James the angry man

In a story, some characters are flat. Their traits are consistent and predictable. Some characters are round. They possess a variety of potentially conflicting traits (Forster 1927, Aspects of the Novel). Though the Epistle of James is not a story, it shows a round James. He was humble and called the believers brethren. But at times, he was so angry and disappointed with them that he literally yelled at them.
Early in his Epistle, James advised the community.
Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,
for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God (James 1:19-20).
He kept his words and patiently discussed various issues arising in the community. The discrimination against the poor members in the community concerns him. The rich did not show charity towards the poor. They entertained the illusion that faith alone would justify them. James would not hold on to his patience any more. He scolded them "You shallow man" (James 2:20). Faith without charity is a dead faith.
Then, there were church members eager to be teachers. In telling others what to do, these teachers satisfied their own ego rather than edifying the weaker members. Mencius felt the same sting. He said 「人之患，在好為人師」【離婁上‧23章】Their tongues were the very source of disorders and disputes. Consequently, they waged wars against each other. James was angered by these in-fighting. He yelled at them, calling them "unfaithful creatures" (James 4:4) and "you sinners, you men of double mind" (James 4:8) and "double-minded man will not receive wisdom from the Lord" (James 1:7-8). James is not a one-dimensional character. He is humble and righteous at the same time. He cares a lot about the community he is writing to.
Why do church members fight against each other? Here is his analysis.
You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (James 4:2-3).
How often we ask wrongly in our prayers. That is why we receive not what we ask for. Even when we ask, not for selfish purposes, but for the good of the others, our prayers might still not be answered. We must learn to seek God's will.
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection.
Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you (James 4:8-10).
Here, we hear echoes of the Beatitudes. But it is no good to be hearers only because hearing will only produce illusion if we do not put the truth into practice. For James said,
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22).
Therefore, cleanse your hands, i.e. repent and kick the old habits; purify your heart, i.e. stay focused on the Kingdom of God, rather than earthly ambitions. Only then shall we travel upon the right path.

My Advocate, I have a lot to learn from James. Open my eyes to see more clearly his example. Stir up my enthusiasm to follow his examples. Enable me to discern the will of God. Our Lady, your humility is always my guidance. fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Amen.

p.s. I dropped and smashed the porcelain teacup Mr. Chan Yue Ham, my ex-colleague in La Salle, gave me after finishing the above blog entry at 11:20 p.m. I have been using it every evening since I left La Salle, remembering Mr. Chan's kindness to me. I pray that this is not a bad omen. Amen.