CMU professor publishes biblical commentary on the book of James
Sheila Klassen-Wiebe, Associate Professor of New Testament at Canadian Mennonite University, is the author of a new commentary on the biblical book of James.
After years of research, reflection, and writing, CMU Associate Professor of New Testament Sheila Klassen-Wiebe has published a new commentary on the biblical book of James.
The book, part of the prominent Believers Church Bible Commentary series, will be launched on Monday, May 4 at 7:00 PM. Hosted by CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre in Marpeck Commons, and available via livestream, the event will include reflections from Cheryl Braun and Moses Falco, along with Klassen-Wiebe's own insights on the text.
Her work completes the series' New Testament collection. It is also only the fourth commentary in the series to be written by a woman.
Klassen-Wiebe has been a biblical scholar of the Gospels for her entire working life, but she had not spent much time with the letter of James when she was approached to write about it. She spent several faculty sabbaticals delving into it and gaining new appreciation for this portion of Scripture.
"James comes across as a lot of "should"s. But as I studied it, I realized it is deeply embedded in a theology of God's grace, goodness, and generosity. Everything we are and everything we have is from God and God is consistently faithful," she says. "To see the letter just as a list of "do"s and "don't"s doesn't take seriously enough this grounding identity, that God gives us birth and we become the first fruits of God's new creatures. James is calling us to live out of this new birth."
"Also, the word 'perfect' appears in James several times, and people sometimes think that James expects us to be perfect. But the word really means 'whole'. So James is not calling us to perfectionism but urging the church to live with integrity, to be whole, to be consistent—your talk, your actions, your beliefs should all align."
Klassen-Wiebe was dismayed at first by the absence of Jesus in James. "Jesus' name is mentioned only twice, and nowhere does James say anything about his life, death, or resurrection," she says. "I mean, I'm a Jesus scholar! Where is Jesus??"
What she discovered through further investigation surprised her: Jesus is in fact everywhere within these verses. "Not in stories or direct references but in the teachings of Jesus that James passes on so faithfully and creatively," she writes.
The striking similarities between James and Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, in particular, prompted her to develop an upper-level undergraduate and graduate course on this topic, which she has taught at CMU numerous times. Not only did her expertise on the topic enrich the course, but her interactions with students in the classroom and in congregations also shaped her writing in the book, offering perspectives that helped nuance and refine her ideas on complex topics like anger.
Klassen-Wiebe's writing features thorough exegetical analysis but also explores how James speaks to the church today. The letter contains many teachings that are especially relevant and vital for living in our current reality. She offers the following example: "In our world, where people use words to bludgeon each other and to carelessly utter untruths, James has a lot to say about how we talk as a church and as individuals. How we speak to each other and about each other matters: not tearing each other down and maligning each other but speaking with love. How we speak as a church publicly matters: calling out injustice and speaking truth to power," she says. "James calls followers of Jesus to be truthful and kind in their speech."
For more information about the book, including how to purchase and watch the livestream, visit:
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