Feast Of Saint James The Apostle

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint James the Apostle. Saint James is also referred to as James the Greater, as he was the first of the Apostles with the name James to be martyred. He is one of the Sons of Zebedee, the older brother of Saint John the Evangelist. Although like all of the Apostles, he did not initially understand the Messianic mission of Jesus, he went on to preach the Gospel in the Holy Land and carried it to Spain.

Gospel - Matthew 20:20-28

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons

and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.

He said to her,

"What do you wish?"

She answered him,

"Command that these two sons of mine sit,

one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom."

Jesus said in reply,

"You do not know what you are asking.

Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"

They said to him, "We can."

He replied,

"My chalice you will indeed drink,

but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give

but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

When the ten heard this,

they became indignant at the two brothers.

But Jesus summoned them and said,

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,

and the great ones make their authority over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Scriptural Analysis

Jesus is still journeying towards Jerusalem when the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approaches him. She presents a request to Jesus on behalf of her sons, who are standing with her. She asks, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” It is easy to dismiss her request, but we should be cautious. Is it unreasonable for a mother to want the best for her children? At some level, their mother understands that Jesus is destined to be a king.

However, her request also reveals a misunderstanding of the Messiah’s mission and what his kingship entails. She shares the same mistaken idea of the apostles: that the kingdom is an earthly one that will materialize when the group reaches Jerusalem. James and John have their sights set on the highest seats of honor in the messianic kingdom. To have their mother make this request was undoubtedly a bold move. Perhaps that is why they had their mom make the request. Sitting next to a monarch was a tremendous honor. We see this described in the court of Solomon, “And the king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a seat brought for the king’s mother; and she sat on his right.” (1 Kings 2:19)

James and John’s request is also ironic to a certain extent. They desire to sit at the right and left of Jesus. Christ enters into his kingdom by way of the cross, where two men indeed are on his right and left being crucified along with him. James and John do not yet understand that to reign with Christ entails such suffering. It involves setting aside all worldly ambition, which is what their request is all about.

Jesus addresses James and John by correcting them. He tells them directly, “You do not know what you are asking.” He then poses a question to them, “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” James and John, without hesitation, answer that they can indeed drink the cup that Jesus is to drink. Once again, they do not understand what he is saying, and they are likely thinking of a cup of wine at a coordination banquet. This response also reveals a bit of overconfidence in the brothers. The cup that Jesus is talking about is the cup of his passion. To drink it requires one to taste the agony and bitterness of death.

James and John will indeed partake in the suffering of Christ. James is the first of the Apostles to be martyred in the year 44 by Herod Agrippa. While John died of natural causes, the only Apostle to do so, he nevertheless suffered especially his exile on Patmos. While not suffering a martyr’s death, John lived the life of a martyr.

Jesus then explains to James and John why their request can’t be granted. Where people sit in the kingdom is the responsibility of the Father. His divine authority alone determines this. Even the cup that Jesus must drink, his passion, death, and resurrection, comes from the hands of the Father.

The conversation now extended beyond James and John and involved the other ten disciples. Having gathered the twelve of them together, he reminds them of the behavior of the Gentiles. Their rules exercise their authority in a very domineering and arrogant fashion. They want the world to know that they are in charge. However, the kingdom of God will be radically different. To be great in that kingdom, one must humble oneself and become the servant of others. There is no room for pride. The person who will be first in the kingdom of God is the one who humbles themselves the most: who finds no act of service too menial.

Jesus himself provides the example of what it means to serve in this fashion. He has lived his life solely for the benefit of those around him to the point of freely and willingly laying it down to benefit all of humanity. This is expressed by the term ransom: an important word to understand in a biblical context. In biblical times, a ransom was a sum of money paid for the release of property or persons, and it was permitted under the Mosaic law. If family lands had to be sold off in time of hardship, they could be purchased back via a ransom payment (Leviticus 25:26). If a person sold themselves into slavery because of extreme poverty, their family could pay a ransom for their freedom (Leviticus 25:51)

Jesus, however, is not speaking in terms of physical bondage but rather spiritual bondage. The bondage that all mankind was under as a result of the original sin of Adam. Jesus will lay down his life to free his people from their sins. The prophet Isaiah makes this clear in his fourth Servant Song:

Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him;

he has put him to grief;

when he makes himself an offering for sin,

he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand;

he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous;

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;

because he poured out his soul to death,

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would “pour out his soul to death” and through that sacrifice he would “intercession for the transgressors.” Jesus alludes to this at the end of his instruction to the twelve.

Daily Application

Saint James initially did not understand the mission of Jesus Christ. Like the other Apostles, he expected an earthly kingdom: a restoration. It was only after Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection that he came to understand the true nature of the Messiah.

We live post-resurrection. That is to say, we already know how Jesus’s earthly mission ends. Nevertheless, we struggle at times, just as James did, to understand the true mission of the Messiah. We call ourselves Catholic, but ultimately, we pay lip service to Christ. If you look closely at how we live our lives, you would be hard-pressed to find the Gospel.

The mission of the Messiah was to offer himself as expiation for the sin of mankind: all mankind. That is something that only he could do. What is important for us to do is to understand why he did it, how that ‘why’ shaped his life, and then how Jesus’ mission must transform us.

Jesus willingly died so that our sins may be forgiven. Before his sacrifice, that was an impossibility. All of the animal sacrifices in the temple could not repay an infinite debt. Only an infinite being could pay such a debt. Jesus did this out of love for mankind: that is it. He is God and therefore already perfect. Nothing could be added to him, nothing could be gained for himself, by undergoing this crucifixion. It was done purely for our benefit because he loved us.

That love shone forth through his life. His life was entirely devoted to service, as he poured himself out for the benefit of others. Again, as God, he gained nothing by this self-sacrifice, and yet it was the hallmark of his mission, as it should be ours. Part of his service was his willingness to share the truth even when it was uncomfortable for him or unpopular. He was not afraid to call people to repentance: to change their lives.

We are all called to love like Christ loved, and in doing that, we will serve like Christ served. This is what it means to be a Catholic. It is not about earthly prestige or wealth. Instead, it is an embrace of a radical love that understands that the most remarkable thing someone can do is to sacrifice themselves entirely for the sake of others. That is what we need to be able to do if we desire to sit at the right hand of Jesus in his kingdom.

Sancte Iacobe, Ora Pro Nobis!

Saint James, Pray For Us!