Hilary of Arles

Nicene & Post-Nicene · AD 325–500 · 167 passages across 8 books

Commentary

121–140 of 167

But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

John means by this that he still has many commands to give them.

James 1:1

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

Christ deigned to reveal himself to James after his passion, and eventually it became proverbial to say: “He appeared also to James.” James refers to himself as a servant, but we must remember that there are two kinds of servitude, voluntary and involuntary. The involuntary servant is a slave who fears punishment, and therefore his service does not spring from love. But the voluntary servant is really no different from a son.

James 1:2

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

Just as the world has to pass through winter before the spring comes and the flowers bloom, so a man must go through many temptations before he can inherit the prize of eternal life. For as Paul said: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Temptations come in three ways, by persuasion, by attraction and by consent. Satan persuades, the flesh is attracted, and the mind consents.

James 1:3

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Temptations can be endured by spiritual knowledge and faith in the Trinity.

James 1:4

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Perfection is the love of God, which is that very same “perfect love which casts out fear,” that is, the fear of being tempted. Perfection is also patience, which is the guardian of the soul as Scripture says: “By your patience you will gain your souls.”

James 1:5

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Why does James tell them to seek wisdom? It is so that they might have God’s assurance. Only God should be asked for wisdom, not philosophers or astrologers. God gives wisdom like a fountain which never runs out of water, and he fills everyone whom he enters, but the wisdom of philosophers and other human agents is not given in abundance, and it is soon spewed out.

James 1:6

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

James shows that the basis of human wisdom is faith. Here he may be contending against Simon Magus, who asked the apostles to give him the Holy Spirit but did not ask in faith.

James 1:9

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

This verse applies to Hebrew slaves who were great and proud and high in their own eyes but in their slavery had become the lowest of the low. It is as if he were saying that life was harder for the rich people with whom they were living than it was for them as their servants. The boasting referred to here is not vain glory but joy in times of temptation.

James 1:10

But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

Scripture says that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled.“ Wealth is a rich man’s flower, but the elements of the universe are out to snatch it away from him. James says very little about the humble man, but it is enough, for he will receive his glory from God. But the rich are condemned at great length, so that no one will be tempted to follow their example.

James 1:16

Do not err, my beloved brethren.

This refers to the deception of the heretics who think that because God rules the physical world in darkness and in light, in drought and in rain, in cold and in heat, so he also rules over human wills with the same determinateness—in good and in bad, in sadness and in joy, in death and in life. Because of this error, James goes on to add that it is “every good endowment and every perfect gift” which comes from the Father of lights.

James 1:18

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Just as the heavenly powers rule over the angelic creatures, so we human beings rule over the lower creation.

James 1:21

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Filthiness and wickedness arise out of anger.

James 1:23

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

There are two kinds of mirrors—large and small. In a small mirror you see small things—this is the Old Testament, which leads no one to perfection. But in a big mirror you see great things—this is the New Testament, because in it the fullness of perfection is seen.

James 1:27

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

James calls God the Father because as far as he is concerned there is no other god who made the world (as the Marcionites and other heretics claim). What he says about widows has to be understood in the light of the fact that there were many who tried to rob them of their possessions, as it says in the Gospel.

James 2:2

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

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.

James 2:5

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Some people say that this is meant to be a comfort to the poor whohave 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.

James 2:7

Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

This is the name of the God of Israel, which was invoked on your behalf in Egypt, as well as in your baptism.

James 2:8 · 2 passages

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

“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.

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.

James 2:9

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

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.” Jesus confirmed this when he said: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

All writers

Who was this?

Hilary of Arles, also known as Hilarius, served as a bishop in Southern France during the fifth century. He died in 449. He is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, where his feast day is observed on 5 May.

Wikipedia

Works cited

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER 40
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 2 PETER 38
INTRODUCTORY TRACTATE ON THE LETTER OF JAMES 38
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN 30
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 3 JOHN 7
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON JUDE 6
INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN 5
HONORATUS, PREFACE 3 1
INTRODUCTORY OMMENTARY ON 2 JOHN 1