Chapter 1 Chapter 2:1-9 Chapter 3:13-18 Chapter 4:13-17 Chapter 5:1-6 Chapter 5:9-12 James 2: 1 - 9

1	My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

Chrysostom:
What does it matter if you think highly of yourself, when someone else despises you? Are we not all one body, both great and small? Therefore if in principle we are all one and members of each other, why do you mindlessly exalt yourself? Why do you bring shame on your brother? For just as he is a part of you, so you too are a part of him. Catena.1

Bede:
James here demonstrates that those to whom he is writing were full of faith but empty when it came to works.

Oecumenius:
Anyone who does things by showing favoritism covers himself with great shame and reproach, for that way he brings disdain not only on his neighbor but much more on himself as well. Commentary on James.

Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
The Apostle Paul said that they ought not to make such attacks upon each other, but that they should rather give heed to this, that God had fulfilled His promises which He swore to Abraham our father, that in his seed he should inherit all the nations. Gen. xii. 3, xvii. 5. For there is no respect of persons with God. As many as have sinned in law shall be judged according to law, and as many as have sinned without law shall perish without law. Rom. ii. 12. But we, brethren, ought to thank God that, according to His mercy, He has chosen us to be a holy people to Himself: so that in this we ought to boast, whether Jews or Greeks; for you are all one in the belief of His name.

St. Thomas Aquinas
It is written (James 2:1): "Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . with respect of persons." On these words a gloss of Augustine says: "Who is there that would tolerate the promotion of a rich man to a position of honor in the Church, to the exclusion of a poor man more learned and holier?" [Augustine, Ep. ad Hieron. clxvii.]

2	For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,

Augustine:
Far from me is the notion that in your tabernacle, Lord, the rich should be more highly regarded than the poor, or the noble than the less wellborn. You have chosen the weak things of this world to put the strong to shame, and you
have chosen things which are dishonorable, despised and of no account, in order to bring to nothing the things which are. Confessions 8.4.9.4

Hilary of Arles:
What James says here applies not just to rings but to any sign of wealth, for the ring is meant to stand for a treasure house of riches. Introductory Tractate on the Letter of James.5

3	and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "Have a seat here, please," while you say to the poor man, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet,"

Chrysostom:
There is no difference between rich and poor in Christ. Pay no attention to the outward appearance, but look for the inner faith instead. Catena.6

4	have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Augustine:
Who could bear to see a rich man chosen to occupy a seat of honor in the church when a more learned and holier man is passed over because he is poor? Is it not a sin to judge by appearances that a rich man is a better man? Letters 167.18.7

Theophylact:
The word and often occurs here, where we would expect subordinate clauses
instead. This was the older way of speaking, which James records for us. Commentary on James.8

5	Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?

Augustine:
By choosing them, therefore; He makes them rich in faith, as He makes them heirs of the kingdom; because He is rightly said to choose that in them, in order to make which in them He chose them. I ask, who can hear the Lord saying, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” and can dare to say that men believe in order to be elected, when they are rather elected to believe; lest against the judgment of truth they be found to have first chosen Christ to whom Christ says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you”? John xvi. 16.

It is by choosing the poor that God makes them rich in faith, just as he makes them heirs of the kingdom. It is rightly said that he chose this faith in them, since it was in order to bring it about that he chose them. On the Predestination of the Saints 17 (34).9

Salvian the Presbyter:
The apostle’s testimony is a very serious matter. Do the nobility think that they are immune from his strictures, because he referred only to the rich and not to the noble as well? But there is so great an overlap between these two groups in practice that it makes little difference which one of them the apostle was speaking about. His words certainly apply to both. On the Governance of God
3.10.10

Hilary of Arles:
Some people say that this is meant to be a comfort to the poor who have been thrown out of the houses of the rich or who dwell in inferior accommodations. Even if they are poor in material things, they may be rich in faith. Introductory Tractate on the Letter of James.

Oecumenius:
When poor people are not preoccupied with the things of the world, when they come to faith, they often become more energetic and more determined to work at it than rich people do. Commentary on James.12

6	But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court?

Chrysostom:
Bear their greed as patiently as you can! Those people destroy themselves, not you. For while they rob you of your money, they strip themselves of God’s favor and help. For the one who bases his life on greed and gathers all the wealth of the world around him is in fact the poorest of all. Catena.13

Bede:
Here James shows us more clearly who these rich people are, whose humiliation and destruction he talked about earlier. They are people who put their riches before Christ, who are themselves strangers to his teaching and who use their power to oppress those who believe. They take poor people to court and blaspheme the name of Christ. That there were many upper-class people in the time of the apostles who did this kind of thing is clear both from the Acts of the Apostles and from Paul’s letters. Concerning the Epistle of
St. James.14

7	Is it not they who blaspheme that honorable name which was invoked over you?

Apollinarius: This refers to the rulers of the Jews, who enriched themselves on tithes, and also to the leaders of the Romans, who were idolaters at that time. Catena.15

Hilary of Arles:
This is the name of the God of Israel, which was invoked on your behalf in Egypt, as well as in your baptism. Introductory Tractate on the Letter of James.16

8	If you really fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.

Hilary of Arles:
“Love your neighbor”means three different things. The first is corporal, that is, the literal sense of the words. The second is spiritual, according to which we love those close to us even though we may be absent from them. The third is contemplative, by which love itself is beheld. But we have to understand that one leads to another. The corporal inspires us to go on to the spiritual, and that
in turn lifts us up to the contemplative. The spiritual may sometimes regress to the merely corporal, but the contemplative never fails us. The corporal and spiritual forms of love are common to human beings and have analogies
in animals, but the contemplative is reserved for humans alone. Introductory Tractate on the Letter of James.17

Andreas: Just as you want to be treated justly and properly by your neighbor, so you must behave toward him as you would towards your kinsman and child of God. What our Savior said about this is absolutely right: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. For this is the law and the prophets.”18 Catena.

9	But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Hilary of Arles:
It is a sin to show any class distinction among persons, for the law says: “You shall not be partial in judgment, you shall hear the small and the great alike.”20 Jesus confirmed this when he said: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”21 Introductory Tractate on the Letter of James.22