+ Among the twelve Apostles, three were chosen as the
familiar companions of Jesus, and of these James was one. He
alone, with Peter and John (the Evangelist, his brother), was admitted to the
house of Jarius when the dead maiden was raised to life. They alone were taken
up to the high mountain apart and saw the face of Jesus shining as the sun, and
His garments white as snow; and these three alone witnessed the fearful agony
in Gethsemane.
What
was it that won James a place among the favorite three? It
was faith: burning, impetuous, and outspoken, but which needed purifying
before the "Son of Thunder" could proclaim the gospel of peace. It was James who demanded fire from heaven to
consume the inhospitable Samaritans, and who sought the place of honor by
Christ in His Kingdom. Yet Our Lord, in rebuking his presumption, prophesied
his faithfulness to death.
When St. James was brought
before King Herod Agrippa, his fearless confession of Jesus crucified so moved
the public prosecutor that he declared himself a Christian on the spot. And so,
accused and accuser were hurried off together to execution, and on the road the
latter begged pardon of the Saint. The apostle had long since forgiven him but
hesitated for a moment whether publicly to accept as a brother one still
unbaptized. God quickly recalled to him the Church's belief that the blood of martyrdom supplies for every
sacrament, and he embraced him with the words, "Peace be with
you!" Together then they knelt for the sword, and together received the
crown.
Remembering that we carry the
work of Christ and his Church in us as very human, earthly and fragile vessels
of our broken selves – we rely with St. James, and all the Apostles and
countless numbers of Christians since the very beginning that God will supply
our lack and our want and work through us – and that in the end we will receive
the exact reward that befits our humble, loyal and loving service to the King
of heaven and earth!
The readings for today, as
well as situated for the saint, can also be a beacon of light for us who are
living under the each day more ferocious and dark clouds that are gathering in
Washington, DC. St. Paul in the first reading not only tells us that we are all broken earthly vessels – but
this is so, so that God’s power for good,
truth, justice can shine through us to keep civilization alive and on track
until the appointed time; so this means that for us who call ourselves “believers”
to actually then play out the belief card to its ultimate conclusion: believers must speak out – plain and
simple when lies are proclaimed for the whole world to hear, by the leader of
the free world, which reflect the pride
that we either do or don’t have in our democratic system of government.
In the gospel passage Jesus loves
James and his brother John’s impetuousness and enthusiasm – because it was
rightly channeled – but he tells them that this will go far when they will go
all the way, speak out and act out their core-based belief and trust in their
Lord, Messiah and Best Friend, Jesus. And it was James who was the first of the
12 to die a martyr’s death in imitation of Jesus.
We are called to likewise go
all the way, by word and deed for Jesus today, now – for time may be surely
running out! And we must be engaged in an active Christian life if we want to
merit our reserved place in the Kingdom to come.
I
chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
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