Enduring Hardships (3rd Sunday of Advent)

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In the New Testament, Eschatology (the study of last things) and Ethics (the study of right and wrong) are closely related. The coming of the Lord and the Day of Judgment are often mentioned with the purpose of reminding believers to live with the end in mind.

We see this in the epistle reading, where St. James reminds Christians that the Lord is coming as the Judge. His nearness is emphasized by the statement that the judge “is standing at the door” (v. 9). This refers simultaneously to the judgment of unbelieving Israel (which was fulfilled in AD 70) and the future judgment of all mankind, which will take place at the last day. It can also refer to the particular judgment that every man experiences at the end of their life (Heb. 9:27; see CCC 1021-1022). All of these are relevant to his immediate audience as exhortations to right living, while the latter two remain relevant to everyone, including us living in the present day.

Such right living, for James, consists in being patient amidst sufferings, and not grumbling against one another. He cites Job in v. 11 as an example of how to endure suffering steadfastly, and provides us a lesson in God’s mercy from his life:

Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:11)

Job, one may recall, lost everything. His wife told him to curse God and die, but instead he maintained his integrity, declaring: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

We are to emulate Job’s example, blessing the name of the Lord even when we lose everything. In so doing, we trust that God will vindicate us and fully restore what we have lost a hundredfold in the age to come.

J. Luis Dizon