James 5:13

The true means of sanctifying times of excitement, whether joyful or sorrowful. We must make the worship of God the outlet for our emotion.

14-16. In order to understand this passage, round which much controversy has raged, we must remember that it was, and is, a Jewish custom for a sick man to make his confession to some rabbi or rabbis. Elaborate rules to guide those who receive such clinical confessions are found in the Talmud. St. James is telling his readers that this custom was to be continued by Christian Jews, and that the confession of the sick man was to be made to the clergy ('presbyters') of the Church. They would then (1) pray over him for the pardon of his sins, and (2) anoint him with oil (the recognised remedy, Isaiah 1:6; Mark 6:13; Luke 10:34). By these means he would obtain forgiveness of his sins, and (if it were God's will) recover from his sickness. It is scarcely necessary to point out that the Roman Catholic doctrine of Extreme Unction receives no justification from this passage. In the Prayer-Book ('Office for the Visitation of the Sick') the lines laid down by St. James are closely followed. To a Jew sickness and sin were associated (John 9:2).