Commentary on James 5:7-10

The third Sunday of Advent is established for the joyous celebration of buzzing anticipation for the coming of the Lord. In light of James’ sobering call to “be patient” (5:7) regarding the “arrival of the Lord,” we are shaken from the seasonal complacency of sentimental nostalgia that gets proliferated by the cacophony of commercial sirens. And yet, we are confronted with the question of whether we will be ready for the coming of the Lord as Judge. 

How do we shift from dread to rejoicing? Too often, the coming of the Lord is associated with threats of punishment and hazards of being uncovered in our sinfulness. How do we move from viewing the return of the Lord as a prospect of God’s devastating exposure of our sinful habits, to a posture of anticipating God’s just judgment as a welcome and refreshing relief?

The interval of Advent can be an unsettling time. The clamoring and clattering of holiday duties often swallow us up in distractions of numb overcommitment. The stress of being stretched so exhaustingly thin can make for anxious self-awareness in the moments we allow ourselves to pause and acknowledge that “The Judge is standing at the doors” (5:9). In the feverish interlude between final year end-of-quarter and the growing pressures of New Year’s resolutions, we may find ourselves avoiding the tension that tugs at our imagination between the Lord’s arrival as a fragile infant in Bethlehem and the impending appearance of the Judge who sees all and knows all. 

The sobering wisdom of James for this hour is to orient our attentions and investments toward a future that God has promised to bring when he comes in judgment to set all things right. 

This is often a season of frenzied appointments, burdensome demands on our time and energy, and lists interrupted by both welcome and unwelcome surprises. During this time, we need to hear James’ reassuring reminder to “firmly set your hearts” (5:8; “strengthen your hearts” per New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition) so we can rest in the hope of the Lord’s approaching arrival. The term for this “coming” (5:7, 8) is parousia, which was often associated in the ancient world with the anticipated arrival of a royal or dignitary figure, which would have been accompanied by festal celebration and communal procession to mark the occasion.  

James reminds us that this season is not just looking back fondly to the heartwarming Nativity, but that it is even more a preparation for the heart-weighing Epiphany. 

James’ words invite us into the perspective of the poor and those who have been mistreated by the powerful and the policy-makers. From the beginning, James tips his hat to those who are among the “scattered” (in the diaspora, 1:1). Panning out to the wider section of this passage, we see that James has just upbraided the wealthy who have exploited their workers (5:4) and secured themselves in luxurious retreat (5:5). In contrast with those whom James now addresses as “brothers and sisters” (5:7), whom he encourages to “set firm their hearts” (5:8), these privileged prosperous have “(over-)fed their hearts for the day of slaughter” (5:5). 

The imagery here, with the eschatological frame of invested treasures for “the last days” (5:3), recalls the grotesque apocalyptic warning of Revelation 19: At the triumphant coming of the Lord, one is either invited to the feast (19:9) or destined to be the feast (19:17)! James warns these exploitative rich to “weep and wail” at their coming miseries (5:1), thus incentivizing those who would respond rightly to his message to join in solidarity with those who are eagerly anticipating the liberating approach of the Lord. This anticipation focuses on those who are unjustly accused, as well as on murdered victims who are vindicated in the Lord’s judgment (5:6). 

Adopting the perspective of James’ “poor” not only puts this season in perspective but reorients completely the kind of future we are living into with the coming of the Lord. 

After calling out the abusive rich people (5:1–6), James returns to his address of family (“brothers and sisters”) to invite solidarity in identity as the household of God (4:11; 5:7, 12). Here he begins with the exhortation to the family to be not just “patient” (as he will urge in verse 11), but “long-suffering.” It is here that James directs attention to look ahead to the coming of the Lord. 

But then he also guides us to look around. Focusing on our practice of speech, which is a common focus for James (see 1:19–26; 3:1–12; 4:11–12), he ensures that the waiting community will not turn on itself in “grumbling against one another” (5:9). This, as well, is motivated by a disposition toward not receiving condemnation when the Lord returns. It is also about reflecting God’s own character and so not collapsing into blame and complaints against one’s family. As such, this “establishing of the (communal) heart” is rooted in hope for the coming of the Lord.

James often notes that suffering is only temporary (1:2–4, 12), and this is paired with the insight that the rich and mighty thrive for only a fleeting moment. James’ patience is not simply grounded in personal grit nor even merely in the incentive that struggle makes for increased strength (“no pain, no gain”). Rather, James roots his call for patience in the future promise of the Lord’s coming, which will bring a reversal of fortunes, a righting of wrongs, and a vindication for those who remain faithful. Along with the everyday example of the persistent farmer, James makes his appeal with reference to scriptural paradigms: the prophets and the figure of Job. 

The turn from dread to rejoicing means continuing to gather together, orienting ourselves to the coming of the Righteous Judge, speaking encouragement to one another, and being nourished by the scriptural exemplars who point to the faithfulness of the coming Lord.