RBWords

     There are a lot of Jameses in the New Testament.  There are two apostles by that name:  James, the son of Zebedee (in tradition, James the Greater) and James, son of Alpheus (James the Lesser).  There is James, "the brother of the Lord," and the James whose name appears on the Letter of James.  The one we celebrate today is James, the son of Zebedee and brother to another apostle, John.  Together with Peter, the sons of Zebedee seem to have enjoyed a special relationship with Jesus since they were among the first believers and first chosen to be apostles.  Jesus called the two brothers, "Sons of Thunder," possibly alluding to stormy temperaments.  They were, along with their father, in the fishing business.

     St. Paul's words above speak of the trials and tribulations of preaching the gospel.  In today's gospel scripture, James and John, with their mother acting as their agent, try to secure a special place in the kingdom that Jesus is preaching.  They obviously were thinking of the kind of kingdoms that they saw around them that were ruled by Roman puppets.  Jesus has to tell them and all the other apostles that his "kingdom" has nothing to do with any political reality.  His kingdom is a kingdom of love and service.  Those who are called to that service must be prepared to put up with what St. Paul describes, and remember always that they are earthen vessels.  The word "apostle" comes from a Greek verb meaning to be "sent forth."  Our church was initially founded by Jesus on the strength of twelve earthen vessels that we call apostles.  They do have a special place in our tradition, but their mission is one we share by virtue of our baptism.  We are all earthen vessels with a special content, the message and teaching of Jesus Christ.  AMEN