Glory be to Jesus Christ!
🌞
The weekday readings of the Ecumenical Epistles of the Saint Apostles begin: one Epistle of James, two Epistles of Peter, three Epistles of John the Theologian, and one Epistle of Jude.
More information about James, the brother of the Lord, the first bishop of Jerusalem, also called the Righteous, the author of the first known form of the Liturgy, the chairman of the First Council of the Church — the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem - is available from Scripture and Tradition. See, in particular:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/11092023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/19052023.html
For a brief overview of the reading itself, see the following link:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/
James I, 12 — 'πειρασμόν' - 'peirasmon' - 'trial; test; temptation'. 'δόκιμος γενόμενος' - 'dokimos genomenos' - 'becoming, coming into being, born tested, tried, accepted'. 'στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς' - 'stephanon tes zoes' - 'the crown, garland of life'. A complex thought that encourages us to perceive trials as a birth for the Kingdom of God, for glory, for eternal blissful life. This idea is especially relevant in relation to martyrdom, which is perceived as a spiritual birth, entry into eternity. The words about the crown in the Greek original have an evident parallel with the name of the Saint Stephen the First Martyr, which only emphasises this idea. It is also possible to think that since after Stephen's martyrdom many Christians dispersed from Judea to different lands, the mention of Stephen and the trials was very significant and historically relevant for them.
I would like to point out that in the words above, it is not God's attitude to human beings that changes, but human beings themselves that change, are born accepted into eternal life. God loves His creation, but creation does not always love God. See more about this in particular at the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/15072023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/15062023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/30062023.html
James goes on to emphasise that the source of temptation is not God, but lusts, or, one could say, creation, and if we recall the story of the fall, they, i.e. lusts, were not created by God, but humans succumbed to them through the fall. See, in particular:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/02032023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/03032023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/06032023.html
James I, 18 — 'ἡμᾶς' - 'emas' - 'us'.
The apostle James goes on to describe the state of mortal sin very clearly as a deep drama, or better yet, a tragedy, through an analogy with sexual relations (not for the weak in faith). A person who commits a mortal sin is portrayed as a victim of gang rape who becomes pregnant… A terrible condition, the awareness of which can open the eyes — the latter is actually the explanation why the words are God-inspired.
There is a good essay on the conclusion of the reading here:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/
For the Gospel readings, please refer to the following link:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/20122023.html
Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!