Grant, O God, that, following the example of your servant James the Just, brother of our Lord, your Church may give itself continually to prayer and to the reconciliation of all who are at variance and enmity; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Psalm
1
The Readings
Acts 15:12-22a + I Corinthians 15:1-11 + Matthew 13:54-58
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.
~ I Cor. 15:3-4
Though two of the twelve apostles bore the name James, the saint commemorated today is yet a third James, and arguably the most prominent of the three. Referred to by Paul in his letter to the Galatians as "the Lord's brother" and a "pillar" of the church, he is seen also in the book of Acts as a respected and reconciling leader of the church at Jerusalem, and is perhaps the author of the New Testament letter that bears his name. Despite these credentials, and his own familial relationship to Jesus, he seems not to have been a disciple until after the resurrection. Though Paul attests in today's reading from I Corinthians that the risen Lord appeared to James, he makes no appearance in the gospels except to be mentioned as one of Jesus' siblings.
It is important to note that after this powerful experience of the risen Lord, James became a member of the community of disciples, the church. His experience did not lead him to disregard association with other "lesser" disciples (i.e. any who had not experienced such an appearance) as beneath him. One occasionally hears of someone who has had (or claims) a life-altering experience of divine revelation, to whom the everyday foibles and petty disagreements of church life then seem to them as a delusion with which they need no longer concern themselves. For James, the effect of his experience was just the opposite--he entered fully into the life and leadership of the infant church, with all its challenges (and one needs only to read Paul's letters to get a sense of how messy church life was then--some things don't change much over the centuries).
James knew, as Paul knew, as all disciples of Christ come to know, that everything we have is a gift from God. We do not have anything that we have not received. And though the gifts are ultimately from God, they almost always come from the hand of another. Christian faith is never a solitary endeavor. For us today, we need only to reflect a moment (or a lifetime) on our own journey of faith to recognize that we have come this far in the company of others. No one enters the church alone--we are borne along the way by parents, godparents, friends, pastors, siblings, daughters and sons, and saints of ages past. Others have listened, written, preached, prayed, wrestled, received and handed on to us the message of salvation, which we receive by the gift of faith that comes from God. And it is God's pleasure to continue always to give, and to call us, who have received, to in turn pass on to others this life in Christ.
~ I Cor. 15:3-4
Though two of the twelve apostles bore the name James, the saint commemorated today is yet a third James, and arguably the most prominent of the three. Referred to by Paul in his letter to the Galatians as "the Lord's brother" and a "pillar" of the church, he is seen also in the book of Acts as a respected and reconciling leader of the church at Jerusalem, and is perhaps the author of the New Testament letter that bears his name. Despite these credentials, and his own familial relationship to Jesus, he seems not to have been a disciple until after the resurrection. Though Paul attests in today's reading from I Corinthians that the risen Lord appeared to James, he makes no appearance in the gospels except to be mentioned as one of Jesus' siblings.
It is important to note that after this powerful experience of the risen Lord, James became a member of the community of disciples, the church. His experience did not lead him to disregard association with other "lesser" disciples (i.e. any who had not experienced such an appearance) as beneath him. One occasionally hears of someone who has had (or claims) a life-altering experience of divine revelation, to whom the everyday foibles and petty disagreements of church life then seem to them as a delusion with which they need no longer concern themselves. For James, the effect of his experience was just the opposite--he entered fully into the life and leadership of the infant church, with all its challenges (and one needs only to read Paul's letters to get a sense of how messy church life was then--some things don't change much over the centuries).
James knew, as Paul knew, as all disciples of Christ come to know, that everything we have is a gift from God. We do not have anything that we have not received. And though the gifts are ultimately from God, they almost always come from the hand of another. Christian faith is never a solitary endeavor. For us today, we need only to reflect a moment (or a lifetime) on our own journey of faith to recognize that we have come this far in the company of others. No one enters the church alone--we are borne along the way by parents, godparents, friends, pastors, siblings, daughters and sons, and saints of ages past. Others have listened, written, preached, prayed, wrestled, received and handed on to us the message of salvation, which we receive by the gift of faith that comes from God. And it is God's pleasure to continue always to give, and to call us, who have received, to in turn pass on to others this life in Christ.
Closing Prayer
Lord God, you are the giver of every good gift, and we thank you. Thank you also for the faithfulness of all your servants who have blessed us along the way; give us wisdom, courage, and grace, to hold faithfully the gifts entrusted to us, that we may pass on to others the life we have received. Amen.
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