Feast of St James the Greater, Apostle C-2 (July 25)

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Mt 4: 18, 21 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother mending their nets and he called them.

Collect Almighty ever-living God, who consecrated the first fruits of your Apostles by the blood of Saint James, grant, we pray, that your Church may be strengthened by his confession of faith and constantly sustained by his protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(July 25) St. James the Greater This James is the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called by Jesus as they worked with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had already called another pair of brothers from a similar occupation: Peter and Andrew. “He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him” (Mark 1:19-20). James was one of the favoured three who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus and the agony in Gethsemani. Two incidents in the Gospels describe the temperament of this man and his brother. St. Matthew tells that their mother came (Mark says it was the brothers themselves) to ask that they have the seats of honour (one on the right, one on the left of Jesus) in the kingdom. “Jesus said in reply, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We can’” (Matthew 20:22). Jesus then told them they would indeed drink the cup and share his baptism of pain and death, but that sitting at his right hand or left was not his to give — it “is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” (Matthew 20:23b). It remained to be seen how long it would take to realize the implications of their confident “We can!” The other disciples became indignant at the ambition of James and John. Then Jesus taught them all the lesson of humble service: The purpose of authority is to serve. They are not to impose their will on others, or lord it over them. This is the position of Jesus himself. He was the servant of all; the service imposed on him was the supreme sacrifice of his own life. On another occasion, James and John gave evidence that the nickname Jesus gave them — “sons of thunder” — was an apt one. The Samaritans would not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to hated Jerusalem. “When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’ Jesus turned and rebuked them..”. (Luke 9:54-55). James was apparently the first of the apostles to be martyred. “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, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also” (Acts 12:1-3a). This James, sometimes called James the Greater, is not to be confused with the author of the Letter of James and the leader of the Jerusalem community.

Scripture today: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15; Psalm 126:1bc-6; Matthew 20:20-28

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favour of him. What is it you want? he asked. She said, Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. You don’t know what you are asking, Jesus said to them. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father. When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:20-28)

Humble Service In her book, Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City (2013), anthropologist Robin Nagle looks at the work of clearing all the garbage generated by America's largest city -- 11,000 tons from households each day on average. New Yorkers don't give it much attention. They leave their trash on the curb or drop it in a litter basket, and promptly forget about it. Nagle introduces us to the men and women of New York City's Department of Sanitation and shows how this small army of uniformed workers is the most important labour force on the streets. As a matter of fact, for the purposes of her investigation she joined this force herself. Her book chronicles New York City's four-hundred-year struggle with trash, and traces the city's waste-management efforts from a time when filth overwhelmed the streets to the far more rigorous practices of today. She accompanied crews on their routes, questioned supervisors and commissioners, and listened to story after story about blizzards, hazardous wastes, and the insults of everyday New Yorkers. The book would help anyone see the value of the obscure work of the garbage man and how the whole vast city depends on his daily service. What would happen if the city was without its garbage clearers for one month? The city would be in chaos. What would happen if a very well paid professor of ancient Syriac were not to be available for a year? Little difference would be made by his absence in the broad scheme of things, and yet the garbage man has little of the professor’s status. It reminds one of the story told by, I think, St Josemaria Escriva about the donkey that went round and round the stone all day every day keeping the stone revolving. That donkey kept the village in running water. Without the donkey’s constant “work”, the village would be in real difficulty. The “service” of that dumb donkey was essential for the village. This highlights the glory of service in the life of man, and how it is that no true service does not have its grandeur. The university professor of Syriac is doing grand work if his work is pursued as a true service, and not just a means of being served and glorified. The garbage man is doing superb work if his work is pursued as a true service, and a moment’s thought by anyone ought make it plain that his work is utterly essential, and worthy of all respect, protection and due compensation.

The same thing is to be said of so many spheres of humble work. The worker on the roads – where would a modern city be were it not for the indispensable work of the road-worker? The list of such persons and their service could go on and on. The constant tendency is to consider such persons and their service as the last in importance. But a little careful thought ought convince anyone that such service is not the last. On the contrary, it can be the greatest in value for the greatest number, and this obvious fact helps us to see things from God’s perspective. He sees things and persons as they truly are, and a so-called high position is as nothing in his sight. Kings can render an immense service, of course. King Louis IX of France (1214-1270), an almost exact contemporary of St Thomas Aquinas and St Bonaventure, was perhaps the dominant figure in 13th century Europe. He had as his aim to ensure that all persons in his kingdom got to heaven. He was a remarkable Catholic king, and with good reason was canonized by the Church. The essential thing for all is to serve, and all men have an instinctive admiration for those who serve well and for the right reason. All this introduces to us our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel passage (Matthew 20:20-28). It opens with the mother of two of our Lord’s main disciples coming to him with her sons to ask of him the favour of placing them at his right and left in his glory. They wanted a special position – and this caused indignation among the other disciples, as they were seen to be getting an unfair advantage. Our Lord in response pointed out a few basic things. It is only through suffering that glory would be attained – they had to drink the cup which he was to drink. Their love for him assured him that they would drink it, and he confirmed it – “You will indeed drink from my cup”. But the essential thing he emphasised was service, humble service after the manner, even, of a slave. Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Our Lord himself came to serve unto death. He is our model. What then is the purpose of life? The purpose of life is to serve – and for this we have our wonderful exemplar. Jesus Christ the incarnate Son of God said that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Before he ascended into heaven he gave his disciples a mission which related to the whole world, to every man and woman of every time and place. It was to make disciples of all the nations. So all men and women are called by God to take Jesus Christ as their Lord and Master. And what example does he give to all of us? It is to serve humbly, with Christ’s interests as our guide.

(E. J. Tyler)

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