FEAST OF ST. JAMES MAJOR, Apostle
James became a disciple of Jesus together with his brother John. He was, with Peter and John, among the apostles closest to Jesus, witnessing the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, the Lord’s transfiguration and agony.
A “son of thunder” in his zeal for the kingdom, he proposed a hard line against those who did not accept the gospel. But Jesus told him that his task was not to destroy but to save. James himself experienced the consequences of the hard line when he died a martyr’s death, thus sharing Jesus’ cup of sacrifice as the Lord had foretold him.
Reading 1: 2 Cor 4:7-15
7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!
Gospel: Mt 20:20-28
20 It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.
21 “What do you want?” Jesus asked.
She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”
22 Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”
They said, “Sure, why not?”
23 Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you aregoing to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.”
24-28 When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
Prayer
Lord our God,
Your Son Jesus was your equal
and yet he made himself our brother and servant.
May his Spirit be alive in us,
as he was alive in St. James,
and dispose us to become, like your Son,
powerless and vulnerable
so that we can serve one another,
especially in the weakest of our brothers and sisters.
In this way may people experience
how bold you make our love.
We ask this through Christ our Lord,