Theresa May in her 2016 party conference speech described her opponents as “citizens of nowhere.”[1] She was arguing that those who saw themselves as citizens of the world, especially those who were using this kind of language to attack Brexit supporters as nationalists lack roots. The speech understandably ruffled a few feathers.
The reality of course is that many people do struggle with a sense of split loyalties. What about the person who has migrated into this country either seeking better economic conditions or fleeing was, corruption or persecution for asylum? Of course there’s always been a suspicion of the foreigner in our midst, the Jews have particular suffered much throughout the centuries to a perception that their loyalties are divided and so they are not to be trusted. Mind you, there is a form of hypocrisy at work. Brits abroad expect to be able to enjoy a better life whether down under in Australia or on the Costa-del-Sol whilst retaining their British identity and the privileges involved.
The idea that if you have loyalties to a higher authority or relate to a wider community than your immediate ethnic kin should be something that Christians will be grieved about. We above all people owe our allegiance to someone greater, we above all people are aware of bonds of love that join us more closely to people around the world than it sometimes does to our immediate neighbours. We have always been a scattered people in exile.
A look at the text (Read James 1:1).
The author of the letter is James, or rather Jacob. There were several New Testament figures called Jacob or James, most notably one of the twelve disciples and one Jesus’ brothers. We’ve ended up with the name James probably through a corruption of the name via Latin and arguably because this suited the sponsor of one of the formative English translations of the Bible, The King James version.
When we remember that the author was in fact Jacob, we are reminded of the Jewishness of the book. Jacob took his name from one of the main patriarchs or founding fathers of Israel and the Jewish race. The original Jacob was the father of the twelve tribal heads and the grandson of Abraham. There is therefore something significant in a letter from a new Jacob being sent to the 12 new, reconstituted tribes of Israel.
Jacob, or James[2] introduces himself not by promoting his own status as a brother of Jesus, a leader of the church or an apostle but simple as a slave, someone owned by and serving the will of another. He is a slave “of God” and “of Jesus Christ.” That his full allegiance is offered to both is a strong Trinitarian statement indicating that full loyalty can be given to Christ without compromising our submission to God the Father.
James writes to “the twelve tribes” by implication, these are the twelve tribes of Israel but they are not gathered into the promised land. They are part of “the diaspora” or those who have been scattered around the world, referring here to the known world of the time, the Roman Empire.
In the standard style of letters at the time, James having introduced himself and identified his audience, he then greets them.
Digging Deeper
As we’ve observed earlier, the reference to 12 scattered tribes is most likely intended to indicate a Jewish audience. These were Jews, scattered around the Roman empire, probably focused on modern day Turkey and Greece who had become Christians through the missionary journeys of the apostles and also as the early church was dispersed out from Jerusalem due to persecution.
However, whilst there is a literal audience in mind, the wider New Testament reminds us of two things. First, that we are all ingrafted into God’s people, we are part of Israel and therefore included among the 12 tribes.[3] Secondly, all believers are in a sense scattered, exiles, who are not yet arrived at their true home.[4] James may have written initially to Jewish believers but his words have meaning and implication for Gentiles too, both in his own day and in ours.
A Look at ourselves
We may at times feel like we are “citizens of nowhere.” This may feel literally true for many in our churches who have been uprooted from their home countries to flee suffering and persecution. Some will have experienced rejection and hostility instead of welcome from a host community. There will be others feeling uprooted just from moving home within the country and some will have felt abandoned by family and friends at times.
So, it is good to start this letter with a reminder that we do have an identity. We are citizens. We belong to someone and somewhere. Like James, the slave of Jesus, we belong to Christ. Like those he was writing to, we may be scattered exiles but we have a home in heaven and we are citizens of God’s kingdom.
[1] Full text: Theresa May’s conference speech | The Spectator accessed 18-08-2023.
[2] We will stick with the better known name for the sake of convenience from now on.
[3] See especially Romans 11.
[4] Consider Peter’s introduction to his first letter.
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