Feast of Saint James, Apostle

 
Biographical Information about St. James

“St. James the Elder”
by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1861

Readings for the Feast of Saint James, Apostle [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15
 
Brothers and sisters:
We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being given up to death
for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
 
So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Cor 4:7-15
 
St. Paul is speaking to the Corinthians about suffering and death in the human existence of this life, in spite of living in the faith. The image he uses, fragile earthen pots, speaks of God’s instruments being easily broken but nonetheless effective. The image of small terracotta lamps in which light is carried is mentioned elsewhere. The point the evangelist makes contrasts our mortality with God’s omnipotence and power, our death in the flesh with life in the spirit of Christ. With such a spirit at work within us, we must, like St. Paul, spread that news to others (“we too believe and therefore speak”).
 
CCC: 2 Cor 4:7 1420; 2 Cor 4:14 989
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
 
R. (5) Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
 
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
 
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
 
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
 
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
 
Psalm 126 is a lament. In this short psalm, the singer rejoices at the return of Israel following the Diaspora, the conquering of Israel and its enslavement. In this hymn, the people remember the greatness of God as he restores their nation and brings them back to their own land ("Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves"). The sense is one of being overflowing with thanksgiving.
 
-------------------------------------------
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."
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 20:20-28
 
This exchange takes place immediately following the Lord's description of his coming passion in Jerusalem. The sons of Zebedee, James and John, are pushed forward by their mother who (naturally) wishes them to achieve places of honor in the Kingdom of God. Jesus uses this event to speak first of his own passion and then about Christian leadership. The servant leader, as Jesus describes, leads through example.
 
CCC: Mt 20:26 2235
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
 
On this feast day, as we recall the inspired life of St. James, we reflect upon two aspects of the faith that motivated and supported him.  We think of them as the outward face of the evangelist, and the inward face of spirituality.  They are of course interrelated, but one, the outward face, is giving; the other, the inward face, is seeking and receiving.  It is, to use the Lord’s metaphor, like the vine.  The outward face is the leaves and branches, reaching out into the world, producing great fruit to nourish others.  The inward face is like the roots that support it, drinking in the earth’s nourishment sustaining the life in leaves and branches.
 
Using this metaphor, St. James was rooted in Christ.  The Lord established him and nurtured him.  Along with his brother, St. John, another of the sons of Zebedee, he was called into a special relationship with Jesus.  As one of the Twelve, we know he took a leadership position in the Christian community that grew up in Jerusalem.  It was this role and his outspoken love of Jesus that earned for him the title of First Martyred of the Apostles, fulfilling the prophetic words recorded in the Gospel from St. Matthew: “My chalice you will indeed drink.”
 
This outward and zealous face was supported by an interior spirituality rooted in the love of Christ and constant communion with him in prayer.  We know that James was with Jesus at all of the important times: on the high place where the Lord was transfigured (Matthew 17: 1ff); with him praying in the Garden at Gethsemane (Matthew 26: 37).  Along with St. Peter and his brother St. John, St. James was clearly one of great prayer and spiritual strength.
 
It was from this deep-rooted faith that he was able to draw the fire with which he enlightened those he met.  It was through his inner peace that he was given the courage to face cruel martyrdom at the hands of Herod, the grandson of Herod the Great, four years after the Lord had charged him, with the others, to “go out and teach all the nations” (Matthew 28: 19).
 
One of the great lessons this Apostle teaches is that we too must constantly tend to the inward face of our spirituality if we are to be effective evangelists and disciples of the Lord.  Our care must be for that inward face, for without strength in the roots, the vine will wither and die.
 
Pax
 
In other years on this date: Monday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time (Year II)
 

---

[1] The picture is “St. James the Elder” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1861.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.