Feast of St.James, Apostle
Readings:
2 Corinthians 4:7-15
Matthew 20:20-28
Reflection:
James and John were already part of Jesus’ inner circle. Their mother wants more and asks if they can have a seat on Jesus’ right and left when he comes into the Kingdom. Jesus has just, in fact, finished a long talk on the need for leaders to be the least of all and the servant of all. ‘Like many children, her kids may well have been totally embarrassed by their mother’s request. Most mums want the best for their boys. (Sadly, my mum wasn’t one of those; she preferred my sisters!!)
As it turns out, the two who took their place on the right and left of Jesus were the two men crucified with him on Calvary. For we who share the Passionist charism, there is no other place for us to be except beside our Crucified Lord. In prayer, certainly, and being there for the crucified we meet in our own lives, most definitely.
Kevin Bates, the Marist PP at Hunters Hill, died this year, a well-known song and hymn writer. He wrote some of the iconic hymns for St. Anthony in the Fields and the Passionist Family Groups. In the latest edition of the New Terrey-Graph, it’s remembered that Kevin wanted his life to be a song and his death -the way he died – a homily.
Well, in the end, James and John did exactly that. For one, his death was a homily; for the other, his life was a song. – James drank from the same cup as Jesus, being beheaded by Herod. John’s cup was to keep living faithfully, witnessing for a lifetime the truth of Jesus, while his brother and the other apostles were martyred.
So, may your day today be a song and a homily.
PS: Each has the most extraordinary basilicas – Basilica of St James in Santiago, at the end of the Camino, And St John Lateran Basilica in Rome.
Their mother would be very happy!!
Fr Tom McDonough CP the Parish Priest and Community Leader at St.Paul’s, Glen Osmond, SA