James 5:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

It is as though he said: Christian brother, if you have no suffering or sorrow of body and soul, but are healthy and have strength in both, and seem to have every human success, even then you must not depart from God's love and sonship.

Rather, sing to God spiritual songs, divine psalms, and sacred doxologies, saying with David: "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Ps 33:1).

By these psalms, first, you thank God, who has delivered you from every sorrow and bodily illness.

Second, you send up petitions to Him, that He may continue to preserve the health and comfort given to you.

Third, in this way you preserve in your soul quiet, undisturbed, and joy-producing spiritual joy and gladness, which sacred songs and hymns bring forth.

As Basil the Great said, "Sacred hymns give the soul a joyful and consoling condition" (Letter 1).

Therefore take heed, for the love of God. Do not give yourself over to gatherings, games, and demonic songs.

Through them you not only remove yourself from God and show ingratitude toward your Master, who has shown you so many benefactions. In addition, you yourself become the cause of losing the good things and the health that the Lord has given you.

"Let prayer accompany suffering, so that the way out of temptations may be easier for the one being tempted. Then, when our agitations have been stilled through prayer and the soul has reached its proper state, let it sing, so that its blessedness may increase" (Theophylact).

"Is anyone cheerful?" This is the feeling of well-being and happiness, the opposite of the feeling of suffering. This feeling especially needs protection, for it can lead to wrong and immoral actions in life if it is not wisely governed and directed.

In such a state the apostle commands one to sing psalms. That is, generally, to render glory and praise to God through song.

Singing is in general the most natural expression of the feeling of well-being. It is only necessary that this singing be directed to the glory of God, not to sensual enjoyment, however refined it may be.

Therefore, after allowing a place to the sorrows that oppress us because of our human infirmity, let us cry to the Lord in our distress, as the psalmist also teaches. And the Lord will hear us. See Ps 119:1.

In the opposite cases of spiritual gladness, the apostle commands singing: "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing!"

The apostle does not, of course, mean simple merry singing. He means the singing of spiritual songs and psalms, as the best expression of the thankful and reverent feelings of the human soul.

Yet it certainly does not follow from this that every non-spiritual song, if entirely proper and chaste, is sinful and hateful to God on joyful occasions.

Since the apostle commands the Mystery of Holy Unction to be performed for healing from illness, it is clear that it should not be performed only over the sick who are very near death and offer no hope of recovery.

On the contrary, according to the exact meaning of the original text, this mystery should be performed over the sick who may have strength to call the presbyters of the Church.

The apostle does not indicate the number of presbyters. "But custom has handed down," says Symeon of Thessalonica, "that seven be called, corresponding to the sevenfold number of the Gifts of the Spirit listed by the prophet Isaiah.

Others call three, for the power of the Trinity. In case of necessity, even fewer than three may be called. Yet everything must be pronounced that has been handed down to be pronounced."

Even the apostles anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. See Mk 6:13.

This is why the Apostle James speaks of the Mystery of Holy Unction as something known and as concerning all places and times.

Besides prayer and anointing with oil, there is also the laying on of hands. Jesus Christ spoke of this to the apostles, and through them to their successors: "They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mk 16:18).

Thus one must think that this mystery was established by Jesus Christ Himself.

For the performance of the mystery to be effective, the apostle requires prayer filled with living faith, both from the one performing the mystery and from the one over whom it is performed.

By mentioning presbyters, he shows that the Christians of the dispersion then formed separate church communities governed by several presbyters.

As pastors of the Church, these presbyters possessed, by succession from the apostles, the right to forgive sins. See Jn 20:23.