There is no scholarly consensus as to whether the writer of the Epistle of James really was James, the brother of Jesus, nor as to the identity of those to whom the letter is addressed: ‘the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad’ (1:1). But about the circumstances of the letter’s recipients there can be greater certainty: the letter is a call to the particular virtues—endurance and patience—needed to withstand trials and tribulations, including especially the injustices and oppressions perpetrated by the rich (2:6; 5:4, 6).

Caravaggio’s altarpiece depicts a small Christian community sorely in need of patience and endurance. They are gathered around the body of Lucy, who according to legend, died as a result of a dagger blow to her throat. She received the last rites and was buried on the site of her martyrdom in Syracuse—a city of which she would become patron saint. Caravaggio painted this as an altarpiece for the church built over the spot where she was interred: the Franciscan basilica of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro.

Like the prophets to whom James appeals (5:10–11) Lucy was steadfast in suffering and patience. In gratitude for a miracle which had cured her sick mother, Lucy had consecrated herself to God and distributed what would have been her dowry to the poor, thereby offending Roman regard for the orderly disposal of both women and property, and perhaps also her betrothed. The disapproving state, which contrived Lucy’s death, is embodied in this painting by the bulky soldier in armour. He stands at far right, arms crossed, overseeing the burial.

Having given the last rites, the presiding bishop now raises a hand in blessing. His mitre is picked out by bright light, but he does not command the scene. He and the party of mourners, perhaps including some of the poor who have received Lucy’s largesse, are dwarfed by the hulking grave diggers and even more by the vast space which opens above their heads—an immensely daring stretch of mottled but otherwise quite featureless canvas, from which much of the mood and power of the picture derives. It surely represents the vast heavens which stand over this beleaguered community, and which illuminate the world below, but somewhat mysteriously. It is under this heaven that the Christian community must endure, patiently waiting like the farmer who looks for the early and later rain (James 5:7).