A Letter to Stressed Communities

The Letter of James (or more correctly, of Jacob), had a low profile in the early church. Luther famously misconstrued and disparaged it. The letter has been criticized for a lack of theological insight regarding the work of Christ. But it is a challenging handbook of practical ethics inspired by the teaching of Christ. As an encyclical directed to Christians scattered by persecution, it provides invaluable instruction on remaining faithful to God and on living in love, faith, and unity when people are subjected to extended periods of difficulty--times when people might be disposed to lash out at each other. The letter is organized almost entirely as a series of chiastic units. These represent an ancient convention in which a series of statements is repeated but in inverse order. These units delineate natural divisions of the text, and they provide a natural way of reading and understanding Jacob's letter. Each unit may correspond to a sermon or homily formerly delivered by Jacob.