Monday, July 16, 2012

7/25/2012 – Wednesday of 16th week of ordinary time – 2 Corinthians 4:7-15; Matthew 20:20-28 – St James the Greater –


          We probably all know the story of St James the Greater, that he and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, were called to be disciples of Christ while they were fishing with their father in the Sea of Galilee.  They both took up that call, which could not have been an easy thing to do.  They are well-know for today’s Gospel, in which we hear their mother ask if they can have the seats of honor next to Jesus in his kingdom – one at his right, the other at his left.  Jesus responds that they have to be willing to drink from the chalice that he himself will drink from, but that the Father is the one who will make that decision.  Jesus teaches the brothers that service, not honor and glory, is the most important tribute that he wants his disciples to have. 
         James and John were named the “sons of thunder” by Jesus; we can only imagine the fiery and tempestuous nature of their personalities.  Yet, tradition holds that James went to Spain in order to bring the Good News to the world after Christ’s death and resurrection.  One would expect James to have a welcome reception in Spain, but the opposite is the case – he was not very successful at all at that time in making converts.  He returned to Jerusalem, defeated and rejected, where he met his fate in martyred, the first of the apostles to be put to death.  The twelfth chapter of Acts tells us that Herod had James put to death by the sword.
         Yet, even today, James draws thousands upon thousands of believers ever more closer to their faith as they journey across Spain as pilgrims on a journey.  One of the prisoners at the federal correctional facility here in Yazoo City told me that he had read that it is very doubtful that James is buried in northern Spain, according to the legend that has his body being transported there after his death in Jerusalem.  My response is that what is most important is that James lives in the hearts of those pilgrims who journey across Spain to where his spirit is so alive in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.  Just this weekend, I heard from a lady who I met through the American Pilgrims website that 70 American pilgrims walked 12 miles from a church dedicated to St James in Lake Forest, California to the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano, well-known for the swallows who return to the mission on the same day each year.  To have so many people following James ever closer to Jesus in a world that more often than not mocks our Catholic faith and see us as the enemy is an amazing thing to see.  James and his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is pointing people all over the world to Jesus as they walk across the mountains, as they endure sun and rain.  Having made the pilgrimage twice myself, I am proud to be a pilgrim.  I am proud to consider myself a friend of St James.  When I hugged his statue above the high altar in his cathedral, you cannot imagine the emotion and prayers that swelled up in my heart. 
         Thank you, St James the Greater, for your journey of faith and for the testimony that you still give the world so many centuries after your martyr’s death.  You live in the hearts of so many today, and you enliven us with the faith in our Beloved Lord Jesus Christ.  

1 comment:

  1. Thank you Father Lincoln - for introducing me to St. James.

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