St. James the Elder
“A Remarkable Transformation”
Text: Mark
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
James, the son of Zebedee, was one of Jesus twelve
apostles. He and his brother John had
been fishermen before Jesus called them to become “fishers of men.” They were known for their quick temper and
impulsive nature, which caused Jesus to nickname them the “sons of thunder.” (Mk 3:17) We caught a
glimpse of this impulsiveness and temper just two weeks ago, when we heard that
in response to the Samaritans not welcoming Jesus, they asked “Lord,
do you want us to tell fire to come down from Heaven and consume them?” (Lk
9:54) And today we heard of their bold request to
Jesus for the places of honor at His right and His
left. That was James and John. A little rough around the
edges, to say the least.
But it was James and John, along with another
rough-around-the-edges guy, Peter, who were to become
Jesus’ inner circle. They were the three
whom Jesus often singled out for special assignments. It was Peter, James, and John who witnessed
the transfiguration. It was these three
who got to go into the house of Jairus with Jesus when Jesus raised his
daughter back to life from the dead. It
was Peter, James, and John whom Jesus took with Him farther into the
But then there is a remarkable transformation in
these brothers. John begins as a “son of
thunder,” but winds up being called “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He is entrusted with the care of Jesus’
mother Mary at the cross. He writes most
eloquently of love in his epistles. . .
. And then James is given the honor of
being the first of Jesus’ apostles to be martyred. He is killed for his faith by King Herod, and
his martyrdom is the only one of which we are told in the New Testament. Like his brother John, he had been
transformed – from an impulsive, ambitious, hot-headed, glory-seeking kid, to a
man willing to lay down his life in love . . . for his Saviour, for his Church,
and for his friends.
That is the James that we remember today. Who did drink the cup of suffering, as
Jesus told him he would. Who became a
servant and stopped seeking greatness.
Who gave his life for others, following in the footsteps of Jesus. A remarkable
transformation . . . which means there’s hope for you and me!
It is too bad that James was martyred so early and
that we don’t know more about him. But
perhaps it is our lives that complete
his story. For are we not also a bit rough-around-the-edges? Too quick to judge others? At times tempermental and ambitious? If James and John had not asked for those
positions of honor on Jesus’ right and left, we probably would have. We
like to be noticed. We want honor and
glory too. That’s why compare ourselves to others.
Who has the stronger faith? Who
is the most faithful? Who works the
hardest in church? Pastors do it
too. Who has the bigger church? The faster growing church? Who is more faithful? Perhaps we
wouldn’t be so bold as to ask, but we at least want to put ourselves in
position, in the running, for those two seats of honor!
But like James and John, we don’t know what we are
asking, or what we are thinking, or what we are doing. Jesus’ glory is not glory as we usually think
of it. For His glory would come in
death. His throne was His cross, His
crown was of thorns, and on His right and His left were not James and John, but
two criminals. The baptism Jesus
received there was a baptism of fire; the cup that He drank was the cup of
God’s wrath against the sin of all humanity.
. . . There is the greatness and
glory of Christ. A
greatness not in authority and power and rule – although Jesus had all
of that. Rather, it is the
greatness and glory of serving; the greatness and glory of love; the greatness
and glory of laying down your life for another; the greatness and glory of
being last, that others may have the
places of honor.
And this is the challenge of faith – for James and
John and for us. To believe in a Saviour
whose greatness does not look great to the world, and to strive for a greatness
that the world will never recognize as such.
A greatness of love and humility; of serving
and self-forgetfulness. For “whoever
would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among
you must be slave of all.” And
if we are honest, this is a greatness of love that we are unable to
achieve. For we have trouble just loving
and serving those we love, let alone those who are working against us, who hurt
us, and those we do not even know. We
would rather love ourselves than others; we would rather serve ourselves than
others; we would rather forget about others than forget about ourselves. Yes, there is a little “son of thunder” in
each of us.
But as I said before, that means there is hope for
us! For as Jesus’ love transformed a
“son of thunder” into a martyr of love, so too does His love change and
transform us. And that love, that
special attention that changes us, is the cross. “For the Son of Man came not to
be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” And His service to us means that our sin is
forgiven. Our lust for glory, our desire
for others to serve us and for positions of honor, our lack of love, our greed,
our selfishness – Jesus points to all of it and makes no bones about it – it is sin, and nothing else. It is sin, and it condemns. It is sin, and has no place in the
But this special attention of our Saviour did not
just happen a long time ago, but continues still today as He continues to work
in us by applying His cross to our lives – not in punishment, but in love. To kill that old impulsive,
ambitious, hot-tempered, glory-seeking James in each of us, and give to us a
kingdom not of this world. And so
there are in our lives difficulties, challenges to our faith, struggles to see
the light at the end of the tunnel, times of pain and sadness, failures,
confusion and questions – for our good!
In order to get us to finally
forget about ourselves, give up relying on our own abilities, and lay down our
lives in faith and trust in the One who knows better. . . . That’s
not easy. It wasn’t for James and it
won’t be for us. Yet it is in such
struggles that we are changed and transformed.
Not that by these struggles we earn our salvation – absolutely not! But in exactly these struggles we are driven to
And so through the cross of Christ, we are given
what we cannot achieve for ourselves.
And we “taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Ps 34:8, Introit Antiphon) That the Lord is good always – come glory or struggle; ease or pain; joy or sorrow. Our Lord knows what we need to receive from
Him, that our lives may be great and glorious in His sight. For as Jesus called the sons of thunder, knowing
who they were and with a purpose for them . . . so He has called you, knowing
who you are and with a purpose for you.
That purpose was fulfilled in James with martyrdom, in John with the
writing of his Gospel and Epistles and in living to an old age in exile, and in
you . . . well, in perhaps what is still to be seen. But one thing is for certain: that as you
have been baptized into Christ, as you hear His Word, as you receive His
absolution, as you eat and drink His body and blood, as you receive His love
and forgiveness in all of these ways, you are being changed and
transformed. And while what you will be may
remain to be seen here on earth, it is fully known to God your Saviour. And He is working in you exactly what is
necessary, that your glory be not in
self-serving, but in self-forgetfulness.
That your glory be not in being loved, but in loving
others, even as Christ has loved you. That your glory be not here
for a while, but there for eternity.
Is
that too much for you? Too far of a leap for your sinful self? Too much for even God to
work in you and your life? It was
a long way for James as well, from thunder to love. But while the thunder and lightning and
clouds in our lives may last for awhile – maybe even a long while – when they go
away, it is the Son that remains. And so
it will be for you, when you are called to take your place with the sons of
thunder, James and John, beside the Son, in Heaven.
In
the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.