SCRIPTURE READINGS ON THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES, JULY 25, ARE FROM: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15; Psalm 126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-6; 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”. (Matthew 20:20-28) REFLECTION ON THE GRACE OF FAITH Our Gospel passage today is selected by the Church for the feast of St James the brother of John. The first thing we notice in it is that the mother of James and John (the sons of Zebedee) and her two sons fully believed that Jesus was the great King to come. Let us remember that at this point there was no kingdom to be seen. All they had before them was Jesus and the spiritual greatness of his Person together with his miracles. There was no kingdom, but they were firmly convinced that he was the promised Messiah, and that he would be ruler of the kingdom of God which he was announcing. That itself was a marvellous step of faith. John, let it be remembered, was directed to our Lord by John the Baptist, and he had come to faith in Jesus simply by the testimony of John and by meeting and knowing him. We are told about it in the early stage of his Gospel. He and Andrew followed Jesus, who turned and invited them to come and see where he lived. They did so, and came away permanently convinced that he was the Messiah. James followed soon after, and their mother must also have come to believe soon after. So let us read our Gospel passage today noticing this first great point, that James and John, together with their mother, fully believed in our Lord as the Messiah and that he would be the King of kings and the Lord of lords. All God’s blessings would be available in his kingdom. Taking our cue from James’s great faith, let us endeavour to give to Christ our total faith too. James crowned his life with martyrdom not long after our Lord’s own death. His faith flowered and endured to the end. The second thing we are reminded of in our passage today is that this faith in James underwent a great maturation. It matured, which is to say that it was initially immature. James, together with his mother and his brother John, envisaged the kingdom of Jesus as a kingdom of personal glory and prominence. Perhaps they saw our Lord as a future Conqueror, a Conqueror on behalf of the good. Out of their own goodness and generosity they were totally intent on battling for God’s cause with their unique Master. I suppose we could say that elements of this are to be found in most who are at the early stage of their Christian discipleship. But our Lord has a tremendous lesson to teach every one of his disciples, and it is that the only path to glory is through the door of suffering (Matthew 20:20‑28). It is an utterly different kind of kingdom that our Lord is extending, very different from the kingdoms of this world. But it is a true kingdom nevertheless, and he is its king. Obedient suffering was the means whereby Christ established his kingdom on earth. If the disciple of Christ wishes to share in Christ’s glory, he must share in his sufferings too. He must take up his cross every day and follow in his footsteps. Understanding this, the saints have repeatedly spoken of the Cross as a blessing. In Christ, suffering is the door to blessings, and therefore it itself is a blessing. In this sense Christ is the answer to the problem of evil. Perhaps this is why our Lord chose to use the figure of “the chalice” that he was to drink. A cup or chalice is filled with choice drink. It is a blessing. This is how Christ chose to express suffering. The one who believes in Christ must learn the lesson that faith in the Master involves drinking of the chalice from which he has drunk. It is a great grace to believe in Christ. It is a great grace to understand that the following of him involves the willing acceptance of the Cross for love of him, and that the Cross is our path to glory. Let us pray for that grace every day because on this grace depends the maturity of our faith and our discipleship. (E.J.Tyler)
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 14:33:31 +0000
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