The Cathedral of our own Diocese is named after St. James, and I couldn’t help thinking, after reading in the gospel that James’s mother asked Jesus to give both her sons the best places in the kingdom, that she would, at least, be most pleased about our Cathedral’s name. Even more importantly, St. James eventually gained his sainthood through servanthood, not through power and prestige. Who, then, is St. James and what do we know of him?
James was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John. He was a fisherman when Jesus called him, so his work was physically hard which made him tough in body and temperament.
As an apostle of Jesus’, James was one of the favored three who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, and the agony in Gethsemane.
In our Gospel today, though, James is learning from Jesus what discipleship is about. In answer to James and John’s mother’s request to give them places of honor, Jesus challenged the brothers asking if they could drink the chalice he must drink. Jesus told them: “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In other words, true authority and leadership are through service to others, even unto death.
History tells us that James took Jesus’ words to heart, because not many years later, he did drink the same cup as Jesus. James was apparently the first of the apostles to be martyred as we read in (Acts 12:1-3) “About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword…”\
Before his martyrdom, legend has it that James travelled to Spain and stayed there seven years spreading the Good News of Christ before returning to Jerusalem. After his death, according to those legends and stories, his body is said to have been taken back to Spain in a boat led by an angel and is buried under the Cathedral where Santiago de Compostela is now located. It has become one of the most popular pilgrimage destination sites in the world and many people have walked the Camino to reach it. Our first parish pilgrimage in 2019 was to Spain where we visited Compostela, saw St. James burial place, and where Fr. Walsh celebrated Mass for all our parishioners.
St. James is someone who grew in his faith and understanding of what being a humble servant truly meant. He can certainly be an example to us as we endeavor to grow in our faith and understanding of servant leadership.
St. James, by your life, inspire us to grow as selfless servants of Christ.
