READ: (2 Cor 4:7-15; Matt 20: 20-28)

REFLECT: Readiness, willingness and closeness of St. James the Apostle…

Dear friends, today we commemorate the Feast of St. James the apostles, the son of Zebedee and Salome, the elder brother of John the Evangelist (Matt 4: 21-22). He belongs to the fisher folk family in Galilee. St. James is called as St. James the greater in order to differentiate between the two apostles who bear the same name (James the son of Zebedee and Salome and James the son of Alpheus). St. James the Apostle is called as St. James the Greater as he was one among the three apostles (Peter, James and John), who formed a close circle with Jesus and has been present at important hours of Jesus. The important events with Jesus are the following; the transfiguration of Jesus (Matt 17:1-9, Mk 9:2-8, Lk 9:28-36), the healing of Jairus’ daughter (Lk 8:51 and Mk 5:37) and the passion of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:36-46, Mk 14:32-42). 

There are mentions of St. James the apostle in the New Testament. We shall have a bird view of the same; the call of James (Matt 4: 21-22); at the time of Transfiguration of Jesus he was taken to the top of the mountain along with Peter and John (Mk 9:2); at the time of Passion in Gethsemane Garden (Mk 14:32-34 and Matt 26:36-38); the healing of Jairus’ daughter (Lk 8:51 and Mk 5:37); mother of James and John asking Jesus for seat at the right and left in the Kingdom of God (Mk 10: 35-40; Matt 20: 20-28); James and his brother John ask Jesus to call fire down from heaven and burn the Samaritan town when they refused to welcome Jesus (Lk 9: 51-55). It is because of this reason perhaps they both are called as sons of thunder too. The reference to them as sons of thunder is recorded in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 3:16-17). One last mention of James is found in Acts of the Apostles (Acts 12:1-3), where Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great martyred James the Greater in order to please the Jews who were opposed to Jesus and His followers.

The tradition of the Catholic Church believes that after the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, James preached all over the Roman Empire and eventually landed in Spain where he said to have spread the Gospel with great enthusiasm and passion. It is also said that in 40 A.D., James preached the gospel on the bank of the Ebro River, a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula in Spain. While he was there, mother Mary seemed to have appeared to him on a pillar and advised him to return to Jerusalem once the Church had been built. The pillar remains today and is placed at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, Spain. When he returned to Jerusalem from Spain, he was beheaded and ultimately martyred by order of King Herod Agrippa I of Judaea.

Today, his remains are kept in the Cathedral of Santiago where his shrine attracts millions of Christian pilgrims from all over the world. The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, the apostles of Jesus Christ. It is also to be noted that St. James the Greater is not to be confused with James the son of Alpheus who is called as St. James the lesser and also not to be mistaken with James the Just, who is the author of the letter of St. James in the New Testament. St. James the Apostle is considered to be the Patron Saint of Veterinarians, Tanners, Soldiers, Riders, Pilgrims, Pharmacists, Laborers, Knights, Horsemen, Furriers, and Blacksmiths. 

So based on the liturgy of the word and the life of St. James the apostle, I would like to share with you three points of reflection; 

1. Readiness and promptness to follow Jesus:

We all know that promptness is to respond immediately without any delay and readiness is to show one’s preparedness to do or to follow someone or something. We have the call of James and John in the New Testament, where we hear that they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed Jesus. Leaving the father and others, the work that they were doing remind us the priority that they give to Jesus. It is not that they disliked their parents, the work that they were doing or the people with whom they were working rather just a shift in the focus. Leaving everything that is close to us, special to us is always a difficult step to take. But we see James taking such a step to follow Jesus and places Jesus over every priority that he had in life. 

Today it is a challenge for all of us to leave behind what we hold as so close and special. It can be a material thing or a worldly pursuit or any human desires and dreams in life. it pinches us and make us feel a great sigh like that of the oppressed. But if we understand and observe the life of many who have left for the sake of Christ and his work have been always blessed abundantly, although at times we hear and experience hardships and hard times in life. The surety is that God grants blessings in manifold, provided we are ready to prioritize God’s work over our work, our wishes and dreams. 

Very beautifully Late Pope Benedict XVI exhorts us that we can learn much from St James: “His promptness in accepting the Lord’s call even when he asks us to leave the “boat” of our human securities, enthusiasm in following him on the paths that he indicates to us over and above any deceptive presumption of our own, readiness to witness to him with courage, if necessary to the point of making the supreme sacrifice of life.” Yes, promptness and readiness is one of the prime qualities of the chosen twelve apostles or any disciples. If we want to be true followers of Christ, we need to be prompt to God’s call, ready to serve him and follow Jesus whole-heartedly and faithful. It demands courage and trust in God. Let us draw inspiration and seek his intercession to be one of chosen Disciples of Christ. 

2.        His willingness to suffer for Jesus:

Willingness to suffer for Jesus is the character of an ardent and devoted disciple of Christ, because, today no one likes to suffer or face persecutions in life. All the more, to suffer for the sake of someone or something, many do not come forward or do not prefer. We look for easy way out and seek out for instant results. However, history has proven right in many ways though the lives of human persons, who have suffered and sacrificed for the good of the other human persons. The one episode that always astonishes us is the mother of James and John asking Jesus for the seat of honor for her two sons. Perhaps, it shows the natural feel of any mother, who intends the good future of children. But Jesus very clearly states that He can’t promise to offer such seats of honor, because it is not within his limit but the heavenly Father. what strikes and surprises each one of us the spontaneous reply to the question of Jesus, “are you ready to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

We do not know whether they really understood or not the question what was asked by Jesus, or there could be also a possibility that they have understood, because they both witnessed what was being done by Jesus and how he has been a thorn in the flesh for many of the Pharisees, scribes and Sadducees. But they proved that they understood what Jesus said about the cup or drink by the life that they lived. We know St. James was martyred for Christ’s sake. His death is a proof for it in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 12: 1-3) that he was put to death because he was making Christ known near and far. Yes, his willingness to stand firm in the face of persecution and death makes him an ardent apostle of Christ. And so the courage and conviction of St. James trigger in us the courage and conviction to believe in Jesus, to find strength in Jesus and bear witness to Christ in the face of anything we undergo in life. What matters eventually is the courage and faithfulness, with which we served God and his people, how much impact we could have to draw people closer to God. 

That’s perhaps made Late Pope Benedict XVI to say that “St. James the Greater stands before us as an eloquent example of generous adherence to Christ. He, who initially had requested, through his mother, to be seated with his brother next to the Master in his Kingdom, was precisely the first to drink the chalice of the passion and to share martyrdom with the Apostles.” Yes, when we are willing to suffer for the fulfillment of God’s will, it only proves that we are prepared to die to self-interest or selfishness and place God’s will ahead of our little interests and motifs. Sometimes we may have suffer humiliation, shame, rejection, laughing stoke, misunderstanding, disrespect for Christ’s sake. Let us remember that suffering can never be a superfast express to finish the race of our lives. However fast it may be but God can stop and control the speeding vehicle of suffering and pain to run smoothly and safely, provided we believe in God, work for God and do God’s will. So ultimately it is our willingness to do what God wants or wishes from us even if it be pain or joy.

3.        His closeness with Jesus;

Being close to Jesus would mean that one has an intimate relationship with Jesus, realizing that abundant life will follow or flow and never be found in another person except God or God’s works. To enjoy such closeness with God, we need to be ready and prompt, willing and wishing to follow Jesus. Moreover, one has to be found favor with God in character through prayer, good heart and good works. The fact that St. James the apostle was chosen or called by Jesus reveals that James found favor with God. We all know from the biblical references that James was one of the favored three (Peter, James and John) who had an opportunity and the joy of witnessing Christ’s glorious moment at the time of Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus during Jesus’ ministry, and the painful phase of Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

As a chosen apostle, during his life journey with Jesus, St. James observed and experienced the glorious and painful moments of Jesus. Perhaps we can say that glorious moment of Jesus at the transfiguration of Jesus gave St. James the deep faith and trust in Jesus to walk the way Jesus taught and the painful moment of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane gave him the strength to bear witness to Christ in preaching and practicing Jesus’ good news with one another in places wherever he went. The choice of St. James is definitely the prerogative of Jesus, because it is Jesus who called him, commissioned him and was ever present with him in his apostolic journey.

Today, St. James stands as an example to all of us and indicates to us to be in close union with God. To be in union or close to God we need to open ourselves to God’s invitation, be prompt and ready to follow Jesus and his commands. The reason why we are not able to be in union with God or in close touch with God is because we have shut the door of our hearts to God’s invitation and have opened the door to the interests and pursuits of worldly wisdom, power and privileges. Although God could plunge into our hearts in various ways and means to create an impact or desire, yet God respects our human freedom and willingness. The more we abide in God, the more God abides in us and make us throw away the feel of abandonment, helplessness, depression and distress. So let us remain close to Jesus and obtain God’s assurance of his presence and grace.

RESPOND: 

Are we ready to leave behind everything to follow Jesus?

Do we make efforts to be close with Jesus in little ways if not in great ways?

Do we endure sufferings for Christ’s sake and be raised to higher state of life in joy and happiness?

Let us be ready to follow Jesus, be willing to suffer and die for Jesus for Jesus give us life and exalts us on high and be close with Jesus always. Amen. 

Happy Feast! God bless us all!

Live Jesus