The Fire of Christ’s Justice

St. James: The Assertive Voice in the Early Church

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

My brothers and sisters,

There are moments in history — and moments in our own lives — when the world confronts us with something so unjust, so contrary to the heart of God, that silence becomes impossible. The Scriptures do not ask us to pretend that everything is fine. They do not ask us to smile politely while the vulnerable are harmed. They do not ask us to be neutral when human dignity is trampled.

In fact, the Scriptures show us something quite different.

1. Jesus Himself Knew Righteous Anger

We sometimes forget that Jesus — gentle, merciful, patient Jesus — also burned with holy anger. Not petty anger. Not ego-driven anger. But the fierce, cleansing fire of divine justice.

• When the Temple was turned into a marketplace, Jesus did not shrug. He overturned the tables.

• When the Pharisees burdened the people with hypocrisy, He called them “whitewashed tombs.”

• When the disciples tried to push children away, He was indignant.

• When the powerful used religion to crush the weak, He confronted them directly.

Christ’s anger was never about Himself. It was always about the dignity of the little ones, the integrity of worship, the protection of the vulnerable, and the truth of God’s Kingdom.

If the Son of God can burn with righteous anger when injustice reigns, then His Church cannot be expected to whisper politely in the face of wrongdoing.

2. St. James: The Sharp, Prophetic Voice of the Early Church

And then we hear St. James — the apostle whose clarity you and I both cherish. James does not soften his words. He does not apologise for speaking plainly. He does not ask permission to defend the vulnerable.

He says:

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this:

to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to

keep oneself unstained by the world.”

And again:

“Come now, you rich, weep and wail

for the miseries that are coming upon you.”

James is not being “political.” He is being Christian. He is being apostolic. He is being faithful.

He reminds us that the Gospel is not an abstract philosophy. It is a living fire that exposes injustice, calls out exploitation, and demands that the Church stand with those who suffer.

3. The Clergy’s Duty to Speak from the Centre — Not the Left, Not the Right

In every age, the Church has been tempted to drift toward one political pole or the other. But the Gospel is not left-wing. The Gospel is not right-wing. The Gospel is not a party platform.

The Gospel is the plumb line — the centre — against which all human systems are measured.

And so clergy, by virtue of their ordination, do not speak as partisans. They speak as custodians of the Gospel. They speak as servants of Christ. They speak as guardians of the flock.

When the teachings of Christ are trampled — whether by presidents, governments, institutions, movements, or individuals — the clergy have not only the right but also and crucially, the duty to speak.

Not to score points.
Not to defend a tribe.
Not to advance an ideology.

But to proclaim the truth of Christ crucified and risen, and to defend the dignity of every human person made in His image, regardless of how inconvenient it may seem to the powerful and those who serve their agenda.

4. Righteous Anger Is Not Hatred — It Is Love in Defence of the Vulnerable

The anger of Christ and the sharpness of James are not expressions of hatred. They are expressions of love — love that refuses to stand by while the vulnerable are harmed, lied to, gaslighted at every turn, exploited, trampled over and over again, shot down, unfairly blamed for their own misfortune and even dismissed as if of no importance or consequence.

Righteous anger is the flame that burns away indifference.
It is the voice that says, “This is not of God.”
It is the courage to stand in the centre and speak truth to any power that violates the Gospel.

And so, when tragedy strikes — when a life is taken unjustly, when the vulnerable are placed in harm’s way, when systems fail the people they are meant to protect — the Church must not retreat into silence.

We must stand where Christ stands.
We must speak where James speaks.
We must love with a love that refuses to be quiet.

5. A Call to the Faithful

My beloved friends, the World does not need a Church that is timid and feeble.  It does not need a Church that is biased towards Power but forgets the People it is supposed to nurture with special and loving care.

It needs a Church that is faithful. A Church that has a spine and integrity to call out wrongdoing, whatever the source. A Church that speaks with the voice of Christ — sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce, always rooted in love.

A Church that listens to James — unafraid to name injustice, unafraid to defend the poor, the vulnerable, the sick, the homeless, the unemployed, the victims of abuse of Power, unafraid to call the powerful to account.

A Church that stands at the centre — not because the centre is comfortable, but because the centre is where the Cross stands. We are called to stand at the foot of that Cross and be brave, true, honest and sometimes even blunt when the occasion calls for it.

May we be that Church.
May we be that people.
May we be that witness.

Amen