the following exhortation to patience "until the Lord's coming" (5:7), it is clear that the addressees in 5:1-6 (and even those in 4:13-17) are not among the actual audience of James. He says those things as if the "wealthy" and the "presumptuous businessmen" are present so that his actual audience may hear his words and thereby derive comfort and receive instruction. In the wisdom tradition of the Jews, it is a constant exhortation not to envy the prosperity of the wicked (see Psalm 73;Psalm 62:10-13;Psalm 52:8-9;Psalm 49:14-21; Prov. 1:10-19
. It is to be noted that the "wealthy" in 5:1-6 are stereotypically the "wickedly rich". They have amassed wealth by defrauding others, oppressing the poor who are also presented stereotypically as "the innocent one". For that reason, judgment will come upon them because of the things that they have amassed and enjoyed and as vindication for those they have made to suffer. In this way, the present section prepares for the exhortation to patient endurance in 5:7-11
Earlier I said that the theme of presumption that is found in 4:13ff is also found in 5:1-6. This is due to the idea of the wickedly rich as found in those wisdom teachings that admonish people not to envy the rich. Psalm 73 is a classic in this regard. The psalmist here regrets the fact that he had allowed himself to think that the wicked have it better (21-22). The wicked here are described vv. 4-12.
For they suffer no pain; their bodies are healthy and sleek.
They are free of the burdens of life; they are not afflicted like others.
Thus pride adorns them as a necklace; violence clothes them as a robe.
Out of their stupidity comes sin; evil thoughts flood their hearts.
They scoff and spout their malice; from on high they utter threats.
They set their mouths against the heavens, their tongues roam the earth.
So my people turn to them and drink deeply of their words.
They say, `Does God really know?' `Does the Most High have any knowledge?'
Such, then, are the wicked, always carefree, increasing their wealth.
The wicked are prosperous, their evil do not seem to get punished and they scoff at God. No wonder then that the psalmist admits "I lost balance" (v. 2, NAB), his heart "embittered" and his soul "deeply wounded" (v.21). But then he realized that he was wrong about the wicked when he had an experience of God in the temple (v. 17) and how God reduces them to nothing (vv. 18-20).
Another example is Proverbs 1:10-19. Here, the wise man advises his student about the wicked who entice people with the promise of wealth and fortune.
My son, should sinners entice you, and say,
"Come along with us!
Let us lie in wait for the honest man,
let us, unprovoked, set a trap for the innocent;
Let us swallow them up, as the nether world does, alive,
in the prime of life, like those who go down to the pit!
All kinds of precious wealth shall we gain,
we shall fill our houses with booty;
Cast in your lot with us,
we shall all have one purse!"My son, walk not in the way with them,
hold back your foot from their path!
Both these examples show how the wicked are presented -- in stereotyped fashion -- as those who prosper thinking that it is their strength and their wisdom that counts. The wise however know that their prosperity is short-lived and that their comeuppance is nigh.
James has these images of the wickedly rich as he speaks about them. Although he does not mention it, these men -- like the business men he mentions in the preceding section -- presume a lot about themselves
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Below are the places in the Catechism where this section in James is quoted or partially referred to
James 5:1-6 is quoted in full in CCC 2445: "Love for the poor is incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use" while 5:4 is quoted in the following paragraphs:
1867 The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel, the sin of the Sodomites, the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt, the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, injustice to the wage earner.
2409 Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another.
The following are also morally illicit: speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks and invoices; excessive expenses and waste. Willfully damaging private or public property is contrary to the moral law and requires reparation.
2434 A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work. To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice. In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account. "Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the business, and the common good." Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.
Note for the Liturgy of the 26th Sunday (OT B)
If we keep in mind that the denunciation of the wealthy is not really the intention of James but an admonition to his audience not to trust in wealth, especially ill-gotten wealth, then the responsorial of the 26th Sunday (OT B) puts the reading under the proper perspective. Psalm 19 is a declamation about the Law of the Lord and a prayer that the psalmist be preserved from breaking it by sin. Here, James 5:4 -- the line about ill-gotten wealth -- contains references to sins of landowners against those who work for their lands.
The Gospel reading is a continuation of Jesus' admonition that the disciples should think of "greatness" not in terms of dominance and power, but in terms of humble service. In this light, one can think of James 5:1-6 as an exhortation for the wealthy to repent (vv. 1-2) and change the way they make use of their wealth.
