Endure Trials Patiently

"James, a servant of GOD, and of the LORD JESUS CHRTIST, sends greetings to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.

Consider yourselves fortunate, my brothers and sisters, when you meet with every kind of trial, for you know, that the testing of your faith makes you steadfast.  Let your steadfastness become perfect, with deeds, that you, yourselves, may be perfect and blameless, without any defect.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask GOD, who gives to all easily and unconditionally.  But ask with faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave driven and tossed on the sea by the wind.  Such a person should not expect anything from the LORD, since the doubter has two minds and his conduct will always be insecure.

Let the believer who is poor, boast, in being uplifted, and let the rich one boast, in being humbled, because he will pass away like the flower of the field.  The sun rises and its heat dries the grass; the flower withers and its beauty vanishes.  So, too, will the rich person fade away, even in the midst of his pursuits." - James 1:1-11 

(What is most impressive at the beginning of the letter is the firmness of faith.  James is a man who does not hesitate and we feel very reassured by his conviction: ask GOD because HE gives to everyone.  Fortunate when you meet with every kind of trial.

The testing of your faith.  We are not in this world to have a good time.  What matters is to take advantage of the time GOD gives us to grow and mature as persons.  The person who has not suffered knows very little.  Oftentimes, those who have suffered do not realize that they owe the best in themselves to their having had to overcome a thousand difficulties.

To save the poor and the afflicted does not consist so much in comforting them or giving them bread as in helping them to face their destiny, to realize themselves through their own efforts and to discover they are helpless if they do not first acknowledge their brothers and sisters and act with them.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom.  GOD has placed in our midst all that we need to solve our problems.  The wisdom that makes us be responsible for our destiny instead of being passive comes from HIM.

Ask with faith.  The one who knows what are the obstacles from which GOD wishes to save him will be the one who has no hesitation in asking with faith.)

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GOD Made Us Free And Responsible

"If you wish, you can keep the commandments and it is in your power to remain faithful.

HE has set fire and water before you; you stretch out your hand to whichever you prefer.

Life and death are set before man: whichever a man prefers will be given him.

How magnificent is the wisdom of the LORD!  HE is powerful and all-seeing.

HIS eyes are on those who fear HIM.  HE knows all the works of man.

HE has commanded no one to be godless and has given no one permission to sin." - Sirach 15:15-20 

(This poem clearly declares that human beings are free and responsible.  In his letter [1:13], James will recall the first sentence of this paragraph.  In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Moses already told his people: "Life and death are before you; choose."

At times the Scriptures seems to say that GOD pushes a person to sin in order to punish him later [see Exodus 10:27; 2 Samuel 24:1]; yet there is no doubt that humans are free.  The Israelites were so convinced that nothing is done without GOD, that they had trouble explaining how someone can sin without this being GOD's will.  Even though they lacked the words to express it, they always saw human beings as persons responsible for their actions.)

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The Religious Division

"Jeroboam thought, 'The kingdom could return to the house of David.  Should this people go up to offer sacrifices in YAHWEH's house in Jerusalem, their heart would turn again to their master Rehoboam king of Judah.  They would kill me and go back to him.'

And so the king sought advice and made two golden calves.  Then he said to the people, 'You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough.  Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.  He put one of these in Bethel, the other in Dan.  This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.

Jeroboam also built temples on high places, appointing priests who were not from the Levites.  Jeroboam also appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eight month in imitation of the feast in Judah, and he himself offered sacrifices on the altar.  This he did in Bethel; and sacrificed to the calves that he had made.  There he placed priests for the high places he had made.  On the fifteenth day of the eight month, the month which he had arbitrarily chosen, he ordained a feast for the Israelites and went up to the altar to burn incense.

And this became the sin of the family of Jeroboam for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth. - 1 Kings 12:26-13:34 

(The twelve tribes are united by the same religion, but Jeroboam realizes that his authority will be weak as long as the Israelites go up to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices there.  He ensures political separation through a schism, that is, a religious separation.  He has a calf made to represent YAHWEH in spite of the prohibition against making a representation of the invisible GOD and reducing HIM to the level of an animal.

In narrating the deeds of the kings of Israel in the north, Scripture constantly repeats: "They followed and committed the sin of Jeroboam."  Thus Scriptures emphasized the need to remain united to the center which GOD established in Jerusalem.  It is not enough to think: "We serve the same GOD," "We serve in our own way."

Jeroboam is the model of other rulers who, much later, tried to establish national churches: in England, at the time of the Reformation; in France after the Revolution; in China and socialists countries, after a communist revolution.  Many Catholics were persecuted and died for remaining faithful to the only church which ought to be catholic, or universal.)

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This Is MY Son, The Beloved, MY Chosen One. Listen To HIM

"There shall be no strange god among you,

you shall not worship any alien god,

for I, YAHWEH, AM your GOD, 

who led you forth from the land of Egypt.

But MY people did not listen;

Israel did not obey.

So I gave them over to their stubbornness

and they followed their own counsels.

If only MY people would listen, 

if only Israel would walk in MY ways,

I would quickly subdue their adversaries

and turn MY hand against their enemies."

- Psalm 81:10-15

(This psalm urges us to listen to the voice of the LORD, because idols are with us, even today.  'We lack dynamism to evangelize and change the world: this is because, we still have idols even in our apostolic planning.  GOD HIMSELF in the Transfiguration tells in Matthew 17:5, 'This is MY Son, the Beloved, MY Chosen One, Listen to HIM.'

GOD keeps HIS promise.  If only we would listen, we would have food for body and soul.)

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Solomon Turns Away From YAHWEH

"In Solomon's old age, his wives led him astray to serve other gods and, unlike his father David, his heart was no longer wholly given to YAHWEH his GOD.  For he served Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites.  He did what displeased YAHWEH and, unlike his father David, was unfaithful to HIM.  Solomon even built a high place for Chemosh, the idol of Moab, on the mountain east of Jerusalem and also for Molech, the idol of the Ammonites.  He did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

YAHWEH became angry with Solomon  because his heart had turned away from YAHWEH, the God of Israel.  YAHWEH appeared to him twice and commanded him not to follow other gods.  But he did not obey YAHWEH's command.  Therefore, YAHWEH said to Solomon, 'Since this has been your choice and you have kept neither MY Covenant nor the statutes I commanded you, I will take the kingdom from you and give it to your servant.  Nevertheless, I will not do this during your lifetime for the sake of your father David; I will take it from your son.  But I will not take it all; I will reserve one tribe for your son for the sake of David MY servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen,'" - 1 Kings 11:4-13 

(Scripture is not scandalized at Solomon's having several wives.  At that time, to have many wives was an indication of a man's wealth.  Scripture rebukes him for taking pagan wives.  In this way, Solomon entered into an alliance with these people who did not know GOD, imitating them in their materialism.

Luxury corrupts wisdom.  Solomon makes a show of his manliness, unaware of the fact that his wives are ordering him around.  These foreign women arrive with their priests and their pagan cults that will draw Israel into idolatry and materialism.

The people thought that the king blessed by YAHWEH had to be surrounded with luxury and honors.  Later the prophets would recall that power, wealth and luxury numb the heart of a ruler [Deuteronomy 17:14].  All people in the course of history have had the same experience.  Even in the Church, for centuries thought it fitting that their bishops and popes assume the appearance of nobles, and we are still paying the consequences of that error.

You have kept neither MY Covenant nor the statutes.  Solomon's real sin consists in directing his life and his nation without seeking GOD's will.  He lives like any other king and works out his own ambitions, thinking it is enough to ask YAHWEH's blessings.)   

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Clean And Unclean

"JESUS then called the people to HIM again and said to them, 'Listen to ME, all of you, and try to understand.  Nothing that enters a person from the outside can make that person unclean.  It is what comes from within that makes a person unclean.  Let everyone who has ears listen.'

When JESUS got home and was away from the crowd, HIS disciples asked HIM about this saying, and HE replied, 'So even you are dull?  Do you not see that whatever comes from outside cannot make a person unclean, since it enters not the heart but the stomach, and is finally passed out?'

Thus JESUS declared that all foods are clean.

And HE went on, 'What comes out of a person is what defiles him, for evil designs come out of the heart: theft, murder, adultery, jealousy, greed, maliciousness, deceit, indecency, slander, pride and folly.  All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.'" - Mark 7:14-23 

(An important practice of Judaism was to keep oneself clean: one could not participate in worship without being in a state of ritual purity.  This word "purity" did not have the same meaning we give it today.  The clean person was one who was not contaminated even inadvertently by things prohibited by law.  For example, pork and rabbit were considered unclean; they could not be eaten.  A menstruating woman or a person with hemorrhoids were considered unclean for a certain number of days: no one could even touch them.  A leper was considered unclean until cured.  If a bug fell in oil, the oil was considered unclean, and would have to be thrown away.

If contaminated even by no fault of his own, the person had to purify himself, usually with water, sometimes paying for sacrifices.

At one time, these laws were useful in encouraging a hygienic life-style.  They also protected the faith of the Jews who lived among people who did not know GOD.  How could they guard their faith in the one GOD if they were to live with other nations, befriend them, and even imitate their ways?  With so many religious practices to observe, the Jews had to live apart from those who did not share their faith and life-style.

It is true that Scriptures, teaches these concepts of purity and impurity, but these laws were written many centuries ago and not everything Scripture says is valid for all times.  Through the teachings of the Scriptures GOD educated HIS nation, but the laws HE gave them from the beginning, when they were barbaric and uneducated, are no longer necessary for a community which has a solid religious foundation.

It is quite legitimate for Christians to adopt a vegetarian way of life, that Christian communities consider abstinence from alcohol and tobacco as a witness to help addicts.  But let us not say that this is part of our faith nor let us judge those who do not agree with us.  That would otherwise undermine the transcendence of Christian salvation that goes beyond any question of "eating and drinking" [Romans 14:17].)

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"At The End Of Time, There Will Be Scoffers, Led By Their Desires, Which Are Those Of Godless People."

"The scum of their vices is splashed, like foam on the rough waves of the sea, they are like shooting stars, which the thick darkness engulfs for ever.  The patriarch Enoch, the seventh after Adam, said these words about them: The LORD comes with thousands of angels, to judge everyone, and call the wicked to account, for all the evil deeds they committed; HE will punish all the injurious words, the impious sinners uttered against HIM.  All these are discontented, who curse their lot and follow their passions.  Their mouth is full of arrogant words, and they flatter people for their own interest.

But, most beloved, remember what the apostles of CHRIST JESUS, our LORD, announced to you.   They said to you, 'At the end of time, there will be scoffers, led by their desires, which are those of godless people.'  Actually, these people are those who cause divisions, they are worldly people, and do not have the Holy Spirit." - Jude 13-19

St. Jude Thaddeus Symbol

(This letter which is attributed to the apostle Jude Thaddeus was written, in fact, about the end of the first century.  It denounces the false teachers like those mentioned in the letters to Timothy and Titus.)

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Our LORD, Our King, Came To Bring GOD To Earth

"Then came the news, 'The Ark is in Ephrata, we found it in the fields of Jaar.'

Let us go to where HE dwells and worship at HIS footstool!

Arise, O YAHWEH, and come to YOUR rest; YOU, and the Ark of YOUR might.

May YOUR priests be arrayed in glorious mantle; may YOUR faithful ones shout in gladness.

For the sake of YOUR servant, David, do not turn away the face of YOUR Anointed."

- Psalm 132:6-10

(Our LORD, our King, came to bring GOD to earth.  For this, HE labored unwearily, with sweat and even with blood.  And the result of HIS work was not a building, a Temple; but the Church, where GOD really dwells, eternally.)

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Your LIght Will Break Forth As The Dawn

"Fast by sharing your food with the hungry,

bring to your house the homeless,

clothe the one you see naked

and do not turn away from your own kin.

Then will your light break forth as the dawn

and your healing come in a flash.

Your righteousness will be your vanguard,

the glory of YAHWEH your rearguard.

Then you will call and YAHWEH will answer,

you will cry and he will say, I am here.

If you remove from your midst the yoke,

the clenched fist and the wicked word,

If you share your food with the hungry

and give relief to the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the dark,

your night will be like noon."

- Isaiah 58:7-10

 (Sharing your food with the hungry: and that on a world scale for humankind is one, the only Adam of whom CHRIST is the head.

Your light will break forth as the dawn.  We see the leaders of the nations come together, discuss and study in order to solve the urgent problems of humanity.  No light breaks forth.  It is a known fact that the research of a scientist does not bring him directly to great discoveries.  Rather, he often finds the solution suddenly where he did not expect it.  In the same way, human problems resist theoretical solutions, but unexpected ways will be found when every nation and every segment of society willingly shares and no longer oppresses others.)

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JESUS Had Compassion On Them

"The apostles returned and reported to JESUS all they had done and taught.  Then HE said to them, 'Let us go off by ourselves into a remote place and have some rest.  For there were so many people coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat.  And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves.

But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were going.  So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them.

As JESUS went ashore, HE saw a large crowd, and HE had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.  And HE began to teach them many things." - Mark 6:30-34 

(The apostles are exhausted.  At the end of this journey they need to rest and take a deeper look at their experiences.  JESUS teaches them and helps them reflect upon what they had seen and done.

HE had compassion on them.  The Old Testament had shown the compassion of GOD as a FATHER, but now JESUS reveals this compassion in a different way.  No one could fully understand the mercy of GOD until the Son came to share everything with us, making HIMSELF poor among the poor, able to feel with them instead of giving them HIS words and deeds of mercy from above.

This compassion of JESUS helps us understand that Christian commitment to the poor is not complete as long as the Church is not itself deeply rooted in the lower class of society.) 

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